So a couple days after I commented on Brian Williams on Dave he appears on Jimmy Fallon doing his regular feature " Slow Jamming the news." This is the sort of thing that Fallon excels at ..the bits and routines. I think he and Kimmel are far and above the best among the late night group at this. I love Dave but that is not his specialty anymore as these fellows have surpassed him.
Is it not interesting that in all the talk of late night and it is crowded and talented with Conan, Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel and even the sometimes very funny Craig Ferguson all looking up to Dave that nobody, or at least nobody in my universe or in these hosts apparent universe has anything good to say about Jay.
However, back to slow jamming the news. It is a silly little idea but it plays because Fallon is funny and Williams plays it straight.
It looks like something Steve Allen would do were he still doing late night.
Nobody will ever touch Johnny Carson, but we are a niche audience now. The reason Jay is winning the ratings is only he does what he does. All of these others do what they all do in a sense. We are not in the same world with three networks. Were we however we would not have all these excellent, insomniac, late night choices.
Showing posts with label Jay Leno. David Letterman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jay Leno. David Letterman. Show all posts
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Brian Williams on David Letterman
It is hard to imagine Walter Cronkite making the rounds of late night talk shows. I do not know if he ever appeared on The Johnny Carson show. In today's world however anchors are different.
I have seen Brian Williams on Jimmy Fallon and thought he was very funny their, doing a news reading skit.
On his last two appearances on Dave however I have gained that he has a great sense of humor and loves the interplay between himself and Dave.
Being a newsperson Dave of course asks Brian for his input on issues that are happening in the world. This week for example he talked about Wisconsin. Williams feigns discomfort and does not answer and offer opinions. In fact this week Williams said that his appearances often appear like hostage tapes as Dave hold him hostage by asking him questions he cannot answer.
It is an odd pairing and perhaps not all would find it enjoyable but I find it very interesting. Williams is bright, intellectual and funny. As Letterman peppers him with question after question about politics and he wryly asks Dave what he thought of the Oscars I find this funny.
I liked Tom Brokaw and regretted his retirement and now find that Brian Williams is my favorite network anchor both on the nightly news and on Letterman and other formats.
I have seen Brian Williams on Jimmy Fallon and thought he was very funny their, doing a news reading skit.
On his last two appearances on Dave however I have gained that he has a great sense of humor and loves the interplay between himself and Dave.
Being a newsperson Dave of course asks Brian for his input on issues that are happening in the world. This week for example he talked about Wisconsin. Williams feigns discomfort and does not answer and offer opinions. In fact this week Williams said that his appearances often appear like hostage tapes as Dave hold him hostage by asking him questions he cannot answer.
It is an odd pairing and perhaps not all would find it enjoyable but I find it very interesting. Williams is bright, intellectual and funny. As Letterman peppers him with question after question about politics and he wryly asks Dave what he thought of the Oscars I find this funny.
I liked Tom Brokaw and regretted his retirement and now find that Brian Williams is my favorite network anchor both on the nightly news and on Letterman and other formats.
Monday, January 25, 2010
The Tonight Show with Conan O'brien
I watched the last episode of The Tonight Show with Conan O'brien this weekend. It was excellent television and while I realize that no host can have Tom Hanks, Neil Young and Will Ferrell on the same night very often it does make me feel like Conan losing the show is a sad event.
I feel partially responsible for Conan getting cancelled. Let me explain, my wife and I watched the last episode of Conan on Saturday morning. We did not even TIVO it, we watched it on Hulu. The power of television when you want it gets stronger and stronger. I do not think it would be a stretch or even much of a speculation to assert that Conan's audience would be much more tech savvy than would Jay Leno's audience. Frankly they are used to watching what they want in snippets.
This is not the only reason Conan's audience was not what NBC wanted. David Letterman, making his own news thru the fall, showed a renewed vigor himself and well let's just say that Conan had reason to complain about his lead in as well. As Dave said this might not not all be Jay's fault but it is funny he always shows up where the body is. The whole deal reeks of shortsightedness and the fact is in the short term it will look brilliant as Jay will get better ratings than Conan. Jay is a contrast to Dave; Coman and Dave are really selling the same show. Jay will not be the second talk show on each night as Conan was and presumably if NBC puts something on a few people want to watch at 10:00 this will help the whole schedule.
Conan is funny. He will find another home. I am not sure what the expectations will be from the network that puts him on. He is Dave's successor but until Dave goes away that will not be a high profile position. But that time will come. Jay Leno is old news and soon his viewers will be buying denture cream and hearing aids. Not exactly the prime advertising revenue they might look for. NBC made the right decision but did not stick it out. They will regret it.
See you soon Conan
I feel partially responsible for Conan getting cancelled. Let me explain, my wife and I watched the last episode of Conan on Saturday morning. We did not even TIVO it, we watched it on Hulu. The power of television when you want it gets stronger and stronger. I do not think it would be a stretch or even much of a speculation to assert that Conan's audience would be much more tech savvy than would Jay Leno's audience. Frankly they are used to watching what they want in snippets.
