Leno's moving to PrimeTime!

[ne1410s]

kt:

But they'd both lose to Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert hands down.

KT, as usual, is spot on.

[TheConfessor]

Whereas I wish they put Craig Fergusen (sp?) on earlier, so I could watch him before I fell asleep. Different channel, though, isn't he?

Yes, he's on CBS. I too am a Craig Ferguson fan. He is naturally funny, but he also is capable of being serious when appropriate. Last night, he did a lovely tribute to his recently deceased mother, including the playing of her favorite song (some ska thing from the '70s which he described correctly as "dreadful") throughout the last minutes of the show.

The song played at the end of last night's show, and at Craig's mom's funeral because it was he favorite song, was "Rivers Of Babylon" by Boney M, a German group that reached #30 on the Billboard chart in 1978. I don't get the hostility toward the song. I've always liked it just fine, especially compared to most of what is considered pop music these days. I was not aware of the connection Craig mentioned between Boney M and Milli Vanilli, who were created and produced by the same guy.

I like Craig Ferguson a lot and think he is a very talented monologist. I went to a taping of his show the last time I was in Los Angeles. He did a similar tribute show a couple years ago when his father died.

As for the other late night talk show hosts, I'd rank Leno at the bottom. (I'm considering only Leno, Letterman, O'Brien, and Ferguson, not Kimmel or Daly.) Leno always tries to find the lowest common denominator, then somehow aim lower than that. He celebrates stupidity, especially with his Jay-walking segments. I don't think Letterman is as good as he used to be, but he still has my loyalty, if I'm not watching Stewart or Colbert at the time.

No one has yet mentioned how this impacts Jimmy Fallon, who will be taking over the Conan slot. If anyone is getting the short end of this deal, it's him.

[Bob Juch]

In a perfect world Letterman would have hosted the Tonight Show after Carson, and Leno would have been his mechanic.

I wouldn't let Letterman empty my cat litter tray.

[ne1410s]

confessor:

Leno always tries to find the lowest common denominator, then somehow aim lower than that. He celebrates stupidity, especially with his Jay-walking segments.

I always thought this was just LA sensibilities: If you answered the question correctly, you are not going to end up on TV.

[silvercamaro]

The song played at the end of last night's show, and at Craig's mom's funeral because it was he favorite song, was "Rivers Of Babylon" by Boney M, a German group that reached #30 on the Billboard chart in 1978. I don't get the hostility toward the song. I've always liked it just fine, especially compared to most of what is considered pop music these days. I was not aware of the connection Craig mentioned between Boney M and Milli Vanilli, who were created and produced by the same guy.

Although that particular song isn't among my favorites, I did have kindly thoughts about the song being played at Mrs. Ferguson's funeral. I have told my kids -- although they may think I'm kidding -- that the one song I would like to have played at my own funeral is Hang on Sloopy.

I am incapable of hearing it (most frequently by some local no-name band) without (a) smiling broadly and (b) singing along at the top of my voice.

I don't know if I will be able to sing loudly enough from my coffin to be heard by bystanders, but I'll be singing it somewhere.

For those who don't remember it, here's one version without vocals: http://www.jacquedee63.com/sloopy.html

The Yardbirds also did it, but their rendition changes the melody a bit and enunciates the words so clearly that they can be understood. What's up with that?

[silvercamaro]

Trivia to put this whole thread into the realm of ontopicosity!

Hang on Sloopy is Ohio's official rock song. Ohio was the first -- and perhaps still the only-- state to have an official rock song.

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1878

[TheConfessor]

Trivia to put this whole thread into the realm of ontopicosity!

Hang on Sloopy is Ohio's official rock song. Ohio was the first -- and perhaps still the only-- state to have an official rock song.

