On Sat, Feb 13, 2010 at 2:21 PM, David Bruggeman <[email protected]> wrote: > As many have said all along, excellent work. > > I have a question for the group, highlighted by the snipped from PGage > below. > > I have a sense that a fair amount of the bits were literally farmed out. It > seemed like certain comics had a regular, recurring bit (usually involving a > remote), and may not have been involved with the regular bits of the show. > Maybe this is just an artifact of how Leno introduced the bits, but it > seemed a departure from standard practice. I don't know that it's a good or > a bad thing, but if accurate, it certain could exacerbate the quality output > problem.
That began years ago on Leno's Tonight Show and continued onto the 10pm gig, too. Leno introduced roving correspondents for things like New Year's Eve in Times Square (where he had everyone from Bill Maher to Ms. Piggy watch the ball drop, preparing their own shtick), but he also started farming segments out to comics and the like, most notably Kevin Smith. His short film "Flying Cars," a follow-up to "Clerks," debuted on Tonight Show. Following that, Smith began producing/hosting "Roadside Attractions," where he would tour some of America's goofiest tourist traps. They were often very edgy, more so than usual for Leno's audience, and Smith's fans frequently questioned the director/writer why he would appear on Leno instead of Dave or Conan (Smith's response: "Jay asked"). "Politically Incorrect" shared the practice when it was on ABC, with Chris Rock producing his own convention coverage. Robert Smigel would produce the Triumph segments more or less on his own on Late Night. Presently, "The Daily Show" correspondents work independently as well as together on bits. So, in a sense, it is standard, though (aside from his film festivals on NBC), I think Dave's team produced all his stuff in-house. -- Kevin M. (RPCV) -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! 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
