"My Boy Craig Kilborn" by Red Rocks

April 4, 2011

I yearn. I've yearned for the past seven years. I've yearned for a follow-up program to The Late Show with David Letterman that wasn't hosted by a boring, incoherent Scottish man who hasn't been funny since he played Drew Carey's boss on - oh, wait a second - Craig Ferguson was never funny.

Yes! My boy came back from obscurity: Craig Kilborn! He returned to T.V. land last year with a syndicated 1/2 hour talk show on FOX that airs in the early evening when Wheel of Fortune and Seinfeld reruns air.

I've been wondering where the hell he's been since he quit CBS's The Late Late Show in 2004. I remember he said he quit because he wanted to focus on writing and producing. Uh, okay.

Check out this interview with him for an update: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20396766,00.html

Some people say that Kilborn hosted two programs that got better after he left. That's incorrect. One got better, and the other continues to get worse.

Kilborn was the original host of Comedy Central's The Daily Show. The comedy was mostly non-political and featured segments such as "Five Questions" and "Moment of Zen." I agree The Daily Show got better once Jon Stewart took the helm. Although, for some strange reason, the "Moment of Zen" changed, becoming just a repeated clip of an earlier bit. Under Kilborn's control it was more Zen-like; for example, one time he showed a nature video of a goat with a leg coming out of its head. Yes, it was more meditative.

The Late Late Show, however, has become an abomination. When Kilborn hosted, the show featured sharp, smart, and sophisticated comedy. He danced, he shined, he fixed his hair on the way back from commercial break. The comedy was bold and focused and had personality. Now with Ferguson, puppets open up the show and the host babbles every night, exhibiting no comedic craft. And Ferguson's awful at playing characters in sketches.

Welcome back "Craiggers" and your conceited wit. I hope you bring some fresh intellect to evening television.

Like you always told us, "Proud of you."

My Boy Craig Kilborn

Yes, Craig Kilborn is awesome. The Daily Show is better in it's new format, but sometimes I really miss the absurdist humor from the Kilborn era. Like I still remember seeing Stephen Colbert interview a guy who did his own dental work and made false teeth out of rocks from his driveway. In another one he talked to a "movie director" who made films that a 9 year old would be embarrassed to lay claim to. And yes, the "director" wore a cape during the interview. Priceless!

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