Washington Post TV critic Tom Shales sure can write a terrific opening. Too bad his argument turns soggy so quickly.
In reviewing the first week of Conan, Shales takes a broad look at the state of late-night TV and finds it wanting. Or at least too much the same and certainly not very innovative.
It's curious and fortunate that Shales' piece came out Tuesday, because Tuesday night offers Exhibit A in the demolition of his argument: Craig Ferguson, whose show I've added more and more to my viewing rotation (and not always on TV, because it has a big Internet and social media presence). Ferguson has Matt Smith on Tuesday night. For all of you asking, "Who?" I would say he's the latest star in the long-running, then-revived and much-loved British sci-fi series "Doctor Who." But the very fact that you have to ask makes the point that not all of late-night is the same old, same old.
Not that even Ferguson sees the risk: In a recent tweet about Smith's visit, he gave it the hashtag of #cbsisterrifiedofmycontemptforratings. But when I watched Ferguson on Monday night, there was an ad for the DVD release of the latest season of "Doctor Who."
And here's Ferguson on Monday night promoting Smith on Tuesday night:
More exhibits for the defense:
Exhibit B: It's not exactly like late night is a genre for the new. The greatest story in TV last year was the stunning failure of Jay Leno to catch fire in an earlier time slot and the wreckage that ensured for NBC and O'Brien. Lost in that: Leno tried to remake what we think of in a late-night talk show. The audience spoke quickly.
If these shows didn't have an audience (or at least an advertising-rich segment of an audience), the networks have no hesitation to cut their losses quickly. Look what's going on in prime time. What we have now with Conan's reentry is a temporarily oversaturated market. Plus, going back to the original "Late Show," heck, maybe even to Carson, was the tension in walking the line of the mainstream while also offering a smattering of innovation or the odd to keep people coming back. It's no different today, except maybe there are so many shows.
