The Arsenio Hall Show

I admit I have fond memories of the Arsenio Hall show and was a devout viewer, but that was when he first came out and skyrocketed to instant popularity. He was a major hype of the times, an icon for bringing a new, hip and refreshing format to the talk show industry, and checking out his show seemed like the "in" thing to do.

There were funny and memorable moments, like the time Kurt Russell was a guest and a song from an album he recorded as a child star suddenly started blaring on the studio speakers. There were also Arsenio's merciless digs at Roseanne Barr during his opening monologue, most of which were pretty funny. There was also Madonna's hyped up and much publicized appearance (back when she was at a superstar zenith), and after the applause died down and the 'talk' began, all she basically did was throw questions back at him about his alleged romance with Paula Abdul.

Arsenio seemed to revel in his own success too, like showing a clip from "Ghost" where Whoopi Goldberg mentions to two co-stars that his show was on. Or taking note of the news item where a guy got outraged and violent after other people in his household wouldn't let him watch the show.

Yeah, The Arsenio Hall show was a product of the times, unfortunately time wasn't too kind and before long, the fad started to wear out. My interest started to wane in '91 when things weren't making such an impact anymore. Even another appearance from Madonna didn't liven things up. She, looking pale and curiously waxen faced, merely sat quietly while her then-friend Rosie O'Donnell obnoxiously hogged up all the attention.

Yes, Arsenio was a great show, but only at the beginning, afterwards, it became a passing fancy, much like the "Help, I've fallen and can't get up!" commercial and the "Twin Peaks" TV series.

If someone were to come up to you on the street and asked you this question.......Who is Arsenio Hall?

At one time this man had one of the hippest and brightest talk show in the history of late night television and also to make a point here that he was the ONLY African-American entertainer to accomplished such a feat during a period between the 1980's and 1990's when Johnny Carson was the undisputed ruler of the "late night talk-show circuit",and to put in this same category David Lettermen and also Ted Koppel,who had a news magazine show during the late-night hour.

Say what you want about Arsenio Hall,since his show was a not to be missed and for one "The Arsenio Hall Show"(Syndicated:1989-1994)was the coolest show ever made,and righteously so. I remember watching Arsenio Hall when it first premiered in 1989 and from the first episode it really took off since at the time "The Arsenio Hall Show" debuted after "The Joan Rivers Show",and "Late Night Starring Chevy Chase" were dismal failures. For the six years that it ran in syndication,Arsenio Hall was riding the wave of popularity and the explosion of "hip-hop" culture and "trends" was about to follow. He did however struck a chord with the youth of America since Arsenio show was just about as good as it got and then some. However,a large percentage that were watching the show were younger people since for the first two seasons(between the years 1989 and 1991),"The Arsenio Hall Show" was the hottest show on the planet and within its first season(1989-1990)it dethroned Johnny Carson off the top spot of the late night supermacy. It was during the first two seasons the show was akin to that of the first years of Saturday Night Live. People stopped everything to what they were doing and watch--there were parties centered around the show and there was excitement in the air as well since the next day people would gather around the water cooler to discuss about last night's show and to eventually think about what Arsenio will do next or for matter something in between. A prime example of one episode I do recall was when Arsenio had a special guest or mystery guest to surprise the crowd and then something else would come in and really get the crowd jumping! It was between the years of 1989 and 1991 that were the best Arsenio Hall had since he was the Number One late night talk show in America. Then the unexpected happen. Let's face it,Arsenio Hall did what Johnny Carson,David Lettermen,Jay Leno,and even Conan O'Brien couldn't do...bring a hip audience with hip appeal to the youth of America! And secondly,history was being made too since Arsenio Hall became the ONLY black entertainer to successfully host his own weekly late-night talk show,and his own program which was something other African-Americans did as well like Keenan Ivory-Wayans,Flip Wilson or to an lesser extent Nat King Cole!

The show took chances that NO ONE else dared to do but Arsenio Hall! Several moments were excellent here including a daring saxophone player who was the governor of Arkansas who went on to become the President Of The United States(William Jefferson Clinton). Bill Clinton won the presidency in 1992 because he dethroned Bush and kept it real and keeping in touch with the youth of America thanks to Arsenio Hall!!! The other? When The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan,Leader Of The Nation Of Islam came on Arsenio's show when no one else dared to get him for an interview and eventually appeared on national television!! The same can be said for Reverend Jesse Jackson and also for Reverend and activist Al Sharpton. The show was a launching pad for up and coming comedians as well including George Wallace and Bernie Mac not to mention Chris Rock and others that became famous thanks to Arsenio Hall! Not to mention on the same category aspiring actors and actresses who would go on to much bigger and better thanks to Arsenio Hall! There were some funny moments as well too.

