McGarnagle
Yes.
- Aug 5, 2017
- 28,869
- 38,479
Conan will always be my favorite but let's show some love to Craig Ferguson, who did more to successfully experiment with the late night format than anyone in the last 20 years. That said, regrettably I never watched him when he originally aired but fell in love with his bits (like Geoff Peterson) from youtube compilations years later.
I grew up on Conan in the late 90s/early 2000s. He was the best. Letterman, I totally respect him but I was too young to appreciate him, having missed out on his original NBC Late Night show when he was more idiosyncratic, and really only first being exposed to him when he was getting older.
Leno and Fallon are safe middle-of-the-road comedians who have broad enough appeal to keep most of the country watching but who nobody really loves, and the people who are devotees of the format and of comedy actually hate.
Johnny Carson was special, a master interviewer and a strong monologue who had broad appeal to the audience as well as the respect of comedians and celebrities.
Really the way we consume media has evolved so much in recent years that the late night format is not the same as it once was. I don't ever watch anymore, but from clips I've seen I'd say Kimmel is probably the closest thing to a good host we have currently (but he gets lost being on ABC and not one of the other more established shows on NBC/CBS). Colbert appeals to his older viewer base, but I have a lot of issues with him.
In regards to Fallon, I don't really get it, he's not good at anything, can't tell jokes or act in sketches without breaking, not very insightful in his punchlines, etc., he's just too chipper and happy go lucky (which ironically is the opposite of what he's apparently been like behind the scenes), and at least 70% of his show is just Gen X nostalgia porn. Reuniting the Saved by the Bell cast for a skit was cute the first time, but he's just seemingly repeated that with other shows over and over again just to give that audience nostalgia dopamine hit, with no actual substance to his show. When he really died to me was when he took the coward's way out and turned his back on Norm MacDonald. I can't forgive him for that.
I grew up on Conan in the late 90s/early 2000s. He was the best. Letterman, I totally respect him but I was too young to appreciate him, having missed out on his original NBC Late Night show when he was more idiosyncratic, and really only first being exposed to him when he was getting older.
Leno and Fallon are safe middle-of-the-road comedians who have broad enough appeal to keep most of the country watching but who nobody really loves, and the people who are devotees of the format and of comedy actually hate.
Johnny Carson was special, a master interviewer and a strong monologue who had broad appeal to the audience as well as the respect of comedians and celebrities.
Really the way we consume media has evolved so much in recent years that the late night format is not the same as it once was. I don't ever watch anymore, but from clips I've seen I'd say Kimmel is probably the closest thing to a good host we have currently (but he gets lost being on ABC and not one of the other more established shows on NBC/CBS). Colbert appeals to his older viewer base, but I have a lot of issues with him.
In regards to Fallon, I don't really get it, he's not good at anything, can't tell jokes or act in sketches without breaking, not very insightful in his punchlines, etc., he's just too chipper and happy go lucky (which ironically is the opposite of what he's apparently been like behind the scenes), and at least 70% of his show is just Gen X nostalgia porn. Reuniting the Saved by the Bell cast for a skit was cute the first time, but he's just seemingly repeated that with other shows over and over again just to give that audience nostalgia dopamine hit, with no actual substance to his show. When he really died to me was when he took the coward's way out and turned his back on Norm MacDonald. I can't forgive him for that.
