i mean, fallon is just a bad imitation of leno, really. i was never a leno fan, but i have to give him points for improv that fallon just does not have. besides that, they're more or less interchangeable, and one needs to wonder if it's basically because the writing team stayed put.
it's an honest question, though. colbert made a big point about him leaving his character behind, and i can't help but think that also means leaving his writers behind. meaning, it seems like he's moving into a furnished apartment...
he might slowly get his own furniture over time. but i'm not sure it's wise to expect that much of a departure.
i see he's brought his writing team with him...
that's a positive.
FortyNineHudson
+deathtokoalas Since they're not constricted to writing for his "character", they might actually get to stretch out some more.
Jake Marsing
Colbert brought a number of his writers from the. "Report" including head writer Opus Moreschi. He's also brought on some new faces who're familiar with the format. One particularly promising hire is Brian Stack, who wrote for Conan from 1996 till this year and created some great characters like "The Interruptor," "The NBC Crooner," and "WikiBear." Colbert's hires tell me a lot about what he's planning. Expect if to follow the traditional 6 act Carson structure (monologue, comedy bit, guest 1, guest 1 again or another comedy bit, guest 2, music act or stand up comic, roll credits) it's an old format, but I still think it works. Colbert's show will feel like a more intellectual version of Conan. He'll do topical jones that Fallon can't, and he'll do stronger interviews. I really expect the show to push back against the prom king comedy we've seen in late night over the last two years.
deathtokoalas
+Jake Marsing i think you bring up a good point - colbert's not really competing against fallon. i couldn't imagine there's really much overlap in potential audience; it's almost a clean partition in the possible viewer demographic. colbert is really going to be competing with conan.
i haven't watched late night in a long time; i haven't had a tv in a long time. but, i always preferred conan to the other carson formula shows by a large margin. the reason was that conan was actually funny, and the two mainstays were just bland observationalists - seinfeld without the knack for the surreal, which both stewart and colbert have always had. for some reason, though, tv executives seem to hate him, and it kind of brings up some questions about how colbert is going to get along with head office kind of thing....
but, i mean, it's not like cbs didn't know who they were hiring, and their expectations had to be something a little edgier. i'm curious as to how this will work out...or, rather, how long it takes for colbert to get himself in trouble.
i'll be honest: my immediate thought was that the power structure was trying to shut him down before the next election by offering him a plush job, then canning him after a month. i hope that's conspiratorial logic. but, if it works out that way...well..
Jake Marsing
There are few things more fascinating to me than late night tv. It's the only genre in pop culture really about one person being funny. I think Colbert's got the chops to pull it off. But, you're right, he and Fallon will be doing different shows. Jimmy's will have mass appeal (like Leno's did) and Stephen will play to a more niche audience (like Letterman did). Colbert will be competitive, but I think his goal isn't to be #1. His goal is be a strong #2 with a young audience.
deathtokoalas
+Jake Marsing it's just that one of the things that killed conan was his refusal to pander to sarah palin. conan didn't want to alienate his liberal-leaning viewing base by doing the network's bidding in sucking up to a right-wing demagogue. it's hard to think that these situations aren't going to show up with colbert in this time slot - who is perpetually in an even worse quandary than conan could ever be in. there's all kinds of people that cbs is going to have to scratch off the list of potential guests, because they're not going to go anywhere near him. and, he's going to have to watch his mouth, which is going to upset long time viewers. i can't see how this isn't going to be an issue.
and i suspect it might be purposefully engineered as one.
schwarzeneggar. first week. wait for it.
argumentativeindian
+Jake Marsing Oh, is Brian Stack now writing for Colbert? That's wonderful! I used to love his segments, and was sad to see him leave Conan.