Late With Daniel

I'm not sure if I went on the record here about my tastes in late night talk show programming (there will be another post discussing programs vs. shows).

I used to catch Conan every wohniclee (sorry but that is once in a while) when he was on at 11:30. He had the hipper musical guests and there were often super funny moments during his guest interviews. I never enjoyed Jay Leno, so I watched Letterman if I was watching a show, but normally it depended on who the guests were, musical and otherwise. I usually like Craig Ferguson, but don't watch him. I like his email segment and the "What Did We Learn on the Show Tonight, Craig?" at the end.

This brings us to the big shift when Leno was bumped for Conan. I have the new Tonight Show on season pass since the beginning. Conan's monologue usually isn't that great, but he understands this and isn't below mocking it to get laughs. He still has fun moments with his guests, but probably not as outlandish as before.

When I first saw Jimmy Fallon's show, I was not impressed. He still can't keep a straight face, and his interviews are either sycophantic, or with his cast mates from SNL and very buddy buddy. I do appreciate a couple things about his show though. The Roots are a really great house band. And from the little I've seen from The Steve Allen Show, mostly from PBS documentaries on the Pioneers of Television, Fallon has a lot of similar games and fun with his guests like Allen did. I admire this. I think if Fallon is given the freedom to explore this goofy side he might be more comfortable, and you'll get a better overall show.