If you liked my ill-informed dismissal of the best-loved serious television drama ever, you'll love my current quality ranking of the late-night talk shows!
1. Conan, by a nose
2. Kimmel
3. Leno (unwatchable with guests, but the gag writing is still solid)
4. That manorexic MTV guy—not nearly as bad as you'd expect!
5. Letterman
6. The Scottish guy with the horrible monologues
This is how bad things have gotten for Letterman, how depleted and ossified he is now: if you count The Colbert Report as a late-night talk show, and I'm not even sure why I feel there is any ontological issue here, then he is at best running the 6th-strongest late-night talk show out there at the moment. And I say that without even having seen Greg Gutfeld's show, although I have friends who love Gutfeld and it is at least conceivable that someone would try to engage me in a conversation about the program. When's the last time somebody approached you and said "Hey, did you see Letterman last night?" Unless you count the post-9/11 Sammy Maudlin Special, it had to have been before the heart bypass.
Comments (21)
Hey Cosh-- The Moveable Type looks great. You were one of the last great hand coders, I know, but it was high time you moved into this millennium. Congratulations. And you're still one of the finest writers in Canada today. Keep up the good work.
Posted by Richard Ames | June 13, 2007 9:56 PM
Posted on June 13, 2007 21:56
By a nose? More like a mile.
Posted by Andy Grabia | June 13, 2007 10:23 PM
Posted on June 13, 2007 22:23
Yeah, tossed-over-the-shoulder opinions like that are the reason we have "paint-by-numbers contrarians." Conan is a great comedian and Kimmel isn't. But Conan isn't going to book Neil Hamburger or Zach Galifianakis's "twin brother" either. Kimmel has brought the subversion and unpredictability of classic Letterman back to the late-night talk show.
Posted by Colby Cosh | June 13, 2007 10:33 PM
Posted on June 13, 2007 22:33
Kimmel has brought the subversion and unpredictability of classic Letterman back to the late-night talk show.
Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. The Masturbating Bear. Horny Manatee. Tarja Halonen. Walker Texas Ranger. Conan O'Brien Hates My Homeland. Pierre Bernard Jr. & The Recliner of Rage. Preparation H Raymond. The Interruptor. The word "krunk". Artie Kendall. It's not even close. Not. Even. Close. I'm sorry, but anyone who has Andy Dick co-host for a week belongs below Pat Sajak on the all-time list.
Posted by Andy Grabia | June 13, 2007 11:23 PM
Posted on June 13, 2007 23:23
No, sorry, I still think Conan is number one, despite the itemized list consisting mostly of sub-Sandlerian gags that his writing staff has beaten to death at one time or another. Nice try, though.
Posted by Colby Cosh | June 14, 2007 12:01 AM
Posted on June 14, 2007 00:01
I stopped watching Letterman a few years ago. I got sick of him treating certain guests like garbage. It used to be cute but now it's just annoying. The GWBush-bashing is tiresome and repetitive, and so is the rest of the show.
Conan is the best, he's damn funny.
I'm not particularly impressed by Kimmel, I don't find the writing nor Kimmel's comedic abilities particularly good. I think he benefits from being presented as a regular joe, sort of like "a neighbour down the street", which cannot be said for the other hosts.
I believe the Scottish guy's name is Craig Ferguson. He's much better than Letterman and I like him better than Kimmel.
Posted by SeanF | June 14, 2007 1:27 AM
Posted on June 14, 2007 01:27
> it was high time you moved
> into this millennium.
For anything but fashion? What, excepting comments, do you admire about the new layout?
> it had to have been before
> the heart bypass.
I think it was before CBS. Aaron Barnhart (sp?) of the Kansas City Star or someplace pointed out that the Ed Sullivan theater is a terrible handicap for Letterman, who's the sort of person who's very aware of what those around him are feeling.
In the NBC studio, the crowd was small enough (two hundred? a few dozen?) that every now and then, he'd simply get a quiet group. You'd be laughing in your living room, but hearing nothing from the studio audience. He'd spend an hour beating a response out of them. Win or lose, you have the feeling that you'd witnessed a human exchange, and you could feel jealous if the guest that night was Coppola or Ringo or somebody.
The Sullivan audience is so big that there's no way Letterman's jokes can be measured. There are hundreds of lonely tourists in the house who spent a lot of money to get into that studio, and they're going to laugh when they hear something they understand or recognize, whether it's funny or not.
Letterman's gift is now crippled. Still, he rescued the form back in the day.
