Frankly, as I'm watching the first episode, I'm comparing it the Dennis Miller's days hosting the syndicated talk show from Tribune. Both were Weekend Update anchors who made a leap into talk show wars. And both faced a hard climb to succeed. Miller had to accept that such a show was not for him (he also had to accept that Shannen Doherty was not a good talk show guest, but I still like her). As for Meyers, here's my breakdown of the first installment:
The opening theme sounds almost exactly like a hymn we used to sing in church. I can't think of the name of the hymn, but it will come to me later. In any event, the theme/hymn drones on and feels longer than it is. One comparison to Fallon: He has better monologue writers than Fallon, but he still reads the jokes like he's sitting behind the Weekend Update desk. The banter between Meyers and Armison (Armeson? Armisin? don't care enough to look it up) sounded rehearsed and forced. Meyers' flat-tire story convinced every adult male in the midwest that he's a dink. The Venn Diagram segment convinced Arizonans not to watch him, but I doubt they were predisposed to watch him anyway. Olympic recap was uninspired... basically an SNL Update segment. Amy Poehler was probably a good choice for first guest, because there wasn't enough of a connection to SNL on the show. But seriously, it probably helped Meyers to interview someone he's comfortable with and knows. In my mind, having the VP as a guest had the potential for disaster. I couldn't help but think back to Leno's first Tonight Show when he had an economist on to grind things to a halt. But keeping Poehler on the set at least gave both guys something to talk about to sort of keep things loose. Meyers chose a great musical guest. Great Big World's song "Say Something" is in my opinion one of the best heartbreak ballads ever written. with or without Christina Aguilera's harmony. Overall, this was a better hour of television than Fallon's first Late Night or his first Tonight Show. I think if the show is still around in six months, several things will change. One thing I would do as Lorne Michaels is take advantage of two back-to-back shows across the hall from one another. Crossover musical guests, get the two hosts bantering... heck, that precarious rooftop concert stage can be shared, right? Make the block from 11:35-1:35 seem like a giant penthouse party. Maybe even do what Kimmel did when he started and offer alcohol to the audience. But above all, for me to tune in, I want to see more spontaneous moments. Both new shows felt forced and timed down to the second, but if you have a live audience, take a breath, experiment and power through the stuff that doesn't work. But I will say I enjoyed Late Night with Seth more than I expected to. It won't be appointment TV, but I'd wager I'll watch him more times than I watch Fallon. -- 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 --- 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.
