Irlandesa December 20, 2014 Share December 20, 2014 Damnit, I'm a big fan of Geoff Petersen and Josh Robert Thompson and I don't get why he's not getting more love here! I was listening to the radio once and two women were talking about Craig's show. They felt he moved it towards being too 'masculine' when he introduced the robot which made me sad. The robot was a product of mythbusters/science/experimentation...why would they think that only reserved for the boys? For the record, I don't agree with them. Geoff wasn't my favorite thing at first but when they gave him more "freedom" to be a real sidekick with more versatile humor, he did start working for me. I've always been on and off with my late night viewing but Craig usually had something going on in all his eras that I'd want to see. From what I've read, the robot is going with Craig to his next gig. 1 Link to comment
dbrits December 20, 2014 Share December 20, 2014 (edited) I think the cold open/last show celebration will go down as one of my favorite TV moments. I mean, we actually got Mathew McConaughey playing bongos. http://youtu.be/IryWHhBiH0Q I'd completely forgotten about the alien who communicated by swinging around that tube. That's a very, very early bit. Edited December 20, 2014 by dbrits 4 Link to comment
alynch December 20, 2014 Share December 20, 2014 Yeah, that opening was indisputably great. I'm also really glad I got to watch it live. People who watch this stuff in bite chunks later will have no idea how amazing it was to transition straight from the Darlene Love Letterman performance right to that opening. 8 Link to comment
tessaray December 20, 2014 Share December 20, 2014 I alternately laughed and sniffled through most of the show. I could have done without Leno though. Truthfully, I was hoping that he would have something with Peter Capaldi on this one but at least we got a bit of TARDIS sound effects. Link to comment
dbrits December 20, 2014 Share December 20, 2014 I've never been much of a Letterman watcher, but I do enjoy Darlene Love's Christmas performances. Please excuse me. Since I'm on the west coast I'm going to go set my DVR so I can get the full experience. 1 Link to comment
Ishtalady December 20, 2014 Share December 20, 2014 I watched Letterman and Craig both live as well. You are right - the transition from Darlene Love to Craig's open was wonderful. They both made me happy! Loved the ending as well - it was perfect. 4 Link to comment
Lingo December 20, 2014 Share December 20, 2014 I was hoping for one last "balls!" or "in your pants!" joke. I have to admit, when JRT started voicing Geoff live, I was also wary because, as Craig always says, it kinda squashed the whole joke of Geoff being a fake sidekick, a parody of a sidekick (and I loved the repeated "balls/in your pants" riffs). But obviously he grew on me. Speaking of Craig's ability or inability to retire a bit, I remember when I started watching semi-regularly, and I didn't realize at first that he did the email/tweet bit every single night. I thought I just kept catching the one night a week he did it. Then I figured it out and wondered, "isn't this going to be really repetitive? Why can't he do something new with that time? Is the show that cheap?" But that repetition grew on me as well. Eventually I realized that the whole show is just an excuse to do a full hour of straight-up improv. I wonder if he has much improv experience in his background. I know he was a stand-up comedian (which is very different from improv) and I know he worked with improv enthusiasts Drew Carey and Ryan Stiles. But I don't know if he's done much improv himself. The show is different from the kind of improv on Whose Line... but it's a kind of improvisation nonetheless. 2 Link to comment
dbrits December 20, 2014 Share December 20, 2014 (edited) I watched Letterman and Craig both live as well. You are right - the transition from Darlene Love to Craig's open was wonderful. They both made me happy! Loved the ending as well - it was perfect. Yeah, that was a special moment. I'm glad I watched. Thanks for the suggestion. Ken Tucker penned a nice "farewell for now" article: He’ll be back, taking a risk, working with his long-time showrunner Michael Naidus on an early-evening talk show starting in syndication some time next year. And he’s said the robot and the horse will be going with him. I’ll certainly be watching—I’ll always want to know what Ferguson is thinking about, and see where his next whim will take him. https://tv.yahoo.com/blogs/tv-news/craig-ferguson-finale-late-late-show-182630267.html Edited December 20, 2014 by dbrits 2 Link to comment