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1878

I once spent a few days in Rochester, Minnesota, when my employer was threatening to transfer me to a new assignment there. I scoured the local newspapers and guides to the area, trying to find out where the hot night spots were, other than the Mayo Clinic. It was pretty slim pickings, but the consensus was that the most lively night scene was at the local bowling alley. I checked the newspaper and was thrilled to see a small ad for the bowling alley's lounge. It said "Tonight only! The McCoys -- playing their latest hit, Hang On Sloopy!" This struck me as wonderful serendipity, but a bit strange, since it was the early 1980s, and their "latest hit" was at about 18 years old at the time. As I recall, there was no cover, and the beer prices were reasonable. The actual band was an amusing aggregation of one middle aged guy with curly permed hair and wearing a leisure suit, backed by a few much younger guys who were infants when "Hang On Sloopy" was a hit. So apparently the curly haired guy might have been an original member of the McCoys, or at least the person who ended up owning the band's name, and the younger guys certainly were not "The Real McCoy."

So it was a memorable evening, though I managed to avoid being transferred to Rochester, MN. I guess I'll always wonder what might have been.

[kayrharris]

I know that song well, and will now be humming it the rest of the night
Thanks a lot!!

[earendel]

NPR did a story about this, and even mentioned PTBAM and its "overexposure" as a reason why this move by NBC might turn out to be a flop.

[MarleysGh0st]

NPR did a story about this, and even mentioned PTBAM and its "overexposure" as a reason why this move by NBC might turn out to be a flop.

I'd be so happy if, just once, one of the news outlets could remember what else changed on WWTBAM, like killing the Phone Game and overdosing on B-list celebrities, instead of trotting out the "overexposure" scapegoat.

[minimetoo26]

I can't stomach Leno OR Conan. I never understood the why of Carson Daly.

I like Kimmel and Letterman. Love Ferguson, Stewart, Colbert, and Maher.

Rarely stay up for anyone, though. Alas.

[silverscreenselect]

NPR did a story about this, and even mentioned PTBAM and its "overexposure" as a reason why this move by NBC might turn out to be a flop.

I'd be so happy if, just once, one of the news outlets could remember what else changed on WWTBAM, like killing the Phone Game and overdosing on B-list celebrities, instead of trotting out the "overexposure" scapegoat.

The celebrity shows hastened the demise of PT Millionaire but overexposure would certainly have been a factor. Deal or No Deal has seen its ratings slip in part due to the number of times it was showing each week.

I view the Leno show as a stopgap measure for NBC to give it time to fill those hours of programming. Leno should get passable numbers, at least at first, when they will stock it with every A-level celebrity they can find. If they can convince the celebrities to take part in their comedy skits, that could definitely help the ratings (people would tune in to see the likes of George Clooney and Tom Hanks doing sketch comedy). But I just can't see people continuing to watch celebrity chatter (with increasingly second-tier celebrities) and Jay's monologues night after night as opposed to quality opposition programming. Look for it to gradually get scaled back to one or two nights a week.

The worst thing that can happen to NBC is not to have anything else in development for when things go south. As Millionaire showed, it can happen very quickly, and NBC would suddenly have five holes to fill instead of one.

[Buffacuse]

Funny (to me) thing about this: in 1991, when they made the move to dump Johnny Carson for Leno or Letterman, Carson was charged with the unpardonable sin of not skewing enough to a younger audience--ie--he wasn't hip enough.

Now, it seems they wanted to move Leno out of the Tonight Show slot for the same reason...as Conan is hipper, better for the latenight slot, and ol' Stodgy Leno is a better bet for prime time...

...somewhere, Johnny is smiling...and so is Helen Mushnick.

[ghostjmf]

After I declared I would never watch Conan even if you glued my eyes open, I was flipping through the channels last night & Conan was about to interview Hugh Laurie. So of course I had to watch that. But at least I didn't have to sit through the before & after shtick.

Usually, when a guest I like is on a show, I keep the show on to watch them interact with the next guests if they stay around, but it looked like Laurie wasn't staying around, as they shook hands at the end of his segment, & even if he was, I couldn't bear the thought of Conan shtick so I didn't stay tuned to find out.

