LATE SHOW NEWS #185 January 6, 1998 by Aaron Barnhart Al Franken of "SNL" and book-writing fame and John Markus, longtime head writer for "The Cosby Show," have already cranked out six episodes of their midseason replacement sitcom, "Lateline," a "Larry Sanders Show" invades "Nightline" concept, and I'm happy to report the execution is as good as the concept. The show revolves around Al Freundlich (played by guess who), the number-one correspondent for "Lateline," his behind-the-scenes crew of crazies (with Miguel Ferrer as a vein-popping show producer) and a flaccid anchor named Pearce McCormack who has seen better days and should not be confused with the real Ted Koppel but quite possibly his hair could. So far I've seen three episodes; one is a near-classic and the other two are clever and topically funny, like our ancestors tell us "Murphy Brown" once was. What's more amazing is that one of the highlights is a performance by one of Franken's political pals, the wooden and untelegenic Rep. Richard Gephardt, playing the wooden and untelegenic Rep. Richard Gephardt. All this, and the show really hasn't even found its creative groove or a spot on the NBC prime-time schedule. Franken, in an interview last week, told LATE SHOW NEWS the network said to expect "Lateline" to debut sometime in March. Here's more from our Q-and-A: Q. What's it like going from sketch comedy to a standard- issue half-hour sitcom? A. Very different. The important person in this is John Markus, who is my partner in this. ... Paramount came to me with this idea to do a behind-the-scenes at a show like "Nightline," so the first thing I did was I went to John -- John and I were friends but we'd never worked together -- because I didn't know how to do a sitcom. I have written movies and the movies I've written, the characters are real, or can be. But once the movie's done you never see them again. In a sitcom, you see the characters again and again. It's important to create dynamics can grow and continue. We took our time in trying to figure out what different people's relationships were. A key relationship is between Gail (Freundlich's producer) and Freundlich and we discovered from doing some of our research that it's common for a producer to find a correspondent to be high-maintenance. Q. You had to conduct *research* to find this out? A. Well, we did quite a bit of research, actually. We went down to "Nightline" and spent some time there, and some other shows. Q. Was Ted cordial to you? A. Yes, and Tom Bettag, the executive producer, old CBS man, great guy, an amazing guy. He gave us almost total access. Every now and then there'd be some dicey thing that was going on where they didn't want me in there. Like when they did a show with Gingrich, he didn't want my face around there, I don't think. Q. Well, that brings up a point. You've always liked your political humor on the wicked side and "Lateline" appears to be like that. Have you weighed the political ramifications of doing a show like this? A. I think there's going to be a lot of news humor that will include a lot of political stuff. One thing I don't want the show to be is partisan. I'd like to get as many guests as I can from both parties. In the first batch we got a few Republicans -- Jerry Falwell in one, G. Gordon Liddy -- but it was easier to get Democrats because I know them better. When I do a book it's just me. When I do a TV show I'm sort of representing everyone in the TV show. On "Saturday Night Live" I did a lot of political humor on the show but a lot of it was non-partisan. It'll evolve how we'll use politicians and newsmakers on the show, but I think it'll be more satire on the way news is done. We took sides on tobacco, but on same-sex marriage (with guest Candace Gingrich) I still can't figure out what side we're on. ... Q. Any books coming up? A. I've just started to write a book. I'm playing around with the idea of a Franken presidency, what that might look like. Q. You did 15 years on "Saturday