Question:
So, who's better? It has to be Letterman right?

Choices:
David Letterman
Jay Leno
Both are equally good in my opinion, therefore I'm a stupid girl who cannot make a descision even when the outcome really has no bearing on anything at all whatsoever. I just can't commit myself to giving an answer to such a simple question (and I smell)

 

Leno wins this showdown hands down. But Conan O'Brian blows them both out of the water. Conan is awesome.

Neither is funny. Conan sucks also. Tries way too hard, and fails miserably. Of the two in the poll, Leno gets the edge - despite not being a great comedian, at least he has a drool-worthy car collection.

Jay Leno is not funny whatsoever. He hasn't even made me smirk. I never watch David Letterman so I wouldn't know. So uh... Conan.

Uhhh... Letterman rules all. He's just classic tv. Like Carson. What'll happen when he leaves? There'll be no classic tv left. Conan has lost his spark. Andy Richter needs to come back.

Craig Ferguson's show is actually pretty funny. I didn't like the dude at first, but after accidentally forgetting to change the channel one night, I was thrown into a laughing fit. Without drugs, mind you.

quote:

Originally posted by FashtheStampede:

Craig Ferguson's show is actually pretty funny.

It seems every joke that guy makes is about his Scottish heritage that no one gives a **** about.

And I'm not even Scottish!
You obviously haven't watched his show for more than a couple minutes...

You would be right.

has anyone watched Carson Daly on TV? I didnt even know he was still around but apparently he's got a late late late late night show

He's an idiot basically. But its funny to watch it cause the camera is on him the whole time and he makes the dumbest looks cause he thinks he's so clever.

quote:

Originally posted by Kyle Johnson:
has anyone watched Carson Daly on TV? I didnt even know he was still around but apparently he's got a late late late late night show

He's an idiot basically. But its funny to watch it cause the camera is on him the whole time and he makes the dumbest looks cause he thinks he's so clever.

Probably the worst late night host next to Tony Danza. He always has to tell people that he just told a joke in his lame, one-joke monologue.

quote:

What'll happen when he leaves? There'll be no classic tv left.

There hasn't been any classic TV produced since Seinfeld ended, X-Files went down the drain, and The Simpsons lost its edge.

The new best will become the future classic. It's the way of things. In fifty years it'll be 24, Lost, probably Law and Order, etc

David Letterman= Classic

dudes, conan o brian is the funniest late night comedian of all of them.

quote:

In fifty years it'll be 24, Lost, probably Law and Order, etc

Do you really think Law and Order (with all eighty-five spinoffs) will be viewed as "classic" in fifty years? Same for "Lost."

The simple fact is that there has never been very much worth watching on network TV. The mid-90s just happened to have several great shows (two of which were on Fox). The only show I can remember from the 80s that was similarly well-received is Miami Vice.

I personally have never watched Law and Order, but, yeah, I expect it will be as classic as Star Trek with all 90 billion episodes. It's all about how many people watch it, and whether or not its good enough to last for a long time. I'm trying to think which other shows will be classics. Probably (although I haven't watched any of these) E.R., NYPD, maybe CSI (though I get the feeling people don't like it anymore), Sex and the City... I dunno. There're probably more. I don't watch enough TV to know!

Lost, I admit, is young. But it's really good. I went into a Blockbuster on Broadway the other day and Lost was playing on all the screens. Everyone in the store was just standing around watching it in small groups. It looked really funny, there was even a guy with a mop frozen in his hands. One of the customers eventually said "what IS this?" in a sort of awed voice. Poeple like it a lot, and for good reason.

Actually, (sorry to get so off topic) it's shows like Lost and 24 that make me think television might be a better medium than film. They have the same (and sometimes better) production values as films, shoot quicker, have great acting/scores/cinemtography, have much more detailed and obviously longer running stories, and entertain more people.

I've seen the first episode of 'Lost.' Thought it was decent, but I lost interest with the entire monster angle. If they had stuck with the (inherently compelling, but time-limited) idea of survivors on an island, I'd probably watch the show regularly.

I don't watch TV shows at all, except for Simpsons and occasional Seinfeld re-runs... but I do believe most of the shows you mentioned are overrated and generally bad.

Television vs. film - the standard of acting is much lower in the US on the small screen, IMO. Plus, serialized stories inherently lack tension (unless it's a concept like 24, which I have yet to see).

Something like "Dekalog," on the other hand, is a perfect use of the strengths of the small screen. I can only imagine what it would have been like to watch unfold over ten weeks, once a week, in Poland in the late '80s. Then again, how often does something like that come along? Once every 120 years? Certainly not in America anytime soon.

(Lost spoilers ahead)

But, Evan, we're half way through the second season and there still haven't been monsters. There's been a weird mechanical tentacle that came out of the ground, whispered voices in the jungle, a couple of polar bears somehow misplaced, an underground bunker with giant electromagnets and a countdown to something, and a series of numbers which cause very bad things to happen. It's just weird.

Anyway, WATCH 24! It alone has made me reconsider film. It's that good. I'm trying to figure out if I could move temporarily to California and PA on the sixth season next year.

I agree, in general TV is really bad. Bad acting, dumb sensationalized stories, bad cinematography/production values, bad everything. But when a show is made lovingly, it, um, shows. I kinda want to make those shows.

Pshht. 24 is a ripoff of that Depp movie Nick of Time.

I guess since you guys are namin all these shows I guess Curb your enthusiasm, Arliss, Dream On, Tales from the crypt, and Mr. show with bob david are classics.

Alias, definitely. I've never seen it, but, yeah, it's a classic.

Did you see Nick of Time and 24? They're actually nothing alike. I was really mad when I read the description on Nick of Time, cause it seemed like 24 had ripped it off, but the time thing was just a gimmick in that. They barely even made it obvious.