On Sun, Apr 14, 2013 at 12:11 AM, David Bruggeman <[email protected]> wrote:
> > http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9097994/assessing-state-late-night-television-shows-turbulent-week > (SNIP) Tucker seems to subscribe to the same notion that a talk show host > must be able to handle the serious with the funny expressed by an unnamed > network executive. While I respect those who can, I'm not disappointed in > those who don't. I bring this up because Tucker sees this lack of engaging > the serious as Kimmel's flaw, and the clearest way to distinguish him from > his idol Letterman. I've been trying to figure out why Kimmel doesn't do > it for me, and while I still don't think I can articulate anything more > substantive than a difference in taste, it's not a question of engagement. > It's an interesting piece, even if it covers well-plowed ground. I have not seen such strong speculation before of Kimmel replacing Dave in 2 years - is that even possible the way the contracts line-up? I think he is most on the nose in his discussion of the Comedy Central boys - a little too harsh on Stewart, but accurately diagnoses how much his celebrity interviews suck. More and more each week Colbert is a golden god. While he does reference the earlier argument that Kimmel and the younger late night hosts lack the gravitas and chops to handle serious national moments, I think he is making a somewhat different point. Its not that you have to be able to do serious interviews to be a good late night host, but it may be that any hope of capturing even a slice of the aura of being the national hearth during times of crisis that Carson was requires being able to process serious moments for the nation in some kind of transforming way. Dave may not get a large enough fraction of the audience every night to shape that watercooler conversations the next morning, except that one way or another he comes as close as anyone else on days when something really important has happened. That is not a job requirement, but it is a requirement for anyone who might want to have something like that kind of cultural impact. -- -- 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 --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
