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Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
I'm okay with Fallon staying in NY because it'll make the guests that Conan and Ferguson get all the more unique. I just hope the studios don't over-correct and send EVERYONE to NY for promotion.
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Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
One other thing I thought of after the fact... The posts about Meyers not being an ideal choice?
I so desperately wish a major network would give Tom Green a chance. I say that knowing full well the deluge of "wtf? That moron? Dumping him is the only thing Drew Barrymore ever did right." given his reputation. Bottom line - his hourlong MTV talkshow that lasted a couple months, with Ed McMahon? Sheer genius. It was some really cutting edge stuff. Then, Tom Green's House, he pioneered internet video services with a talk show format. Now, on AXS, his hourlong Tom Green Live? Just... freaking wow. He's totally dropped *all* comedy, he just sits down and interviews the guest for the full hour. A lot have been pals of his or other comedians, granted. But he also just interviewed Dan Rather, and he's unmatched in his interview skills imo. Almost every single guest remarks that the research and preparation Green does beforehand is almost obsessive in thoroughness. He handles guests and the conversation with absolute mastery, never boring, but generally letting the guest have the floor. He knows exactly how to steer an interviewee, and it shows. Tom Green really should be the future of the late night network talk show, but it seems as though his name is a poison in entertainment today. Maybe when Letterman retires, Green might get a chance at the Late Late Show... he deserves it. I say this unbiased, I'm hardly some uber Tom Green fan, but that job is his calling in life. Instead Carson Daly enters season 50 or something with Last Call...? *sigh* |
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
I agree Tom - you should have your chance. Sorry about your split up with Drew.
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Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
Originally Posted by bunkaroo
(Post 11994013)
I agree Tom - you should have your chance. Sorry about your split up with Drew.
Thanks, that's still really a sore subject with me. I'll never find true love again! Err... wait. What!?! Tom who? Who is this Tom you speak of? My real name is Thom! Thom Blue! |
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
Originally Posted by Coladar1
(Post 11993952)
Me? I think there'll be one winner here: Craig Ferguson. He's really come into it of late, hilarious bits, exceptional interviewing skills, but more than anything, he does seem uniquely suited to bridging a demo gap... his only issue there is his humor is a bit raunchy at times, not the tame/lowest common denominator brand Leno espouses. I suspect with SNL boy 1 and SNL boy 2, Ferguson is more apt to gain some viewers he otherwise might not have.
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Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
Originally Posted by brayzie
(Post 11994051)
He's the only late night show worth watching, imo.
Meanwhile, someone like Craig Kilborn, he of the Daily Show and ESPN that appeared a perfect fit? Crash and burn. Nothing for or against Seth, since we really don't even know what to expect as of yet, but it seems like whenever 'they' take a huge chance on a late night host, that host goes on to greatness. Because Ferguson is undoubtedly comedic and late night hosting gold, and I don't think there was a single person on the planet who 'got' that choice when it was first announced. All of which is another reason I... err, Tom Green, would be perfect for a 12:35 network show. |
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
The Leno/Conan debacle isn't as significant as the Leno/Letterman one...NBC ruined The Tonight Show as a powerhouse late night offering when they didn't give it to Letterman. Of course, The Tonight Show would have eventually lost significance anyway, but it could have been THE late-night show for quite a while longer if they didn't have to compete against Letterman...and all the others that jumped in. Had NBC kept Letterman, those other late night competitors would have jumped in...but at a much later date.
Can you imagine what late night might have been like with The Tonight Show with David Letterman followed by Late Night with Jay Leno? I expect Fallon to start off strong...then fade around summer time. |
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
Originally Posted by MarineCorps
(Post 11993902)
He had an interview with 60 minutes, he is setting it up for round 3. Good money says he will be back.
http://flavorwire.com/435832/why-do-...-leno-so-much/ He is not so subtly letting NBC know that when fallon drops the ball he is ready to pick it up again. |
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
Originally Posted by MarineCorps
(Post 11993902)
He had an interview with 60 minutes, he is setting it up for round 3. Good money says he will be back.
http://flavorwire.com/435832/why-do-...-leno-so-much/ He is not so subtly letting NBC know that when fallon drops the ball he is ready to pick it up again. |
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
Originally Posted by Shannon Nutt
(Post 11994088)
The Leno/Conan debacle isn't as significant as the Leno/Letterman one...NBC ruined The Tonight Show as a powerhouse late night offering when they didn't give it to Letterman. Of course, The Tonight Show would have eventually lost significance anyway, but it could have been THE late-night show for quite a while longer if they didn't have to compete against Letterman...and all the others that jumped in. Had NBC kept Letterman, those other late night competitors would have jumped in...but at a much later date.
Can you imagine what late night might have been like with The Tonight Show with David Letterman followed by Late Night with Jay Leno? I expect Fallon to start off strong...then fade around summer time. I'll say this though: Leno needed the Tonight Show more than Letterman did. Letterman would have likely held the advantage over Leno longer had Leno been the one that was on CBS. Letterman had already established his own show and was better suited for a new show. I think Leno would have taken over the lead. And just imagine how things would have went with Conan or Fallon with Letterman in the way. Would he have gracefully stepped aside, or tried to fight for his spot? |
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
I have a hard time imagining what the Tonight Show would have become under Letterman. He was always a bit cynical, but after the NBC fight it just seemed like he was doing his show out of spite.
