LATE SHOW NEWS #175 October 21, 1997 by Aaron Barnhart NOTE: This issue is rated TV-NY and L for language. NEW YORK -- Well, *here's* a site I won't be seeing in Kansas City anytime soon. I'm walking down West 57th Street this morning, when I see a giant truck with MAD TV painted on the front. It's parked at Ninth Avenue, and there's a display set up right outside the truck on the sidewalk. A large-screen TV plays funny clips from the show while promotions people try to get you to enter the "be a host on MAD TV" drawing. The truck and promotion are sponsored by Miller Lite, whose "Dick" ads also play on the TV. Even New York's bluest took a break from their walking beats to watch the "O.J. Bloopers" sketch. And speaking of Quincy Jones productions ... *** Chris Spencer is out, or soon will be, at "Vibe," Variety reported today. This confirms what LATE SHOW NEWS had been hearing from multiple sources at the program. The cause seems straightforward enough -- "Vibe" is faring even worse than "Keenen Ivory Wayans" in the ratings (a 1.6 Nielsen nationally, higher than "Later" but lower than Tom Snyder), and Spencer had plainly failed to make much of an impression with viewers, including LSN readers. "Vibe" was coming up on the end of its first 13 weeks on the air, a time when stations traditionally downgrade a show if it's not performing up to expectations. Executive producer Quincy Jones had to do something to impress the stations that he was trying to bring "Vibe" up in the ratings. (Longtime LSN readers will recall that this was the same reason why a housecleaning occurred at "The Jon Stewart Show" in January of 1995, days before the big NATPE syndication trade show.) Sinbad has agreed to do the November sweeps as guest host, after which a "Later"-like rotation of guest hosts may be used, according to Variety. Names mentioned include standup Teddy Carpenter and former Pistons and Bulls star John Salley, who recently signed with "Vibe's" syndication company, Columbia Tri-Star. Mark my words right now: John Salley is your next permanent host of "Vibe," provided the show is allowed to live. Salley is personable, funny, and totally ready to take the reins of a TV talk show. In fact, he was ready to lead Disney into late night until Wayans made himself available at the last moment. Salley, unceremoniously dumped in favor of "Keenen," must be chomping at the bit, waiting to take a run at his former employer. *** Ten days ago, Mike Fedyszyn was just another teenager whose every waking moment was consumed maintaining his Web page. But now he's cooling his heels, thanks to a single e-mail message sent to him by the NBC legal department. In what's believed to be the first action taken against an Internet tribute page by the NBC network, Fedyszyn's (aka Cheezhed8@aol.com) colossal "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" Web page has been silenced by the network's Robert Freeman, who sent him this e-mail: "It has been brought to our attention that you are operating a web site that displays NBC trademarks, along with sound and video from NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Please be advised that NBC does not permit the use of its trademarks, logos, or copyrighted audio and visual material in any manner without its consent. The unauthorized use of such materials violates United States copyright, trademark, and unfair competition laws. "Accordingly, please delete all references to NBC and Late Night with Conan O'Brien, as well as all sounds and video clips from NBC television programs, and confirm the same either by e-mail or regular mail to Gillian M. Lusins, Broadcast Counsel, National Broadcasting Company, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Room 1078E, New York, New York 10112, Lusins@stnylaw.nbc.com within ten days. Thank you for your attention to this matter." (Then the standard NBC legal disclaimer appears in the signature: "Because e-mail can be altered electronically, the integrity of this communication cannot be guaranteed." Doesn't this invalidate the rest of Freeman's letter? Just asking.) "Late Night's" producers were not in a position to comment -- they headed off to Cologne and Amsterdam to promote NBC Europe, a tour that includes Conan's guest appearance tonight on "Die Harald Schmidt Show" -- but it appears the network acted unilaterally without consulting anyone at the show. According to "fair use" guidelines of copyright law, portions of a TV show can be included on a Web page, provided the page is not operated for profit, which Fedyszyn's page patently wasn't. But why this page and not any of the other Conan pages that have been on the Web for years? I got my answer in an interview last week with young Mike. Unlike Damone, Herbert