LATE SHOW NEWS #181 November 25, 1997 by Aaron Barnhart [NOTE: Holiday time once again means a slowed-down schedule for LATE SHOW NEWS. No issue next week, and expect more double issues between now and New Year's. See you December 9th.] *** So other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the taping of "The Michael Moore Show"? My moles at last week's second night of taping for Moore's late-night Fox pilot understandably had only one thing on their minds afterward: the surreal and surprise appearance of O.J. Simpson in what's believed to be his first panel on a talk show since his civil and criminal trials. (See LSN #180.) But there were other segments tried out that night, and Moore and producer Kathleen Glynn gave LATE SHOW NEWS an update on the show's status later in the week. Monday night's bits seemed to work better than Sunday's, or at least my Monday moles had a higher opinion of the show than the observer who wrote me on Sunday. They felt a five-nights-a-week program would not be out of Moore's reach at all. Choosing the right guests will be crucial, since Moore made it plain he isn't going to have them on to do standard celebrity chat. On Monday, Sheryl Crow performed the song that got her CD banned at Wal-Mart and did a panel with Moore discussing her censorship. (This kind of thing actually did used to happen in late night; I've seen an interview Joey Bishop did with Bobby Sherman over his song "Honey," which incensed the pro-Vietnam crowd at the time.) But integrating Moore's style into a live-TV environment will be tricky, as Moore himself freely admits. There was one bit Monday that apparently went very well: a live hookup with the state pen in Angola, La., in which Moore arranged to have some prisoners do work on the show's behalf. The marketing of prison labor is one of those wells Moore visits frequently; Merrill Markoe profied some outsourced labor at a women's prison during "TV Nation's" 1994 run, and a brutally candid, tattoo-painted ex-con who booked plane flights for TWA customers while in prison is one of the more memorable people we meet in Moore's new movie, "The Big One" (coming in March). And it's not as though greedy corporate pigs are going out of style. Also, as veteran viewers of Letterman well know, there's hardly anything more entertaining than watching a guy get thrown out of an office building. So Moore has enough grist for the mill -- that's beyond dispute. Whether he can get the mill operating at perfect efficiency and himself handle the grind of a nightly program is unclear. It may also be beside the point. For as Moore told me last week, Fox is now looking at picking up "The Michael Moore Show" as a weekly after all. It could be a Friday late-nighter (my preference), or Saturday alternating with or following "MAD TV." And Moore said, Don't rule out prime time either. Okay, Michael, we won't. There was an unexpectedly funny moment during the whole Simpson thing. One audience member, less angry at Simpson for showing up than at Moore for booking him, cracked up Moore by calling him a "ratings slut." As Moore put it later, "I haven't been on TV in over two years -- how can I be a ratings slut?" Of one thing you can be sure: Moore's interview with O.J. will definitely see air. A Fox spokesperson had said otherwise earlier, having briefly forgotten that she is a spokesperson for Fox, which will put *anything* on the air if it will draw the 18-to-34's. *** LATE SHOW NEWS has finally ordered the HBO again, and it wasn't just to watch the hilariously self-absorbed scripted testimonials on "Real Sex." I caught my second "Chris Rock Show" of the new season and now I can see why the rest of the industry is so resentful of HBO. The Sinbads and Keenens of the world have decided to beat their brains in trying to