Wednesday, April 29, 2009

From the E-Mailbag...

Ken Tucker writes with the following question...

You write about the late night talk shows a lot, so I thought you might be the one who could answer a question I have about them, which I don't remember you ever talking about in your blog (though maybe I missed it).

The question is, why are all the musical acts for both Letterman and Leno now relegated to the very end of the show, in the 12:30-12:37 slot? It was never this way in Johnny's day — there were a variety of acts at all times through the show.

Yes, a lot of the acts are bands that the hosts aren't going to sit down and talk to, so maybe it makes sense to have them at the end, but last night Letterman had Dolly Parton on, and talked to her early in the show, but then had her come back at the very end (after he had talked to a different guest in the meantime) to perform her song.

You'd almost think there was some rule that they could pay the musicians less if they don't come on until after 12:30!

It makes me wonder what will happen with Jay's show when he's on at 10:00. I can't image him waiting until 10:55 to put on a musical guest, unless they think somehow that will be a good lead-in to the news on the local stations!

Anyway, if you have any inside scoop on why they do this, I'd love to read about it in your blog.

It's not all that mysterious. Research, including the kind where they measure the ratings many times within the hour, has yielded the following belief: That when the musical guest starts performing, a large chunk of the audience decides to either go to bed or switch channels and see what else is on, mainly the former. There apparently is a chunk of viewers out there who will tune in for the musical guest...so you book one most nights to get those viewers. But there's also a sizeable chunk who'll decide it's time to turn in...so you book them at the end of the show.

This has been "learned" over the years. In fact, back when some at NBC wanted to dump Leno, one of the arguments advanced was that Jay and his crew hadn't heeded network research that proved this principle. One night, he had Garth Brooks perform in the middle of the show, and this was cited as not knowing how to program a talk show. Nowadays, when Brooks does the show, he talks first and — as was the case with Ms. Parton — comes back later to perform.

I doubt this will be the format when Leno hits 10:00. What I'm hearing is that they plan a show that will be mostly comedy, especially at the end. With an 11:30 show, you don't waste your strong comedy bits near the closing because your audience is inevitably going to be smaller then. But that rule doesn't apply to a 10:00 show so Jay will probably try to close strong, and whatever music they have will come earlier in the proceedings.

That, by the way, may be key to whether the Leno experiment will be judged a success. Traditionally, of course, the measure of a prime time show is how its ratings are in relation to the programs on opposite. That will matter for Jay, natch, but because the programming concept is so new and potentially dangerous for the 11:00 local newscasts across the country, he really needs to deliver audience to them. If the ratings for those shows go up, Jay's show may be judged a hit even if it never wins its own time slot.

• Posted at 8:48 PM · LINK

Buyer Beware

I've posted this here before and someone should remind me to post it more often...

There is forged original artwork out there. Fake. Bogus. Fraud. Not actually by the person they say it's by.

Phony art is usually not in the form of something that was published. It's an alleged rough sketch by some famous artist or a drawing that was supposedly done for a fan. Lately, I've seen a number of these. Someone traces an obscure Jack Kirby drawing and claims the tracing is by Kirby. Or they copy a panel out of a Peanuts strip and say it's an original sketch by Charles Schulz. (Not long ago, eBay had one up that was signed by "Schultz.") Occasionally, one sells for an awful lot of money.

Kirby and Schulz seem to be the most oft-faked but I've seen others...and an awful lot of fake animation cels. I've stopped authenticating artwork but there are reliable art dealers who can tell you if that Jack Kirby sketch you purchased of Obama's inauguration is legit. Be on the lookout.

• Posted at 12:46 AM · LINK

Today's Video Link

Here's another promo for the show I've been working on for the last year or so. It's The Garfield Show, an all-new series, which is airing in some countries (like France) and soon to air in others. This is a commercial for its debut on Boomerang UK, which happens May 5. Last I heard, they had all the big territories sold except for North America and Japan, but they will come.

• Posted at 12:35 AM · LINK