The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

I find it frustrating and quite sad that CBS had the chance to follow on from Craig with another unique, intelligent and unpredictable host yet, instead, chose to follow the growing trend of dumbed down TV for the attention deficit, celebrity obsessed, "don't ask me to think" audience.

We have more than enough of this formulaic dross already. Frenzied audience, whooping and hollering with evangelical hysteria for no apparent reason. Check. Embarrassingly unfunny opening monologue. Check. Pointless house band. Check. Pre-recorded sketches with celebrities doing "hilarious" stuff to show us they are oh so self-effacing and down to earth (pre-approved by their publicists and lawyers of course). Check. The host fawning over the guests du jour with sycophantic waffle "I just loved your new movie/book/album", "You are a legend/my hero/EVERYBODY loves you" and my personal favourite "Just listen to them.." (wide camera shot of brain dead audience on their feet clapping,chanting, whooping, …) Check.

This latest offering is just more of the same; produced, packaged and tied in a neat little bow. Late night Fallon, Kimmel, Leno, Letterman and yes, I'm looking at you too, Ellen. There is enough day time and evening dumbed downed fluff to fill a pillow the size of the Atlantic. Could late night TV not at least try to be a haven for some sort of integrity? What are the advertisers afraid of? Do they think their particular brand of insomniac medicine dulls the senses that much? Corden, at least, takes proctology to new heights; with each and every star utterance he either guffaws like a demented banshee or gazes open mouthed like a teenager in love.

It is as pointless to compare this to Craig Ferguson's show as it is to compare "Twelve Angry Men" to "Fifty Shades of Grey". I am, however, reminded of one scene from the former LLS. The opening sequence, Craig and Secretariat, their faces mere inches from the camera, both just staring wide eyed. Seconds pass. Nothing happens. Finally Craig says "We're seeing who blinks first". Pointless, infantile, laugh out loud genius. Groucho Marx would have loved it. It will be interesting to see which, if any, of the networks blinks first.

Two nights ago while flipping through channels I came across The Late Late show by chance, I normally am asleep by then. Lo and Behold I discovered the Best Talk show on TV. I have always watched Jay Leno, who is funny, and sometimes Letterman depending on his guest, I don't like Dave's arrogance though. But I realize I can watch The Late Late Show simply for Craig.

He is brilliant and hilarious and no matter who comes on the show, he will leave you rolling on the floor laughing. Why can't we have Craig come on earlier? He is a natural born comedian. Craig is such a pleasure to watch, he does not have to jump around, walk funny or act like fool to make us laugh. He is the BEST LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST. Thank you guy for making me laugh so hard, it's been so long since I have done that.

Your forever fan Christine (in Canada)

Now that this show, starring Craig Ferguson, has run its course, I feel compelled to offer my opinion of this irreverent late night offering.

I don't know how or if Ferguson did research regarding the preferences of his audience, but it felt like he did. Viewers apparently responded to the wise-cracking skeleton robot called Geoff, so he became a regular, Ferguson's sidekick. Then he added Secretariat, the two guys in a horse suit, non-talking character that spent most of the show off to the side.

I loved those parts of the show. Apparently other viewers did too. And Ferguson knew it.

My other favorite thing about the show was the long list of "regulars", those guests who seemed to love being on the show--notably Kristen Bell--and responded well to the kookiness of Craig and his cohorts.

Ferguson's energy may have waned sometimes, but he (with Geoff) always indulged his wacky sense of humor, creating a long list of regular routines, like the monologue, his reading of viewer emails, the verbal "abuse" of the show's producer, and many many others.

Still, Ferguson never shied from serious conversations with his guests and sometimes indulged in philosophical discussions, displaying a broad understanding of the discipline.

His love of music, including the punk genre, was always part of the show, even when he and Geoff played with harmonicas.

Now that Ferguson has moved on, I feel an awkward pause in late night entertainment. I will miss the shenanigans.

Craig Ferguson is one of the brightest and funniest comic wits Great Britain has produced in the last ten years. Still, Ferguson's selection as host of the Late Late Show came as a big surprise. Known to American audiences mostly from his appearances on "The Drew Carey Show," Ferguson seemed like too much of an unknown quantity to host a nightly network talk show. Judging from his first shows as host, however--especially his smashing official debut--casting Ferguson may have been a stroke of genius. The irreverent Scot--a cult figure from his work on "Red Dwarf" and "Freakazoid"-- is lively, likable, sharp and captivating, gently mocking competitors like Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Kimmel and poking merciless fun at the dull conventions of late-night. Fans who may have worried that Ferguson's UK comic sensibilities would be blunted or watered down by US network standards should rest easy--at least in early episodes, he's at his best, and is a significant improvement from Craig Kilborn's snarky Hef's-grotto fratboy sensibilities. O'Brien and especially Kimmel should keep a close eye on Ferguson--this show is off to a bold start, and savvy viewers will find Craig Ferguson hard to resist.

Upon a chance, I was awake at 1 in the morning, flipping through the channels. Let's see. Keeping Up With the Kardashians. No. Kitchen Nightmares. No. Jersey Shore. Hell no. Upon a chance, I flipped to CBS, and I saw Craig Ferguson for the first time. Within 30 seconds, I loved the man! Craig is easily the funniest late-night talk show host. Not because he has headlines, not because he has a top 10 list. Not because he has enough money to pay for an audience that will laugh at anything he says. He is the best because he is funny! There are certain kinds of funny. Self-deprecating, deadpan, satirical. Craig can be all of these, but instead, he is spontaneous. To add to that, he is genuine. Unlike many talk-show hosts, who should consider themselves lucky that they have a job at all, Craig knows that he is lucky he has a job, and this adds to his appeal. He is sincere and empathetic, as evinced when he refused to make fun of Britney Spears b/c he once had a drug addiction. Only Craig would do that, and only Craig could do that well. Craig's guests are also better by far. The show actually allows guests to open up and say what they want for eight minutes, no cue cards involved. Jay Leno: "So I hear you're from the United States?" David Letterman: "So I hear you're from the United States?" Craig Ferguson: "Have you ever explored bisexuality?" Only Craig could ask these questions so well, and only in that environment could guests answer honestly. I also applaud Craig for treating all guests equally. Unlike some talk-show hosts, who would offer special treatment to a Will Ferrell or a Julia Roberts, Craig accepts guests who in their field might be underrated or underutilized. No band either. No Kevin Eubanks or Paul "Parrot" Shaffer or Andy Richter. It's all Craig, and I love him for it. I will admit that Geoff can get a little repetitive, and double entendre's on the show are becoming kind of clichéd. In conclusion, I'll give the show a 9 out of 10. In truth, it should be a 10 out of 10, but nobody's perfect, and Craig plays that to perfection.