Uncle Orson Reviews 1998

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Variety and Chat

Chris Rock. The best. Underused on "Saturday Night Live," he's in his element now. He's good with guests. He's good alone. I just wish he did more new shows. I could watch him daily.

Dennis Miller Live. Why does he have guests? It's Miller I tune in to see. He doesn't know how to use his guests anyway, and the call-in feature never works. But Miller, ranting or gibing, is the sharpest political wit on tv, and he should just start talking at the beginning of the show. If he needs dialogue, turn the cameras on the studio audience. Or get political guests, not show business ones.

Late Night with Conan O'Brien. How can I love a show whose host is continually annoying? I know -- because I almost never actually watch this show. I only listen to it. And Andy Richter constantly saves Conan's awkward comedic butt with his much drier comedy. It is this show that is the closest thing we have to a true successor to Carson's sketch comedy. Favorite bits: "In the Year 2000," "Staring Contest," and, above all, the fake "interviews" with still photos of people in the news. The only time I can stand to watch Clinton on TV is when he appears as the "yee-haw" character on "Conan."

Rosie O'Donnell. She has more fun than any other host on TV, and it's contagious. As the bloom wears off and she searches for staying power, she's moving more toward putting on a "woman's" show -- and, in fact, it's working ... that is, I'm feeling more and more excluded. But I still enjoy hearing her with her guests, and alone of the chat-show hosts, she has genuine conversations with her guests. She is the only successor to Carson as an interviewer.

The Late Show with David Letterman. Maybe he's overcome his perpetual fear of being disliked, or maybe he's simply learned to live with it, but Letterman seems to have finally found his groove, and even though he's still not the world's best interviewer, his shows rarely have excruciating moments anymore. He's given up and surrendered to the nightly "Top Ten List" -- a wise move -- and he moves comfortably even through the lame bits. His smart-aleck bits no longer have a mean streak -- and that, too, is an improvement. I expect to watch Letterman till he retires. Except, of course, the monologue, which is never very good.

The Tonight Show. I still hold Jay Leno as responsible as anyone for the defeat of George Bush and the election of Bill Clinton in 1992 -- and that's a heavy burden to bear. But Leno's nightly monologue is the only one on TV that compares to Carson's, and his "Headlines" bit is always fun. His "Jay Walking" bits, however, aren't funny to me -- these people are either ignorant or flustered, and ridiculing people for their lack of knowledge seems an inferior form of sport. And as an interviewer, Leno seems to do nothing more than follow the script from the pre-interviews, setting up the jokes and inviting the anecdotes. And then, as often as not, if a story has two sentences without a gag, he steps on the guest by intruding with "wit." Here's a clue, Leno: Your guests are frequently more interesting than you, and sometimes we'd actually like them to complete a thought without having you drag the attention back to yourself.

Fox News Morning Show. I can't remember the name of the program, but this smart-alecky team is the best thing on morning television. In fact, for me, they're the only morning show worth watching.

NFL on HBO. I forget the name of the HBO show where a bunch of commentators sit around rehashing the previous week's games, but you know something? It's more fun than sitting through the actual broadcasts.

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