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Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
Originally Posted by Coladar1
(Post 11993972)
One other thing I thought of after the fact... The posts about Meyers not being an ideal choice?
I so desperately wish a major network would give Tom Green a chance. I say that knowing full well the deluge of "wtf? That moron? Dumping him is the only thing Drew Barrymore ever did right." given his reputation. Bottom line - his hourlong MTV talkshow that lasted a couple months, with Ed McMahon? Sheer genius. It was some really cutting edge stuff. Then, Tom Green's House, he pioneered internet video services with a talk show format. Now, on AXS, his hourlong Tom Green Live? Just... freaking wow. He's totally dropped *all* comedy, he just sits down and interviews the guest for the full hour. |
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
Originally Posted by PhantomStranger
(Post 11994773)
Tom Green's show on AXS has been dynamite stuff, though I'm not sure that format would work for network television. It greatly reminds me of Tom Snyder's stuffer from the 1980s, but that type of interview hasn't been popular for many years. The kids these days want canned, five-minute segments they can catch on YouTube.
I don't think there's anyone else out there today better suited, more custom made, or with this level of experience and excellence as Tom Green. That's why I also mentioned his short lived MTV late nighter with McMahon - it was the 'normal' late nighter, and I still fondly remember it a decade later. Some of the funniest segments and sketches ever - none more than the night looney tunes musician took a chainsaw to Tom's brand new, expensive desk. Tom was *pissed*, it wasn't planned, and it destroyed the desk. The way he handled it was perfect, but my God the look on his face as it happened was hilarious. It's the networks loss not stealing Tom for a show. The MTV *talk show* proved he could tone down the humor for a more generalized audience, and Tom Green Live on AXS has shown me he's matured with age to the point where he's almost become obsessed with becoming the 'perfect talk show host interviewer.' Seems to me, combined with his internet show, that for some reason he's abandoned comedy, acting, film career, etc. to focus solely on this obscure niche job. If he sucked at it, it'd be one thing, but I dare anyone to watch Tom Green Live - any episode of it, viewers choice - and tell me he's not gained a unique mastery with interviewing folks over the years. |
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
Originally Posted by TheKing
(Post 11994466)
Except for the fact that Leno would have bolted for CBS too. And what competition are you referring to? Arsenio was already around, and CBS and ABC had both tried late night shows near the end of Carson's run (Pat Sajak and Rick Dees).
I'll say this though: Leno needed the Tonight Show more than Letterman did. Letterman would have likely held the advantage over Leno longer had Leno been the one that was on CBS. Letterman had already established his own show and was better suited for a new show. I think Leno would have taken over the lead. And just imagine how things would have went with Conan or Fallon with Letterman in the way. Would he have gracefully stepped aside, or tried to fight for his spot? I'm not sure where you think the "fighting for his spot" would come from. Letterman never would've pulled what Leno did, period. And the first time around, when Conan inherited it, was because Leno wished it more than studio execs pushing for him to leave. Letterman has proven himself... well, I'd say better than Leno, but Leno doesn't even deserve comparison with Letterman or other late night talk show hosts. Letterman owns Worldwide Pants, which makes the Late Late Show. Letterman gave every host on that show a ridiculous amount of latitude, and from everything I've read supports his colleagues while Leno views them all as competitors. When Letterman steps down, it'll be because he wants to, and he will groom his successor. That's just the way it'll be, regardless of if he picks Ferguson or goes with a bigger name. For Leno, the word successor doesn't exist - only replacement. He showed his colors during the Letterman/Tonight Show war twenty years ago, and again with Conan, the Jay Leno Show, etc. I really don't even like Letterman, but thinking he or anyone else would've done things the way Leno did is simply absurd. Leno is a jackass, a comedic hack who has exceptionally little recognition or support amongst fellow comedians, and a man who never made a name for himself outside of the Tonight Show, and now never will - and the name he made there is hardly glowing, lambasted as lowest common denominator humor and stupid, unfunny 'jokes' that he himself can't stop laughing at. Whereas Letterman, although he's got a similar reputation for being a jackass at times, is respected, and will go down as a 'comedy legend.' Leno and Letterman = Apples and Oranges. |
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
Originally Posted by Coladar1
(Post 11994840)
It's the networks loss not stealing Tom for a show...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Gre...on_syndication It's possible that a network offered him a more traditional talk show slot at some point, and he turned it down due to the amount of creative control he'd have to give up. |
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
Originally Posted by TheKing
(Post 11994466)
Except for the fact that Leno would have bolted for CBS too.
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Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
Originally Posted by Coladar1
(Post 11994868)
When Letterman steps down, it'll be because he wants to, and he will groom his successor. That's just the way it'll be, regardless of if he picks Ferguson or goes with a bigger name.
