Lots of good observations. The evolution of talk shows depends on a lot of variables, the biggest of which seem to be the writing staff and network notes. A fresh writing staff will, by their very nature, have a lot of new ideas at the start of a new show, but it doesn't take long before they review previous episodes and go back to the well of whatever worked. When ratings can be tracked to fractions of a second, anything new that could cause a downward spike in ratings is rare once the routine settles in. And the execs send notes and mandate a certain consistent program style, essentially taking the variety out of the variety show. I remember being in the studio when Jay Leno read aloud the memo to his writers and producers telling them what the top brass wanted cut. While I think we have all been critical of Leno, there were a lot of different characters and segments he tried before settling into (by force) headlines and jaywalking. He did bring in outsiders like Kevin Smith to host and produce segments... eventually even that got cut.
This relates to the Tweets from Conan's writer a week or two ago that got him in trouble. Various celebrities singing or even lip-syncing might be entertaining to some, but it isn't "writing." And to me those sorts of segments only highlight a host's inability to conduct an interview or converse naturally with guests. I think the third most important variable would be the available guests. Back in the day of Carson, early Letterman, Cavett, etc. while it was important to get big-named guests, there seemed to be greater emphasis on booking guests who could do more than sell whatever they were there to promote (or even appear despite having nothing to promote). Leno was a nobody when he began appearing on Late Night with Dave, but he could read the TV Guide out loud and get laughs. For probably the last 20 years, Steve Martin's pre-interview on Late Show consists of one question, Martin asks the producer how much time he needs to fill... done. You can count on your hands the number of guests who can literally carry a show like that today. Personally I think British celebs are better at it because their talk shows still seem to focus on the talking... Eddie Izzard and Ricky Gervais can go with whatever flow is needed or wanted. I'd still jump at the chance to work on the 1:35am timeslot for a network. Considering how many years Carson Daly has been there doing absolutely nothing, it is a potential gold-mine for someone creative to come along and break new ground. But again the network suits won't even give a timeslot where nobody watches an experimental show. Sad. On Sat, May 9, 2015 at 11:22 AM, 'Dave Sikula' via TVorNotTV < [email protected]> wrote: > Not a bad analysis, but where I think it falls apart is Fallon's show. > He's never been able to interview and shows no improvement in doing so. As > well, he's doing those bits and skits that he's comfortable with (and suit > his general lack of ability), yet I think no one would call them either > well-done or high-quality, yet his blandness and lack of innovation draws > in viewers. He's at no threat of losing his job because Lorne Michaels > loves him, so even if he reaches the point of phoning it in, he's secure. > > HIs success is History's Most Baffling Mystery. > > --Dave Sikula > > -- > -- > 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/d/optout. > -- 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/d/optout.
