It's Christmastime! Take a break from the talking points...

The lights are up, the tree is trimmed and the smell of cinnamon and spice is in the air...

At least in the shopping malls.

It's holiday time again and whether you're still procrastinating on putting up the tree or your house looks like a Better Homes and Gardens holiday shoot the sights and sounds of the holidays are inescapable.

For me nothing says Christmas like the sound of my favorite carols playing in the background while taking a break with a cherished holiday classic.

To that end, TV Guide offers up its compendium of Holiday specials neatly organized by airdate, time and network.  Of course the list is dominated by ABC Family and the Hallmark channel who continue the tradition of nonstop holiday themed content.

Of course there's always on demand and Netflix has its own holiday offerings like "A very Murray Christmas" starring Bull Murray and "Santa's Apprentice."

This year marks the 50th anniversary of "a Charlie Brown Christmas" and to celebrate the event ABC has rolled out a special including popular musical acts and interviews with the creators of the animated feature.  If you're a devout "Peanuts" fan it's a must see event.  If not you can safely tune in an hour later to catch the animated special presented in its original length which including commercials runs about 40 minutes. 

You've already missed the first showing on Monday (11/30) but ABC is showing it again on Christmas Eve at 9PM. 

Of course all that assumes you're not already watching It's a Wonderful life on NBC at 8PM or A Christmas Story on TBS at the same time...

So settle in, enjoy the season and take a little time out from mini-malls and Amazon.com. 

I wish you the Happiest of whatever holidays you celebrate.

Letterman ends an era

The lights are out, the desk is clear and the empty chair is facing a partially disassembled New York Skyline.  There are hints of what was scattered everywhere but now they're just broken reflections of a shattered mirror.

At least that's how I picture it.

I don't live anywhere near New York but looking at a live shot of the now defunct marquee of Late Night with David Letterman had more meaning than I thought it would.  It's just a dumb late night variety show right?  There's dozens of them now...

Except that its passing only confirms what we already knew.  Letterman's final sign off signals the end of an era of television that punctuated entertainment with intelligence. 

No, I didn't watch every episode and Letterman's not my hero but watching his show was a kind of rite of passage for me.  Imagine being a 16 year old kid left home alone for a weekend for the first time with complete control of the TV remote and not about to hit the sack after the local news.  It was my choice and my taste for the first time. 

Over the years I watched on and off.  Even if I wasn't a faithful viewer, it was reassuring to know that Dave was there holding up his end of the conversation in an entertainment world populated by mindless sitcoms and reality TV.  There must have been something to it because Dave always seemed to be able to get the Presidents and seldom seen Hollywood hermit types that nobody else could.

Yes, we still have Jimmy Fallon, Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Kimmel but they're of a different generation.  They all have their moments but those moments only come with the frequency of a sine wave instead of the steady state of Letterman.

Everything changes but the over the top antics and the short attention span theater of current Late Night entertainment is often just pale imitation in comparison.  Now it's about the 30 second video clip stuck on YouTube the next day with a nag card at the end saying " Watch (insert show here) on (insert network here) @ 11:30/10:30 Central."

Is it likely that any of them could earn a Peabody Award like Craig Ferguson's 2009 interview with Bishop Desmond Tutu?  Will they be able to console a wounded country like Letterman did a week after 9/11?

It's not likely, there's just no there, there.

Want proof?  Guess who was James Corden's guest tonight during his "Carpool Karaoke." 

Justin Bieber...

A display of a talent pool so shallow a cricket couldn't get wet.  This is the state of late night and if you like it you're welcome to it. 

I prefer to take my attention elsewhere.

Thanks for the memories Dave. 

Our only hope now is Stephen Colbert...

Corden's Late Late Show -- Day 1

A Willy Wonka Golden Ticket...

That's what greeted viewers of the inaugural Late Late Show with James Corden at the helm.  It came in the form of a prerecorded skit that featured the likes of Jay Leno, Meryl Streep, Shia LeBeouf and Arnold Swarzenegger as drill instructors in a kind of late show boot camp. 

Dripping in satire, it was an obvious acknowledgment of Corden's lukewarm reception since being chosen as the new host as well as the delay in his start date.

We were then introduced to the new Late Late show band headed by Reggie Watts best known as the strange sidekick of Scott Aukerman on IFC's Comedy Bang! Bang! 

While Watts probably would have been a better choice as host, The Roots ( Jimmy Fallon's house band) have nothing to worry about.

One thing was clear.  CBS is betting the farm on Corden with a star studded premier that included Tom Hanks and Mila Kunis as his first guests and a set that Craig Ferguson could only dream of. 

Taking a page from British talk shows, Corden chose to have both Hanks and Kunis on at the same time leading to what was at times a chaotic exchange.

Corden, Mila Kunis and Tom Hanks on Show 1

The interview itself was much less formal than the average late night fare with Corden eschewing the interview desk for a chair next to Hanks and Kunis.  

Aside from pressing for confirmation of Kunis marriage to Ashton Kutcher, the conversation stayed light and largely irrelevant.  It was evident that Corden was attempting to adopt at least some of Craig Ferguson's interview style.  That being a discussion less about profession and more about personal topics like family and children. 

But where Ferguson was relaxed and informal, Corden comes off more like a giddy schoolgirl gossiping with friends.  A trait sometimes shared with the Tonight Show's Jimmy Fallon.  But where Fallon has real comedic talent and an affable manner to offset his enthusiasm, Corden seems to just be "playing" host.  Of course he is a Tony award winning actor so it's really no surprise that he'd fall back on those talents.

In the end the only thing we learned from tonight's show was that Mila Kunis "might" be married and Tom Hanks has 4 adult children.  Nobody was expecting a Ted Talk but the whole exchange had about as much depth as rain puddle.

