I don't watch late-night variety/talk shows, and I won't be watching this one regularly either, but I used to watch the original back in the late '80s. I've always liked Arsenio for his sincerity and infectious giggle. I recall him as perhaps the best interviewer of the late-night hosts.
I wish him the best of luck, and hope he's on for many years to come.

Anyone here going to be a regular viewer?

Is this on a network?

Ferguson is #1 in my book, but Arsenio can easily leapfrog everyone else to #2.

*fistpump*

hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo

I wish Kenan Ivory Wayans would come back.

When did he become a prop comic

It's in syndication.

I went to one of his shows once. It was fun. Charles Barkley was the guest that night. I can't remember who else was on there, though. It was 22 years ago.

Someone let me know when Chunky A comes on. Or Arsenio Beckman. Or if he interviews Jason again.

I watched tonight because I was a regular viewer of the past show. Honestly, I wasn't terribly impressed. One of the things I always liked about his original show was he had musical guests that didn't necessarily get time on the other (more mainstream) shows. But things have changed somewhat, especially with (IMO) Jimmy Fallon's show. Where as Arsenio previously had the "hip" crowd, Jimmy Fallon is where it's at now for that (again, IMO).

Arsenio's first show had Snoop Dogg as musical guest (all the rage back then, but he's not the same these days). He had Chris Tucker on, who didn't perform any stand-up, and really didn't even seem to want to disclose what he talks about in his stand-up. He was as general as possible saying he talks about "stuff". He had a guest appearance by Paula Abdul, who added a sexy celebrity component to his "aura" back in the day, but she's basically a grandma aged woman at this point. Hardly cool and hip.

Here's some of the stuff Fallon has done:
- History of Rap with Justin Timberlake (Parts 1, 2, ...)
- Justin Timberlake performing Mirrors w/The Roots
- Justin Timberlake performing Let The Groove Get In w/The Roots
- Mariah Carey -- All I want for Christmas Is You (w/school instruments)
- Christina Aguilera -- Your Body (w/school instruments)
*** MORE ***

In contract, the whole Arsenio premiere just felt stale to me. I have it set to record, but I'm only giving it this week to hook me. Then I'll keep recording for awhile in case I read something good happens, but I'm not sure I'll watch every episode. After that, I'll stop recording it at all.

If he's going to be serious, here are some guests he needs to get (good luck with that)
- Justin Timberlake
- Jay-Z
- Beyoncé
- Kelly Rowland
- Miley Cyrus (ask her about the VMA's)
- Robin Thicke (ask him about the VMA's)
- Bruno Mars
- Miguel (ask him about jumping on that girl's head)
- Forest Whitaker ("The Butler")

And I could think of many more. He needs people who are relevant today.

Get Gina Carano or Rhonda Rousey on.
Get The Expendables on.

He needs to get creative and create an environment where A-listers want to be on his show becaue they get contact buzz. And don't invite people on to interview unless you actually have something to talk with them about.

Agreed.

Arsenio somehow needs to steal the young crowd away from Fallon.

How does that list remotely fulfill this desire:

That Robin Thicke sure is underground. I wish more talk shows would book him.

Ideally, he would do both. Book A-list guests like Justin Timberlake to get higher ratings AND promote good acts that I have never heard of.

So were expecting someone who is 57, and out of the talk show biz for 19 years to be hip and edgy?

This is almost straight out of the 90's

I don't have much confidence in this lasting if he keeps on inviting guests he had on in 1991. Would be better off having a daytime program if he wanted to do that.

Right. One can't do that in a single show. Being over critical based on one hour is kinda silly.

I don't mind the retro guests, what I'm wondering is why Chris Tucker? Has he done anything since Rush Hour 3?

I'm fully expecting a C&C Music Factory reunion at some point.

Watched a little bit before I had to hit the sack. It was totally straight out of the 90's, especially with the Paula Abdul cameo.

Wow, it won't be long before we're up to 50 years of Spinal Tap.

You know else is silly? Taking potshots at someone else's opinion of the effectiveness of an entertainment piece without offering anything of substance of your own.

Nothing I said was overly critical. I found absolutely nothing about the show compelling. The first episode should make me want to watch subsequent episodes. It didn't.

I still have some of the episodes from the original show (they were on VHS tape and I copied them to DVD... and eventually, my HDD). That was a much better show (so far).

Oh, and I forgot to comment on the silly skits, which also didn't work. Then again, they almost never work (on any show). So less of that and more stand-up (make it funny, please) and more guests. And show me what that so-called all-star band you put together can do. Because I know what The Roots can do. I've seen it.

Guests I hope appear on the show

The robot girl from Small Wonder
Sir Mix A Lot
Green Jelly
The cast of Blossom
Onyx
Color Me Badd

Easy there trigger. No one's taking pot shots. I'd say the same thing if someone dismissed any show based on one hour. Hell Conan took a couple years to get going. Fallon & Kimmel took a few months. I just think going in expecting a home run the first week is impractical.

I haven't seen it so I can't comment yet.

So was the fistpump there? For whatever reason, that's what I associate with Arsenio.

The fistpump was there when Arsenio came out, but it was less than what I thought. I was expecting the whole audience to be in unison, but it was just a smattering of whoop-whoops here and there.

Surprisingly, I didn't notice a dog pound. Did anyone see a dog pound?

You're right. The Originals formed in 1963/1964.