The Neverending Top Ten Thread

Nice list. I would add 'compose better film scores.' Some of the most memorable parts of the superhero movie pantheon are John Williams' and Danny Elfman's scores to Superman and Batman. Let's try for that again.

THE 10 GREATEST LATE-NIGHT TALK SHOWS!

Here we go again! Jay Leno is expected to step down as host of the Tonight show for the second time in 4 years. Will he finally be gone for good or is he gonna screw over another Late Night host. I guess only time will tell. But... since we're on the topic of late-night talk shows, it seems like an appropriate time to do a top 10 list of the best in the genre. And I will be excluding the Daily Show and Colbert Report because those are comedic news programs as opposed to a traditional talk show.


#10 - THE CHRIS ROCK SHOW (1997-2000)



In the long history of late-night talk shows on American television, there has only been two successful programs targeted at urban audiences. Three if you count "The Magic Hour" with Magic Johnson. It's insane when you think about it. Late-night talk shows are as white as the U.S. government. That's why I appreciate the Chris Rock show. It - successfully - added diversity to the genre. Plus, it aired on HBO. Rock and his writers, which included Louie CK, could do whatever they wanted. It's a unique Emmy-winning program in all areas.


#9 - THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH CONAN O'BRIEN (2009-10)



Before 2009, I never had any issues with Jay Leno. His Tonight show was, and continues to be, rather bland but it's successful in reaching a wide audience by avoiding any niche humor or subject matters. It accomplishes its goal of being a huge money-maker for NBC. That's why it came as no surprise when Conan O'Brien briefly took over and the ratings declined. Conan has, and forever will be, a cult comedian. His brand of humor is perfectly suited for anyone that enjoys silliness. That's why I appreciate his short tenure on the franchise. He made the Tonight show interesting again.


#8 - TOMORROW WITH TOM SNYDER (1973-81)



Tom Snyder was the Charlie Rose of the 1970's. Except, he was always forced to dumb it down for mainstream audiences. That often resulted in hilarity as Snyder was forced to interview people he clearly did not give a s--t about. For example, in 1980, a day after John Lennon was shot and killed, NBC asked Snyder to air an interview he did with Lennon a few years earlier which now had the distinction of being the musicians final TV interview. Snyder introduced the episode by basically saying, "here's something of no historical value that's relevant in our popular culture. Enjoy." It's his "don't give a f--k" attitude that makes him a lot of fun to watch. He truly was one of a kind.


#7 - LATER WITH BOB COSTAS (1988-94)



If Tom Snyder is too condescending for you, then Bob Costas is the ideal alternative. Costas is famously known as a human encyclopedia in the sports broadcasting world. So it came as a great shock to discover that he has enough space on his brain to do the same in the realm of entertainment and popular culture. Costas, who won an Emmy for the show, puts every talk show host to shame with his excellent interview skills. The man is on a league of his own.


#6 - THE DICK CAVETT SHOW (1969-75)



Dick Cavett was the counter-culture alternative to Johnny Carson. His show had substance. It covered the topics and people that mattered. His conversational style put his guests on ease and resulted in interviews that are popular to this day. He's also a funny and charming guy. That makes him very unique because he's an entertainer and journalist wrapped into one person.


#5 - TONIGHT STARRING JACK PAAR (1957-62)



Jack Paar paved the way for Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, and all the other politically-driven comedians on television. That doesn't mean his tenure on the Tonight show was all serious. He did the usual light-hearted funny stuff as well, but he always reserved time to cover current events and other important issues that were on his mind. He was infamous for being highly emotional and a strong storyteller that moved away from the usual punchline jokes. And although he presented an unusual format for the times, he still managed to be incredibly popular with audiences and critics and won two Emmy awards. That's the most Emmy's for a single host in Tonight show history, which is hard to believe considering Johnny Carson's acclaim for 30 years. Jack Paar's stint was short but memorable.


#4 - THE ARSENIO HALL SHOW (1989-94)



Johnny Carson was named the King of Late Night when it seemed like no one could surpass him in popularity. Then Arsenio Hall showed up and stole the crown. By the 1980's, Carson was an old guy with no appeal towards young people whatsoever. His audience was also largely caucasian. Arsenio noticed this and quickly seized those marginalized demographics. His success prompted critics to label him as Carson for the MTV Generation. But Arsenio was more than just that. He opened the gates. During Carson's dominance of nearly three decades, most networks and comedians were discouraged to launch their own late-night talk show. It seemed pointless. Arsenio proved otherwise and years later, in our current TV landscape, there are dozens of late-night talk shows on television. Arsenio revolutionized the genre.


#3 - LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN (1982-93)



In 1954, Steve Allen created the late-night talk show on the new medium known as television. 28 years later, David Letterman created the anti-talk-show. Known as a broadcaster first and a comedian second, Letterman found new inventive ways to keep the genre fresh. Why do an in-studio comedy routine when you can take a camera crew to GE and harass the new owners of NBC? Why do an interview when you can sit back and watch Andy Kauffman go berserk after getting smacked across the face by another guest? Letterman knew exactly what people wanted to watch after 12:35am..... and it wasn't Tom Snyder chatting with intellectuals.


#2 - THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JOHNNY CARSON (1962-92)



If you wanna witness Johnny Carson's impact, watch any talk show before his Tonight tenure and compare it to anything that came afterwards. The man set the standards. There's no better way to describe it. He also had the advantage of being incredibly well-rounded. He could do any brand of humor. He could interview anyone and make it entertaining or compelling regardless of what they had to offer. He was generous and gave everyone their moment in the spotlight. Johnny Carson is everything you want in late-night talk show host.


#1 - LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN (1993-2009)




Conan is perfect after 12:35am. That's the sad truth about his post-Late Night venures. I enjoyed his Tonight Show. His self-titled Conan on TBS is really good as well. But it was his 16 year stint on Late Night that truly showcased his talent. He's a silly guy that loves random humor and he could only get away with that during the 12:35am timeslot. What's also amazing about Conan is that he can balance the absurdity of his comedy with genre traditions. He basically took Johnny Carson's rule book, David Letterman's technique for mayhem, Arsenio Hall's youth appeal, and combined it with his dorky personality to create a 20-year talk show career.

In general, you're right. I also think his collaborations, as a rapper, with Snoop Dogg are overrated. He's at his best with Eminem and Ice Cube and Xzibit and Nate Dogg. Although, by contrast, any Snoop Dogg song without Dr. Dre as a producer is almost doomed to fail. There are notable exceptions, of course.

#1 - FAMILY MATTERS



Boy Meets World is back in the form of Girl Meets World. Netflix might bring back Full House as Fuller House. If this is where TV is headed, then Family Matters HAS to come back. You can't exclude Steve Urkel. Fuck you. Besides... with the massive success of The Big Bang Theory, there's an audience for Steve Urkel. Make it happen! 

I used to watch Family Matters religiously as a kid but did you happen to see what they did with the end of the show?  Not saying that Family Matters or any of those other shows were masterpieces to begin with but Family Matters went off the goddamn rails.  Yes Steve made his DNA splicing machine in the middle of the show but then he started making time machines, teleportation and mind reading devices.  The last episode has Steve in outer space fixing a satellite then having to reprogram it and flying around to get back on his shuttle so he can get home and marry Laura.  Oh yeah, they fall in love btw.  And Eddie becomes a cop and gets shot while cutting a parking ticket.  Don't worry, he survives.  Anyways the last couple seasons of this show are unwatchable, not sure how a reboot would work although I can imagine most of those people could use the work.