American Masters : Johnny Carson

I should say that this review will be in no way objective. It would be impossible for me to do so because I revere Johnny Carson. I am sure that the fact that I grew up at a time when Johnny was the King of Late Night would make that a likely scenario but for me Johnny was more than a late night host.

I always had trouble sleeping as a kid. As a teenager I did what most teenagers did in the summer. I stayed up late. Remembering that I grew up in a rural town there was no cable television. The choices for late night programming were minimal. Even if there had been choices once you watched Johnny it was just Johnny you wanted to watch.

For me being the last child of parents who were Senior Citizens, as much as they were good to me, could sometimes be a lonely experience. They were tired. So being up late at night was a solitary affair. When I think of the times that my son comes down late at night from doing homework and watches a bit of Letterman with me I wish I could have had those moments with my Dad.

Being a solitary affair however made Johnny Carson my late night guest. Johnny was funny but more importantly he was just dependable. He was there. Johnny made the kind of wry humor that I enjoy. A play on words or a double meaning made a teenager feel more mature than he really was. The most important thing about Carson was the steadiness. It was so hot today, That lady is so fat and other dependable ask and answer parts of the monologue.

If I told you that I can still remember certain jokes such as when the Air Traffic Controllers struck Johnny said " They were so desperate for help that Ronald McDonald was in the tower helping land planes." It does not seem that funny now but at the time it was. That was the joy of Carson. Watching Johnny be amused made something funny. His laughter was sometimes as funny as whatever made him laugh.

For me Karnac the Magnificent was perhaps the ultimate segment I enjoyed. Again watching Johnny smirk as he loaded up a good one always increased the anticipation. Is it odd that 30 years later I remember this joke. Answer : Cis Boom Bah. Question : The Sound It Makes When a Sheep Explodes. And you have to remember that after this Johnny was in tears, he could not pull himself together.

The monologues were perfected by Carson. The precursor to Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, David Letterman, all comic who review the news and headlines for comedy Carson was the best, his mannerisms, from the Jack Benny school will never be bettered.

A few weeks ago a reference was made to Johnny on Letterman, and I love Letterman, and Paul and the band kicked into the Carson theme song. It brings back so many memories, even the multicolored curtains that Johnny would come through are solidified in my brain as if it were yesterday. Hi Ho and the Golf Swing. Johnny's impact on popular culture may not be understood by people who have come of age in the last twenty years but for all of us who grew up in that thirty year window of Johnny we know that he was was a gigantic figure.

So for PBS to do a tribute to Carson as part of it's Masterpiece Series was a great choice. The retrospective was very good. Comments from today's comedians, tributes from friends. We learned that Johnny lived his whole life feeling like he was never good enough for his Mother. After his Mom died he found a box of clippings that she had kept of his publicity and he kept that box in his closet in his bedroom for the rest of his life. It seemed he had made his Mom proud.

Carson had marital troubles, three divorces and evidently he might have been estranged from wife number four when he died. Truthfully I did not need to know these items. For me Johnny was not the person he was off the air, he was my friend late at night.

Watching Drew Carey choke up talking about his first time on the Carson show, watch Ellen talk about being asked over to the desk on her first visit to the show and Garry Shandling break into tears talking about when he heard the news that Carson had died you get a sense of the love and admiration he had from these people.

From me as well. I remember when he died,against all reason it was as if a friend or a treasured uncle had died.

We will never have a barometer of popular culture like we had in Johnny. We are too splintered. Johnny held us together.

He was and always will be The King of Late Night




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The Ellen Degeneres Show

Over the last few years occasionally I have seen clips of this show, highlights if you will, but never seen that many episodes. My wife's Mother loves the show and tapes it. Often she will save a clip for us to see. The little girls singing the Nicki Minaj song have been big clip hits over the last few months.

Since replacing Oprah in the late afternoon time slot in our market we have seen more of the show here and there. I have to say this, there has never been a time that I looked up and watched a segment or a few minutes alone that I have not gained something from it, if only a smile.

Ellen might be the single most likable person in Entertainment. She is kind, funny and generous. It does not appear to be anything less than genuine. I always got in trouble with the women in my life when I criticized Oprah. I was never an Oprah fan, I did not get the same vibe from her.

To me Oprah was doing good things so that she would help others yes but I felt that it was more about look at me what I am doing. With Ellen I get the sense that her efforts are more about the people she helps than what she gets out of providing the help.

I could be wrong. It is easy for a person to look good giving away things to people. Ellen's interviews and sense of fun are strong as well. Today, for example, I watched her interview Jim Parsons and then do what could be called a fun activity.

She is just fun and genuine. I will be the first to admit it I love Ellen. I think she is great.

American Idol

The first week of the performers singing on Idol last week was nothing short of atrocious and gave me fears of how bad this season was going to be.

Last nights episode gave us hope however as it was well worth watching with some very good performances. Hopefully the women will tonight do as well.

Ellen Degeneres is growing into her role as a judge, she is just so likable. Kara has some spray on tan that she could do without and Simon is still the best judge by far.

It is good to see the show get its feet under it....my wife would have been sorely disappointed.