come up with 220 hours of product a year and suffer the "eh's" of critics like me. (But maybe it's just me. Recently the "Keenen" people sent out to the press a 13-minute reel of what were supposedly comedy highlights from the show. Out of all the bits, only one got a laugh out of me -- Keenen and two guests did one of those lampoons of the talk-show genre that Letterman used to do, the kind that rely on surprise and are therefore non-reproducible, which may explain why Letterman doesn't do them anymore.) Meanwhile, Chris Rock does just 10 half-hours a season and is instantly declared a comic genius! But give Rock credit: through dynamite booking and a little comedic daring, he's put together the fastest and funniest 30 minutes currently on late night. Friday's show was no exception. It started with a blistering monologue that included a couple of jokes no other comedian on TV would touch. (You heard about that white kid with the suicide wish who got the cops to shoot him by pointing a toy gun at them? If that had been a black kid, said Rock, all he'd have to do is *step out of the car.*) Then it was on to the guest, the Rev. Al Sharpton, who continued his mysterious seduction of the New York electorate (and viewers like me). The two men had a raucous discussion of the merits of Sharpton cutting his hair and Rock's use of "decadent" language, with Rock trying to explain why "It's a nice day" is no different from "It's a nice *fucking* day." Most of the crowd took Rock's side, but the exchange helped both men with their constituencies, with Sharpton flashing his best disapproving-dad glare for most of the segment. Then, as if to weigh in on the debate, Rock's musical guest Mary J. Blige sang what is likely the most foul-mouthed song in her repertoire. Only on HBO. *** Sean Medlock was one of the two winners in the "Space Ghost Coast to Coast" fan haiku contest and won an all-expenses-paid trip last month to visit Cartoon Network headquarters and tape a segment with Spacey which will air New Year's Eve. Sean writes: "I can understand why Paul Westerberg freaked out when they asked him to talk to Zorak (LSN #117). As drunk as he probably was, that had to be pretty weird. I know it was for me. You plop down on this stool with a camera pointed at you, the room completely dark except for these intense lights in your face. Then the interrogation, er, interview starts, and you have to pretend you're talking to these cartoon characters. Meanwhile, you've got all these people, the producers and crew and such, staring at you silently from the dark like wolves waiting for the campfire to go out. If I were a weaker man I would've wept, probably. "I was at an advantage, I guess, because I was actually talking face-to-face with George Lowe, the voice of Space Ghost. He was really friendly and put me at ease. (As they were getting my mike ready and such, I told him how much I like the show's trademark awkward silences. Upon which we had a nice little chat about Andy Griffith and Bob Newhart, masters of the awkward silence. We then simultaneously realized that we had just avoided an awkward silence by discussing -- awkward silences.) Apparently most of the guests do their interviews by remote from NY or LA and have to look at a little picture of Space Ghost that's taped next to the camera, so I guess I was lucky to have an actual face-to-face conversation in the same room with George. "Of course, I could also see the monitor over his shoulder in my peripheral vision the whole time, with the camera's view of my face. Unsettling! Since then I've been staying away from the Ruffles. ... "So now I'm just waiting for New Year's to see how they humiliate me. I thought the interview went pretty well, but I know they're going to cut the hell out of it. I got a few good shots