dbrits December 20, 2014 Share December 20, 2014 After Secretariat got his own on-stage stable, I missed the old bit of Craig ringing the doorbell and doing the arm-waving Secretariat dance with the Secretariat theme song. I'm happy they did that one more time in the final show. No live puppetry but eh, you can't have it all. I was watching an old episode I saved from 2008 and Craig did a bit with the trailer from the first Iron Man movie. They edited the trailer with a video of a long-haired man in his tighty-whities dancing to what's now Secretariat theme song while ironing. I didn't realize they'd been using that particular song for such a long period of time. 1 Link to comment
mtlchick December 20, 2014 Share December 20, 2014 Colbert's over. Last Darlene Love appearance. Ferguson's done. Are we sure the apocalypse wasn't scheduled for December 21 2014 instead of 2012? Because this feels like the end of days. But what an ending for all 3 of them! 4 Link to comment
lilacgirl December 20, 2014 Share December 20, 2014 (edited) I hadn't seen any clips so the opening made me cry. Not sure why. I, like many of you, felt water coming out of my eyes the moment they saw the first beat of the cold opening. I had stayed away from reading anything about the last show. The show & the people involved were a big part of our lives. (I was excited when I saw leather boy stomp on out to the stage. lol) For me, I started listening to them on the radio as I went to pick up my husband from his job, 9 years ago. (Our CBS station would come through on the lower numbers on my car radio.) I was crying for sadness and happiness. And rewatched the opening 3 times. ;-) Did we get a "CBS Cares"? Nope. :-) "I am excited to see what Craig does next. Hopefully the robot is property of cbs. I want that snow globe tho! " Craig owns the robot out right. (Sorry. In editing it down, I messed up the box.) I too want that globe. I thought it went well with the globe we saw on his desk at one time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Since CBS is getting younger viewers, based on their hot shows, I was shocked when Craig was not offered an earlier time with them in April. In any form. It will be interesting to see the ratings in 12:30ish time slot in 6 months. Though I am sure Kristen and Dax did not intend to have the baby DURING Craig's last show, I find it somewhat perfect. Edit: changed the word ON to During, Edited December 21, 2014 by lilacgirl 2 Link to comment
Kromm December 20, 2014 Share December 20, 2014 Though I am sure Kristen and Dax did not intend to have the baby on Craig's last show, I find it somewhat perfect.Ah... but the show was taped THURSDAY, wasn't it? Does it resonate as much if she had the kid on the day the last show AIRED vs. was recorded? Link to comment
Kromm December 20, 2014 Share December 20, 2014 (edited) After Secretariat got his own on-stage stable, I missed the old bit of Craig ringing the doorbell and doing the arm-waving Secretariat dance with the Secretariat theme song. I'm happy they did that one more time in the final show. No live puppetry but eh, you can't have it all.Yeah, but it's also a good idea of how they had to maybe change a bit or risk it getting overdone/old (an instinct we've said elsewhere he didn't follow as well with Geoff). The horse joke changing from the crazy dance to other uses (like the serial killer stare off) refreshed it. That said, it WAS fun while it lasted. Edited December 20, 2014 by Kromm 3 Link to comment
lilacgirl December 20, 2014 Share December 20, 2014 Ah... but the show was taped THURSDAY, wasn't it? Does it resonate as much if she had the kid on the day the last show AIRED vs. was recorded? Okay, AIRED. If you need to be literal. ;-) 1 Link to comment
AmandaPanda December 20, 2014 Share December 20, 2014 I'm also a fan. Last time I saw Craig do his stand-up, Josh Robert Thompson opened for him. I'm going to see him in February. Hope JRT is also there this time. I saw Craig last month in KC. JRT opened for him and Secretariat was there to dance as well. 3 Link to comment
ebk57 December 20, 2014 Share December 20, 2014 I saw Craig last month in KC. JRT opened for him and Secretariat was there to dance as well. ooooo...the fake horse was there? Something to look forward to! :-) 2 Link to comment
robertov December 20, 2014 Share December 20, 2014 (edited) Was the final bit a shout-out to Stephen Colbert or just a case of great minds think alike? A couple of months ago Stephen joked about how he'd end his show: http://time.com/3555694/stephen-colbert-finale-8-things/ Edited December 20, 2014 by robertov Link to comment
Lingo December 20, 2014 Share December 20, 2014 My favorite part of those videos is seeing how the guests react. Julie Chen can really get down. 1 Link to comment