Gambill, Al Bell or any of the other online fans of the show, Fedyszyn is on America Online, which has proven in the past it will help close down their own subscribers' sites, whether the reasons for doing so are substantiated or not. AOL froze Fedyszyn's FTP site until he replied to NBC's e-mail, indicating that the online service and TV network cooperated on the bust. NBC joins Fox in the hall of shame of networks deluded enough to think (a) their sites are worth any more than a fleeting glance compared with some of these amateur fan sites and (b) fan pages are somehow detrimental to the shows. As every well-traveled Web user knows, fan pages actually *build* loyalty toward TV shows by making others feel they belong to this interesting group of viewers. The networks should be grateful to these devoted fans for the hundreds of hours of promotional effort they volunteer on behalf of their pages, and by extension the shows themselves. Instead, Fox has sent warning letters to "X-Files," "Millennium" and "Simpsons" fans about their pages, and is now threatening a "King of the Hill" site, whose keeper is sufficiently spooked that s/he turned down my request for an interview. (Then there's the guy Comedy Central is mad at, the one who's got *every single episode* of "South Park" in video files on his Web site. If you ask me, he's begging for trouble.) And as for AOL, those of you who use it, remember the old saying: first time shame on them, second time shame on you. *** Now let me say something good about AOL, specifically Late Show Online on AOL. I paid a visit this evening to the Ed Sullivan and Late Show Online's keepers, Jay Johnson and Walter Kim. The site, already famous for its Wednesday-night Top Ten Lightning Round and Thursday-night "Stump the Donz," is enjoying record high levels of use, more than 50,000 hours a month. And more is on the way. AOL is now run by Bob Pittman, the man credited with turning around Chicago radio station WMAQ in the 1970s and turning MTV into a cultural force in the 1980s. As such, it's becoming more celebrity-driven, so expect to see more star-studded content on Late Show Online. And expect to see AOL become more Dave-driven next month. During the week of November 17-23, AOL users won't hear that familiar, constipated voice greet them with "Welcome!" when they log on. Instead, they'll hear Letterman say, "Welcome -- and hang onto your wigs and keys." And if there's something in their In box, Dave'll announce, "Congratulations, Skippy, you've got mail." Now I'm fully expecting to step into a New York City cab on my next trip and hear Dave telling me to fasten my shoulder belt, Pepe. *** I'd be remiss if I didn't pass along the inevitable Robert "Bob" Morty reference from that article in the November Esquire about the months before former NBC Entertainment prez Brandon Tartikoff's passed away. "Being out of power unnerves Brandon," writes the article's author, Tartikoff friend Nikki Finke. "It is times like these, he thinks, that shows you things about your friends. Like the time he was having breakfast with former Letterman producer Robert Morton to offer him a job. 'So after we eat, Morty says, "Where are you going now?" I had a meeting with Mort Janklow [high-powered NY literary agent]. So Morty says, "I'll walk over and say hello to Mort." I said okay. The minute we walk in the door, I did not exist. And that's okay. I'm a big boy. I've got my relationships. But he got up there and humped Mort's leg for, like, the next hour'" ... You did hear already, didn't you, that in the same piece Tartikoff calls current NBC Ent chief Warren Littlefield a "cockroach" because "he's going to survive nuclear war"? And to think NBC is cutting all access for the New York Observer, not Esquire ... And in a similar vein, Charles Grodin has signed with CNBC for another year of his talk show that would not die ... Wahoo, Nebraska is reporting a booming new industry in tourism ever since Dave Letterman named it the location for his mythic Top Ten List "home office" last year ... Charlie Rose tells Television Quarterly he knows he interrupts his guests all the time but pleads, "It's not to be clever, it's not to show people how much I know. It's my exuberance for the ideas and for the passion." Rose adds, "It's something I need to keep reasonably in check" ... "Blues Brothers 2000," the movie Paul Shaffer took two weeks and all his hair off to film, has a release date of Feb. 6, 1998, according to Internet movie insider Harry Knowles ... So I'm at Forest Lawn cemetery in the Hollywood Hills this summer, collecting information for an essay I wrote that appeared in the Oct. 12 Kansas City Star, when just beneath the 162-foot mural devoted to the founding of the