[Bob Juch]

Funny (to me) thing about this: in 1991, when they made the move to dump Johnny Carson for Leno or Letterman, Carson was charged with the unpardonable sin of not skewing enough to a younger audience--ie--he wasn't hip enough.

Now, it seems they wanted to move Leno out of the Tonight Show slot for the same reason...as Conan is hipper, better for the latenight slot, and ol' Stodgy Leno is a better bet for prime time...

...somewhere, Johnny is smiling...and so is Helen Mushnick.

Leno appeals to the baby boomers, a large group. Carson appealed to the pre-boomers, a smaller group.

[Thousandaire]

Leno appeals to the baby boomers, a large group. Carson appealed to the pre-boomers, a smaller group.

I'm a boomer, and I grew up on Johnny Carson (my mother was a night owl and made me stay up with her to watch). I know the networks don't care about much other than the 18-34 demographic, but lots of us boomers loved Johnny.

I don't like Conan much either but he seems to be able to establish a rapport with just about anyone. Craig Ferguson talks too much. Jimmy Kimmel rarely has good guests.

[gsabc]

I'm glad I had the whole thing on last night. I vaguely heard kd lang being introduced, then the most beautiful voice singing the most beautiful song . . .

I added a kd lang album to my Christmas list.

Tony Bennett has a duet out there with lang, and introduces her by comparing her very favorably with another singer he performed with, Ella Fitzgerald. I can't think of a higher accolade he could have given.

[SportsFan68]

I'm glad I had the whole thing on last night. I vaguely heard kd lang being introduced, then the most beautiful voice singing the most beautiful song . . .

I added a kd lang album to my Christmas list.

Tony Bennett has a duet out there with lang, and introduces her by comparing her very favorably with another singer he performed with, Ella Fitzgerald. I can't think of a higher accolade he could have given.

I googled her after I saw her on the show, and she raves about Bennett also. I love it when show business accolades go both ways.

[ne1410s]

This is my favorite k d lang song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qFKN68GSDY


And, no, it isn't Tobey Maguire lip synching.

[SportsFan68]

This is my favorite k d lang song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qFKN68GSDY


And, no, it isn't Tobey Maguire lip synching.

That's an excellent song, and RadioDude plays it fairly often -- including this evening during my drive time home.

[secondchance]

k.d. lang is awesome. My favorite song by her is Miss Chatelaine. You should see how lovely and old-school Lawrence Welk glam she is in this video. A real departure from her usual presentation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWWaSstjLmM

(this is a pretty crappy quality video, sorry)

[secondchance]

As for the other late night talk show hosts, I'd rank Leno at the bottom. (I'm considering only Leno, Letterman, O'Brien, and Ferguson, not Kimmel or Daly.) Leno always tries to find the lowest common denominator, then somehow aim lower than that. ...I don't think Letterman is as good as he used to be, but he still has my loyalty.

This is pretty much the way I feel, as well. Leno, to me, is unwatchable without cringing. Have always loved Letterman... he simply cracks me up. Daly is on my "I don't get it" list. Kimmel is naturally funny, and I do appreciate Conan and, more so lately, Ferguson.

[DevilKitty100]

As for the other late night talk show hosts, I'd rank Leno at the bottom. (I'm considering only Leno, Letterman, O'Brien, and Ferguson, not Kimmel or Daly.) Leno always tries to find the lowest common denominator, then somehow aim lower than that. ...I don't think Letterman is as good as he used to be, but he still has my loyalty.

This is pretty much the way I feel, as well. Leno, to me, is unwatchable without cringing. Have always loved Letterman... he simply cracks me up. Daly is on my "I don't get it" list. Kimmel is naturally funny, and I do appreciate Conan and, more so lately, Ferguson.

Craig Ferguson really does make me smile and laugh out loud. Maybe it's the mother in me. There's something roguishly "little boyish" in a lot of his skits & antics that reminds me of raising teenage boys.