> America obviously does not need a black talk show host (or, at least, > the list of things America needs more than a black talk show host is > so long that it is not worth mentioning). But yes, it is a sign of > something that there are no black people hosting a network late night > talk show. The range of late night hosts is from A to B (by which I > mean, there ain't much range there).
Arsenio got better ratings (albeit in syndication) than Pat Sajak and Dennis Miiller. If Fox gave Kanye West or Jamie Foxx a competent showrunner and freedom to do something ... better than Jimmy Fallon, (and the affiliates didn't want to lose time to program According to Jim and Family Guy reruns or TMZ) or someone creative and (gasp) unknown (not that that worked in Chris Spencer's case) and tried to do something Arsenio-esque in terms of being NON=JOHNNY CARSON yet avoid being low-carb Arsenio -- Keenan, Magic, Chris Spencer (whom I always have to look up since I vaguely remember him not being Chris Tucker).... they could probably print money. But it would have to be from someone who isn't Lorne or Quincy Jones. Someone that the network or syndicator would let take risks. (Not necessarily Chris Rock's Pootie Tang skits). Talent has risen to the top of the tank in Craig Ferguson (if not Kilborn), Conan O'Brien's, Letterman's Stewart/Colbert's, and I guess Leno and Kimmel's cases. Talent doesn't necessarily transfer: i.e. that thing Garafalo did on Air America. > From Steve Allen to Jimmy Fallon > they mostly fall into the same fairly narrow profile. The Networks > seem to be operating on the same old assumption that America can only > stomach midwestern farmboys making slightly risque and subversive > comments late at night. A woman, or an African-American, or Asian, or > Latino or old guy or gay guy I guess are assumed to be too scary. Why can't anyone black and female get on SNL? (And weren't they batting around hiring someone ... more African American than Fred Armisen to play Obama?) Do ethnicities just not enroll at UCB, Second City and the Groundlings? > Craig Ferguson's success is a hopeful sign - though I guess that the > fact that the presence of a Scottish host on late night network tv > passes for diversity tells you just about all that you need to know. So ... had Conan been Irish and not Irish American ... ? > Is there any substantive reason, on the merits of their talent, that > NBC chose Fallon instead of Hughley to take over from Conan? Is there > the slightest chance that Hughley, even had he failed, would not have > been more interesting in a 1000 different ways than Fallon will be, > even if he is "successful"? Fun fact: the runners up who did test shows at CBS for the gig C-Ferg wound up with? Damien Fahey, Michael Ian Black, and D.L. Hughley. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ TV or Not TV .... Smart (TV) People on Ice! 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