Blue Castle December 20, 2014 Share December 20, 2014 Colbert's over. Last Darlene Love appearance. Ferguson's done. Are we sure the apocalypse wasn't scheduled for December 21 2014 instead of 2012? Because this feels like the end of days. But what an ending for all 3 of them! Yeah, this week was so depressing for late night TV. I'm actually feeling pretty down about Craig leaving and The Colbert Report being gone. And I sort of feel silly for being sad (cause they're tv shows) but they're things I watch a lot and even when I can't watch it was nice to know they were there. I did really love Darlene Love's last appearance and Craig's cold open, though. They were both fantastic. At least we're getting Larry Wilmore starting next month. I'm not a big fan of James Corden, though (I think he's a pretty good actor, but not that funny as himself). I wish they had picked someone else to take over for Craig. 2 Link to comment
dbrits December 20, 2014 Share December 20, 2014 Yeah, this week was so depressing for late night TV. I'm actually feeling pretty down about Craig leaving and The Colbert Report being gone. And I sort of feel silly for being sad (cause they're tv shows) but they're things I watch a lot and even when I can't watch it was nice to know they were there. Don't worry. You're not the only one feeling down about this. We can feel silly together. 6 Link to comment
tessaray December 20, 2014 Share December 20, 2014 At least we're getting Larry Wilmore starting next month. I'm not a big fan of James Corden, though (I think he's a pretty good actor, but not that funny as himself). I wish they had picked someone else to take over for Craig. Minority Report should be good. From what I've read online, quite a few Brits were happy to see the last of Corden, although I probably won't be watching because I'm getting old and only Craig could tempt me to sleep thru work tomorrow. :-) 1 Link to comment
christinama December 20, 2014 Share December 20, 2014 (edited) I hadn't seen any clips so the opening made me cry. Not sure why. I know why I cried. I had the one of the longest, not-quite-but-almost-soul-crushing days yesterday. Not to mention the Christmas season is stressful. I missed Colbert's ending live so wanted to make sure I didn't miss Craig's last show live. Turned on CBS in the middle of Darlene Love's performance, awesome. Then comes this amazing performance of a wonderful song I've never heard before that is telling you to be yourself and keep doing your thing, keep banging your drum and they'll HEAR you. It was just what I needed at that moment and I bawled and felt so much better! Crying as I write this, and the open is playing in the background from YouTu-- errrr ---- the CBS website for the fifth time, and it was just PERFECT for my moment. I'm one of those people who will watch a pivotal moment in TV and go get the song, just so I can relive that feeling, and I'm in the process of buying from Amazon. If I ever find the one from the show in mp3 format, even better. Unpopular opinion - Colbert's song was amazing but Craig's touched my heart and it's my favorite. EDIT - my favorite appearances in the open: Jon Hamm in his bearded glory not even playing the drums but coffee cups, Matthew McConaughey playing an actual bongo drum, of course Craig actually singing, and after 5 replays I'm convinced Lisa Kudrow was trying to keep from crying. Edited December 20, 2014 by christinama 7 Link to comment
Iboatedhere December 21, 2014 Share December 21, 2014 (edited) Yeah, this week was so depressing for late night TV. I'm actually feeling pretty down about Craig leaving and The Colbert Report being gone. And I sort of feel silly for being sad (cause they're tv shows) but they're things I watch a lot and even when I can't watch it was nice to know they were there. I feel like I lost two friends this week. I'm a huge fan of Colbert but I think I liked Craig's opening better than Stephen's closing (in your pants). Loved Matthew McConaughey losing himself on the bongo, Kristen Bell drumming on her belly, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus on Tony Hale's head. The ending was great too. I know there was talk of Stephen ending his show waking up in bed with Bill O'Reilly so when Bob Newhart showed up I figured he'd wake up next to Drew. Waking up as Mr. Wick was extra special. The less said about Leno the better. I joined the 'late night talk show little snippy club' and I'm still in it. Proudly. Edited December 21, 2014 by Iboatedhere 2 Link to comment
mtlchick December 21, 2014 Share December 21, 2014 Unpopular opinion - Colbert's song was amazing but Craig's touched my heart and it's my favorite. Colbert's song-a song of optimism of seeing you soon (because we will) but... Ferguson's song- represents where I'm at my life now and it got to me. I'm in love with this song AND it made me cry. Dammit! Side note: Jeff Daniels was in this and at Colbert's the same week the Newsroom ended. I doubt that was intentional but funny just the same. 2 Link to comment
