No votes for Sarah Palin yet?
Hell no to Dennis Miller. Way too political. I still like Leno and am glad he’s coming back.
Just yesterday (Wednesday, Jan 20) Stephen Colbert had Dick Ebersol (head of NBC sports) on his show and during the conversation about Olympic Coverage, Colbert agreed to wear an NBC logo during his coverage of the speed-skating team, who he will be working for under the title “Assistant Sports Psychologist”. Colbert suggested he should get an additional title for his effort: “Host of The Tonight Show”
I chuckled, and then spend a few second in serious thought on the matter…
I think the essense of a good “Tonight Show” host is that they are interested not necessarily interesting. That’s what made Carson good, and Parr good. For heaven’s sake Carson was a second rate magician and Parr was a DJ. That they could be entertaining fell to second. They are there to represent us, the fans. Entertainers have long fallen short in that way as our representatives. Going back to Jerry Lewis, Joey Bishop, Chevy Chase et al., they saw themselves first as entertainers and second as interested fans. That’s why their shows fell in late night. That’s why Oprah is as good as she is. Is she a great talent? No, she is a great stand-in for us.
Kimmel does better interviews than the other guys. he blurts out questions that surprise the guests and are exactly what I was thinking when he asks. Then the interview goes in a different and amusing direction. Craig can do that too. Leno not very often. Letterman seems to be getting bored with the show. i think he is just there for the paycheck.
And the interns.
I know I’m in the minority but I found Johnny Carson to be so boring. He was like Lucille Ball where he had a few good years at the start but then spent the last 75% of his career living on his name.
You need an inoffensive host, and this is why Leno was good.
Joan Rivers for instance, was a very funny host. But a little Joan went a LONG way. It was hard to take Rivers night after night. What is funny once a week is not funny 5 times a week.
I like Ellen DeGeneres but her show fits her perfect now and I’m not sure it’s adaptable to the traditonal talk show format.
I would like to see a female late night host, though I don’t know who it could be
I’d love it if Norm MacDonlad would do it but I’m afraid people just won’t get his deadpan delivery.
“Older” folks? I’m one of the older Boomers (born in '48) & Dennis Miller nauseates me. If my mother were still alive, she would also find his politics disgusting.
I remember the Tonight Show of Jack Paar & Johnny Carson; never got into Leno. Have nothing against O’Brien. But I don’t have a nighttime TV routine. Daily Show & Colbert, sure. Or maybe Letterman before his guests arrive–unless they’re* really* good guests.
But falling asleep in front of the same old show every night is one aspect of Old Fart-dom I’ve managed to avoid. There are other shows. And this here “internet” thing. And books…
If we’re keeping the same format of the show my vote definately goes to Ellen.
Opening monolouge- She’d actually have one I’d want to listen to. Letterman and Conan’s are unlistenable as far as I’m concerned. Too much mugging and making goofy faces. Leno’s monologues at least consisted of good jokes albeit very vanilla. Ellen has the stand-up background and can deliver a joke.
Skits and Bits- Even though much of this depends on the writers she’s pretty fearless about getting her hands dirty in any skit/bit and can make the mundane funny. She’d be great doing man(woman)-on-the-street bits, or headlines, or jaywalking.
Interviews- Guests always seem to be verrry comfortable with her. She lets them talk, actually LISTENS to their answers, and can make an interview entertaining.
Guest on-stage interactions- You know run-of-the-mill chefs, animal experts, new toys this year experts, stuntman interactions where they join a guest in demonstrating items or baking something or driving something. Ellen can make these entertaining.
Her show now may be geared towards the stay-at-home mom audience but a jump to a late night audience and the tweeking it would take does not seem to be much of a stretch.
No kidding! I just finished it a little while ago, and I loved it. It’s definitely a book that Craig Ferguson would write – with all that that implies.
The show should be cancelled and they should run syndicated re-runs of Law and Order.
The Late night show format just has no redeeming qualities. Terrible monologues, stupid sketches, and inane interviews.
You need someone reasonably erudite, enough to be an authority. You need someone who’s stood in front of a crowd and done monologues. You need someone everyone’s seen on TV, someone familar. Someone non-threatening. Someone with an eye for talent in not just his field, but others.
This is your man.
He’s too PC.
Groan.
How about George Stromboulopoulos? Then you Murkins’ can see what a REAL socialist looks like!
I was thinking of Adam Carolla, too. I thought he and Dr. Drew were both very good when they did Loveline on MTV.
I don’t know why the Tonight Show couldn’t have rotating hosts. (At the end of a year, they could tabulate the numbers and declare a winner, if they must.) When David Letterman was out sick, there were dozens of people filling in for him, and it was very interesting to watch and see how they did. Maybe no one person has the almighty power to command a big audience any more.
Another vote for Jon Stewart, with Bryan Williams as his sidekick.
Being as I don’t watch the show anyway, I want Jon Stewart to do it just to take him down a peg. Maybe once he gets a resounding “no thank you” from the American people he’ll tone down his whole “voice of the people” act on Daily Show.
Both of mine (Stewart and Ferguson) have already been picked, so I’m going to throw in a write-in vote for Will Ferrell. And before anyone laughs me off the board, think of his turn in Stranger Than Fiction. He was perfect and I think he could handle the job with aplomb.
Oooh. Good one. But seriously, I think he’d do a good job. Remember, he did discover Jonathan Coulton and… er, someone else? already.