Late-Night TV Hosts: A Comedy Primer

[Evo]

Okay, I'll give you that The Year 2000 skit is funny, especially when they're still doing it in 2005. But, those fake interviews remind me of children mimicking grown-ups. They're annoying. As are all those stupid characters he brings out; they're just plain crude. I think the problem is he does something that gets a laugh once (like the first time he did the bad impression of Donald Trump), and then like an annoying child who doesn't know when to stop, continues to do the same dumb thing over and over and over and over and over ad infinitum et ad nauseum. And then he laughs at his own jokes! It's adolescent humor at best, but adolescents should be in bed by the time he's on at night.

Ditto. I just cringe at the things he does.

 

[Knavish]

I view the "laughing at his own jokes" thing in a completely different manner. He's at least joining in on the laughs, or humor, whereas others separate themselves from the audience, expecting them to laugh/worship what they say.. I don't know though.

 

[Moonbear]

I view the "laughing at his own jokes" thing in a completely different manner. He's at least joining in on the laughs, or humor, whereas others separate themselves from the audience, expecting them to laugh/worship what they say.. I don't know though.

To me it comes across too contrived or forced. Let's face it, there's just no subsitute for Johnny Carson. Maybe they should just start doing reruns of Johnny Carson. Most of the "kids" have never seen his show and those of us old enough to remember would love to see reruns.

 

[Evo]

To me it comes across too contrived or forced. Let's face it, there's just no subsitute for Johnny Carson. Maybe they should just start doing reruns of Johnny Carson. Most of the "kids" have never seen his show and those of us old enough to remember would love to see reruns.

Johnny Carson will always be the best! I would love to watch reruns. He created the "headlines" segment.

His Karnac was hysterical. Answer "sis...boom...bah" Question "What sound does a sheep make when it blows up?"

 

[TOKAMAK]

I can't stand that Stephen Colbert

Aw man, he pwns so hard!

 

[cronxeh]

I like Leno best, but Carson Daly is a good second. I can't stand Conan, he's just the guy who's on between Leno and Daly.

omg my heart just skipped a beat and my digested dinner attempted to escape

 

[Moonbear]

omg my heart just skipped a beat and my digested dinner attempted to escape

I guess there's the possibility that he only seems good by comparison to the other shows in that time slot, which are mostly infomercials.

 

[hypnagogue]

Leno is not funny whatsoever IMO. The only parts of his show that are funny are the stuff where they let other people do the work-- sending in funny headlines or finding stupid people on the street. Leno himself is a bore. I don't think I've ever laughed at one of his standup jokes, and he doesn't even TRY to be funny (or interesting!) in his interviews. And come on, don't try to tell me that Leno practices a particularly subtle brand of comedy, or that he doesn't beat dead horses to a pulp.

Letterman I haven't watched in forever. I guess sometimes he has his moments, and unlike Leno, at least I can recognize some brand of humor in his schtick that I appreciate some people might enjoy, even if I don't. But a lot of his show is just bizarre instead of funny. Throwing stuff off of buildings is funny how? Today I tuned in briefly and he had a segment where he checked if something floated. *snooze*

Don't know anything about Craig.

As for Carson Daly... wow. That's all I'll say about that.

The king of late night comedy is Conan, by a million miles. I can maybe see how someone might be turned off upon seeing the show a couple of times-- it is hit and miss, just like any other daily comedy show. But when it hits, it has me in stitches. His little standup routine at the start is OK, but not great. Where Conan really shines is in the skits and bits he does between the monologue and interviews, and in the interviews themselves. The skits are quirky, and often forgettable, but sometimes they are downright legendary (buy the Triumph the Insult Comic Dog DVD if you don't believe me!). And unlike every other late night show, the interviews don't bore me to tears because Conan is a genuinely funny guy, always quick on his feet. He can get laughs out of just about any interview, just off the top of his head. That's the mark of a truly funny person.

edit: Conan also gets extra props for writing the 'Monorail' episode of the Simpsons, possibly one of the best of the whole series.