in, which I'm sure won't make it into the final show. (After asking me to do impressions of Zorak, Brak, etc., George/SG said, 'Now do Bill Clinton.' I said, 'Who hasn't?' Yeah, cheap shot, but not bad for my first, and last, time.) "All in all, that trip was one of the coolest things that's ever happened to me." And for the companion photo chronicle of young Sean's visit to Toontown, dial up . *** The gang at "The Daily Show" wanted me to know that, contrary to the report in LSN #179, the weekly "God Stuff" segment with Joe Bob Briggs is *not* going away. That's a relief: I don't know what would happen to my self-esteem if the Reverend Jonathan Bell weren't there every week to slap it into me ... Speaking of Cartoon Network, it renewed "Space Ghost Coast to Coast" for its fifth season with 24 new episodes to air next summer, reports Electronic Media ... Zillions of Seattle-based readers wrote to point out that although Bill Gates' mansion can be accessed by boat, it isn't located on an island (though as Tresy Kilbourne noted, "he may have built a moat around the other three sides of it by now, for all I know") ... And Russia's NTV network has launched a Saturday-night talk show about sex called "About That." The show's creator/director is amazed at how willing his studio audience and guests are to discuss the topic that was once taboo on Russian airwaves. "I don't recognize my own nation in the program," he told the AP. "I didn't realize that they had gone so far in being so uninhibited, so free and easy in speaking about formerly forbidden subjects." Maybe they're just going through their "curious" stage. *** Highlights from Paul Shaffer's "Late Show Online" chat on AOL: Q. What's the significance of introducing George Miller with "Sleepwalk"? PANTSPaul: That has been a request of his since his first appearance on the show and God knows why his perverse sense of humor finds that funny. Question: Paul, do you come up with all the musical intros to comedy pieces yourself? PANTSPaul: Not all, but some. Often a writer comes up with a lyric and I supply the music. Sometimes I do both. Question: Which city was your favorite to travel to with the show? CBSMailbag: I'd say London was the most fun. PANTSPaul: I'll say London too. CBSMailbag: London is where we recorded the track with Van Morrison, Sinead O'Connor and the Chieftains. (That little observation didn't endear itself to fans who remember that particular performance, now immortalized on the "Live on Letterman" CD:) Q. I'm surprised you included Van/Sinead. Van was drunk and dead on his feet that night. PANTSPaul: You must phrase your question in the form of a question. The show's music booker Sheila Rogers, who was also in the chat room, revealed that next month the show will present a scene from Paul Simon's new musical "Capeman." *** Reader mail: In response to a recent show attendee's complaint that she'd heard a warmup comedian's act before, a friend writes, "Aaron, as an experienced warmup comic, I am always amazed by people who don't understand why we have the same material when they come back to the show a month later or some such thing. Astoundingly enough, WE DON'T HAVE PEOPLE WRITING US NEW JOKES FOR EVERY SHOW, LIKE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ON THE SHOW! Also, there are usually only certain jokes that work for warmup situations. Not only that, but for Letterman, you've only got about five minutes' worth of your own stuff to say, the rest is show hype. You can't get going on some big bit or what have you. Finally, since you are supposed to get the audience pumped, you can't exactly be trying out new material on them. You have to go with the tried and true, or your ass is fired quicker than Dave takes off his jacket at the end of the show. Therefore, if you go to