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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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