The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
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| The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson | |
|---|---|
| Format | Talk show, variety show |
| Created by | David Letterman |
| Starring | Craig Ferguson |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 670 (as of May 9, 2008) |
| Production | |
| Location(s) | CBS Television City |
| Running time | 60 minutes per episode |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBS |
| Original airing | January 3, 2005 - Present |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | The Late Late Show |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson is an American late-night talk show hosted by Craig Ferguson. Ferguson is the third regular host of The Late Late Show on CBS.
Contents |
[edit] Show format
He begins each program with the same routine:
- Walking up to the side of the camera and slapping it and saying, "Come on in!" to the TV audience.
- Saying a cheery, "Welcome to Los Angeles, California. Welcome to The Late Late Show. I am your host, TV's Craig Ferguson" (recalling how UK TV presenter Iain Lee used to introduce himself on British television's The Eleven O'Clock Show)
- He half-heartedly implores his studio audience to stop applauding and cheering for him. He then jokes that the audience has had too much free candy.
- He then begins his monologue saying, "It's a great day for America, everybody..."
The show's opening monologue is called "Show and Tell." It is outlined in advance, but is mostly improvisational rather than scripted. Following the monologue, there is often a comedy sketch, which can feature Ferguson in costume or performing in collaboration with any of a number of semi-regular guests including performers such as Dave Foley, Daniel McVicar, and Tim Meadows. Occasionally a guest will participate in a sketch, such as Ewan McGregor.[1]. The sketch is then followed by one or more interviews.
Ferguson makes frequent use of sound effects when he welcomes his viewers back to the show after a commercial break; he refers to his audience as "cheeky little monkeys" or "frisky little ponies" or similar, accompanying the greeting with the sound of animals, the sound of a cracking whip, or other effect.
The show sometimes ends with a musical guest. Musical performances are often taped before the rest of a show.[2] When a show's interviews run long, the musical guest is "invited back" which in this case means the show's producers merely roll the pre-taped performance the next day.
[edit] Serious monologues
On a few occasions Ferguson's opening monologue has taken on a serious tone. For example, on January 30, 2006, Ferguson eulogized his father, who had died the day before. Ferguson was nominated for his first Emmy for the episode.
On February 19, 2007, Ferguson announced he would do "no Britney Spears jokes", saying "comedy should have a certain amount of joy in it" and that it shouldn't include "attacking the vulnerable." He references his 15 years of sobriety and the struggle he had with addiction, almost ending in suicide.[3]
[edit] Production milestones
A new set debuted on the July 24, 2006 episode, after the previous one had been comically destroyed by Bob Barker and others from The Price is Right. It included a miniature CBS dirigible that floats along over the backdrop depicting Los Angeles.
When the 2007-08 Writers Guild of America strike began, the show went into reruns. It resumed production on January 2, 2008 after Worldwide Pants and the WGA came to an agreement.
In the week starting with March 17, 2008, The Late Late Show debuted a new set featuring a desk/interview area on a raised platform. The backdrop was also changed to a more realistic and detailed representation of Los Angeles.
[edit] Ratings
In 2006, clips of The Late Late Show began appearing on the video sharing website YouTube. Subsequently, Ferguson's ratings "grew 7 percent (or by 100,000 viewers)."[4]
During the week ending March 31, 2006, The Late Late Show attracted an average of 1.9 million total viewers[5], a number that increased to 2.0 million a year later.[6]
During the week ending April 4, 2008, The Late Late Show attracted an average of 1.88 million total viewers; that week, for the first time since Ferguson began hosting, the show's "five-night week of original head-to-head broadcasts" drew a larger audience than Late Night with Conan O'Brien.[7] Reuters noted that "Ferguson's bigger accomplishment seems to be that he has merely lost fewer viewers this season, with his total audience slipping 12 percent from a year ago, compared with a 24 percent drop for O'Brien"; the year-to-year decline in viewership was attributed to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike.[7]
[edit] Show elements
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This article or section may contain an excessive amount of information with limited interest or intricate details. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. (April 2008) |
[edit] Segments
Current (as of 2007) regular segments include
- Answering e-mails sent by viewers
- Writing letters with a quill to various people (examples: to his boss (David Letterman) asking for a raise, to President Bush asking for a copy of a telephone conversation, and to Donald Trump about his argument with Martha Stewart). During these segments Ferguson adopts an intentionally exaggerated Yorkshire accent.
- Craig referencing and arguing with his imaginary sidekick "Davis", whom Craig claimed to be able to see while he was on flu medication.
- Accessing his voice-mail, which includes either embarrassing messages or complaints, both of which he dismisses to the audience as being from "one of those... telemarketers."
- Field reports from correspondent Tim Meadows in which it is revealed that Meadows did not complete or botched his assignment
- A lesson from "expert" Dave Foley on numerous subjects that he is obviously not an expert on
- Interviews with Henry Winkler, Betty White or Jamie Denbo much in the same vein as his work with Dave Foley.
- Soap opera-style showdowns with actor Dan McVicar.
