LAWRENCE, Kan. – Who knew it would take over 15 years for the chinks in NBC’s late night armor to show? Indeed, what goes around seems to be coming around for the network that once branded itself “America’s Late Night Leader.”
It’s becoming clear that the decisions NBC made in 1991 set the stage for the giant mess currently waiting at its doorstep.
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Rumors began swirling today about the future of NBC late night. With an end to the 10 p.m. (9 p.m. CT) Jay Leno Show imminent, many people are wondering what will happen to new Tonight Show host Conan O’Brien.
It has been said many times over that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Such is true of NBC.
The network that passed over David Letterman as Johnny Carson’s successor for The Tonight Show in the early 1990s seems to have made a similar gaffe with Leno and O’Brien. Like former NBC Entertainment executive Warren Littlefield – made infamous by Bill Carter’s book The Late Shift and a subsequent HBO movie of the same name, current entertainment chief Jeff Gaspin offered the 11:30 time slot to a seemingly hot commodity, O’Brien, in order to prevent losing him to a rival network.
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Here are portions of the June 12 episode of “Smokey and the Bear,” when I weighed in on the David Letterman-Sarah Palin fiasco:
This whole thing about David Letterman and Sarah Palin. Basically, my opinion is this.
David Letterman made a few jokes the other night about Sarah Palin and Sarah Palin’s daughter. He was intending the jokes to be about the 18-year-old who had a baby that, by the way, Sarah Palin’s husband on an interview on the Today show referred to–with his daughter and baby in hand. He’s sitting next to his 18-year-old daughter, who’s holding her baby, and he refers to the baby as “a mistake.” Right there. I’m like, Jesus, what an awful grandfather! My grandparents have had their moments over the years, but I don’t think they ever called me a mistake–at least, not that I knew of. Same with my parents. But either way, it’s just like. What a jackass!
LAWRENCE, Kan. – For as long as I’ve been writing about the world of live television, I don’t think I’ve ever actually put forth a list of who I think is the best for on-air and production.
Here are a couple of rules: 1) individuals must still be active in their respective roles (network changes are okay); 2) there is no limit on how many people working for a particular network can be chosen (if the network happens to be that good, it wouldn’t make sense for me to suggest otherwise); 3) for sports, when I feel it is warranted, I may select multiple people holding the same position but for different sports.
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Late Show with David Letterman: Led by the premiere host in late-night television, the Late Show did a superb job last Wednesday when actor Russell Crowe appeared on the show after his arrest last week for throwing a telephone at a New York hotel worker. If Johnny Carson is the eternal King of Late Night, then David Letterman is its Crowned Prince. Letterman is by far the best interviewer of all late-night talk show hosts, and his star shone bright when he appropriately conducted a compassionate, serious interview, infused with a perfect amount of humor. Regardless of ratings, Late Show with David Letterman is qualitatively far superior to any of its competition. Even technical-director-turned-director Jerry Foley, who is often lacking in his ability to direct a music performance, rose to the occasion with a commendable job on Paul Anka’s jazzed up rendition of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”