> I am sympathetic to Steuver's perspective that Corden's late night
persona is an attempt to
> out-Fallon Fallon.  To put it in terms that Geoff Peterson might use,
James Corden is the
> Jimmy Fallon fly with a British accent.
and
> I don't mind panel interviews, butI think a key difference between UK and
US attempts is
> the hosts in the UK seem to better manage guests talking over each other.

I can see why CBS management thought so highly of Corden; he's talented and
likeable. Unfortunately, he's in the wrong vehicle. Doing stand-up for the
monologue is a weakness of his, as is interviewing. And the desk/audience
comedy pieces don't work for me. If the accent's not too much of an
obstacle, he'd be the guy to host a prime time variety show.

There are two situations where panel interviews work: (1) The panelists all
have something in common that they can discuss, like a Charlie Rose
segment. (2) There's a topic that everyone can weigh in on, like a Bill
Maher segment. What doesn't work is (3) Trying to conduct three separate
interviews by alternating questions among the guests, like a Corden
segment. Even if there's something to build on in an answer, the host has
to go to the next guest to ask about her movie instead. I wouldn't be
surprised if the people who put the show together thought that if an
audience member wants to watch one guest, he'll sit through multiple
segments while the other guests also answer questions. (I think there's
also something to Adam's notion that putting together one panel a week
makes it easier to come up with a compatible group than a US show doing
four or five a week.)

And, like David, the Jimmy Fallon fly has come to my mind while watching
Corden treat every guest and every project as "fantastic."

I've stopped watched any of Corden. I switch over to Meyers for
pseudo-Update and the first comedy bit, especially if it's "A Closer Look."
(Whenever I'm tempted to watch more, I'm rudely reminded that Seth and his
producers appreciate his time on SNL a lot more than I do.) Then I turn the
TV off until it's time for the Carson rerun.

> Seriously, thought, a primetime special that is a repackaging of (mostly)
clips that have
> been online for months makes much less sense that a comparable special
for any of the
> previous generation of late night programs.

That's true, but I suspect that the idea was to show off a program that
many prime time viewers haven't stayed up for. There may even be some
people who've seen clips online but haven't connected them to The Late Late
Show on CBS.

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