more than one show, chances are WE WILL BE TELLING SOME OR ALL OF THE SAME JOKES!" ... Dave Jacoby speaks for several who wrote in after reading Tim Finn's review of the "Live on Letterman" CD. "The Van Morrison-Sinead O'Connor-Chieftains song was on during Dave's time in London, and I was horrified when I saw it. The Chieftains and Sinead were there and trying to be respectful of the song, but Van seemed determined to ruin the song forever. At first I thought he must've been drunk, but I didn't notice any physical signs (i.e., he wasn't staggering) so I could only blame it on malice. It is odd that this was chosen, since it was obviously mucked up. But then again, it's one of those Letterman things where you remember it, even though it wasn't planned. A musical version of the Crispin Glover interview?" ... And Elizabeth Philippus adds, "Whatever happened to Mandy Patinkin? He 'blew the roof off the dump' on several impromptu appearances." Good point. I guess he should have made at least one appearance loaded to the gills. *** Tom Heald's "THIS NIGHT IN HISTORY" Exclusive to LATE SHOW NEWS tomalhe@aol.com Tu 11/25: In 1996, "Late Show Online" makes its official debut on America Online, featuring a live chat with Paul Shaffer. Older and wiser, they've dropped "Rupert's Sandwich of the Week," "You Asked For It," "Bert," and "Dave's X-Rated Photos" since then. We 11/26: In 1938, Rich Little is born. Little is perhaps best known for portraying Edith Prickley on SCTV (kidding). After years of being a guest, Little himself finally became a talk show host in 1996, portraying Johnny Carson (poorly) in HBO's "The Late Shift" teleflick. Th 11/27: In 1976, on "Saturday Night Live," writer/genius Michael O'Donoghue tells host Jodie Foster a "Least-Loved Bedtime Tale": "The Little Train That Died." Fr 11/28: In 1962, Jon Stewart is born. Even though my mother "still likes Tom Snyder better," she has warmed up to Stewart (though Mom now insists he should really wear V-neck t-shirts under his sweater vests, so she can see his chest hair). Sa 11/29: "I'm pinching their contract, I'm pinching their contract." In 1992, "The Kids In The Hall" last airs on HBO. Su 11/30: In 1929, Dick "New Year's Rockin'" Clark is created in a lab in Bolivia. Now, having exposed that, I'll reveal how to make an elephant disappear. Mo 12/1: In 1989, after his owners are kidnapped by aliens, "Saturday Night Live's" Toonces (the cat who could drive a car, just not very well) crashes into a Forest Service office where he types that "My owners Lyle and Brenda Clarke of 3130 Meadow Lane are being held captive by Marshens." Yes, he misspelled Martians -- what do you want from a cat? [Corrections Department: SCTV's "Edith Prickley" was in fact played by John Candy.] Thanks to Frank Serpas III, David Tanny and Michael Cader. Special thanks to the Donz5, another day older and deeper in debt. Somehow Tom Heald has found a way to have even less time in his day. Read his "White Trash News Flash," a journal of the magnificently mundane, at .] THE LINEUPS with Sue Trowbridge LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN, CBS Tu 11/25 Kids Tell Jokes, Marisa Tomei, James Taylor We 11/26 Stupid Pet Tricks, Anthony Edwards, food artist Joost Elffers Th 11/27 Kevin Spacey, Art Donovan, The Wallflowers Fr 11/28 TBA Mo 12/1 Tom Hanks, Joan Plowright, Gipsy Kings (R 12/16/93) Tu 12/2 Nicole Kidman, Laura Dern, Gloria Estefan (R 12/10/96) We 12/3 Kathie Lee Gifford, Fran Lebowitz, The Artist Formerly Known as Prince (R 12/13/94) Th 12/4 Martin Short, Bev Tanner, Dave Matthews Band (R 12/13/95) Fr 12/5 Billy Crystal, Cuba Gooding Jr., Darlene Love (R 12/20/96) THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO, NBC Tu 11/25 Roma Downey, Haggis eating champ Barry Noble, Kenny G We 11/26 Kids