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Pretty self-explanatory. Who is your favorite late night host?
I'm finding myself turning more and more from the mainstream stalwarts of Leno and Letterman. I've never liked Leno. He has this sort of smirking, weasely, time-warped sense of humor. His jokes are so stale and unoriginal and I can tell exactly where he's going before he reaches the punchline. His comedy is sort of safe sanitized Middle American comedy. His audience gets on my nerves too for whatever reason. Letterman I used to love and on his "on" nights, there is no one better at interviewing guests (I think Leno's interviews are AWFUL), but those nights are becoming more and more rare and he's just becoming increasingly cranky and no longer eccetnric in a fun and goofy way but rather just eccentric in a "this makes ME laugh, so let me replay this bit/joke over and over again even though no one else thinks it's funny" sort of way. And I HATE Paul Shaffer.
I consider those two the most mainstream guys due to their shows being on at an earlier time and garnering more viewers. I prefer the "later" night hosts though. Conan O'Brien has been my favorite for a long time, so I always tune into him, but lately, I haven't been AS into him as I once was, and I'm afraid he's really going to lose that spastic irreverent spark when he takes over Leno's job because NBC will force him to tone down his act. Even though I usually watch Conan, if it's a repeat or his guests suck, I'll flip to Craig Ferguson or Jimmy Kimmel and I have to say that I really enjoy both of those guys even if I rarely watch a full episode. Jimmy Kimmel in particular just seems like he doesn't think anyone watches the show so he just this relaxed "do as I please" air about his comedy and the show which is sort of refreshing. Conan is still my favorite, but the others are gaining ground.
Carson Daly is awful. Just horrible. I think he even ranks below Leno. He was never a comedian like the others (with the possible exception of Kimmel), but rather just a regular guy, and as such, his delivery of jokes frequently falls flat, and his audience is horrific. They just SIT there. They barely ever chuckle, which of course, given the poor jokes is understandable, but it seems like they're just cardboard cutouts.
I like Jon Stewart a lot as well, probably more than any of the others but I don't really consider him a late night host. He's not on late enough at night. And I enjoy Bill Maher's show as well, but well, his show isn't really on enough for me to consider him a late night host either.
Note: I originally spelled Paul Shaffer's name with a "c" in between the S and the H and it was inexplicably censored. I have no clue why. Either way, apparently Shaffer without the "c" is the correct spelling as I learned from a quick googling, but still, I can't figure out why S-C-H-A-F-F-E-R is censored.
I voted for Conan... it's probably just my age/generation, since Leno & Letterman are my dad's hosts - no offense, but hopefully you know what I mean. I enjoy them when I watch (particularly Letterman), but Conan is more my type of humor. He's just naturally funny & silly, whereas the others are more "dry." Also, maybe I'm partial to my fellow carrot-tops... LOL.
1. Craig Ferguson
2. Jay Leno
3. Conan O'Brien
4. David Letterman
5. Carson Daly
The first three in that list are MILES ahead of Letterman and Daly as I find them to be unfunny and quite frankly dull. They just bore me, so I do not even watch them period, unless there is a REALLY good guest. Craig Ferguson I personally think is the funniest of those five, and is the best late night comedian, his jokes are highlarious most of the time. I also like how his dialouge is unscripted, and he pretty much flies by the seat of his pants, and most of the time it works VERY well. His guests are quite good NOW, but in his first season his guests were for sure low on the celebrity totem pole. Anyways, I think he is the best of them, Jay Leno and Conan change in my mind, all of them have on and off nights, so it is tough to pick....but I think I like Leno slightly more. I will say this though, I TIVO (PVR here in Canada) those three every night they are new, so I watch all three. My personal opinion, Craig is the best of them.
O'Brein gets my vote for the best, Leno second.
Carson Daly? Guess I'm out of the loop, as I wasn't aware he had a late night show. But I am not surprised people would find Daly stale, considering he was an icon from MTV, god help us all.
I really know of no one who enjoys Letterman, unlike his days at NBC in the 80's....his humor is way too staged, like Leno's, but at least there are segments of Leno's shows that I find amusing and he is a far better and enlightened interviewer. Letterman has admitted he does not care a hoot about the 90% of guests or so he interviews. That isn't a bad thing, except, as he has grown older I began to notice more and more how aloof and lost he was when chatting with his guests. Letterman also is a dunce when it comes to current issues and doing some simple research about his guests before they appear on his show. I'm shocked the Letterman show generates enough ratings to keep it on the air. On the positive, I've heard in recent years him ad lib on the Howard Stern show and he is far funnier in that context.
Can't stand Carson Daly or Letterman anymore. I used to love Letterman but over the years the "wit" in some of his jokes just faded. I always hated his interviews though, Leno does a much better job in my opinion.
Some late-night hosts have their favorite guests and I love it when Leno and Terry Bradshaw get together. Those two seem to click perfectly and it makes for a great show.
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Originally Posted by dullnboring
Pretty self-explanatory. Who is your favorite late night host?
I'm finding myself turning more and more from the mainstream stalwarts of Leno and Letterman. I've never liked Leno. He has this sort of smirking, weasely, time-warped sense of humor. His jokes are so stale and unoriginal and I can tell exactly where he's going before he reaches the punchline. His comedy is sort of safe sanitized Middle American comedy. His audience gets on my nerves too for whatever reason. Letterman I used to love and on his "on" nights, there is no one better at interviewing guests (I think Leno's interviews are AWFUL), but those nights are becoming more and more rare and he's just becoming increasingly cranky and no longer eccetnric in a fun and goofy way but rather just eccentric in a "this makes ME laugh, so let me replay this bit/joke over and over again even though no one else thinks it's funny" sort of way. And I HATE Paul Shaffer.
I agree with you about Leno, while I'd love to spend a few days with his auto/motorcycle collection his show leaves me cold, in my eyes he plays to something like a 6th grader's sense of humor and all too often goes for the cheap shot.
Letterman I still like, his sense of humor appeals to me and he seems very good at pointing out some of the absurdities of everyday life and I agree about his interviews, some of the best. Paul Shaffer used to annoy the heck out of me but for some reason I've grown to enjoy the interplay and it IS a great band!
Damn, for some reason, I forgot to include him in my poll even though he'd be my 2nd or 3rd favorite. I'll just assume that "Other" by default refers to him.
Conan O'Brien. Hands down. A geek after my own heart.
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I enjoy them when I watch (particularly Letterman), but Conan is more my type of humor. He's just naturally funny & silly, whereas the others are more "dry." Also, maybe I'm partial to my fellow carrot-tops... LOL. 