 

[Moonbear]

Leno is not funny whatsoever IMO. The only parts of his show that are funny are the stuff where they let other people do the work-- sending in funny headlines or finding stupid people on the street. Leno himself is a bore. I don't think I've ever laughed at one of his standup jokes, and he doesn't even TRY to be funny (or interesting!) in his interviews. And come on, don't try to tell me that Leno practices a particularly subtle brand of comedy, or that he doesn't beat dead horses to a pulp.

I don't think he's subtle at all. He's funny! I liked him better during his stand-up days, but he's still way better than Conan!

Letterman I haven't watched in forever. I guess sometimes he has his moments, and unlike Leno, at least I can recognize some brand of humor in his schtick that I appreciate some people might enjoy, even if I don't. But a lot of his show is just bizarre instead of funny. Throwing stuff off of buildings is funny how? Today I tuned in briefly and he had a segment where he checked if something floated. *snooze*

Yeah, pretty lame stuff; that's why I don't watch Letterman. His Top 10 lists used to be good, but even those aren't funny very often anymore. He needs to retire.

The king of late night comedy is Conan, by a million miles. I can maybe see how someone might be turned off upon seeing the show a couple of times-- it is hit and miss, just like any other daily comedy show. But when it hits, it has me in stitches. His little standup routine at the start is OK, but not great. Where Conan really shines is in the skits and bits he does between the monologue and interviews, and in the interviews themselves. The skits are quirky, and often forgettable, but sometimes they are downright legendary (buy the Triumph the Insult Comic Dog DVD if you don't believe me!).

You have got to be kidding me! You like Triumph? Again, it's nothing but adolescent potty humor, but with a puppet.

And unlike every other late night show, the interviews don't bore me to tears because Conan is a genuinely funny guy, always quick on his feet. He can get laughs out of just about any interview, just off the top of his head. That's the mark of a truly funny person.

You do realize they do pre-interviews and pre-plan most of the jokes? He seems to try too hard to be funny and it comes off entirely un-funny to me. The word "doofus" comes to mind when I think of him.

 

[hypnagogue]

You have got to be kidding me! You like Triumph? Again, it's nothing but adolescent potty humor, but with a puppet.

Au contraire! I can see how one would get that impression just by seeing it once or twice, but there is so much more to Triumph than the potty humor element. You have to see the skit where he rips on Bon Jovi, or the skit where he does the insult comic thing with a group of dressed up Star Wars fans lined up outside the theater, or another such involved skit, to get the full Triumph experience.

You do realize they do pre-interviews and pre-plan most of the jokes?

OK, but be that as it may, it still comes off looking natural and more importantly, it's still funny. I honestly find Leno to be one of the worst interviewers I've ever seen. He's not funny, and he doesn't make up for it with interesting dialogue either. He's just kind of there. I don't find Letterman's interviews particularly funny either, but at least he has some smidgeon of charisma.

He seems to try too hard to be funny and it comes off entirely un-funny to me. The word "doofus" comes to mind when I think of him.

To each her own, but I'd rather be entertained by a clown than by a stiff. OK, maybe that's too harsh, but I see it like this. If you replace Leno with just anyone, the show won't be any worse for it. If you replace Conan with just anyone, the show dies.

 

[hypnagogue]

I wonder if this really is some strange generation gap thing. Conan is pretty much geared towards my generation, and he'll be hitting prime time at about the time when my generation is ready to switch over from late late night TV to just late night TV. It will be interesting to see how much the show changes when Conan takes over primetime, and more so than that, how much Conan's existing audience buys into the changes. (For my part, I fear that only bad things can come of it; dumbing down and the like.)

