White House Correspondents dinner-related stories
Posted Jun 28th 2009 11:29AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: The Daily Show, Celebrities, Reality-Free
Uber-humorist John Hodgman has a wit that hasn't been seen since the likes of Robert Benchley. His uncanny ability to turn his know-it-all prowess and droll delivery into brilliant comedy deserves scientific study.
I'm not saying he needs a complete autopsy. Maybe just a little exploratory brain surgery that doesn't do any permanent damage to the neurons and synapses that allow him to conjure long lists of
hobo names and an
incredibly detailed history of the American lobster. Trust me, there is a hilarious global warming cure in that noggin somewhere.
So after watching his brilliant and funny performance at
the White House Radio and Television Correspondence Dinner (Speaking of which,
didn't we just have one? How many of these damn dinners do they need? Are television reporters experiencing a major shortage of grilled chicken?), a lingering but obvious thought occurred. Why does this man not have his own television show?
Continue reading Why hasn't John Hodgman scored his own show?
Posted May 14th 2009 10:03AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Late Night, News, Reality-Free
Every year, C-SPAN looks forward to a sharp boost in ratings while the White House press secretary cringes towards a sharp drop in approval points in the long shadow of the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner.
It's a chance for the current administration to let their hair down and show everyone that they can take a good joke and stand some pointed criticism in the K-Street jungle. That should explain why the last Bush administration hired
Rich Little to do their show in '07.
Continue reading Sykes gives us a taste of her talk show, right cross
Posted May 8th 2008 3:36PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Late Night, Talk Show, Reality-Free
How hot is Craig Ferguson? By my thermometer, he's sizzling. His
Late Late Show has risen up to challenge Conan O'Brien in the Nielsens, he was the emcee at the
White House Press Correspondents dinner -- riffing on W. right to his face! -- and now the publishing world wants his story.
HarperCollins has signed Craig Ferguson to write American on Purpose, the story of his life from small town Scottish boy to big time talk show comic. The book is due to be published in the fall of 2009.
As the title suggests, a big part of the story is Craig's choice to become an
American citizen, which he did earlier this year. Craig said he hopes the book "...will inspire other alcoholic punk rock drummers from Scotland to find their true place in U.S. late night television." Well, I say to that, hooray! The talk show host also cracked, "I wanted to get the story down before I get so old I forget it and start believing the crap on Wikipedia."
Continue reading Craig Ferguson inks deal for memoirs
Posted Apr 12th 2008 10:09AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Late Night, Ratings, Reality-Free
Things are heating up in the late, late night wars. That's the 12:35 AM talk shows, as opposed to the late night 11:35 shows. In the most recent Nielsen ratings,
Craig Ferguson's CBS Late Late Show rated higher than Conan O'Brien's Late Night. That's the first time that's ever happened, and industry analysts are scratching their heads to figure out if this is the pendulum swinging in CBS's direction, or simply a minor glitch in NBC's late night dominance.
NBC has declared that it supports
Conan O'Brien completely and is unconcerned about the gradual shift in the numbers that have been going on for a while. It's in NBC's interest that Conan remain a strong player, especially since he will be taking over the
Tonight show in the near future -- once
Jay Leno's contract comes to an end in 2009. While tipping its cap to Ferguson for the ratings victory, NBC also noted that in the 18-49 demographic, Conan is still the leader in that time slot.
Continue reading Ferguson tops Conan for the first time
Posted May 8th 2006 4:09PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: TV on DVD, Celebrities
So you saw him at the White House Correspondents Dinner, watched the clips on YouTube and GoogleVideo, and talked about it ad nauseam on this very site and various other blogs and messageboards. Of course, I'm talking about Kenneth T. Walsh, chief correspondent for US News and World Report. Seriously, who let that guy speak, anyway? Don't they have some kind of screening process for these kind of events?
Yeah, okay, I'm actually talking about Stephen Colbert, who was either very funny or very not funny, depending on, well, whether you thought he was funny or not. Anyway, several blogs have been reporting that the DVD of the event is now available on the CSPAN Web site. Of course, you can also just watch the event on GoogleVideo, too, but you don't get the joy of loading a disc into something, which is really what life is all about.
Posted May 5th 2006 8:18AM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Cable, Late Night, OpEd, The Daily Show, Comedy Central
Mexico's Vincent Fox is planning for the
legalization of several drugs in small amounts for personal use. Yup, this will include cocaine, heroine, and marijuana (craziest Spring Break ever). Jon was kind enough to warn us to drink only the
bottled bong water in Mexico. He also showed us that the legalization will serve very well with our immigration issue: Mexicans will keep flocking to America for jobs, Americans will flock to Mexico to get hammered and fall into the Gulf. Excellent.
Continue reading The Daily Show: May 3, 2006
Posted May 4th 2006 6:31PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Cable, Late Night, Talent, OpEd, Web, Watercooler Talk, The Colbert Report, Celebrities
Are
you sick of reading the analysis of Stephen Colbert's
performance at the White House
Correspondents' Dinner yet? I am. I mean, I haven't seen something so inconsequential polarize so many people since
"Clay vs. Ruben". It seems like most of the analysts fall into two camps: either Colbert is a
patriot and a
hero for
mocking the Bush administration
and the media right to their uncomfortable
little faces, or he was a
blowhard that
just wasn't funny, no matter who he was
skewering.
USA Today recaps
the latest columnists to weigh in on the matter.
Really, folks, it was a glorified stand-up routine. It's
almost a week already; it's time for us to move on.
[Photo: Mandel Nagan/Getty Images]
Posted May 2nd 2006 8:29PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Cable, Late Night, OpEd, The Daily Show
Jon Stewart was terrified by the image of two Dubyas on C-SPAN
this Saturday (Myth: Bush has started reproducing asexually to build his Bush-Army. Fact: It was a Bush impersonator
helping the president out on his speech), but calmed himself down once he saw his buddy Stephen Colbert take the stage.
Stewart gave major props to
Stephen
Colbert for his performance at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner (an event at which the White
House and the press "consummate their loveless marriage"). He called it "ballsalicious" and
remarked, "We've never been prouder of him but... and... holy
shit."
His praise sounded like that of a proud father. I love the friendship between Jon and Stephen. As a viewer, one can
really feel it. Group hug!
Continue reading The Daily Show: May 1, 2006
Posted Apr 30th 2006 10:21AM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Cable, Late Night, News, TV Royalty, Talent, OpEd, The Colbert Report
I tuned in to watch Stephen Colbert provide the entertainment at the White House
Correspondents' Association dinner (
Fun Fact:
Teenage fangirls will watch C-SPAN for hot fake-pundits). Colbert looked just as handsome as ever, and his wife looked
beautiful (there go my chances of stealing the man away). When President Bush and Laura Bush walked in, Colbert was
already situated at the head table (just five seats away from Bush and right next to Helen Thomas!) but stood up to
shake hands. I couldn't help but wonder if Bush had ever seen
The Colbert Report before, but I guess he knows
about the jokes, because Bush gave Colbert a knowing look while greeting him.
Continue reading Stephen Colbert at the White House
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