The Late Late Show (CBS TV series)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. (June 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
| The Late Late Show | |
|---|---|
| Format | Talk show, variety show |
| Created by | David Letterman |
| Starring | Craig Ferguson (2004–present) Craig Kilborn (1999–2004) Tom Snyder (1995–1999) |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 2,578 (as of October 27, 2007) |
| Production | |
| Location(s) | CBS Television City |
| Running time | 60 minutes per episode |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBS |
| Original run | January 9, 1995 – present |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
The Late Late Show is an American late-night television talk and variety show currently hosted by Craig Ferguson on CBS. It immediately follows Late Show with David Letterman and is produced by Letterman's Worldwide Pants Incorporated in CBS Television City. The program dates to 1995, and has had three permanent hosts.
Occasionally, the show is split into 15- and 45-minute segments when CBS airs a daily late night highlight show for either The Masters, other PGA Tour events with rights owned by CBS, or tennis' U.S. Open. The show then has a monologue to start, followed by sports highlights, and then the guest segments.
Contents |
[edit] Hosts
| Host | From | To | Number of Shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Snyder | January 9, 1995 | March 26, 1999 | 777 |
| Craig Kilborn | March 29, 1999 | December 31, 2004 | 1,190 |
| Craig Ferguson | January 3, 2005 | Present | 680 (to date) |
[edit] Tom Snyder era (1995–1999)
Tom Snyder hosted the program from its inception in January 1995 until March of 1999. The choice of Snyder as host was apparently made by David Letterman, whose contract with CBS gave him the power to produce the show in the timeslot immediately after his own program.
Letterman and Snyder had a long history together: a 1978 Tomorrow episode hosted by Snyder was almost exclusively devoted to a long interview with up-and-coming new comedy talents Letterman, Billy Crystal and Merrill Markoe. And in 1982, when Tomorrow was canceled by NBC, Letterman took over Snyder's timeslot with his own NBC show Late Night with David Letterman. Because of this, some have speculated that Letterman simply wanted to give Snyder -- whom he had long idolized -- another chance in the late night arena, as a sort of repayment of an old debt.[citation needed]
Snyder's show featured a mix of celebrities, politicians and other newsmakers, but was otherwise quite unlike the program hosted by Letterman. Snyder was a former newsman, not a comedian, and his show featured an intimate interview format with no studio audience present, similar to his old Tomorrow show of the 1970s, or to the then-current Charlie Rose show. Throughout most of the show's run, it was also simulcast over some CBS Radio stations, and Snyder accepted calls from viewers/listeners somewhat in the manner of Larry King.
Jazz musician David Sanborn composed the theme music and several other songs featured on the show.
Snyder's trademarks included:
- Frequent informal kibitzing with the show's offstage crew.
- His opening remarks, which were delivered while sitting in a chair, and usually told of his adventures earlier in the day while doing everyday, mundane things like buying groceries or driving to work.
- Snyder usually introduced the show as the "colorcast" or "simulcast," if also airing on radio. NBC used the term colorcast to introduce its programs produced in color during the 1960's
- Just before the first commercial break, Snyder always invited viewers to "fire up the colortinis and watch the pictures as they fly through the air." A "colortini" was an imaginary drink, rather like a martini, that Snyder felt viewers should enjoy while watching the show on a color television. Later, in reference to the radio/TV simulcast of his show, Snyder would often substitute "simultini" for "colortini".
Snyder was originally scheduled to broadcast his last Late Late Show on March 19, 1999. However, his replacement Craig Kilborn was still working out the kinks in the new show's format, so the 62-year-old Snyder amiably agreed to 'help out the new guy' by filling in for another few weeks before he was scheduled to step down as the first host of the show. Tom Snyder died of leukemia on July 29, 2007 at the age of 71.
[edit] Craig Kilborn era (1999–2004)
When Snyder announced he was leaving, the show was reformatted to resemble Letterman and other major late-night talk programs. Craig Kilborn took over in March 1999, having left The Daily Show to become the new Late Late Show host.
