(my thoughts and more video after jump)
I was discussing with a friend the other night that my viewing patterns when it comes to politics tends to ebb and flow depending on the situation or how sick of everything I get at a certain time. I made that comment because I am starting to once again watch Comedy Central’s Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Colbert Report more often instead of Conan.
I may also be trending that way because Real Time with Bill Maher is back in season on HBO. Maher is one of the few people that is fairly liberal whom I have seen call the Dems out on stuff when they screw up or come up short. My only issue with his show is he tends to allow these mantra-spewing conservatives on the panel that just don’t advance the discussion at the table while the good ones tend to only be the interviews between the monologue and table. They spout the same old half-truths that lead to the same arguments that have occurred on the show numerous times over the course of years.
Anyway, we began discussing how Conan and Ferguson were different than all the rest of the late night crew and I was commenting on how the new Conan is better because he is edgier than before due to what he has experienced of late. His aggressive and somewhat no-holds-barred nature is leading to some good stuff on his show, but while it still has some edgy material, the show itself still is married to the template of the format even though cable has given him a little more slack in what can be done.
Ferguson, meanwhile, continues to demonstrate why he is the true renegade of ‘late night.’ He consistently throws the norms of the late night format out the window with some of the things he does on the show.
Tuesday night’s edition, honoring Black History Month, was another example of this. It is not the first time I have seen the Fergermeister make his show a special serious edition without many of his comedic bits as he did the same before with Desmond Tutu (video of show here on YouTube). He continued this concept last night with his main guest, Dr Cornel West, who despite being known as an intellectual tends to be funny as seen on the previously mentioned Bill Maher show. Not surprisingly, there were some jokes made during his interview with West. It is ironic that even though he intends to have a serious discussion with men like West and Tutu, they also prove to be humorous as Tutu also coaxed quite a few chuckles out of the Scotsman.
Craig is perfect for these interviews, especially last night’s where he discussed slavery and things such as the use of terminology like African-American, black, etc. His understandable ‘ignorance’ of the history (some of which I think he fakes for the sake of the interview) in regards to these matters as a foreigner makes for an easier entry into these discussions whereas a white American-born host would be much more hesitant to ask such questions out of the fear of looking like an idiot despite possibly knowing what the answer would be.
I always find his serious interviews very interesting, knowledge and educational while also being entertaining. While Maher may deal with serious issues and feature guests like West and others, the conversation is so fractured by the other contributors and the time constraints of needing to move onto another topic or find a way to elicit a laugh. Allowing West to speak freely created a much better conversation on the Late Late Show and allowed for greater insight than a quick 10-second quip as is the norm on Real Time.
It was also very fitting that the show featured George Clinton performing. It proved perfect as Craig’s discussion with Dr. West meandered into the topic of music (perhaps intentionally), which continued with Clinton at the desk with West after the performance. While he may not be the most adept person in handling an interview, Clinton was a great addition to the discussion.
But beyond tonight, Ferguson has always impressed me. A few years ago he became the first late night host to openly discuss his life and his afflictions, revealing with brutal honesty his substance abuse problems and life growing up in Scotland on his show. David Letterman had been pretty open about his heart issues, which will occur again this week in a Barbara Walters special, but he always kind of did it in jest. Ferguson has also been very personal in discussing his process to citizenship and in obtaining a pilots license to overcome his fear of flying.
While I think a lot of his comedic items are more unique than his peers, everyone has their own. However, his other great feature, seen every night, is his ripping of the conversation blue cards and having an actual chat with his guests instead of following a script. Sometimes I am disappointed because they don’t talk about the show they are the guest is representing, but at least the conversation was frank. And the guest selection is also against the norm as he often interviews authors, a death wish for other hosts.
As usual, CBS is pathetic when it comes to its late night online videos and appears to be keeping to its routine of waiting a week to add a new show to the queue. It is a shame because I would love to link to the full episode so that you can see for yourself how great the show was. But as Craig would say with plenty of sarcasm… CBS Cares!
While it does not include all the little bits, such as the introduction to the show, there is, thankfully, YouTube of the interview…
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