Republic I see a bizarre headstone that reads, ``Penn and Teller ... Is This Your Card?'' and a picture of a playing card, the 3 of clubs. This I dutifully record in my notebook and move on. Forward to this week. While watching ``The Big Show with Keith Olbermann'' on MSNBC -- a show that, if you've seen it, you either love it or hate it -- who should be the guests but Penn and Teller, who explain that this tombstone is the punchline to a trick explained in their new book. It's designed to show that you can manipulate anyone into choosing the 3 of clubs from a pack of cards and later produce it for them. Yes, you could simply open the book to the page where a photograph of the plot appears; but, suggests Penn, why not go the extra mile, or three thousand miles if required, and finish the gag properly? ... Don Giller lays the issue of Marv Albert appearances on Dave's show to rest: "Marv totaled 80 appearances, including cameos (both taped and live), on 'Late Night with David Letterman.' As of 9/10/96, he had made 18 appearances, including cameos, on 'Late Show with David Letterman.' On the 2/14/97 episode, Dave had announced Marv's 95th appearance, when actually it was his 99th. Marv appeared on stage five more times that night to mark what Dave thought would be his 100th, though counting them as _separate_ appearances seems dubious. Marv's _ACTUAL_ 100th appearance on Dave was 3/26/97. His last cameo was 5/12/97, thus marking his 101st" ... And Ray Brune is out as executive producer of overnight's "ABC World News Now," having graduated to "Good Morning America Sunday." An interim producer is working in his place till a replacement can be found, which explains why I won't be doing a WNN story after all for my newspaper. (The guy told me he didn't want me on the set on his second day on the job. Fercripesake, it ain't "Nightline," dude!) And as long as I'm bitter, allow me to pass along this e-mail sent to me three months ago by Harrison Wyman: "'World News Now' is getting on my nerves. The anchors chat for the first minute or so and I mean trivial crap like what did you do on your vacation, I went roller blading yesterday, yada, yada, yada. And I *mean,* `Yada, yada, yada' ... It makes the straight-no-chaser approach of 'CBS Up to the Minute' more appealing." *** Reader mail: Cheri Campbell writes, "About Dave Letterman making jokes about Frank Gifford but not about Marv Albert: Dave may have laid off Marv Albert out of decency and loyalty as you said, but there the resemblance between the Marv Albert and Frank Gifford situations ends. Marv Albert, to the best of my knowledge, never set himself up as some moral and marital paragon, very definitely unlike the lovely and charming (not to mention self-righteous) Giffords. In other words, IMHO, Frank Gifford essentially asked to be the brunt of jokes." On the other hand, writes Gary Brizzolara, "Here's a possible reason why Dave is laying off of Marv Albert: He remembers what Hugh Grant did for Jay Leno" ... And Brian Unger writes, "Can you pass along a thank you to Ryan Vincent for his kind words in LATE SHOW NEWS #171 regarding my hosting of 'Later,' in particular my handling of Donna D'Errico. Not only was she firm in most areas, she was quite giving from deep reservoirs normally closed to strangers, and she allowed a whimsical probing at the hand of someone who'd never really seen her best work." Tom Heald's THIS NIGHT IN HISTORY Exclusive to LATE SHOW NEWS Tu 10/21: In 1978, on "Saturday Night Live," Connie Conehead's date arrives, and it's host Frank Zappa, who has a hard time not laughing his way through the sketch. We 10/22: In 1982, "Fridays" last airs on ABC. Thank god. Th 10/23: In 1926, John William Carson is born... Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee's Johnny! Fr 10/24: In 1980, after nineteen weeks, "The David Letterman Show" last airs (during daylight hours) on NBC. It will go on to win two Emmys the following May. Sa 10/25: In 1986, for the first time in the history of "Saturday Night Live," a live show does not air that same night. The show, hosted by Rosanna Arquette with musical guest Ric Ocasek, is taped for later broadcast (November 8) due to the World Series overrun as the game ends just after 1 AM EDT on NBC. The show starts taping at about 1:40 and ends at 2:10 AM. (Daylight Saving Time ends during the taping and Standard Time resumes at 1 AM EST.) Su 10/26: In 1946, future talk show host Pat Sajak is born. Oddly enough, nobody watches him for a year and a half. Mo 10/27: In 1978, John Carpenter's "Halloween" opens in movie theaters. Watch closely and you'll see part of a future "Saturday Night Live" cast member. While the rest of his body landed on the cutting room floor, you can spot the *hand* of ... Dana Carvey. [Thanks to Dave Tanny, Tim Brooks, Earl Marsh, Frank Serpas III, Mike Cader, Special thanks to Donz5 - Patron saint of the Big Ass Ham.] While in New York, e-mail Tom Heald a "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" T-shirt at . [Editor's Note: Nice try, Tom.] THE LINEUPS with Sue Trowbridge LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN, CBS Tu 10/21 Dennis Miller (R 8/8/96), Dennis Rodman (R 6/13/95), Denis Leary (R 3/4/94) We 10/22 Robin Williams (R 4/29/97), Mel Gibson (R 11/4/96), Pearl Jam (R 9/20/96) Th 10/23 Bruce Willis (R 2/18/97), Eddie Murphy (R 1/10/97), Ray Romano (R 9/11/96) Fr 10/24 Howard Stern (R 2/27/97), Rosie Perez (R 1/12/97), Adam Sandler (R 2/13/96) Mo 10/27 Mariah Carey, Anthony Clark Tu 10/28 Kid scientists, Amy Grant THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO, NBC Tu 10/21 Dustin Hoffman, Martin Page (R 3/8/95) We 10/22 Mel Gibson, Cal Ripken Jr., Fiona Apple (R 8/7/97) Th 10/23 Robin Williams, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Olympians Karch Kiraly and Kent Steffes (R 8/5/96) Fr 10/24 "Tonight Show" Five-Year Anniversary: Jerry Seinfeld, Garth Brooks (R 5/22/97) Mo 10/27 Cameron Diaz, Ice-T, Nick DiPaolo Tu 10/28 Richard Gere, race car driver Jeff Gordon We 10/29 Dennis Quaid, The Cure Th 10/30 John Travolta, Evander Holyfield, Salt-N-Pepa LATE LATE SHOW WITH TOM SNYDER, CBS Tu 10/21 Ted Danson, Blake Clark (R 5/16/97) We 10/22 Mike Wallace (R 5/12/97) Th 10/23 Pierce Brosnan, Dean Koontz (R 2/12/97) Fr 10/24 Dennis Miller, Ally Walker (R 5/9/97) Mo 10/27 George Segal Tu 10/28 Michael Palin, Stephen Jay Gould We 10/29 Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks, Doris Kearns Goodwin Th 10/30 Bill Maher, Mills Lane LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN, NBC Tu 10/21 Dave Foley, Clyde Peeling, Myron Kandel (R 8/8/97) We 10/22 Rosie Perez, Michael Rappaport, Wilco (R 8/14/97) Th 10/23 Anthony Quinn, Janine Turner, Taj Mahal (R 8/22/97) Fr 10/24 Sylvester Stallone, Loretta Lynn, Cool for August (R 8/12/97) Mo 10/27 Mira Sorvino, Marc Maron, Cake Like (R 8/21/97) LATER, NBC Tu 10/21 Duane Martin with Eddie Griffin (R 8/4/97) We 10/22 Jerry O'Connell with D.B. Sweeney (R 8/21/97) Th 10/23 Jerry O'Connell with Jennifer Love Hewitt (R 8/19/97) CHARLIE ROSE, PBS Tu 10/21 Robert Capa Photo Panel, Stansfield Turner, Parker Posey We 10/22 Foreign Affairs Panel; Caleb Carr, Stephen Jay Gould Th 10/23 Anne Rice, Leila Josefonicz, Sally Quinn, Joe Jackson Fr 10/24 Panel on the film "Long Way Home"; JFK tapes Mo 10/27 Phillipe Kahn, Valery Solti, Danny Glover Tu 10/28 Tommy Tune, Garrison Keillor, Johnny Cash We 10/29 Stephen Goldsmith, Molly Ringwald, Wendy Finerman Th 10/30 Dennis Quaid, Francesco Scavullo, Cassandra Wilson & Jacky Terrason Fr 10/31 John Hope Franklin Mo 11/3 David Mamet, David Shipler Tu 11/4 Ken Burns POLITICALLY INCORRECT WITH BILL MAHER, ABC Tu 10/21 Fred Savage, Roger Fouts, Michael Warder, Carol Leifer We 10/22 Deborah Norville, Diedrich Bader, Bob Odenkirk, Dr. Arnold Nerenberg Th 10/23 Frank Keating, Laura San Giacomo, Michael McKean, Jim Hightower Fr 10/24 Representative Harold Ford, Jr., Alexandra Wentworth, Rob Estes VIBE TV, syndicated Tu 10/21 Sheryl Lee Ralph, Jennifer Holliday We 10/22 Tori Spelling KEENEN IVORY WAYANS, syndicated Tu 10/21 4.0 We 10/22 Jennifer Beals, Jaleel White, Buju Banton Th 10/23 TBA Fr 10/24 Kirsten Dunst, LL Cool J HOWARD STERN, E! Tu 10/21 Drew Carey Part 1, The Singing Playmate Part 2 (R) We 10/22 Drew Carey Part 2, The Singing Playmate Part 3 (R) Th 10/23 Girl With Tampons In Nose Pt 1, Rodney Dangerfield Part 1 (R) Fr 10/24 Girl With Tampons In Nose Pt 2, Rodney Dangerfield Part 2 (R) Sa 10/25 Charles Manson's Pen Pal Pts 1 and 2 (R) THE DAILY SHOW, Comedy Central Tu 10/21 Gordon Clapp We 10/22 Lucy Lawless Th 10/23 Annie Potts DIE HARALD SCHMIDT SHOW, SAT.1 Tu 10/21 Conan O'Brien Mi 10/22 Samantha Fox, Stefan Juergens Do 10/23 Anya Rudy Fr 10/24 Michael Mittermeier SPACE GHOST COAST TO COAST, Cartoon Network Fr 10/24 Pavement, Tommy Davidson, Red Green, Colin Quinn, Goldie Hawn Fr 10/31 Charlton Heston Also check out for a video preview of the next episode. Also on late nights: NIGHTLINE and WORLD NEWS NOW, ABC CHARLES GRODIN, CNBC CARSON'S COMEDY CLASSICS, Family Channel 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 Entire contents Copyright 1997 by Aaron Barnhart. All rights reserved. Distributed by e-mail and BBS to over 10,000 readers weekly. Guest lineups are updated throughout the week by Sue Trowbridge at LATE SHOW NEWS is made possible with the generous assistance of ECHO, New York City's premiere online service. Send news for and comments about this newsletter to aaron@tvbarn.com