When Kilborn was on the show, it began with a haunting full moon wavering behind gray stratus clouds on the screen to the tuning of an orchestra, while the announcer -- the recorded, modulated voice of Kilborn himself -- blurted out, "From the gorgeous, gorgeous Hollywood Hills in sunny California, it's your Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn. Tonight [...]", and then the guests were announced with the show's theme song composed by Neil Finn. Then Kilborn was presented, "Ladies and gentlemen, *pause* Mister Craig Kilborn", with the 1970s disco band Wild Cherry song "Play That Funky Music".
After Kilborn's stand-up monologue, he walked to his "Bavarian oak desk" while Finn's theme song continued playing with the chorus "The Late Late Show is starting. The Late Late Show is starting now." The "Desk Chat" was said to be Craig's favorite part of the show.
During later seasons, the opening consisted of shots of various Los Angeles hotspots accompanied by a new theme song performed and written by Chris Isaak. For this new theme song, Kilborn would be played to the desk with a chorus of "The Late Late Show is starting".
Segments included:
- In the News, a news segment, whose theme song was Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger", where Kilborn would provide a humorous overview of the day's events. It was briefly called "The World of Whimsy" following the September 11th attacks. The segment also included characters such as the hoary and cherubic "Ewok Guy" or the rapping "PG&E" Lady.
- What Up?, a Friday segment where Kilborn and three other panelists discussed and joked about the news. It included a guest, the director of the program, Mike Gibbons, who was introduced by Kilborn as "[One] of the brightest minds in show business", and then, staff writer Goldie - "He was the art editor of his high school newspaper." Each panelist, in turn, greeted Kilborn with, "What up, Craig?" This segment was similar to the ESPN show Around the Horn.
- Alex, the Disgruntled Old Page, a bad-tempered page acted by one of Kilborn's staff members, who thought his private thoughts "aloud", unintentionally.
- Sebastian, the Asexual Icon
- To Blank with Love in which Kilborn dedicated verses to different people and things
- Five Questions in which Kilborn asked a geography question, a Match Game-style "blank" question where the guest had to fill a blank with a word related to the guest, a "Now think of other one" question in which the guest had to guess what Kilborn had in mind. This segment was a holdover from Kilborn's previous job as the host of The Daily Show.
- Tuesdays with Buddy, with Buddy Hackett
- Clippings That Tickle Your Funny Bone - "They're Funny!"
- a movie poster review segment
- A Recreation of a Press Photo
- Yambo, an elimination game between two guests
- Craig Kilborn, Man of 537 Faces
- Compatible With Opus? in which recent cast-offs from CBS reality show Survivor were given the chance to win a date with staff member Opus Moreschi.
- Commentary with Mike Greyson in which a sports opinionist with a negative take on society, sports, and culture discussed how everything "sucks" or is a "debacle," much to the delight of the audience.
- A Late Late Show Do-Over
- a dance segment in which Kilborn said, "All I wanna do is dance, dance, dance" while looking into three different cameras (Another Daily Show holdover.)
Kilborn left the program on August 27, 2004, following negotiations which ended unexpectedly when he opted not to renew his contract.
[edit] Transition
Subsequent new shows featured guest hosts, culminating in week-long showcases for four finalists: Craig Ferguson, D. L. Hughley, Damien Fahey and Michael Ian Black. It was announced on December 7, 2004 that Ferguson, a Scottish comedian best known from his role as Mr. Wick on The Drew Carey Show, was to become Kilborn's permanent replacement. A Chicago Sun-Times television critic reported that Letterman made the decision.
[edit] Craig Ferguson era (2005–present)
Craig Kilborn stepped down as host of The Late Late Show in 2004. That same year CBS announced that comedian Craig Ferguson would succeed Kilborn as the new permanent host on the program. The show also received a new set and graphics upgrade.
[edit] External links
- The Late Late Show
- On Being a Candidate to Take Over a Late-Night Network Talk Show, a McSweeney's article by Michael Ian Black
- The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder at the Internet Movie Database
- The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn at the Internet Movie Database
- The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at the Internet Movie Database
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