OK, full disclosure time. I readily admit I have not seen very much of Johnny Carson at all, but from what I have seen, I think he's highly overrated. Good for an occassional chuckle maybe, but never hilarious. Now, is this because of some kind of generation gap thing? Or maybe it's just that I never got to watch his show consistently, on a night to night basis, and so grow into the humor? I guess there's something to say for spontaneity too-- a joke will be much funnier if you're not expecting greatness, as opposed to having it presented to you beforehand as a classic. But anyway, I think if I could watch some of Carson's better episodes in an unassuming context I'd like him more than I do, and I think the same is probably true for the folks in this thread who don't like Conan.

 

[Moonbear]

Au contraire! I can see how one would get that impression just by seeing it once or twice, but there is so much more to Triumph than the potty humor element. You have to see the skit where he rips on Bon Jovi, or the skit where he does the insult comic thing with a group of dressed up Star Wars fans lined up outside the theater, or another such involved skit, to get the full Triumph experience.

I've seen those, and they're all lame. I said before, Conan is on between Leno and Daly, so I do watch him, I just find it to be filler when I don't bother flipping channels.

OK, but be that as it may, it still comes off looking natural and more importantly, it's still funny.

You think he looks natural? I just don't see that. It seems forced to me.

I honestly find Leno to be one of the worst interviewers I've ever seen. He's not funny, and he doesn't make up for it with interesting dialogue either. He's just kind of there. I don't find Letterman's interviews particularly funny either, but at least he has some smidgeon of charisma.

Well, I don't care much about any of the interviews unless they bring animals on. Otherwise, I'm watching for the other segments other than the interviews.

To each her own, but I'd rather be entertained by a clown than by a stiff. OK, maybe that's too harsh, but I see it like this. If you replace Leno with just anyone, the show won't be any worse for it.

I don't agree. It's his way of telling the jokes that makes them funny.

If you replace Conan with just anyone, the show dies.

It's already dead.

I don't know what I'll do when Conan takes over the Tonight Show. I hope by then ABC replaces Letterman with someone good, or I'll have to start finding out what's on Fox or WB at that hour.

 

[hypnagogue]

wow, I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree, because apparently our senses of humor are completely orthogonal. Vive la difference!

 

[honestrosewater]

Au contraire! I can see how one would get that impression just by seeing it once or twice, but there is so much more to Triumph than the potty humor element. You have to see the skit where he rips on Bon Jovi, or the skit where he does the insult comic thing with a group of dressed up Star Wars fans lined up outside the theater, or another such involved skit, to get the full Triumph experience.

Oh yeah, the Star Wars people.

The Monorail is a favorite too.

 

[Moonbear]

I wonder if this really is some strange generation gap thing. Conan is pretty much geared towards my generation, and he'll be hitting prime time at about the time when my generation is ready to switch over from late late night TV to just late night TV.

That could be it. You kids just have a strange sense of humor. But what's odd is that I thought Carson Daly was geared toward a young audience too (us old people are supposed to be asleep by the time he's on), but I find him funnier than the young people here seem to. Maybe he's missing his target audience.

OK, full disclosure time. I readily admit I have not seen very much of Johnny Carson at all, but from what I have seen, I think he's highly overrated. Good for an occassional chuckle maybe, but never hilarious. Now, is this because of some kind of generation gap thing? Or maybe it's just that I never got to watch his show consistently, on a night to night basis, and so grow into the humor?

One thing with Johnny is that he was consistently funny from night to night. With all the folks on now, you'll hit a night where you're just rolling, and then a night when none of it seems funny. They aren't consistent. The few clips they show from the "Best Of" shows are overplayed. Of course, some of his jokes won't make sense if you weren't around to understand the context of the time or don't know who they're talking about or why it was in the news. The Carson Arts Players that were on Friday nights put on great skits.

 

[Moonbear]

wow, I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree, because apparently our senses of humor are completely orthogonal. Vive la difference!

Apparently.

 

[Nate.]

Wow, I can't stand Conan O'Brian. He is so full of himself. I guess his humor appeals to the very young?

Leno is my favorite.

Yeah but Leno... well, nevermind.