Sometimes I watch late night television shows and think, “I would be a way better guest than this fool.”
It’s not that I’ve had such a dazzling and fascinating life, but I at least know what stories are semi-entertaining. For instance, I’d talk about the time in grad school when my friend (who was covering this as a story) and I went to a support group for Hassidic Jews trying to leave, which lasted until sunrise and included Rastafarians and the smoking of some substances (no, I did not partake, but I wish I had because that really would be the perfect talk show story). When I hear a celebrity share something mundane, it annoys me, but I get really irritated when they recite a horribly boring story with a smirk on their face the whole time, like “Aren’t I clever? Wink.” I guess I shouldn’t be so judgmental, because I’m sure it can be a nerve-wracking experience, but still: run your stories past your agents, people! That’s what they get paid for!
It really does matter who the interviewer is as well. A good host is able to twist a story to make it more interesting, or insert a joke so the audience is forced to actually laugh at the tale. I used to enjoy watching Conan O’Brien when he was on Late Night, because he was just wacky enough to keep things interesting without veering off into bizarre territory. He was engaging and brought out the goofiness in his guests. Jimmy Fallon can be too earnest for my liking, but I do appreciate that he often has guests participate in weird games, like when he and Nathan Fillion wore plexiglass suits and shot at each other with Nerf bow and arrows (don’t you wish it was your job to come up with stuff like that?).
Not that this will ever happen, but if I had to be on a late show, I’d forget about the major networks and go on The Colbert Report. True, it’s not a traditional talk show like The Tonight Show, but I adore Stephen Colbert, and I’m sure I could be totally witty and funny, and we’d be bantering back and forth with the greatest of ease. In reality, I’d probably bomb just like the celebrities I’m griping about, but in my imagination, I’m awesome!
If you were to be on a late night show, which one would it be? What story would you share?
9 replies on “Let’s Chat About Late Night Talk Shows”
Craig Ferguson! Though I might get distracted by swooning over his accent. I would practice on a mouth organ beforehand.
He does seem like he would be lots of fun!
I HATE it when celebrities do a crappy job on a talk show. It irritates me because public appearances are part of their job, and I hate seeing people do their jobs poorly.
Thank you! I felt like this was something that probably shouldn’t bother me as much as it does, so I am glad to hear you agree! And you’re right…it is part of their job, and they need to prepare accordingly.
I think I would enjoy Conan- he is still on TBS late nights. Just to see how tall he really is.
Yeah, I’ve watched his TBS show a few times and I just don’t feel like it’s as good as his old show. That’s too bad, too, because I used to enjoy watching him.
Graham Norton (English guy) and I would share way too personal information about making up boyfriends, playing Cupid for female friends and ignoring the school hottie because everyone loved him.
And Ellen so we can dance together. She really grew on me.
I’m going to be that person and point out that Graham Norton is Irish (from Cork), though he has made his career in Britain and fair fucks to him:)
Oh this was more in a ‘Americans might not know him’ way! So very sorry for taking him from you ;)