The Continuing Late Night Wars

Late night talk shows are a notoriously tricky business. For every winner like Jay, Dave, or Conan, we have had countless others trying to have their own piece of the late night pie.

I actually remember watching many of the shows come and go over the years. There was 'The Chevy Chase Show' on FOX (yes it was as bad as people remember), 'Into The Night' with Rick Dees (a radio DJ on late at night--that would never work--oops, sorry Carson Daily), 'The Magic Hour' with Magic Johnson (now that is exactly the train-wreck you'd think it would be). I vaguely remember even Pat Sajek from "Wheel Of Fortune" with a show for a while; not to mention Alan Thicke from "Growing Pains" had a show called 'In The Thicke Of The Night'. Clever title.

There was also 'The Arsenio Hall Show', perhaps best remembered for introducing a young audience to Bill Clinton and adding the phrase "Things that make you go hmmmmm" into the county's vernacular. We thank you.

Recently Jimmy Fallon has launched his talk show, the third incarnation of 'Late Night'. I've watched it a few times and it seems okay. The problem with any new show is it takes a while for the host to get his "sea legs" so to speak. Anyone who remembers the first year of Conan knows it takes a while for a host, no matter how funny or talented he is, to figure out his style and to get comfortable doing his own show.

For example, I watched Craig Ferguson a little bit when he first came on and decided I didn't think he was funny, and I didn't quite get what his style of comedy was. So, instead of sticking with that show, If I was ever up that late I would watch Conan. Flash-forward two years when my wife re-introduces me to Craig Ferguson and his show, and I suddenly realized that Craig's show is one of the funniest and most unique of all the late night talk shows. His humor is both low-brow and high-brow and the same time, with some very esoteric pop culture references thrown in for good measure.

What's my point? Give Jimmy some time to find his voice. He's funny now, but he will definitely be funnier and more confident later.

Also, am I the only one who thinks putting Jay Leno's show on in prime-time is a terrible idea? I know that NBC's theory is that it is so cheap to produce (compared to other hour-long shows) that it doesn't even matter if only a few people watch. Really, NBC? You want to exchange quality for quantity. I don't think that will work very well in the long run. I read recently that the NBC affiliate in the Boston area has already refused to show the new Jay show in the new time slot because they feel it will negatively affect their ratings for local newscasts. That's one reason. The other reason is simply that it is a dumb idea created out of desperation by NBC not wanting Jay's show to jump over to ABC (which was the plan prior to this bizarre NBC offer).

In the end though, as you are falling asleep, just pick the guy who makes you laugh the most. Spend a couple minutes with him at the end of your day. It's always good to go to sleep with a smile on your face, regardless of which guy you like. Well, except Jay. If you like him, you've got problems my friend.

P.S. Here's a clip of a hilarious bygone era. Late Night as it was originally intended, without the likes of Conan or Jimmy Fallon. We should all remember The Man Under The Seats: