LATE SHOW NEWS #215
August 18, 1998
by Aaron Barnhart

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        S T I L L   A N O T H E R
	A D V E R T I S E M E N T 
	
	Whap!  That's the sound BARNHART'S UNAUTHORIZED
	TV '98 will make when it lands on your doorstep
	in the not-too-distant future.  At 112 pages and
	more than 40,000 words -- did I say 30,000 words
	before?  AS IF! -- this straightforward,
	hype-deprived guide to the new television season
	will keep you reading long after shows like "To
	Have And To Hold" and "Conrad Bloom" have failed
	to hold your sway.

	BARNHART'S UNAUTHORIZED TV '98 tells you about
	all the shows on the fall prime-time schedule,
	new and returning, plus selected cable and
	syndicated and, of course, late night. There are
	charts and graphs and Q-and-A's that will tell
	you more about TV and why it is the way it is
	than you ever thought possible to know.  It
	won't make you a TV programmer overnight --
	you'd have to cut out your heart for that -- but
	it will make you a more discerning viewer and
	that, we contend, is not a bad thing.

	BUTV '98 is $9.95 and that includes shipping by
	first-class mail (add $5 if outside the U.S., Canada
	or Mexico). Don't worry, I'll give you your
	money back if you don't like it. It's also a
	good way to support LATE SHOW NEWS, if you feel
	so inclined.

	I'm now taking preorders online through Kagi, a
	secure payment processing service that accepts
	Mastercard, Visa, American Express, Discover and
	Diners Card.  Here's the URL to place your
	order:

	http://order.kagi.com/?Q6B&S

	For non-credit card or non-Web orders (slower
	processing), go to this URL:
	http://www.tvbarn.com/lsn-archive/almanac.html
	
	If you don't have Web access at all, send me e-mail
	and I'll give you a postal address to mail a check or
	money order.  Just be warned: I can't process your
	payment nearly as fast as Kagi can.
	
	(Bonus copies go out to Lee Aronsohn for help
	with the name change!)

	***
	
	Jon Stewart is your new host for "The Daily Show."
	One of the sharpest, fastest and funniest ad-libbers
	around, Stewart arrives at a program whose growth has
	been stunted by the inability of its host to riff,
	improvise, ad-lib, or do much of anything you can't
	mock up on a TelePrompTer.  Stewart will give the show
	all the spontaneity it can handle, and this likely will
	mean less script and more banter (and not that scripted
	banter they feed the current host, either).
	
	In short, get ready for Talk Stew Two.
	
	"You know, I've always wanted to be a young Charles
	Kuralt.  I started in this business with just a
	Winnebago and a dream," Stewart told LATE SHOW
	NEWS via telephone just moments after being
	introduced at a press conference last Tuesday by
	Comedy Central CEO Doug Herzog. Stewart, who
	takes over in January, confirmed the show would
	become "more unpredictable" but was quick to
	point out that he's been writing jokes for 12 years,
	so it's not like that's going to stop.
		
	"Hopefully we can integrate all that stuff, but
	it's going to take a while and that's why we
	were real clear on doing this for the long term,"
	said Stewart.
		
	Long term indeed: Comedy Central inked him for
	four years and is paying top dollar, upwards of
	$1.5 million a year, for his services on "The
	Daily Show."  He gets to keep his Miramax movie
	deal and will get flex time so he can continue
	doing a couple films a year.  But this is big-time
	commitment and his former producer on the "Jon
	Stewart Show," soon to be his new producer on
	"The Daily Show," Madeleine Smithberg, is a big
	reason why Stewart was ready to commit.  Although
	the old talk show expired after just one season
	in syndication -- sandbagged by station managers
	who were expecting the next Arsenio or something
	-- Smithberg and Stewart remained on excellent
	terms, and a few lunches ago started discussing
	the possibility of his returning to cable, where
	he toiled all those years ago on "Short Attention
	Span Theater" and other winners.
		
	I didn't bother to ask Stewart how it felt to see the
	current "Daily Show" host he's replacing go over
	to CBS to replace Tom Snyder after Stewart spent
	one year as Tom's guest replacement host.  I figured
	Jon saw that the climate there wasn't right for
	the kind of show he wanted to do, even if David
	Letterman's Worldwide Pants was producing.  And
	let's face it, whose demographic would *you* want to
	be writing comedy for -- CBS's or Comedy Central's? 
	Okay then.
		
	Despite all the press being written about Chris
	Rock's flavor, the past three years haven't been
	unkind to Stewart, either.  He's just kept a
	lower profile, confining his work to other people's
	talk shows as well as some non-TV projects.
			
	"There was a bit of seduction about being on
	network," Stewart now says about his year in
	syndication. "But it gets to the point where that's
	not important, what's important is doing something
	worthwhile which is why I avoided doing a sitcom.
	Yeah, it's high profile and you're on network,
	but you know what? You could be on 'Suddenly
	Stewart.'"
			
	Although it was a challenge working in the
	Snyder format -- no studio audience and the need
	to interview the occasional serial-killer expert
	-- Stewart said he found "Late Late Show" a learning
	experience and that he's got piles of respect
	for Snyder.  Or for any old guy who's doing exactly
	what he wants to be doing. Which is how we got
	talking about one of our mutual faves, Don Rickles,
	whom he recently got to meet in person.
			
	"First of all, the guy smells better than any
	man I've ever met. Like pastry. And his skin is
	soft. Weird. I saw him at Carnegie Hall and he
	was doing jokes that, you know, broke people up
	after World War II. You know, 'Here's the Japanese
	surrendering at Okinawa!' ... But then I watched
	him go into the audience and just tear it up.
	This was the funniest shit I'd seen in my life. 
	Oh my god.  He's the most politically incorrect
	guy I know."  Stewart admires people who just
	keep doing their act and find themselves, as Rickles
	does today, suddenly in fashion again.

        Stewart has two movies coming out this fall and
        a book, "Naked Pictures of Famous People."  Suddenly
        Stewart is back in fashion again himself.
        
        ***
        
	The folks at Toronto's CityTV have picked up
	"The Howard Stern Radio Show," which launches
	most places this Saturday.  But in Toronto they're
	sitting on the episodes, I guess, to make sure
	no one gets killed watching it or something. And
	they're mighty unhappy that you want to watch it
	at the same time the rest of North America is
	watching it.  "Please don't e-mail us regarding
	The Howard Stern Show," the CityTV Web site scolds.
	"We have no more information to offer at this
	time" ...
	
	Last weekend's WCW pay-per-view event with Jay
	Leno and Hollywood Hogan grossed $12 million as
	an estimated 400,000 people purchased the World
	Championship Wrestling match at $29.95 a pop.
	The buyers were roughly double the numbers from
	last year's WCW event, estimated Variety ... 
	
	An intruder bolted onto the set of "Politically
	Incorrect" during a taping, presented host Bill
        Maher with an envelope (containing, we're told,
        a question for the panel), and then was escorted
        out.  The producers decided to leave the sequence
        in the show since it was essentially harmless --
        unlike Mike Wallace's infamous barge-in on the "PI"
        set in New York two years ago that sent a panelist
        scurrying from the building ... 
	
	Besides Horatio Sanz, whose hire it appears I scooped
	everyone in reporting, "SNL" announced that
	Chris Parnell and Jimmy Fallon, two members of
	L.A.'s Groundlings troupe, will also join the
	cast as regulars.  Jim Breuer is leaving ...
	
        If you didn't get around to that Craig Shoemaker
        dissection of the fatal flaws with "The Magic Hour,"
        here's the permanent URL: http://www.phillyweekly.com/
        archives/08.05.98/news/cover.html ...
	
	If your browser is man enough to support a 3-D
	VRML plug-in, then get over to NBC's Web site,
	which has just set up 3-D studio environments
	for Jay's and Conan's shows, with an "SNL" set
	on its way.  If none of that makes any sense to
	you, please step back slowly from the computer.
	
	***
	
	Reader mail:  Ed Bauman writes, "Is Dave having
	problems at home?  He's taken to being even more
	direct than usual with some of the female guests
	-- not that I blame him. ... It's just good fun,
	in the same tradition as his utterly hilarious
	side trips about things such as Martha Stewart's
	show with the guest chef and the eight duck sauces. 
	The biggest problem with the show is who the bookers
	are getting.  I have taken to fast fowarding
	past stuff like Pauly Shore -- talk about a
	nosebleed" ...
	
	Jon Bravard writes, "I was a little surprised
	that no real mention was made of the new variety
	show that first appeared on FX, Aug. 11, 'Penn &
	Teller's Sin City Spectacular.' I mean, where
	else could you see a talking dog act, magic tricks
	(Drew Carey and some rats) and the legend himself,
	Lou Reed, singing about 'egg creams.' It was a
	lot more fun than David Copperfield 
	specials" ...
					
	Jim Rosenberg came up with the best title for my
	new book that I couldn't use: CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE
	CABLE-READY.  Go see more of Jim's stuff at
	http://www.wirecom.com/jim ...
	
	And John Wilson offers this prediction. "Dave
	will rule in the fall.  CBS is dumping their
	rocking chair set shows like 'Dr. Quinn' to
	appeal to a young audience, and that audience
	still prefers DAVE.  CBS is also bringing back
	the NFL, and DAVE will be the beneficiary of a
	stronger network and more powerful promotion. 
	Finally, a disgusted nation will turn away from
	the tired antics of wrestler JAY."
	
	***
	
	Tom Heald's THIS NIGHT IN HISTORY
	<tomalhe@aol.com>

	We 8/19: In 1995, one of the most famous weddings in
	television history is repeated as frequent "Tonight
	Show" guest Tiny Tim gets married again (for the
	last time) ... this time to Susan Garder, in a
	private ceremony.

	Th 8/20: In 1993, "The Building" debuts on CBS,
	executive produced by Bonnie Hunt and David
	Letterman under Letterman's new production company,
	Worldwide Pants. When CBS cancels the show, Audrey
	Meadows calls the network in protest.

	Fr 8/21: ABC's "World News Now" escapee Boyd
	Matson replaces Robert Urich as host of TBS
	Superstation's Sunday night series "National
	Geographic Explorer." 

	Sa 8/22: In 1997, "Dirty Dancing" is re-released
	in US, allegedly because Conan O'Brien demands
	it.

	Su 8/23: In 1993, E! Network's "Talk Soup" spins off
	a daytime drama clipfest, "Pure Soap."

	Mo 8/24: In 1985, "You Look Mahvelous" by Billy
	Crystal as "Saturday Night Live's" Fernando peaks at
	#58 on the pop singles chart.

	Tu 8/25: In 1933, David Letterman's alter ego,
	Regis Philbin, is born.

	[Thanks to David Tanny, Tim Brooks, and Earl
	Marsh. Special thanks to Donz5, spokesperson for
	Biomat detergent. No thanks to DejaNews.] 
	
	Visit Tom Heald's "This Night In History" Bookstore
	online at 
	http://members.aol.com/thisnite.tstore
	

THE LINEUPS
with Sue Trowbridge (http://www.interbridge.com/)


LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN, CBS
Mo 8/17 George Clooney, Bill Cosby (R 9/22/97)
Tu 8/18 Jennifer Aniston, Brian Regan, William H. Macy (R 7/28/97)
We 8/19 Danny DeVito, tennis champion Patrick Rafter, Tim 
        McGraw (R 9/8/97)
Th 8/20 Alec Baldwin, Jonathan Lipnicki, Deana Carter 
        (R 9/25/97)
Fr 8/21 Norm MacDonald, 12-year-old inventor Richie Stachowski 
        (R 3/6/98)

Mo 8/24 Stupid Human Tricks, Dana Carvey, Steven Wright 
        (R 11/1/96)
Tu 8/25 Salman Rushdie, Meg Ryan, Annie Lennox (R 5/19/95)
We 8/26 Stupid Pet Tricks, Anthony Edwards, Natalie Cole 
        (R 11/15/96)
Th 8/27 Robin Williams, Tom Hanks, Steve Young (R 5/6/96) 
 
THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO, NBC
Mo 8/17 Arsenio Hall, Natasha Lyonne, Spice Girls
Tu 8/18 Joe Mantegna, Luther Vandross
We 8/19 Al Roker
Th 8/20 TBA
Fr 8/21 Rodney Dangerfield, Brooke Langton, Barenaked Ladies

Mo 8/24 Dolly Parton, Chayanne
Tu 8/25 Salma Hayek
We 8/26 TBA
Th 8/27 Halle Berry, Rob Schneider 
 
LATE LATE SHOW WITH TOM SNYDER, CBS
Mo 8/17 David Crosby
Tu 8/18 Eleanor Clift, Mariette Hartley
We 8/19 Rosie O'Donnell, Judge Mills Lane
Th 8/20 Bonnie Hunt, Michele Mitchell
Fr 8/21 TBA

Mo 8/25 Jacqueline Bisset, author Kathy Eldon (R 3/4/98)
Tu 8/25 Shelley Winters, former police chief William Bratton 
        (R 2/23/98)
We 8/26 Jane Curtin, Cristina Crawford (R 1/21/98)
Th 8/27 Larry Elder, John Irving (R 5/19/98) 
 
LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN, NBC
Mo 8/17 Rosie O'Donnell, Patrick Warburton, Dave Attell 
        (R 5/14/98)
Tu 8/18 Don Rickles, Traci Lords, Emmylou Harris
We 8/19 Rufus Wainwright
Th 8/20 Vanessa Williams, David Feldman
Fr 8/21 Colin Quinn

Mo 8/24 Barbara Walters, Maria Pitillo, Betty Faber (R 5/15/98)
Tu 8/25 Bill Bellamy
We 8/26 Mike Lupica
Th 8/27 The Dixie Chicks 
 
LATER, NBC
Line-ups not available 
 
THE MAGIC HOUR, syndicated
Mo 8/17 Elliott Gould, Mekhi Phifer, Kari Wuhrer, Az Yet (R)
Tu 8/18 Steve Harvey, Leeza Gibbons, Too Hot Tamales, Gerald 
        Levert (R)
We 8/19 Tyson Beckford, Nia Long, James Marsden, Fishbone (R)
Th 8/20 Kevin Sorbo, Edward James Olmos, Countess Vaughn, Simply 
        Red (R)
Fr 8/21 Levar Burton, Mario Lopez 
 
CHARLIE ROSE, PBS
Please note that Charlie Rose listings are very tentative
Line-ups not available 
 
POLITICALLY INCORRECT WITH BILL MAHER, ABC
Mo 8/17 Michael Moore, Cyndi Mosteller, Jackie Collins
Tu 8/18 Jay Thomas, Star Parker, Donzaleigh Abernathy
We 8/19 Sheryl Lee Ralph, Ron Silver, Jo-Ellan Dimitrius, 
        Mayor Willie Brown
Th 8/20 Judge Mills Lane, Jon Lovitz, Joey Lawrence, Judith Regan
Fr 8/21 Gloria Reuben, John Malkovich, G. Gordon Liddy, Jane 
        Krakowski 
 
