Leno may have won the ratings war, but Ferguson got the laughs
January 4, 2008
BY DOUG ELFMAN Television Critic
In the latest war between Letterman and Leno, the winner is … Craig Ferguson.
OK, fine, Jay Leno won Wednesday’s ratings, maybe because viewers wanted to see how he’d pull off an hour without striking writers. (Answer: a dull mess. Cooking with a chef? What is this? Daytime TV?)
Dave Letterman won the battle of decency, paying writers what they asked for to bring back his full staff. (Dave stuck it to Conan O’Brien, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert by paying their striking writers to deliver his Top 10 list. Burn!)
But Ferguson came back stronger. He had staff writers in tow, since his “Late Late Show” is owned by union-friendly Letterman. Wednesday night, Ferguson made me laugh more than I have during any episode of late-night TV on broadcast this decade. I’m not exaggerating.
Ferguson, exuberant and “on,” was funnier than entire HBO comedy specials. He was so giddy, he looked into the camera and cracked, “Who do you think’s the drunkest in this studio right now?”
In his best sketch (done live), he dressed in his Prince Charles getup, handed a big ribbon to a furry-hatted royal guard, then lewdly suggested he wrap it around his man-junk.
“You can keep that ribbon — wear it later. Ha ha ha,” Ferguson sputtered in a way that made Charles sound like a perverted imbecile. “Perhaps you could put it on something that’s won a prize recently.”
Ferguson’s Prince Charles had gnarly teeth. Coincidentally, Leno’s first guest was presidential wannabe Mike Huckabee, and on my high-def TV, Huckabee’s janky yellow teeth needed braces and whitening strips.
Huckabee played bass guitar with the “Tonight” show band. But it seemed as if we were actually hearing “Tonight’s” bass guitarist, who was playing the same notes at the same time, behind Huckabee.
Conan (also without striking writers) chatted with himself to kill time, a flat hour except for a funny bit where he strummed electric guitar at his staffers, as if he were assaulting them. Conan appeared resigned to work without writers. His lead guest, Bob Saget, looked uncomfortable, having crossed a picket line to be on the show.
It’s hard for Leno, O’Brien and Jimmy Kimmel to convince big-name Hollywooders to buck writers and guest on their shows. So O’Brien has Saget on to publicize his NBC game show. Kimmel brought on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” winner. Will scab shows become promotional tools for their networks’ reality series?
Don’t be surprised if Leno keeps winning in ratings. Viewers like train wrecks, and that’s what “Tonight” is now. (Leno is penning his own material, making him a scab on his own show.)
But if you want real entertainment, look for Letterman to keep swiping at peers for scabbing, while he snares A-list guests.
And check in on Ferguson. If he made every show so genuinely high-energy and funny, he could elevate himself to the new prince of late night.
BY DOUG ELFMAN Television Critic
In the latest war between Letterman and Leno, the winner is … Craig Ferguson.
OK, fine, Jay Leno won Wednesday’s ratings, maybe because viewers wanted to see how he’d pull off an hour without striking writers. (Answer: a dull mess. Cooking with a chef? What is this? Daytime TV?)
Dave Letterman won the battle of decency, paying writers what they asked for to bring back his full staff. (Dave stuck it to Conan O’Brien, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert by paying their striking writers to deliver his Top 10 list. Burn!)
But Ferguson came back stronger. He had staff writers in tow, since his “Late Late Show” is owned by union-friendly Letterman. Wednesday night, Ferguson made me laugh more than I have during any episode of late-night TV on broadcast this decade. I’m not exaggerating.
Ferguson, exuberant and “on,” was funnier than entire HBO comedy specials. He was so giddy, he looked into the camera and cracked, “Who do you think’s the drunkest in this studio right now?”
In his best sketch (done live), he dressed in his Prince Charles getup, handed a big ribbon to a furry-hatted royal guard, then lewdly suggested he wrap it around his man-junk.
“You can keep that ribbon — wear it later. Ha ha ha,” Ferguson sputtered in a way that made Charles sound like a perverted imbecile. “Perhaps you could put it on something that’s won a prize recently.”
Ferguson’s Prince Charles had gnarly teeth. Coincidentally, Leno’s first guest was presidential wannabe Mike Huckabee, and on my high-def TV, Huckabee’s janky yellow teeth needed braces and whitening strips.
Huckabee played bass guitar with the “Tonight” show band. But it seemed as if we were actually hearing “Tonight’s” bass guitarist, who was playing the same notes at the same time, behind Huckabee.
Conan (also without striking writers) chatted with himself to kill time, a flat hour except for a funny bit where he strummed electric guitar at his staffers, as if he were assaulting them. Conan appeared resigned to work without writers. His lead guest, Bob Saget, looked uncomfortable, having crossed a picket line to be on the show.
It’s hard for Leno, O’Brien and Jimmy Kimmel to convince big-name Hollywooders to buck writers and guest on their shows. So O’Brien has Saget on to publicize his NBC game show. Kimmel brought on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” winner. Will scab shows become promotional tools for their networks’ reality series?
Don’t be surprised if Leno keeps winning in ratings. Viewers like train wrecks, and that’s what “Tonight” is now. (Leno is penning his own material, making him a scab on his own show.)
But if you want real entertainment, look for Letterman to keep swiping at peers for scabbing, while he snares A-list guests.
And check in on Ferguson. If he made every show so genuinely high-energy and funny, he could elevate himself to the new prince of late night.
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