This is not the only reason Conan's audience was not what NBC wanted. David Letterman, making his own news thru the fall, showed a renewed vigor himself and well let's just say that Conan had reason to complain about his lead in as well. As Dave said this might not not all be Jay's fault but it is funny he always shows up where the body is. The whole deal reeks of shortsightedness and the fact is in the short term it will look brilliant as Jay will get better ratings than Conan. Jay is a contrast to Dave; Coman and Dave are really selling the same show. Jay will not be the second talk show on each night as Conan was and presumably if NBC puts something on a few people want to watch at 10:00 this will help the whole schedule.
Conan is funny. He will find another home. I am not sure what the expectations will be from the network that puts him on. He is Dave's successor but until Dave goes away that will not be a high profile position. But that time will come. Jay Leno is old news and soon his viewers will be buying denture cream and hearing aids. Not exactly the prime advertising revenue they might look for. NBC made the right decision but did not stick it out. They will regret it.
See you soon Conan
Monday, January 11, 2010
NBC's Late Night Mess
Jay Leno's ten o'clock gig did not last long. NBC announced Sunday that Jay will be moving back to late night. Low ratings and network affiliates furious about the poor lead in for their late night newscasts had predicated this move. The writing had been on the wall for weeks and Leno had been joking about it in his monologue.
NBC is in a pickle. They have three late night hosts to try to keep happy. The most valuable one, Jay Leno can be let go but he would, in a short time, then be the competition. Fox or even ABC would certainly be interested in having him anchor their late night broadcast. Conan O'brien is said to be unhappy with the prospect of losing the 11:30 gig and correctly so. He is in a very tough spot. He has proven that his show is the remedy for David Letterman's declining ratings. Well that and a certain tabloid news story Dave got himself involved in. Conan's potential suitors would seem to have been diminished were he to end up the odd man out as he has demonstrated that he cannot carry the 11:30 slot.
Most say this was a bad idea for NBC to even try. This might well be true. But in our house the thought of Jay being on at 10 was one that intrigued us. The alphabet soup of NCIS, CSI. and the perpetual Law and Order was one we had no interest of. We watched Jay for the first couple of weeks. The problem for us was not the time slot or the competition. The issue was that the show is not very good. It was dull and bland to the extreme. Realizing that Leno's appeal has always been more to the conservative side of the country and the coasts, both east and west, have been where Dave has found most of his viewership the sharpest thing on Jay Leno's show is his chin. We hear that the opposing networks would not let their stars appear on his shows and this is not Johnny Carson's world. This may all be true but what I think is this; most of the time you get the ratings you deserve.
People stopped looking at Leno through the blurry eyes of bedtime and really saw the show. They did not like what they saw. NBC has its own quarterback controversy now. Do they go with the aging star who has put up great numbers but whose best days are behind him or do they stick with the apprentice who finally having been given his shot needs a confidence boost and a longer chance to prove himself.
Jay Leno has done nothing wrong, From everything I have read about him he is a stand up guy who does everything right.But if I am an NBC decision maker I would ask myself one question. Do you know anybody who Tivo's Jay Leno? I for one do not.
NBC is in a pickle. They have three late night hosts to try to keep happy. The most valuable one, Jay Leno can be let go but he would, in a short time, then be the competition. Fox or even ABC would certainly be interested in having him anchor their late night broadcast. Conan O'brien is said to be unhappy with the prospect of losing the 11:30 gig and correctly so. He is in a very tough spot. He has proven that his show is the remedy for David Letterman's declining ratings. Well that and a certain tabloid news story Dave got himself involved in. Conan's potential suitors would seem to have been diminished were he to end up the odd man out as he has demonstrated that he cannot carry the 11:30 slot.
Most say this was a bad idea for NBC to even try. This might well be true. But in our house the thought of Jay being on at 10 was one that intrigued us. The alphabet soup of NCIS, CSI. and the perpetual Law and Order was one we had no interest of. We watched Jay for the first couple of weeks. The problem for us was not the time slot or the competition. The issue was that the show is not very good. It was dull and bland to the extreme. Realizing that Leno's appeal has always been more to the conservative side of the country and the coasts, both east and west, have been where Dave has found most of his viewership the sharpest thing on Jay Leno's show is his chin. We hear that the opposing networks would not let their stars appear on his shows and this is not Johnny Carson's world. This may all be true but what I think is this; most of the time you get the ratings you deserve.
People stopped looking at Leno through the blurry eyes of bedtime and really saw the show. They did not like what they saw. NBC has its own quarterback controversy now. Do they go with the aging star who has put up great numbers but whose best days are behind him or do they stick with the apprentice who finally having been given his shot needs a confidence boost and a longer chance to prove himself.
Jay Leno has done nothing wrong, From everything I have read about him he is a stand up guy who does everything right.But if I am an NBC decision maker I would ask myself one question. Do you know anybody who Tivo's Jay Leno? I for one do not.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