Night Live" and although the media tends to remember the last thing you did -- you get a lot of write-ups for Stuart Smalley -- there was just such a range and wealth of material you did. What are you proudest of? What do you look back and say, "Man, that was great"? A. As a body of work I was most proud of the political stuff we did over the years, which kind of culminated before the '92 election in a special that had a lot of the best stuff, starting with Chevy (Chase) as Ford, all the way down. And working with people like Dana -- Dana that year was a saving force on our show because his Perot was incredible and his Bush was amazing. I used to write a lot of that stuff with other people. And then there are little singular pieces. I remember the one with Julia Child bleeding to death. That was something that I wrote that there was actually a little resistance to it, not out of taste or anything, but because people didn't think it would work. I wrote it for Walter Matthau when he was the host, and it didn't get done. And then Danny did it on a dress rehearsal but we didn't quite have the bleeding right so we tried it the next week and -- so much of it depended on when the blood spurted. When you look at what makes something work, it was that. And Danny could really manipulate the blood, and it was really funny, so that was sort of a high point. The Stuart Smalley-Michael Jordan piece was something people point out to me that they liked. Doing the Satellite Guy with a dish on his head. I remember working with Steve Martin doing those "Theodoric of Yorks." And an odd piece with Tom Hanks, a little sketch I wrote with Carol Leifer for Tom Hanks called "Corky" was one of my favorite things. It was about a guy in a restaurant whose wife asks him what he's thinking about and it turns out he has this real elaborate scenario for what would happen if she died. It's really elaborately worked out. It was perfect with Tom and Joan Cusack. One of those things Carol and I wrote in an hour or less. You know -- who would take care of the kids, getting the au pair from Sweden, helping the au pair with her modeling career. (Look for "Lateline" after the February sweep, and let's all hope Warren Littlefield doesn't bury it in his doomed Wednesday-night lineup.) *** When viewers in most of the country tuned in "Late Show" on New Year's Eve, expecting to see a fresh show, they instead saw a repeat -- and immediately began lighting up the chat rooms and the LATE SHOW NEWS mailbox. "Tonight was supposed to be a new show," groused Kathie Freeman. "The guests were supposed to be Harry Hill ('You like the lining...You like the lining'), a balancing act and George Clinton and The P Funk All-Stars. Why, then, am I looking at a re-run?" Good question. Here's what "Late Show" executive producer Rob Burnett told me: "When CBS had the Fiesta Bowl the year before, we were delayed one minute. So we did this New Year's Eve show knowing there was a risk it would be delayed. We thought that delay would be on the order of a minute. We rectified a problem from the year before, which was that this one-minute delay caused our midnight count to be off by a minute, which was embarrassing. So what we decided to do this year was 'dead-roll' the show at 11:35 so that we would join it in progress wherever it would be. It would be a little choppy, but it would be accurate. In addition, as part of New Year's Eve coverage, we had this intricate plan to switch back from tape to live (with Biff Henderson standing live in Times Square as the midnight hour struck). It required a lot of extra work; we were here working till 10:30 or 11 o'clock, and in fact the control room was still here later so it could switch from live to tape. "In the middle of all this, we looked at the Fiesta Bowl and realized the first half had run two hours. Right as we're battening down the hatches, waiting to go on air, we look up and see there's, like, eight minutes left in the fourth quarter. I do the math and realize we're