If you're not watching The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, then you're not watching tv as far as I'm concerned.Screw Conan, screw Kimmel, screw (the soon-to-be-back) Leno and honestly, screw Letterman. Just a little.
Craig Ferguson is the Johnny Carson of 21st century late night. He's doing things that no one else is doing and he's doing it without a band, without a sidekick, but with the kind of genius creativity that is seldom seen in mass entertainment these days.
For a long time, Ferguson opened with a monologue like every other late night comic. And we still get the monologue, but for some reason, CBS forced a 1 to 2 minute lead-in for The Late Late Show the second that Letterman ended. Maybe they wanted a short lead-in so they could get right to the commercials, who knows. But, Craig has taken that lead-in and turned it into the must-watch moment of the night for me. You never know what he's going to do.
For awhile, he did a short version of an opening monologue in the lead-in. Then, he started doing small comedy bits with random puppets. Lately, he's been lip syncing to songs with a few staff members and friends AND the puppets. It's a little piece of late night heaven..
For instance, this is what Craig did with the lead-in last night. This is Duran Duran's cover of the original Grand Master Flash hit "White Lines"...
My favorite lead-in lip sync came a few months ago. Same idea but this time, set to Michael Franti and Spearhead's "Say Hey (I Love You)"...
Genius.
And yes, the shirtless intern with the hot body and the cute smile doesn't hurt either.
8 comments:
What I've seen of Ferguson I've really enjoyed. There is true talent there. I've never understood Leno's fame. I don't think he's funny. He always seems forced. So yes, screw him. haha.
I've been catching some Jimmy Fallon and I think his show will develope nicely.
Puppets!
I love Craig Ferguson, but his show's on too late for me. Plus, I've been trying to cut back on how much TV I watch.
Hilarious. Reminds me of the last time I was in Chi and spent 45 minutes with a friend, watching the PuppetBike performers.
I completely agree with you. Craig is the best out of all of them. Steve loves him too. Too bad we're hardly ever up that late to see his show more.
Why have I never heard this version of White Lines? Or the original for that matter?
Pardon my french but I fucking LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE him!
AND I have the biggest crush on him too!
I saw him last year at the Just For Laughs Festival here in Montréal and he was as ON here as he is EVERY night!
LOVE HIM!
Craig Ferguson rules.
That is all.
I agree with the previous comments, and your own assessment (mostly). I want Jimmy Fallon to be successful, and I like him, but I liked him better for Weekend Update; he's not comfortable enough in the job to make me tune in each night. I like Letterman, but really just the monologue and Top 10 list. Conan and Leno are TOO comfortable. Kimmel is good, but I never even think about him. So it's Stewart/Colbert and Ferguson. And Ferguson is quickly becoming a candidate to replace my Fake Husband Stephen Colbert.
(Maybe Fallon and Ferguson should swap coasts. Fallon seems to have much more of a California-surfer vibe anyway, while Ferguson is international, self-deprecating, and a bit manic. I'm probably biased, but Ferguson fits much better into New York culture than Los Angeles, uh, "culture.")
But I still don't think you can say "screw Letterman." Even just a little. He CREATED "The Late, Late Show." He HIRED Craig Ferguson. Even if his monologues sucked and Paul sucked (I mean in the PG-13 way), and even if the rest of Dave's show sucked, we'd still have Dave to thank for Craig Ferguson.
In fact, I hope Craig replaces Dave when Dave retires. That should be about the time I'll need to be getting to bed earlier anyway.
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