CRAIG FERGUSON
I have to say that, having watched Craig Ferguson's "The Late, Late Show" since its inception, I think we may finally have a genuine comedic artist hosting a late night television show. Of course Carson, Letterman, Conan, and Stewart have been or currently are very funny. Carson is the legend who refined the genre after Paar; Letterman's best days are behind him but he still excels at the absurd and sardonic; Conan is excellent at interviews and 'zany' in general, though his self-consciousness wears thin; Stewart showcases the absurdities of modern politics better than anyone, though risks being a one-trick pony in that regard.
Ferguson, the newcomer, has more shows to perform before he enters any pantheon. He's only been at this for about a year. Letterman's been on late night since 1982, and Leno since 1992. But evidence of Ferguson's star juice exists now. And since comedy's best when on the edge of falling apart, this may be the perfect time to really appreciate Ferguson's artistry, before it gets too formulaic from repetition.
Why do I think he's the only genuine artist of the bunch? I'm using a more narrow definition of artist here, one that focuses on the capacity to convey a range of human experience through economic means, in this case through the discipline of live comedy. I particularly cite Ferguson's monologues (here for recent selections). After the monologues, his show usually is pretty conventional if still funny as he interviews his guests. But the monologues that open the show are fast-paced, the longest of the field, are largely improvised and delightfully impromptu, and feel as if they can go in any direction at any moment, including collapse, which too can be riveting. His best monologues run the gamut of topics, tangents, digressions long and short, and shades of subtlety yet are held together by some line, some theme, some angle introduced early in the oratory.
Sometimes he creates arcs that last several shows. His is a decidedly wacky kind of train that is laying its tracks as it zooms down the rails. His humor explodes as a rant, but somehow you are partner. There is an immediacy, even an intimacy. He's not interested in doing this alone, or for himself only. He invites you to "re-create" with him, because his is a full-arsenal of comedy tools—bodily humor, physical comedy, conceptual experiments, irony, one-liners, historical re-enactment and re-imagining, momentum-based long-form narrative, political/cultural spoofs, provocations of taboo, intellectual/geeky reference, impressions/impersonations, catharsis, opinionated rants, autobiographical confession (he's Scottish and he wants you to know), straight-up honesty, cosmopolitan/internationalist references, and, as he showed in his moving tribute to his late father's death, just two weeks ago, heartbreakingly poignant sincerity.
All of which makes for multiple angles upon the traditional task— that of busting your stomach from laughter and making apparent human truths and frailties. Ferguson is at heart a provocaeur, though his current bits are usually warm and emphathetic with his audiences. He's experienced as an actor, writer, director, producer, and comic. He's famous in the US for his role on The Drew Carey Show and infamous in the UK as an edgy comic who once used a stage name "Bing Hitler". As he continues to tailor his show and his comedic personna, he works through his admitted years of alcohol abuse, and the subsequent rehab. He litters his humor with the occasional, but regular, references to pot (about which he wrote, produced, and acted in a feature-length film, Saving Grace). He's been divorced twice. All of which shows that his comedy is rightly influenced by the experiences in his life, and he is not afraid to confront fear. He seems like the friend you'd want to hang out with at the local pub, having three too many as the wolves howl down the moon. In his best moments, he seems to cross over to a "shared expanse" or clearing where the joke, the audience, and himself are lit up, transparent to a common soul.
Ratings have improved from a slow start, and he's survived an entire year, which is probably the most difficult time for a newcomer to the field, although one is only as good as their most Nielson report. He's had his feet to the fire even before he got the job. CBS created a live job interview of sorts to replace the thankfully departed Craig Kilborn, who brought nothing more than dopey, fraternity comedic sense that was tired before he began. After he decided not to renew his contract, Ferguson competed with D. L. Hughley, Damien Fahey, and Michael Ian Black, together the four finalists for the gig. It is a competition that prepared Ferguson for the heat, and bodes well for a run on the Late Late Show as long as he wants. Because of his biography, his intentions, his experience, his full-bag of skills, and the experimental nature of his show and its time-slot, Ferguson allows us to suspend disbelief and just enjoy the ride that he takes us on as, I believe, he gradually but irrevocably re-defines the genre of late-night television comedy. He is an integral artist, leading the edge of his art form.
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