The current state of late night talk television...

Late night died on May 22, 1992. Nothing has come close for me. I wonder how JC would work today for the new generation.

 

For me the end will be when Jon Stewart retires in August.

 

While watching the last Letterman shows I figured I'd check out Fallon to see what all the hubbub was about. I set my DVR to record the show every night. At 1st I thought it wasn't bad. Than I started finding the bits/monologues a bit repetitious so I started fast forwarding through them. Than I quickly tired of the shill product/play a game style he has with his guests. When I realized I wasn't feeling the majority of his musical guests I stopped watching altogether. This took less than a month!

 

I like Fallon's first half hour, before the guests come on. I actually prefer his humor when he's the performer. I really enjoy the rapport between Fallon and and Higgins when they're on! I usually don't watch the "interviews", largely because I have no idea what is happening in current pop culture so I'm not familiar with the most of the guests! If I'm still awake later I will tune back in to see if the band/singer is any good. Sometimes great current bands, sometimes awful current bands.......

Off Topic: When did all talk shows adhere to the bands/singers being last all the time?
And why are they restricted to 4 minutes usually with no interview.
That never happened on Carson's Tonight Show!

 

Conan is certainly not fun to watch these days , I forget about it being on most the time anyway since he moved to TBS.
I do miss the "In The Year 2000" thing with the flashlight that he and Andy used to do sometimes back in his NBC days.
I always got a kick out of that .

 

That's when it died for me also. Sure, I watched the others when they had a musical guest, but the whole show....NAH. When Carson left, the train left the station. Carson had "it". Heads and shoulders above the others.

 

Conan was supposed to be carrying the talk show mantle by this time but I really don't know what happened to him in the last ten years. He still has the charming personality but the comedic writing on his show hasn't been good in years and years.

Fallon is tolerable in small doses. I could never watch him night after night like the funnier hosts.

 

Some of you might want to listen to these lyrics.



Rush – New World Man
He's a rebel and a runner
He's a signal turning green
He's a restless young romantic
Wants to run the big machine

He's got a problem with his poisons
But you know he'll find a cure
He's cleaning up the systems
To keep his nature pure

Learning to match the beat of the old world man
Learning to catch the heat of the third world man

He's got to make his own mistakes
And learn to mend the mess he makes
He's old enough to know what's right
And young enough not to choose it
He's noble enough to win the world
But weak enough to lose it

He's a new world man

He's a radio receiver
Tuned to factories and farms
He's a writer and ranger and a young boy bearing arms
He's got a problem with his powers
His weapons on patrol
He's got to walk a fine line
And keep his self control

Trying to save the day for the old world man
Trying to pave the way for the third world man

He's not concerned with yesterday
He knows constant change is here today
He's noble enough to know what's right
But weak enough not to choose it
He's wise enough to win the world
But fool enough to lose it

He's a new world man

Learning to match the beat of the old world man
He's learning to catch the heat of the third world man

He's a new world man

 

I believe ratings data shows that viewership usually drops when there's a musical performance.

 

That's sad.

 

Yeah, but then, how many times have you been watching a talk show and said "I'm not interested in this band" and turned it off? I know I have. I think it probably happens a lot.

 

Half the time, I'm not interested in any actors!
But that's me.

 

Johnny Cash still seems to be quite popular. Jesus Christ, too.

 

The difference is, with the actors the host is still there. The musical performance takes the host out of the show altogether.

 

I'd rather watch Johnny Carson. Long time viewers know him as JC.

 

Why doesn't the host interview the musicians nowadays then?

 

I was really hoping that Howard Stern would get a shot at a late night talk show. But unfortunately just the mention of his name turns a lot of people off. I still think he could pull it off, but I doubt he will do it now.

 

I personally think Jimmy Fallon does a pretty good job. I enjoy watching his show sometimes.

 

He wouldn't. Johnny knew this and decided to get out when he did - a wise decision. It would be like the kids watching their father or grandfather. They wouldn't do it.

 

Personally, I find almost any televised musical performance interesting, even if it's an artist I don't like. At least in the context of a talk show, I always relish the musical guest and usually don't care enough to listen to a celebrity interview. But I realize that's not "normal".

 

Of course the ratings went down during the music. As much as I loved Dave for being "music's best friend on television" (Warren Zevon) and introducing to many a band, there were also genres I knew I wouldn't like or artists I knew I didn't like and I'd tune out. That or if Leno or whomever had a band I did like, I'd flip. That said, Dave was pretty damned brave for the bands he let on. Seems like nothing now with Kimmel giving Slayer 2 songs outside or Ferguson giving Metallica an entire week, but the shock value of music went down with Tipper Gore...

 

You know late night talk shows are in a bad way when this is considered funny:



Wow, I got one minute into that and had to stop. I've had bowel movements funnier and more entertaining than that train-wreck. I don't know who this woman is, but she needs to exit the business, quick!

 

Sure, it wasn't funny (some context may have helped, or not), but you don't know who Kristen Wiig is??

 

End of an era. Without Letterman, Carson, and even Leno -- forget it.

 

Stern is a terrific interviewer, but ruins his chances when he otherwise does his I'm a jerk routine. He really doesn't need to use it to get our attention anymore. Can you imagine a regular show with him interviewing musicians like Graham Nash had years ago on VH-1?
On a related note, here's Fallon's interview approach: "I heard/saw your new movie/show/album, and it absolutely changed my life/outlook/DNA." Just go away.