going be much more delayed than one minute here. In the middle of this there were a flurry of calls from the network and the affiliates -- 'How late can we go and still run the show in progress?' "I was thrilled with the show we'd done but I think the delay wound up being 28 minutes -- we went on the air at 11:58:06. We could not dead-roll the show. There'd been too much of a delay. We'd blown through one commercial break ... So then the decision became to run the show at its entirety beginning at 11:58, but I made the decision that it was unfair to us to do that and that we should show a rerun instead, because I didn't want to be in that position of having Dave do the countdown at 12:28. ... "The whole thing was just a big bummer for us, really, because it would've been a really nice show. Next year there is no bowl game on New Year's for CBS, so happily this is the last time this will be a problem." The show did air live on most of the West Coast, although in San Francisco, which has a different late local news routine, the repeat aired. But that wasn't the only headache the "Late Show" staff had that night. People holding actual tickets to the Dec. 31 taping -- not stand-bys but genuine ticketholders -- were bumped, prompting still more online clucking, this time about Dave inviting a bunch of VIP's in and whatnot. Not true, said Burnett; it was instead a simple case of overticketing. The "Late Show" ticket office typically overbooks because they don't expect that someone in Seattle who gets tickets three weeks before taping day will necessarily always make it. (Then there are the ticketholders in Connecticut and New Jersey discover, too late, that they have a schedule conflict and think, ah, I'll just go some other time.) After all, they don't let stand-bys in because they underbook, they let stand-bys in because 10 or 30 or 60 ticketholders failed to show up. But what happened Dec. 31 was the opposite: *everybody* showed up. Every last ticketholder was in line, a consequence perhaps of the favorable weather and people thinking hey, I can catch Letterman and then wander down to Times Square. Upon seeing the pickle they were in, the quick-thinking agents at "Late Show" identified those who had traveled the fewest miles to come to the show, booked them tickets for future shows on the spot, told the stand-bys bye-bye, and went on with the show that ultimately played only on the West Coast. Said Rob Burnett: "When people get bumped, we allow them to pick a date to come back. That's the procedure." *** "Tracey Takes On..." returned for another season last weekend. The HBO half-hour show that bested all other comers for the best variety-talk show at last year's Emmys looked at marriage through Tracey Ullman's multiple and elaborately makeupped personalities. This week, Ullman's characters descend on Hollywood as Chic the cab driver finds a movie script left in his backseat by none other than Penny Marshall; Flo the Lon-guyland housewife wins a contest and a cameo role on "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman"; and other small dramas. Inevitably, some of Ullman's guises wear better than others, but given that HBO is apparently the last TV network that doesn't consider sketch comedy a liability, "Tracey Takes On ..." may be a taste worth acquiring. Also on HBO this weekend: "Dennis Miller Live" returns Friday night, replacing "The Chris Rock Show" (for now). A third HBO stronghold, "The Larry Sanders Show," will return March 15 for what Garry Shandling told one reporter will be the last season, with the final 10 episodes focusing on the "show" closing down. *** Happy anniversary to Tom Snyder, who celebrated three years on CBS Monday night with a show my new VCR didn't record because I still haven't figured out how to get VCR Plus to talk to my General Instrument cable box ... I kept pushing furiously on my three or four remote controls but the only thing I got to obey me was my garage door ... Late Show Online is down but not