Posted by Crid | June 14, 2007 3:18 AM
Posted on June 14, 2007 03:18
I stopped watching Letterman many years ago as he was just getting lame. However it worries me that Conan is the best of the lot. I have always found him unfunny and his show dire.
Posted by Andrew Ian Dodge | June 14, 2007 3:52 AM
Posted on June 14, 2007 03:52
despite the itemized list consisting mostly of sub-Sandlerian gags that his writing staff has beaten to death at one time or another.
Betwee this and The Sopranos post, I'm now convinced that you actually haven't watched television for the past seven years.
Posted by Andy Grabia | June 14, 2007 5:46 AM
Posted on June 14, 2007 05:46
And, at that, he hasn't missed anything of real import. ;-)
Posted by Garth Wood | June 14, 2007 6:31 AM
Posted on June 14, 2007 06:31
I've always hated Letterman -- except his morning show, in which he had to keep his toxic snark mostly in check lest he frighten the old ladies.
Yes, Letterman had a morning. I am an old person.
Posted by Kathy Shaidle | June 14, 2007 8:20 AM
Posted on June 14, 2007 08:20
show.
Posted by Kathy Shaidle | June 14, 2007 8:24 AM
Posted on June 14, 2007 08:24
Put my vote down for Kimmel - he may not be a natural comedian per se but he's got a cool, easygoing style and balances the dry witticisms and fratboy snark well. And the "Great Moments in Unnecessary Censorship" segment (or whatever it's called) is worth tuning in Friday nights all by itself. Pee-your-pants funny, it is.
Letterman was great in his time, but this is not his time.
Posted by Dudley Morris | June 14, 2007 8:45 AM
Posted on June 14, 2007 08:45
I actually haven't watched television in seven years. You're not seriously telling me I've missed something, are you?
Posted by ebt | June 14, 2007 11:39 AM
Posted on June 14, 2007 11:39
I actually haven't watched television in seven years. You're not seriously telling me I've missed something, are you?
Just the continuing progress of Western civilization. Just ignore books, radio, movies, newspapers and the internet, as well. It's all been downhill since M*A*S*H.
Posted by Anonymous | June 14, 2007 11:59 AM
Posted on June 14, 2007 11:59
I guess I AM an old lady because I never have liked Letterman. He seems to be getting more irrascible the older he gets. Can't stand Conan either, maybe it's the hair?? That joke is just old & tired. Hubby likes Jimmy Kimmel but I don't, I think he is a guy's thing, as per the "fratboy" stuff. Can't quite forget The Man Show!
I like Craig Ferguson (the Scottish guy) except for his stupid schtick with the noise machine & his "naughty monkey" bit he refuses to give up on. I like his monologues usually, especially when he gets on a rant about something. Besides, he is better looking than all the others & that IS important you know!!
We watch Leno, I particuarily enjoy he "Jaywalker" bits & the Headlines. Sometimes his monologue is good & sometimes it stinks.
Posted by Joyce | June 14, 2007 3:30 PM
Posted on June 14, 2007 15:30
I do note absolutely nobody's trying to put Letterman at the head of the list, however much they dislike Conan or Kimmel.
Posted by Warmongering Lunatic | June 14, 2007 4:02 PM
Posted on June 14, 2007 16:02
Judging by Colby's title, I would have expected him to suggest, in the post, that there's a 60 year old Swedish man who can do biathlons and happens to be an excellent late night host. :)
I quite like Craig Ferguson, but I probably have poor taste.
Posted by Rick Hiebert | June 14, 2007 4:21 PM
Posted on June 14, 2007 16:21
To clarify, if Stephen Colbert is eligible, Jon Stewart is eligible. If Jon Stewart is eligible, Conan isn't #1.
Posted by Tyler | June 14, 2007 5:34 PM
Posted on June 14, 2007 17:34
Colbert passed Stewart sometime in his 3rd or 4th month.
Posted by Alex B | June 14, 2007 10:17 PM
Posted on June 14, 2007 22:17
While we're on the topic of fantastic Conan characters, let's not forget: Pimpbot 5000, the Coked-up werewolf, and Hannigan the Traveling salesman (just edged out is Gun-toting, NASCAR driving Jesus).
Here's a ridiculously complete list of characters: http://www.answers.com/topic/list-of-late-night-with-conan-o-brien-characters
Posted by dennis | June 16, 2007 3:05 AM
Posted on June 16, 2007 03:05