On Dec 8, 9:49 pm, "Karla Robinson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Come to think of it, there's a similar situation over at Comedy Central, > what with Colbert directly following Stewart. They seem to coordinate very > well. The key difference, of course, is the fact that both Conan and Leno > are one hour, and they both follow the more standardized talk show format. Well, that, and the fact that TDS and Colbert aren't afraid to book guests who might be considered too 'boring', 'intellectual' or 'academic' for a standard talk show format like Leno, Conan or Letterman. Here's the TDS guest list for this week: Monday: Matthew Alexander, Author, "How to Break a Terrorist" Tuesday: Mike Huckabee Wednesday: Don Rickles Thursday: Philip Seymour Hoffman And the Colbert guests for the week: Monday: Geoffrey Canada, Founder, Harlem Children's Zone Tuesday: Kevin Bacon & Charlie Kaufman Wednesday: Richard Haass, President, Council on Foreign Relations Thursday: Michael Phelps By network standards, you've got maybe 4 'bookable' guests there - 6 if you're generous and include Rickles & Kaufman. (Don't misunderstand - I think Rickles is brilliant. But to a network executive, he's a second-seat guest at best because of his age and his "abrasive" charm.) You've also got the contrast in interview styles - Jon Stewart usually isn't afraid to call attention to the elephant in the room, although he'll do it through a joke and put the guest at ease; Conan comes closest to this, IMHO. Colbert, on the other hand, always filters his interviews through the 'character' of "Stephen Colbert". > Is it possible that Leno will be doing something radically different than > what he's done before? If the Dancing Itos don't show up in the first week, I'll eat my hat. Truthfully, I haven't watched "Tonight" on a regular basis since Leno took over. I remember being really disappointed in 1993-94, as well, because I always liked Leno as Carson's guest host, but he seemed to lose "the funny" as soon as he took over the show. And let's face it, Leno is still basically doing Carson's show - I was really looking forward to Conan taking the reins & see what he would do to make the show his own. But if Leno is taking over 10pm, that really pulls the rug out from under Conan, and frankly that's not fair. Conan paid his dues, did things the right way, remained competitive in a more crowded daypart, and this is how NBC pays him back? Here's a dumb idea - give Leno 3 nights a week. Let Top Gear USA have one night - the 10pm spot works well for Top Gear's style of humor, and allows the show to ape some of the stunts from the UK version without worrying about watchdogs like the PTC. And on that 5th night? Why not go back to the well - revive the live televised theatrical production, like Playhouse 50. Use stock sets, and perform either classic works (cheap to license) or new works from emerging playwrights. Hell, it can't do any worse than 'My Own Worst Enemy' did, can it? If this report is true, tho, Leno's going to need to change up his format a bit. Maybe he does the show from a different city every week. Sure, it makes guest booking more difficult, but with Conan & Craig both in LA, and Leno unlikely to go to NYC with Letterman, taking the show on the road could give his show a unique spin & make it JUST different enough from Conan's studio show. Also, I think a road act would appeal to his inner stand-up. Finally, love him or hate him, Leno's appeal has always been how well he gets on with regular people - a road show plays on that strength. IMHO, I think Leno at 10 would overstay his welcome very quickly. He'd be better off taking the Bob Hope route and hosting variety specials. > If I'm Conan, I'm rereading my contract to see if there's an out.... And if I'm NBC, I will have put in the same 'out' clause that was in Leno's contract - the only way NBC avoids breach is if Conan doesn't get "Tonight", but it doesn't address surrounding factors. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Like TV only smarter. You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
