Author Archives: Allison Lips
TV Shows You Should Know: The Tonight Show Starring Steve Allen
Before The Tonight Show debacle of 2009-2010 starring Conan O’Brien and Jay Leno, there were three other hosts of The Tonight Show: Steve Allen, Jack Paar, and Johnny Carson. If you’re over 30, you probably think of The Tonight Show as Johnny Carson’s show. However, Steve Allen was the first host of the show. He hosted it from 1954 to 1957.
As the first host of a national late night talk show, Steve Allen directly influenced David Letterman. Letterman has influenced Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, and Jimmy Fallon, so some of Allen’s attitude and antics can still be seen on current late night talk shows.
Logopalooza: TV Land Edition
On May 9, TV Land debuted a new logo for the first time since the networks launch 16 years ago. While TV Land has made minor tweaks to its logo in the past, the latest change is major and marks a new direction for the network.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, TV Land’s president Larry W. Jones says, “The logo feels more modern, but it’s not a complete abandonment of what our heritage is. ”
The Hollywood Reporter also reports that TV Land’s demographic has changed. TV Land’s target audience is 40-somethings, who used to be members of the baby-boomer demographic. Now that the baby boomers have aged, people in there 40s are members of Generation X, who TV Land believes want to see “the kind of multi-camera sitcoms on which they were raised on,” so the logo change is meant to show the change in the network. Jones says, “This was opportunity to signal to the new 40-somethings that is the new TV Land.”
Jay Leno Celebrates 20 Years with NBC
Lately, NBC has been advertising Jay Leno celebrating 20 years at NBC, which is not entirely accurate. He has been with NBC for more than 20 years, the first few were spent as permanent guest host of The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson. NBC should be saying Leno has been hosting The Tonight Show for 20 years. Wait, that’s not right either, even though NBC wants to be able to insist otherwise. In reality, Leno has been regularly hosting a nightly talk show for 20 years: 19 years as host of The Tonight Show, 5 months as host of The Jay Leno Show.
Let’s be honest. It is impressive that Leno has been on the air for 20 years, but there is a huge segment of the population that holds a grudge against him. They are the ones who will always remember that Conan O’Brien hosted The Tonight Show for 7 months, which NBC would rather forget. They are the very reason Team Coco exists and Conan is now happy on TBS.
Foreign Friday: Die Harald Schmidt Show
Every Friday, I post a clip from a country other than the United States.
This week we visit Germany. Die Harald Schmidt Show is a talk show strongly influenced by David Letterman and Conan O’Brien. Harald Schmidt is often called the “German David Letterman” to the point that Letterman once referred to him as “the guy in Germany who does my show.” Schmidt’s original set was almost an exact replica of the set that Letterman had during his Late Night days.
While the following clip only has a few subtitles, it is pretty easy to understand what is going on. Enjoy this look at German television.
We Can’t Believe We Defended Piers Morgan
In “Howard Stern or Piers Morgan: Who’s Got Talent?”, Jeremy argued that Piers Morgan was entertaining on America’s Got Talent and made a decent judge. As an avid viewer of AGT, I agree that Piers Morgan did have his redeeming qualities. I actually would go as far as to say Piers is a better judge than Howard Stern, who appears to be making AGT “The Howard Show”. However, Jeremy and I both think we need to make it perfectly clear that while we like Piers, we in no way think he isn’t a scumbag.
Piers has been involved in several scandals in the United Kingdom, the most well known is the News Corp. hacking scandal. Before Americans knew him as a reality show judge, Brits already knew him as the unlikable editor of several tabloids, such as The Sun and The Daily Mirror, who was somehow redeemed by his friendship with Simon Cowell. To make up for defending Piers Morgan, here is a clip (starts at 4:30) of him getting slimed/gunged on Noel’s House Party.
Also, we would like to inform our British friends that we are well aware no one likes Noel Edmonds and have no idea why he’s still on television.
Dateline NBC’s 20th Anniversary Special Review
Last night, Dateline NBC celebrated its 20th Anniversary with a special that was less a special and more a regular episode. While it was nice to catch up with Michael J. Fox and Anne Curry’s favorite sextuplets, I was expecting more about the history of Dateline. I wanted NBC to show how Dateline has evolved from that from first show into what it is today. Instead, viewers saw four interviews catching us up on four different topics: Michael J. Fox and Parkinson’s, two families brought together by a bus accident and accidental mix-up of their daughters, the first sextuplets to be born and survive, and Carrie Underwood’s success since winning American Idol. It was not a bad episode, just typical. This was the type of special usually reserved for those odd anniversaries like the seventeenth where a big special seems inappropriate, but no one wants to let the anniversary pass without a mention.
CBS Wants You to Have a Good eBag
CBS is giving away episodes of 9 popular shows as a way to say “Thank you for continuing to make CBS America’s Most-Watched Network.” The shows offered are Blue Bloods, CSI:NY, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The Good Wife, NCIS: Los Angeles, Hawaii Five-O, and Survivor as well the classic Job Switching I Love Lucy episode and The Twilight Zone episode “Eye of the Beholder”. You can download these shows through iTunes, Amazon, or Vudu.
A thank you video featuring LL Cool J, Neil Patrick Harris, and Pauley Perrette can be found on the CBS website.
20th Anniversary of Johnny Carson’s Last Tonight Show
I know for some people it is hard to believe that Johnny Carson has not hosted The Tonight Show in 20 years. While I am too young to remember Johnny, I am aware of his legacy. As a David Letterman fan, I constantly hear Dave talk about how Johnny is the only true King of Late Night. To remember Johnny and his legacy, here is his appearance on Late Night with David Letterman. Johnny even brings his own desk.
Part 2 of the video is after the link.
Howie Mandel Does the Watusi
First things first: Why does this exist? I love Howie Mandel, but “I Do the Watusi” makes no sense. You may hate me for this, but just watch it.
The video is so bad, it’s good or just bad. I can’t decide, if I am laughing because its funny or because I can’t believe I’m watching it. When Howie says, “I’ve got some questions.” I’m thinking the same thing. Only they don’t go off in whatever zany direction inspires, “What do you do if you receive three harpoons from France?” and “What do you do if you find 42 vacation brochures in your underpants?”
I didn’t grow up in the 80s, so I have no idea what would possess Howie to make this video.
Money, you say? Ok, it has to be money.
Wait! What's A Dial? 