out, say its keepers, Jay Johnson and Walter Kim, in an announcement posted to the America Online site: "Beginning January 1, 1998, Late Show Online will be dramatically trimmed down to a sleeker, more refined version for easier online consumption. We'll then begin concentrating our efforts on launching a brand-new 'Late Show with David Letterman' site which will debut on the web (this) Spring. New features, cooler graphics and, more importantly, no busy signals" ... And I still get one or two requests a week for ratings. Nothing doing until they change dramatically, folks. If you'd like a ballpark estimate, Jay's in the high 4's, Ted's in the mid 4's, Dave's in the high 3's, Conan's in the low 2's, Tom's in the high 1's and Maher's doing pretty good, too. Still not satisfied? I suppose you go to movies based on the highest box office, too. *** Reader mail: Bob Joress writes, "While channel surfing at 11:35 last night (12-30-97) I spotted Dave doing his annual 'New Year's resolutions' bit, where various member of his on-air staff announce their sometimes-funny New Year's Resolutions. The bit ended with Biff appearing -- supposedly in the nude -- behind Dave, with a blue dot in the appropriate location. The dot arrived a bit late, showing Biff in rust-colored briefs, and made for some nice impromptu joking from the ever quick-witted Dave. Funniest though was that Jay was doing a near-identical bit which ended with his sound man removing a tear-away suit to reveal him in -- you guessed it -- rust colored briefs. Do these guys check each other's satellite feeds and *try* to be the same, or what?" ... And Mike Dooley writes, "Based on your year-end review of late night, I must assume 'Mad TV' airs just after the noon news in your area. It's the only really original and funny thing on after 10:00 on my T.V. Not always consistent, to be sure, but when they score there's none better these days." *** Tom Heald's THIS NIGHT IN HISTORY Exclusive to LATE SHOW NEWS Mo 1/6: In 1997, "Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher" makes its network television debut on ABC with, what else, an O.J. joke. "O.J. Simpson will return to the witness stand this week. It looks like it's going pretty rough for him in that trial. It doesn't look good for him -- but on the bright side, he has been offered a tryout with the Dallas Cowboys." Tu 1/7: In 1994, NBC's "Friday Night Videos" drops the word "Videos" and becomes "Friday Night," which allows them to run fewer videos, and more ... what's the word ... crap. We 1/8: In 1992, A MOMENTOUS MONOLOGUE MOMENT: President Bush suffers from a case of stomach flu during a state dinner in Tokyo and vomits on the Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa's lap. According to source David Tanny, alert Secret Service agents seized the vomit and wrestled it to the ground. Th 1/9: In 1950, David Johansen is born. His alter ego, "Buster Poindexter," led the "Saturday Night Live" band during their 1986-87 season. Poindexter has a new album out on Rhino Records he'd like mentioned. Fr 1/10: In 1958, Johnny Carson makes his Broadway debut in "Tunnel of Love," taking over for Tom Ewell in the role of "Augie Poole." (Had Carson not been tied up with hosting the game show "Who Do You Trust?", he might've nabbed the lead in "Bye Bye Birdie.") Sa 1/11: In 1992, "Saturday Night Live" unleashes the sorority girls of Delta Delta Delta ("can I help ya, help ya, help ya?") who just barely register on the pop cultural radar with their Valley-girlish catchphrase "Uh Mah Gawd." Su 1/12: In 1951, future late night haranguer Rush "Rusty" Limbaugh III is born, weighing 27 pounds, 4 ounces. [Thanks to Dave Tanny, Frank Serpas III, Mike Cader, and Henry Nunes, who won't admit to reading this. Special thanks to Donz5, who was seen only in select areas on New Year's Eve.] Complaints about "This Night In History"? Send them toward Tom Heald at . THE LINEUPS with Sue Trowbridge LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN, CBS