Ok, so maybe he'll get better.

Corden is a bit of a culture shock to Americans not used to British "Chat Shows" and is best compared to hosts like Graham Norton or Jonathan Ross than a Jay Leno or Jimmy Fallon.  British talk shows tend to have a more circus atmosphere with hosts more likely to dance on their desks than interview from them.  How that will go over on an American network remains to be seen. 

Graham Norton Show

I didn't suffer any such shock, however, as I've seen plenty of British "chat shows" and to be honest I find the format dull and self-serving for the hosts.  British talk shows have always seemed far more superficial to me than their American counterparts.  It was more about having the famous guest than gleaning any real information from them.

There was a tribute of sorts to Tom Hanks film career with both Corden and Hanks acting out (badly) characters from his films against a green screen backdrop.  Hanks seemed to be enjoying himself but then he's got nothing to lose unless someone comes up with a Cosby-esque scandal. 

The show wrapped up with Corden seated at a piano singing us out which was as uninspiring as his Letterman interview. 

So far I give Corden's premiere an F.  It was tedious to watch and if I'm honest he just wasn't that entertaining let alone funny. 

There might be an explanation for it, however.  His resume is steeped in theater and light comedic roles meaning he's used to playing at being funny.  Pretending to be funny isn't actually being funny.  For the first few months he can play off his inexperience and a format strange to American viewers but that can only go for so long.

At this point I'm not expecting anything resembling Craig Ferguson's Peabody award winning interview with Desmond Tutu. 

On to night 2...

I'm Giving James Corden a week...

Ok, so I know the topic of late night talk shows is about as relevant as the width of men's neckties in the grand scheme of things but I have something of an investment so bear with me.

I haven't had pay TV for about 2 years now which means my choices for non-interactive visual media are fairly limited.  Yes I know, there's YouTube, XBMC, Hulu and Twitch to name a few but to me those are very solitary experiences.  

There's great content to be had but all of those options are to me more like checking a book out of a library than going to a movie.  I just like the idea that I'm watching the same thing at the same time as a lot of other people.  A shared experience.

So I'm weird, whatever...

When I had Satellite TV, I could care less about who was hosting a talk show on CBS.  When Conan O' Brien left for TBS, it was the only show I'd even think about watching.  Even then it wasn't a regular thing as he was at his best back when he was doing late nights at NBC (pre Tonight Show.)  At least in my opinion.

As I mentioned earlier, my choices have become a bit more limited as of late.  That means I had to give broadcast TV another look.  At some point I happened onto CBS' Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.  I was an instant fan.  Ferguson was plain spoken, irreverent and a natural entertainer.  

What I liked about him was that he didn't take himself or his show too seriously.  It never felt scripted even when he was forced to interview yet another Hollywood airhead.   He had a habit of tearing up note cards before beginning an interview which was a signal that this was not going to be the same scripted diatribe you saw on every other talk show.  It was like listening in on a conversation between friends.  The celebrities loved it and so did I. 

Ferguson had a run of close to 10 years and developed a kind of cult following not unlike Conan O'Brien.  Late night TV is the purview of those not quite in step with normal society.  Yeah, that means the stoners and the sub culture types but it also means the 2nd shift worker and the entrepreneur for whom clocks and sleep are a damned inconvenience.

To see the difference in audiences just watch a few of Ferguson's reruns on YouTube then watch one of the early morning news/chat shows like the Today Show.   Those giggly, empty talking heads drive me insane but that's what the cheery 9 to 5 types demand. 

I most unequivocally do not...  I hate morning people.  If you're the type that thinks 9PM is late then you should either be writing sermons or milking cows for a living.  

Think I'm wrong?  Then think about this.  Technology didn't advance much till the 20th century, know why? The damned light bulb that's why!  Without night people, you day people would inherit a world in flames!

But as always, I digress...

In short Ferguson was our kind of people.  Funny, direct and entertaining without pretense

But nothing is forever...

Ferguson decided to end his late night tenure last year with the final episode of his Late Late show airing on December 19th.  There was much speculation as to his replacement as his run had proven to be the most successful of any show in his time slot on CBS. 

Back in November, America was officially introduced to the new host of the Late Late show in the person of one James Corden.  He made an appearance on David Letterman's Late show which airs in the timeslot immediately preceding the Late Late show.  Letterman's own Worldwide Pants production company was behind both. 

When Ferguson left it was announced that Corden's first show would air on March 23, 2015.   The intervening 3 months found CBS scrambling to find a succession of guest hosts to fill in.  It also meant Letterman's production company had to continue being on the hook for the filler shows till CBS officially took over with Corden.

During one of those filler shows, Letterman was interviewed by guest host Regis Philbin and expressed irritation with the delay saying, "Where is he? Why are we talking to you?" "There aren't that many shows. How bad does he want it? Where is he?"

While Letterman is known for a dry wit, the comment was not made in passing but rather part of a much longer rant that included, "This guy... where is he? Is he even in this country? Don't you think that's a question that should be answered - where is the guy? I do."

Work ethic aside, it's doubtful anyone was really waiting with baited breath for Corden's debut.  His initial appearance on Letterman was uninspiring and yawn inducing at best.  

Anyone would be nervous in his position but Corden seemed more interested in his personal life than his new gig.  At the time I remember commenting that as nice a guy as he may be, he was the wrong choice.  It seems that CBS believes the formula for success is nothing more than a funny accent from somewhere in the British Isles and a fancy set.

So that's the backstory and for the next week I'm going to be doing short reviews of the new Late Late Show every day.  I'm going to give the kid a chance but I'm not holding out much hope.