our opinion : COLUMN
Last Word
The
BY MARK BROWN
Late Night Talk Shows — Sending Us to Bed Early
MAY 2016 PARKER COUNTY TODAY
First , let me start this by letting you know — I ’ m old . So take that into consideration while I disparage some stars you might really like . As you get older you can ’ t help but think of things as they used to be , usually thinking they were much better . I genuinely believe that some things were much better yesteryear . I also know some things are much better now . Take the IBM Selectric typewriter , for instance . It weighed over 20 pounds , so the chance of sitting on your couch and writing something was … well , forget about it . You could hardly save files . The iPad that I use to write my column on ( and just about everything else ) is amazing , not to mention the word processing application I use in conjunction with it .
But , I digress ... my point is , after my disclaimer , for approximately the last year I have been trying hard to rate ( just for myself ) the newest late-night talk show hosts .
I do this because the whole Late Night landscape has totally changed .
I grew up watching Johnny Carson , who , in my opinion was the best out there , ever . No one , before or since , has come close . Others have tried and failed miserably . Then , as JC retired , here came the Late Night wars with Jay Leno and David Letterman . So although I missed the Carson show , these newer guys filled the gap pretty well . Both Leno and Letterman had guest-hosted The Tonight Show with Carson and Letterman had his own Late , Late Show . They were pretty organized on how to do the shows and what their audiences wanted . Leno was more mainstream , a good interviewer , seemed to be , for the most part , on good terms with his guests , was more positive . He also had some good skits . So , all in all , it was entertaining , and if Letterman ( he was my favorite of the two ) didn ’ t have a line-up of guests who interested me , I would turn to Leno and rarely did he disappoint . As I indicated , Letterman was my favorite . Oh , he was odd sometimes , but he had great skits , was a great interviewer , albeit surly . He would stretch his guests and fight with them a little . Always came away with funny stuff . For you
Letterman fans , who can forget the Joaquin Phoenix interview ? If you watched any of the last shows before he left , the visits back in time were the best TV ever !
So here we are now with Fallon , Colbert , Corden and Meyers . I have left out Kimmel and O ’ Brien , because they have been around for a while , and their shows are pretty good , Kimmel probably being the best with the best guests , but both shows are entertaining .
Jimmy Fallon : Fallon ’ s show is the best in my opinion , for the most part . Good guests , fairly good skits , the games he plays are some of the best parts of the show . His interviews are not as good ; he talks way too much , over-talks the guests , and for the most part just tells them and us , the audience , how much he loves these people . This guy is the worst “ saying I love you ” offender on the planet ; he actually renders that phrase useless . He dances too much , and is way too competitive with his guests , but his singing and impressions are excellent . So , all in all , he is , after Kimmel , the go-to show .
Seth Meyers : SNL helped immensely , good jokes , his skits aren ’ t so good , good guests , and he ’ s a great interviewer . The skit he does with Fred Armisen is terrible , but overall , he is watchable .
Stephen Colbert : I can ’ t really even rate this guy . No doubt he ’ s intelligent , but as a talk show host , in my opinion his show is simply unwatchable . Terrible interviewer . He tries to be Jerry Lewis-crazy . Nothing makes sense . I ’ ve tried to watch him on numerous occasions because I love Late Night shows . What a decision to replace Letterman with this guy !
James Corden : Even worse , although he seems to be a nicer guy , and has a skit singing in a car which is watchable sometimes , but he ’ s a terrible interviewer , and just painful to watch .
Some shows on TV you come across just don ’ t do anything for your mood . Carson , Letterman , Leno , O ’ Brien and Kimmel always at least lift my mood , make me laugh . The last two are just simply depressing .
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