Saturday, February 21, 2009

Go Read It!

Manohla Dargis profiles Jerry Lewis, the man who tomorrow night will receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. Why do I have the feeling that at this very moment, Jerry is at home, carefully rehearsing how he'll say the wrong thing?

• Posted at 11:01 PM · LINK

Late Life

A month or two ago, TV reporter Aaron Barnhart and I sat in a delicatessen not far from CBS and discussed the fate of NBC late night in its forthcoming reconfiguration. At the time, Aaron was starting to predict not-good things for the Peacock Network in that daypart...and his reservations have blossomed into this firmer foreboding. I think he just may be right.

At the same time, I'm surprised there aren't other players in this game. If I were running a cable network or a big syndication company, I'd think this was the ideal time to jump into late night with something altogether different. As Aaron notes, America's interest in Jay, Dave, Conan and the rest is in decline. Maybe the new configuration of Jay, Conan and Jimmy Fallon will turn things around. Maybe. Or maybe it'll just make viewers feel oversaturated with the same kinds of shows, whereupon they'd flock to something more spontaneous. The talk shows of today have cribbed everything possible from Steve Allen except the notion that it can be fun when the host doesn't know everything that's about to happen and is prepared for anything.

Anyway, go read Aaron for why the new NBC layout may have problems.

• Posted at 10:12 PM · LINK

Recommended Reading

Michael Kinsley on this nation's economic strategy. He doesn't understand it, either.

• Posted at 12:03 PM · LINK

Go Read It!

Another interview with Stephen Sondheim.

• Posted at 2:03 AM · LINK

Today's Video Link

Last October, I linked to a couple of videos featuring the team of Michael Flanders and Donald Swann, two very funny Britishers who wrote and often performed silly tunes. From the response I received, I gather a lot of you were unfamiliar with Flanders and Swann, and were quite happy to discover them.

Here's another ditty from the boys...a song about Charles de Gaulle. This is from 1967 when de Gaulle was still president of France and very much in the news. Flanders and Swann decided the time had come to end their 11 year career so they did a final tour, then performed the show for a last TV special. This clip is from that special.

• Posted at 1:07 AM · LINK