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Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
Originally Posted by TheKing
(Post 11994466)
Except for the fact that Leno would have bolted for CBS too. And what competition are you referring to? Arsenio was already around, and CBS and ABC had both tried late night shows near the end of Carson's run (Pat Sajak and Rick Dees).
I'll say this though: Leno needed the Tonight Show more than Letterman did. Letterman would have likely held the advantage over Leno longer had Leno been the one that was on CBS. Letterman had already established his own show and was better suited for a new show. I think Leno would have taken over the lead. And just imagine how things would have went with Conan or Fallon with Letterman in the way. Would he have gracefully stepped aside, or tried to fight for his spot? CBS had already been burned with their big investment in the very high profile Pat Sajak fiasco. A CBS Leno show would not have gotten clearance on all the local stations. Please recall that the first years of the Leno Tonight Show were god awful. Leno had more than a full year (May 1992 - Sept 1993) on the air without competition from Letterman on CBS. During that time the show was something like a train-wreck, and while Letterman was still under contract with NBC, they considered firing Leno and reversing the hosting decision. When Letterman started The Late Show on CBS, he dominated Leno in the rating for two years. Is it possible or likely that Leno would have eventually overtaken Letterman in the ratings because Leno courts that middle-America audience? It is also just as likely that Leno on CBS would not have lasted long enough to establish an audience and overtake Letterman. Pat Sajak was off CBS after 16 months. Leno would already be starting off with a crappy show that lost in the ratings to Letterman, then Leno would have faced the defection of CBS affiliates to FOX because of the NFL. |
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
From the Hollywood Reporter article:
If the latest NBC plan with Fallon and Meyers does not work out, would you come back? No. You wouldn't? No, because last time I was told, "You're leaving"; this time, honestly, I was asked. When I signed [my last contract], I said, "This about the last go-round? OK." I was going to leave in September and then they said, "We have the Olympics and we'd like to launch Jimmy early. What if you left six months early? Would you do that?" And we said, "Does the staff get paid? OK, fine." We could have stayed until the end of the contract, but we said, "OK, we'll go six months early and give Jimmy a good launching pad and all that kind of stuff." And I genuinely like Jimmy and I think that he's the guy most like Johnny was when he started, silly and very musical. A lot of people don't know that Johnny played drums and did all kinds of things, too. When I watched Jimmy do a number with Justin Timberlake, I thought, 'Well, I can't do that.' There's clearly a huge generation gap between me and Jimmy. I mean, it's 23 years. I guess that's two generations almost. It makes sense. At the same time, you're still the No. 1 show on TV, which has some questioning the logic … But that becomes diminishing returns. The numbers that keep you No. 1 today would have got you canceled 15 or 20 years ago. It's all relative, but I get it. And you should leave while you're No. 1. You don't want to drift down and then eventually the place is boarded up one day. The Tonight Show has always moved on when it was strongest. Knowing what you know now, would you have done the 10 p.m. Jay Leno Show? People have said, "Why didn't you go somewhere else?" NBC is my home. This is the only network I've ever worked at -- Local 33, the crew, hair, makeup, they're the people I've always worked with. If I had gone somewhere else, I couldn't have taken any of my people with me. And they said, "Look, if you do this 10 o'clock show, it will be a smooth transition. We'll continue to pay everybody, same offices, same everything." So I said, "All right, let's give it a try and see what happens." It didn't work out. I don't quite get what all the big deal was; there are failed TV shows every season. The thing that really surprised me was all these threats that I was putting all these 10 o'clock [scripted] shows out of business. How surprised were you by the backlash when you returned to The Tonight Show? Not really. I think you have to have the ability to look back and try to figure out what went wrong. When we came back at 11:30 p.m., my 10 p.m. lead-ins were worse than my lead-in to Conan, by far. But you just keep your head down and do the work. I think you can complain about your lead-in among your staff and maybe to executives, but going public with it doesn't get you anything. If anybody really believes that their show didn't work because of our lead-in, I think that's being a bit naive. |
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
he'll be back... but maybe on another network...
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Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
Originally Posted by mphtrilogy
(Post 11995875)
he'll be back... but maybe on another network...
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Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
i saw the jay interview on 60 minutes. holy shit that guy comes off as a douche.
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Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
Who else but Tom Green could get Norm McDonald to say Hillary Clinton was a evil bitch when he hosted the white house correspondents dinner.
I was quite surprised how good Green is on that AXS show, |
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
Seth Myers is okay but I don't like him as a host. I wish SNL dug deeper and went with someone like Dana Carvey, Kevin Nealon, Rob Riggle, or Robert Smigel. I don't think Ferguson will grow his audience and most of the time Directv does not mention who his guests are so I rarely tape his show. He is friends with Leno and what if Ferguson gave him a job on his show? |
Re: NBC: let's see how low we can go (Conan thread, part 2)
Originally Posted by JeffTheAlpaca
(Post 11996437)
....I don't think Ferguson will grow his audience and most of the time Directv does not mention who his guests are so I rarely tape his show...
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