I grew up watching late night television as it aired during my lifetime, and I never really stopped watching from the antics of Conan O'Brien (I love the introduction portion of his podcast and his shenanigans with Jordan Schlansky) to the countless parodies of Jimmy Fallon's Late Night/Tonight Show; the wicked-smart satire of Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart; the witty and sharp John Oliver to the silly Jimmy Kimmel and the kookiness of Craig Ferguson; and even the classic Letterman. I'll admit it, as much as I've watched classic television shows and movies on repeat, the talk shows of the early days of late-night aren't really on that list. Interestingly enough, the first late night talk show was led by a woman: The Faye Emerson Show in 1941.
Overall, I love watching late night TV, especially the monologues and travel moments and hilarious creative segments. For instance, when Kimmel's show would ask people questions, and they would answer in the dumbest ways. And Kimmel's Unnecessary Censorship segments are such a silly and immature concept yet it's still hilarious. And then, there are moments that were so good, they became their own show. Conan's remotes (when he would go to different places outside the set, and just be himself in those spaces) were so popular, that he now has quite a few different TV specials and series that have built upon that concept.
I have referenced and written about only a few of my favorite moments in late night television and comedy in my Video Mash-Up: Late Night Talk Shows post and even in SNL and JT. But there are so many moments that still stick with me, and thank goodness YouTube exists so that I have the ability to look back at some of these memorable, hilarious creations.
Like this:
Or this:
The LATE (LOST parody) was my favorite one from Jimmy Fallon's Late Night, which wasn't included on their YouTube playlist. But I did find this: https://www.tiktok.com/@fallonathome/video/7250639331428273426.
Theses comedians, and so many more, help get their audience through difficult and/or annoying times. They make us laugh and remind us to enjoy life when it can be pretty easy for life to feel stale, meaningless and devoid of joy. It's unfortunate how in American society, it's easy for people (myself included) to see life as an endless routine of work and tasks, obsessive productivity-on repeat-for means of survival. It can be surprisingly easy to forget that moments of joy are not only allowed, but they are necessary. And comedy reminds us it's not that hard to remember!
These shows allow us to have a good laugh at even while also paying attention to current events.
These comedians and their teams have a way of telling the truth, setting stories straight, and making sense of the nonsense while also inspiring their audience to think and laugh! Comedy and laughter has a pretty cool way of bringing people together and keeping us from being consumed by the insanity that seeks to harm and/or destroy us.
In recent years, I have been enjoying making YouTube playlists. In the past year or two, I've binged-watched Conan's podcast intros and created a Conan favorites playlist (which I have watched/listened to repeatedly, it's that good!) It has been interesting to see him from this perspective after having seen him in the late-night-show style for so many decades.
I also found Josh Johnson, who has become one of my very favorite comedians, next to Wanda Sykes. He was also a writer for the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and is a correspondent on the Daily Show. I binged-watched all of his stand-up videos on YouTube this past year, and also created a Josh Joshson favorites playlist. His storytelling is so compelling with so many visual and intricate details that he so seamlessly weaves into recent events and topics of discussion.
We gotta fight for our rights (to party), and constantly revisit it as I refer back to a post I wrote back in 2012 about a comedic flash-dance-like revival of the popular Beastie Boys song.
Stay sane, keep laughing, and remember to have fun!