Thanksgiving Pageant, Lea Thompson Th 11/27 Bird impressionist Ralph Duren, Helena Bonham Carter, Carrot Top Fr 11/28 Cooking with Naomi Judd Mo 12/1 Halle Berry, Matt Damon, the cast of the Broadway musical "Chicago" Tu 12/2 Joan Embery, Minnie Driver, Isaac Mizrahi We 12/3 Kevin Bacon, Alex Linz, The Bacon Bros. Th 12/4 Pierce Brosnan, Leann Rimes Fr 12/5 Neve Campbell, Ben Affleck, Spice Girls LATE LATE SHOW WITH TOM SNYDER, CBS Tu 11/25 Jon Voight, Dr. Art Caplan We 11/26 Malcolm McDowell, Calvin Trillin Th 11/27 Liza Minnelli, former L.A. Dodger Brett Butler (R 7/29/97) Fr 11/28 George Carlin, Jonathan Kirsch (R 5/29/97) Mo 12/1 Debbie Reynolds Tu 12/2 Tony Danza, Webster Hubbell We 12/3 Janeane Garofalo Th 12/4 TBA Fr 12/5 Bill Zehme LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN, NBC Tu 11/25 Garth Brooks, Sigourney Weaver, Frank Gorshin We 11/26 Nathan Lane, Rev. Al Sharpton, Todd Rundgren Th 11/27 Scott Thompson, Dana Gould, Carol Leifer Fr 11/28 Mary Tyler Moore, Anthony Clark, Ric Ocasek Mo 12/1 John Tesh, Joan Cusack, Squirrel Nut Zippers (R 9/26/97) Tu 12/2 Chris Rock, Michael Moore, Neil Coty (R 9/9/97) We 12/3 Paul Reiser, Janeane Garofalo, Steve Winwood (R 10/8/97) Th 12/4 Elton John, Tim Meadows (R 9/25/97) Fr 12/5 Adam Sandler, Robert Wuhl (R 9/10/97) LATER, NBC Mo 11/24 Cindy Crawford with Herb Ritts Tu 11/25 Cindy Crawford with Kevin Nealon We 11/26 Cindy Crawford with Dan Cortese Th 11/27 Cindy Crawford with Shawn Colvin Mo 12/1 - Th 12/4 Cindy Crawford with guests TBA CHARLIE ROSE, PBS Tu 11/25 Christiane Amanpour We 11/26 David Ho, David Chipperfield, Bill Bryson Th 11/27 Placido Domingo Fr 11/28 TBA Mo 12/1 Sheryl Crow, Jeff Gordon, Christie Hefner Tu 12/2 Bryant Gumbel, Seymour Hersh, Norman Augustine We 12/3 Jamaica Kincaid, Louis Rukeyser Th 12/4 Fran Drescher, Daniel Day Lewis & Jim Sheridan Fr 12/5 Enya POLITICALLY INCORRECT WITH BILL MAHER, ABC Tu 11/25 Sammy Hagar, Marianne Williamson, Kathy Griffin, Cornel West We 11/26 Hector Elizondo, Steve Lawrence, Rep. Jim Rogan Th 11/27 Chris Rock, Peter Strauss, Rev. Al Sharpton, Lynn Snowden Fr 11/28 Kathy Ireland, Chris Farley, Tom Fitton, Terry Auzur VIBE TV, syndicated Tu 11/25 Danny Glover, Jenna Elfman, Enrique Iglesias, Bobby Caldwell We 11/26 Kristian Alfonso, Andrew Dice Clay, Jeffrey Osborne KEENEN IVORY WAYANS, syndicated Tu 11/25 Stephen Baldwin, Jackie Joyner Kersee, Dr. Drew Pinsky & Adam Carolla We 11/26 LL Cool J, Johnnie Cochran, Margaret Cho Th 11/27 Rosie Perez, Michael Jai White, Wyclef Jean Fr 11/28 Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Charles Dutton, Snoop Doggy Dogg Mo 12/1 Jack Wagner, Layla Harvest Roberts, Rocky Carroll Tu 12/2 Alfonso Ribeiro, Richard T. Jones, Chubb Rock We 12/3 Doug E. Doug Th 12/4 Adrian Paul, Mighty Mighty Bosstones Fr 12/5 Angelica Bridges SPACE GHOST COAST TO COAST, Cartoon Network Fr 11/28 (pre-empted) Fr 12/5 Charlton Heston Also check out for a video preview of the next episode. HOWARD STERN, E! Tu 11/25 Perfect 10 Girls/Sandra Bernhard Pt 1, Rap Summit (R) We 11/26 Perfect 10 Girls/Sandra Bernhard Pt 2, David Faustino (R) Th 11/27 Fred Confronts Actor Pt 1 (R), Fred Confronts Actor Pt 2 (R) Fr 11/28 Lynn Snowden & Uzo Sex Survey (R), Melrose Larry/Cable Show (R) Sa 11/29 Anya The Au Pair (R), Sex With Dolphin Guy (R) THE CHRIS ROCK SHOW, HBO Fr 11/28 George Carlin DIE HARALD SCHMIDT SHOW, SAT.1 Di 25/11 Dieter Bohlen, Andie MacDowell Mi 26/11 Maximilian Schell, Ann-Kathrin Kramer Do 27/11 Marijke Amado, Walter Scholz, Dieter Gorny Fr 28/11 Henry Maske, Sabrina Setlur 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 Entire contents Copyright 1997 by Aaron Barnhart. All rights reserved. Current e-mail circulation: 11,165 subscribers in 53 countries. 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