- Frequent guests include Dwight Yoakum, Danny Bonaduce, and chef Wolfgang Puck who usually brings Craig's favorite "mini burgers"
- Craig "getting his freak on" (dancing) during commercial breaks.
- Mock interviews and/or press conferences with George W. Bush impressionist James Adomian
- Mock interviews with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (aka. "Fake Arnold") and Robert De Niro impressionist Josh Robert Thompson.
- A segment has featured clips of United States Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in a news conference with a second pair of hands added, performing various activities to occupy himself while being questioned, such as sorting a deck of cards and folding paper.
- Mock Larry King skits featuring Ferguson with a wig and glasses interviewing others in a parody of a Larry King Live interview.
- Infrequently Craig interviews Lt. Jim Dangle and Deputy Travis Junior from Reno 911!
- Fake in-show programs:
- Access Extratainment Tonight, a parody of Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, and Extra with Ferguson playing host "Barney Slash".
- The Rather Late Programme with Prince Charles, with Ferguson (wearing a comb over wig, oversized ears and jagged prosthetic teeth) playing Prince Charles, "the King of Late Night Television."
- Sean Connery's This Day In History / A Sean Connery Holiday Memory, where Sean Connery (played by Ferguson) recounts an event that happened to him on this day (or holiday season) however many years ago.
- Prince Charles Keepin' it Royal
- The Return of Michael Caine in Space — a segment where Caine (impersonated by Ferguson or a guest) makes one-liners from outer-space.
- Mick Jagger, Time Traveling Jerk
- Larry King of the Jungle
- Sean Connery, Street Magician
- J.K. Rowling, "The J.K. Rowling Show"
- ESPN UK
- Simon Cowell MD
- Murder, She Wrote 2008
- The U2 Film Review
- Dear Aquaman
- What did we learn on the show tonight, Craig?
[edit] Impersonations
Impersonations frequently done by Ferguson on the show include Prince Charles, Sean Connery, and Michael Caine ["in Space"]. Bono
Less frequent Ferguson impersonations include Dr. Phil, Simon Cowell, Kim Jong Il, Mick Jagger, Angela Lansbury, Larry King ["of the Jungle"], and J. K. Rowling.
[edit] Sound effects
When the show returns from the commercials, Ferguson welcomes back the audience, calling them "[personality trait][size][animal]s" (examples: "cheeky little monkeys", "frisky little ponies", "filthy little badgers") and then pressing a sound button on his effects box, such as a monkey or (most often) a whip sound. He has an entire battery of goofy sound effects, some of which are accompanied by lighting cues. This box, as Craig explained in answer to viewer email, is a one-of-a-kind, made specially for him "by elves."
A partial list of some of Ferguson's favorite sound effects:
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Sometimes Ferguson ends the show by pressing the moo sound button, stating "That's the Cow of Time. We're out of time. Goodnight everybody."
[edit] Theme song
The opening theme for the show was dropped after Craig Kilborn left. When Ferguson was hired as the full-time replacement, he co-wrote and recorded a new theme song.
The lyrics of the song are:
"It's hard to stay up
It's been a long, long day
And you got the sandman at your door
But hang on, leave the TV on
And let's do it anyway
It's OK, you can always sleep through work tomorrow, OK?
Hey, hey, tomorrow's just your future yesterday."
Beginning July 7th, 2006, the show's theme featured only the ending of the original song, though by January 2, 2008 show the full theme had returned, mostly intact.
[edit] Bob Barker
A running gag during the summer of 2006 involved Ferguson going out of his way to pick on the recently retired CBS game show host Bob Barker who, Ferguson eventually concluded, was a vampire.
The climax was reached on July 15, 2006, when Bob, flanked by the rest of The Price is Right's staff, including announcer Rich Fields and some of Barker's Beauties, staged a "surprise" visit. This was the last show before a long-planned replacement of the set. Although Barker did not injure Ferguson, he did do some serious damage to his desk with a single blow. The desk was later totally destroyed by the models, and Ferguson returned, after the commercial break, with a card table covered by a checkered picnic cloth. The episode ended with Ferguson helping the episode's musical guests, Family Force 5, completely trash the set.
Barker appeared on his show immediately after retirement and presented a portrait of himself as a vampire to Ferguson as a gift.
[edit] References
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2008) |
- ^ Dirk Weems & Ewan McGregor
- ^ When Craig introduces a musical guest, they aren't actually on stage, a fact sometimes revealed by a wide shot at show close.
- ^ Craig Ferguson Refuses To Do Spears Jokes, Talk Show Host Who Battled Alcoholism Takes Heat Off Of "Vulnerable" Pop Star - CBS News
- ^ For Google, the YouTube litigation threat was overblown. - Dec. 8, 2006
- ^ JAY AND CONAN COLLECT WEEK 28 WINS
- ^ JAY AND CONAN DOMINATE THE WEEK OF APRIL 2-6
- ^ a b Craig Ferguson claims rare win on late-night TV | Entertainment | Television | Reuters
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