VIBE TV, syndicated
Mo 8/17 TBA
Tu 8/18 TBA
We 8/19 Kenan & Kel, Ellen Dow, Elizabeth Berkley, Def Squad 
        (R 2/25/98)
Th 8/20 Darrell Hammond, Gretchen Palmer, Bryan White (R 5/19/98)
Fr 8/21 TBA

Mo 8/24 Penn & Teller, Byron Allen, Fredro Starr & Onyx 
        (R 3/25/98)
Tu 8/25 Traci Bingham, Gil Bellows, Hill Harper, Tito 
        Nieves (R 5/15/98)
We 8/26 TBA
Th 8/27 Kellie Williams, Louie Anderson, Robert Forster, Rose 
        Royce (R 3/3/98)
Fr 8/28 TBA

Mo 8/31 Natasha Henstridge, Antonio Sabato Jr., Ernie Hudson,
        Dakota Moon (R 4/20/98) 

THE CHRIS ROCK SHOW, HBO

Fr 8/21 Johnnie Cochran, Tricky *** SEASON PREM ***
Fr 8/28 Lenny Kravitz

SPACE GHOST COAST TO COAST, Cartoon Network

Fr 8/21 Greta Van Susteren   *** PICK TO CLICK ***

HOWARD STERN, E!

Mo 8/17 James Brown and Tommy, Jackie Berated in Miami (R),
	Jasmine St. Claire Part 1 (R)
Tu 8/18 Hank's Makeover, Joe Piscopo (R), Jasmine St. Claire Part 
        2 (R)
We 8/19 Handicapped Star Search Part 1, Rodney Dangerfield Part 
        1 (R), Jasmine St. Claire Part 2 (R)
Th 8/20 Handicapped Star Search Part 2, Rodney Dangerfield Part 2 (R)
        Stuttering Nina Part 1 (R)
Fr 8/21 Rhonda Shear Part 1 (R), Jon Stewart (R), Stuttering Nina 
        Part 2 (R)
Su 8/23 Spring Intern Beauty Pageant Parts 1 and 2 (R)

Remember, Howard's weekend "Power Hour" has moved to Sunday.

MAD TV (FOX) 
Sa 8/22 Guest host: Jerry Springer / "Caroline in the City"/ "The 
        Andy Griffith Show." [R-2/28/98]

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (NBC) 
Sa 8/22 The Best of Eddie Murphy (R)

THE RUPAUL SHOW (VH1)
We 8/19 Loni Anderson, Lorenzo Lamas, musical guest : Ann & Nancy 
        Wilson 

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (Comedy Central)
Tu 8/18 Sean Penn / LL Cool J  11 AM & Midnight; Charles Barkley / 
        Nirvana 3 PM 
We 8/19 Dabney Coleman / The Cars  11 AM & Midnight; Shannen
        Doherty / Cypress Hill 3 PM 
Th 8/20 Robert Mitchum / Simply Red  11 AM & Midnight; Jeff 
        Goldblum / Aerosmith 3 PM 
Fr 8/21 Candice Bergen / Cher  11 AM & 3 PM 
Sa 8/22 John Malkovich / Billy Joel  11 AM 
Su 8/23 Christian Slater / Smashing Pumpkins  11 AM 

Mo 8/24 Danny DeVito / Brian Ferry  11 AM & Midnight; Rosie 
        O'Donnell / James Taylor 3 PM 
Tu 8/25 Angie Dickinson / David Gilmour / Buster Poindexter  
        11 AM & Midnight; Nicole Kidman / Stone Temple Pilots 3 PM 


Also on late nights:
NIGHTLINE and WORLD NEWS NOW, ABC
THE HOWARD STERN RADIO SHOW, CBS and syndicated
LOVELINE, MTV
UP TO THE MINUTE, CBS
NIGHTSIDE and LATER, NBC (going away soon)
DIE HARALD SCHMIDT SHOW, SAT.1


Entire contents Copyright 1998 by Aaron Barnhart. All
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