As far as music was concerned,it was so much that "The Arsenio Hall Show" did for entertainers on a URBAN scale and it featured some of the best R&B acts and not to mention "hip-hop" acts of all time! He also had other acts as well that consisted of many musical fields including several bands that made their appearances of his show when the "grunge" era of rock music was about to explode upon the youth of America. Many of these performers were on Arsenio Hall's show when NO ONE else like The Tonight Show,David Lettermen or Conan O'Brien wouldn't let them in the door! Nor for that manner wouldn't have them!

During the years 1991 to 1994,the show suffered a decline and in the ratings as well since the pop culture was changing at a rapid pace leaving Arsenio Hall behind. America quickly lost interest in the program and other shows of the time were making jokes about Arsenio which to this day he doesn't like. The show was also a political hotbed for topics and issues which killed the show's good ratings. The ratings really started to slip during the O.J. Simpson trial and not to mention the wake of the riots that engulf Los Angeles,California during the show's 1992-1993 season. During that time Arsenio turned his show into a "Phil Donahue" type forum on inner city problems,and I do recalled that one episode of his show during an discussing of this got really ugly and it was during a taping with a live audience. This is when the show got worst and from their his audience was deserting him. Because of this,the show was pushed back into a later time slot and from there the final episode of "The Arsenio Hall Show" came to an end in May of 1994,after an astounding six year run in syndication.

Arsenio Hall was one of the most fascinating events in modern pop culture. In 1989 Arsenio started "The Arsenio Hall" show which was a slick, young, hip talk show aimed at the youth crowd. For a while it seemed like Arsenio was unstoppable, and he was the biggest media event around. Arsenio even had NBC execs quaking in their boots, so much so they that they went behind Johnny Carson's back and pressured him to step down from the "Tonight Show". Johnny was just too old according to NBC, and they wanted the young crowd that Arsenio was getting.

But NBC jumped the gun a little too fast, because just as soon as Arsenio came, he dissappeared from the scene without a trace. No one even noticed Arsenio's exit, and I doubt many people even cared. As Forrest Gump would say back in Arsenio's last year of '94, "for no particular reason, nobody wanted to watch that flat topped funny Black man anymore. And that's all I have to say about that."

The irony is that today Arsenio is the crusty old middle aged man. Today Arsenio is a total has been that is doing B-movies and other low level straight to video nonsense. Johnny's 30 year legacy will be remembered for years to come, while Arsenio was just a minor blimp on the radar.

Oh yeah, Arsenio was also Eddie Murphy's friend. Which obviously helped him out. Maybey Arsenio should try and become Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Tucker, or Chris Rock's new best friend. Lord knows Arsenio needs help with his non-existant career.

The generation today probably doesn't know who this man is. Though everybody remembers him as Eddie Murphy's sidekick in the 1988 movie "Coming to America". A few months later he had his own late night talk show. The first 2 years Arsenio was at his best and after that the show became boring and dry. He started having the same usual guest like Bill Cosby,MC Hammer,and Eddie Murphy to name a few. In 1994 maybe a week before his show was canceled he interviewed Minister Louis Farrakhan,and the plug was pulled. Recently he been the host of the newly Star Search,but today many people think this man's show never existed. This is probably because he didn't leave the audience when some interesting and overwhelming interviews with his guest and everything was sugar-coated and a** kissing. Naturally Arsenio Hall seem like a warm-hearted man who just can't cut staying in the limelight.

I remember watching Arsenio Hall when the show first came on in 1989. Lots of kids these days probably don't remember Arsenio and this show, but back in '89 when I was 13, this was considered the coolest show EVER. People would talk about nearly every show the next day. I remember how everyone in my school were talking about his verbal sparring with Madonna(which always seemed staged to me) back in early 1990.

Unfortunately, only 1989 and 1990 were good to poor Arsenio. The guy and his show stayed true to the old adage, "the quicker you burn, the faster you fade away". The blush went off the rose very quickly, and from 1991-'94, Arsenio limped along with his lame jokes and Eddie Murphy wannabe routines. I remember I stopped watching when I was 15 or 16 sometime in 1991 anyway. During the shows run during the rest of the '90s, people wondered when Arsenio would finally get cancelled, instead of talking about each show like it was an event. I'm not sure, but I think that like M.C. Hammer, Arsenio became very "1989". When the show finally went off the air in 1994, I don't think anyone even cared. I also think this show only receiving only 3 or 4 comments speaks volumes about Arsenio and his show, people have forgotten completely about him. Nevertheless, during 1989 and 1990, Arsenio Hall was a household name.