Tu 1/6 Tobey Maguire, Fiona Apple We 1/7 Charles Grodin, Peta Wilson, Arj Barker Th 1/8 Michael Keaton, Paul Simon and the cast "The Capeman" Fr 1/9 Penelope Anne Miller, child chef Justin Miller, Collective Soul Mo 1/12 Robin Williams, Dave Chappelle, Jars of Clay Tu 1/13 Bill Pullman, Jim Breuer We 1/14 Matt Lauer, Martin Scorsese Th 1/15 Kenneth Branagh, Gloria Reuben, Spice Girls Fr 1/16 Ben Stiller, Sandra Bernhard, Paul Rodriguez THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO, NBC Tu 1/6 Kim Basinger, Greg Kinnear We 1/7 Dennis Miller, Kelly Lynch, Michael T. Weiss Th 1/8 Robin Williams, Tracey Ullman Fr 1/9 Denzel Washington, Calista Flockhart Mo 1/12 Mel Gibson, Naomi Campbell, Barry Manilow (R 11/19/96) Tu 1/13 Mira Sorvino, Rob Reiner, Tina Turner (R 4/25/97) We 1/14 Goldie Hawn, Brett Favre, Bryan White (R 10/13/97) Th 1/15 Bruce Willis, Dom DeLuise, Donald Trump (R 11/19/97) Fr 1/16 Pamela Lee, Garth Brooks (R 11/21/97) LATE LATE SHOW WITH TOM SNYDER, CBS Tu 1/6 Tony Curtis We 1/7 Don Rickles, Frank McCourt Th 1/8 Ray Romano, Julie Alban Fr 1/9 Dennis Miller LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN, NBC Tu 1/6 Willard Scott, Michael Rappaport, Patton Oswalt We 1/7 Rob Schneider, Cornershop Th 1/8 TBA Fr 1/9 Minnie Driver, Kevin Pollack, B.B. King Mo 1/12 Corbin Bernsen, Stan Lee, Alicia Witt (R 11/17/95) Tu 1/13 John Goodman, Gloria Reuben, The Afghan Whigs (R 3/14/96) We 1/14 Marilu Henner, Kiss (R 8/4/95) Th 1/15 Pete Townsend, Nicholas Turturro, Dishwalla (R 5/3/96) Fr 1/16 Louis Anderson, Janssen, Ken Follet (R 9/7/95) Mo 1/19 Billy Crystal, Wolfgang Puck (R 5/9/97) LATER, NBC Tu 1/6 Richard Jeni with Maureen O'Boyle We 1/7 Richard Jeni with Ed McMahon Th 1/8 Richard Jeni with Rita Rudner CHARLIE ROSE, PBS Please note that Charlie Rose listings are very tentative Tu 1/6 Def. Sec. William Cohen We 1/7 Barry Levinson, Scott Elliott ("Goosepimples") Th 1/8 Author James Patterson, Eli Wallach Fr 1/9 Filmmaker Atom Egoyan, Ving Rhames Mo 1/12 Robin Williams, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck ("Good Will Hunting") Tu 1/13 Tina Brown, Kris Kristofferson We 1/14 Tony Kornheiser, Leo Castelli Th 1/15 Toni Morrison Fr 1/16 Getty Museum architect Richard Meier POLITICALLY INCORRECT WITH BILL MAHER, ABC Tu 1/6 Harry Anderson, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Susannah Breslin, Melissa Joan Hart We 1/7 Mariel Hemingway, Patti LuPone, Jake Johannsen, Rep. Matt Salmon Th 1/8 Dennis Miller, Barbara DeAngelis, Stacy Keach Fr 1/9 Les Brown, Donnie Wahlberg THE DAILY SHOW, Comedy Central Tu 1/6 Alan Thicke We 1/7 Ricki Lake Th 1/8 Carol Leifer Mo 1/12 Jason Bateman Tu 1/13 Caroline Rhea We 1/14 Tracey Ullman Th 1/15 Dave Chapelle VIBE TV, syndicated Tu 1/6 Zachary Ty Bryan, Jean Smart, Nancy Wilson We 1/7 Hazelle Goodman, H-Town Th 1/8 Tracy Scoggins, Billy Zane, Lou Rawls Fr 1/9 LaToya Jackson, Born Jamericans KEENEN IVORY WAYANS, syndicated Tu 1/6 Joe Rogan, Mystro Clark, Chico DeBarge We 1/7 Larenz Tate, Carol Alt, Meredith Brooks Th 1/8 James McDaniel, Charisma Carpenter, Usher Fr 1/9 Andrew Shue, Elise Neal, Howie Long, Uncle Sam Mo 1/13 Kenan & Kel, Kelly Packard Tu 1/14 John Henton, Dr. Drew Pinsky & Adam Carolla We 1/15 Rachel True, Ricky Harris Th 1/16 Kim Coles, Mitch Mullaney, Guy Torrey DENNIS MILLER LIVE, HBO Fr 1/9 Sharon Stone on "Apathy and Cynicism" Fr 1/16 Bill Maher on "The War On Drugs" HOWARD STERN, E! Tu 1/6 Dominic vs Robin Basketball Part 2 (R), Heather Locklear Part 2 (R) (only lineups available) Also on late nights: NIGHTLINE and WORLD NEWS NOW, ABC CHARLES GRODIN, CNBC MAD TV, Fox SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, NBC (this season) and Comedy Central (classics) THE RUPAUL SHOW, VH1 LOVELINE and ODDVILLE MTV, MTV UP TO THE MINUTE, CBS NIGHTSIDE, NBC SPACE GHOST COAST TO COAST, Cartoon Network (in repeats) Entire contents Copyright 1997 by Aaron Barnhart. All rights reserved. Current e-mail circulation: 11,366 subscribers in 54 countries.