BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
DISCLAIMER: The shows on this list will likely drop a spot each once Conan O’Brien reclaims his thrown.
(FOUR) LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON
(12:35e/11:35c on NBC) - This one was a rough pick. I almost snuck Carson Daly into this spot, but his show is more so “early morning” than “late night”. Get him on a different network with a better slot already! So, it was Fallon or Kimmel for this spot. I’m not a huge fan of either show, but Fallon narrowly gets the duke here. When the show first debuted I was iffy about it. Then as time went on I began to grow accustomed to show and even sometimes enjoy it. I don’t know what happened, but I just fell out of love with this one. I love “The Roots”, I like a large majority of Fallon’s guests, and the “Late Night” legacy was strong with Conan and Dave. I think my issue is Fallon himself. I enjoyed his cheesiness for as long as I could. He was the right combination of cheesy, self defecating, and hip. From the scattered episodes I’ve seen over the past few months, he seems kind of bored; like he’s just going through the motions. It was hard enough to get into this show when it first started, it might be damn near impossible to jump back in. I genuinely like Jimmy Fallon, but as you’ll read at (ONE) on this list, his time slot is owned by another show.
(THREE)CHELSEA LATELY
(11e/10c on E!) - By default, I suppose you have to deem her “Queen of Late Night”. But that’s only because she’s 17% more female than Jimmy Fallon. Chelsea Handler is an acquired taste if there ever was one. She’s brass, a bit vulgar, and always catty. What I dig about the show, besides Handler in general, is the format. It’s a talk show, but it doesn’t stick to the standard “Monologue, Sketch Open, Interview, Interview, Musical Guest” formula. With Lately we get the monologue open, a round table discussion with three other “people”, a short six or so minute interview, and then a closing monologue. It’s a simple, half hour show where the time just flies. The only thing that makes this show suck on occasion is the guests, both celebrity interview and roundtable people. The show isn’t nearly as big as the other late night talk shows so the guests, are as expected, not always the A… or even B-Listers. I can deal with that because Handler normally makes for a good interview. My issue is with the panel. It sometimes gets lame to the point of forcing my hand to reach for the remote. The lesser-than-known comedians all talk over each other almost as much as the ladies on “The View”. Except its not snobbish women talking, but snarky peeps whose one-liners should have been no-liners. Handler gets in good jokes during this segment more times than not, but everyone else hams it up a bit too much. This doesn’t change the fact that “Chelsea Lately” is pretty good. For a half hour late-night talk show, you really can’t do much better.
(TWO) LOPEZ TONIGHT
(11e/10c on TBS - 2e/1c Replay) - The deck was stacked against Lopez from the start, but somehow the dude has managed and held strong. He gets a half hour jump on Letterman and Leno, but I’m not sure how much that helps. What I really appreciate is the “afterhours replay” that comes on at 1 AM central. Without the replay, I’d of never given this show a chance. I find myself tuning in at the normal 10 PM time slot more and more these days. There are a few reasons why. George Lopez is just a likeable guy. He comes off genuine, real, and even when his jokes bomb you still find yourself at least smirking along. His guests are typically fun and he pulls in some big names for a cable-tv talk show, but also some less conventional picks. The Cheech and Chong episode was good times, Eva Longoria’s 58 appearances surprisingly end up fun, and the show is easily the most “comedian-friendly” of all the late night shows. Being a 20-something white dude, I was afraid of isolation. I was worried it’d have middle age and/or Hispanic jokes that’d go over my head, but that fear was nonsense. While Lopez is strong in his Hispanic pride, and rightfully so, the show is very accessible. Lopez doesn’t take himself too seriously and with not even a year under his belt, is putting on one of the freshest late night talk shows in years. In November, “Lopez Tonight” will move back and hour as Conan O’Brien will debut on the network. This will rock because more people will be exposed to Lopez.
(ONE) THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH CRAIG FERGUSON
(12:35e/11:35c on CBS) - It’s hard to believe Craig has been on since 2005. It took a little time, but Ferguson has really come into his own. I honestly think this IS the best late night talk show on television right now. He’s charming as hell, funny in the weird way, and with him what you see is what you get. The show is stripped down and simple. The studio is smaller, there is no house band to pander to the host, and his sidekick is a freakin’ robot named “Jeff”. The formula is that of a traditional talk show, but the twists that Craig puts on it makes it as lively as Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show”. It doesn’t feel like he’s talking at us, but somehow to us. It’s just a laid back, conversational show where the host doesn’t put on a front or even try to. His monologue is the best of all hosts. He doesn’t plant himself in one spot and read from cards or monitors. Instead he just rants and freestyles the humor. With this, more times than not, you find yourself either laughing at the joke or laughing at the fact that he actually said what he said. He’s a personable smart ass and I like that. When he’s bored, he lets us know. When he doesn’t like a guest, you can pick up on it. If you’re a fan of laughing and not having your intelligence insulted as the other major network hosts mostly do, then for the love of Tom Cruise... Watch this show!
|