opus December 21, 2014 Share December 21, 2014 If you're not "recapped out", here's another one-- http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/12/20/the-late-late-show-with-craig-ferguson-finale-recap-keep-bangin-on/ 1 Link to comment
tessaray December 21, 2014 Share December 21, 2014 Unpopular opinion - Colbert's song was amazing but Craig's touched my heart and it's my favorite. That's how I feel about the 2 in general, Colbert was always entertaining but Craig was an experience. You just had to be open to whatever inspired bit of lunacy he came up with. Maybe it's partly the time slot, I always enjoyed Letterman much better before he moved to 10:30/11:30. It's hard to explain but the "Bang Your Drum" song felt like a gift. 6 Link to comment
dbrits December 21, 2014 Share December 21, 2014 It's hard to explain but the "Bang Your Drum" song felt like a gift. Craig couldn't have found a more appropriate song if he had written it himself. It was perfect for the moment, and I agree, it feels like a parting gift. One last gem to share with the viewers before he moves on. I've been making the most of it. I've been listening non-stop to the handful of Dead Man Fall songs that are available, especially "Bang Your Drum." I really, really like this band and I'll be keeping tabs on them. 3 Link to comment
Kromm December 21, 2014 Share December 21, 2014 Craig couldn't have found a more appropriate song if he had written it himself. It was perfect for the moment, and I agree, it feels like a parting gift. One last gem to share with the viewers before he moves on. I've been making the most of it. I've been listening non-stop to the handful of Dead Man Fall songs that are available, especially "Bang Your Drum." I really, really like this band and I'll be keeping tabs on them.I think "perfect" is a hard target to hit, but it was also a decent choice, because aside from being hooky and catchy, if nothing else the main lines("Keep banging on your drum and your day will come. Keep banging on your drum, and they will hear you.") thematically fit somewhat as talking about his past, and the later line ("No one lasts forever.") seems to almost be a direct statement about his present. 3 Link to comment
stonehaven December 21, 2014 Share December 21, 2014 Yeah..that "Bang Your Drum" song went into quite a few of my playlists on Spotify...and if my crappy laptop could take another download, I would get that song. I know some will miss Craig for his humor and creativity. I will miss him when big events happen and wonder what he'll say...as he can almost always make sense of things...and give me hope for tomorrow.. His honesty..his anger and his passion..just unlike any other host out there....He reminded me of a great columnist who died years ago, Mike Royko. Speaking truth to power through humor and a gift for seeing all sides...Godspeed Craig Ferguson....and thank you... 5 Link to comment
Kromm December 21, 2014 Share December 21, 2014 I've been listening non-stop to the handful of Dead Man Fall songs that are available, especially "Bang Your Drum." I really, really like this band and I'll be keeping tabs on them.For this little Scottish band's sake (Craig still likes representing his old peeps, as much as he also likes being an American), I'd been hoping they got some spillover viewership on their video. Alas, the folks who watched Craig's show largely haven't leaped over to the actual video put out by the band. I mean it's only got around 21,000 views and that HAS to include an oversized percentage of that coming from the last day or so. So lets boost it by a few more hundred (the people who read this thread): To be fair... its like a video someone spent $5 on. 5 Link to comment
tessaray December 21, 2014 Share December 21, 2014 (edited) $5 well spent. :-) ETA: The mp3 of the song is only 89 cents on Amazon. Edited December 21, 2014 by tessaray 2 Link to comment
dbrits December 21, 2014 Share December 21, 2014 (edited) I think "perfect" is a hard target to hit, but it was also a decent choice, because aside from being hooky and catchy, if nothing else the main lines("Keep banging on your drum and your day will come. Keep banging on your drum, and they will hear you.") thematically fit somewhat as talking about his past, and the later line ("No one lasts forever.") seems to almost be a direct statement about his present. I think it was very fitting that the bridge is what Craig first sang when they cut from the pre-recorded portion to the live portion. (OK, it's all pre-recorded, but still...) It was like Craig was using the song to physically say, "I wasn't going to do this forever and I'm here to finish what I started. (No one lives forever, there's business here I've got to finish.) You may want me to stay but it's my choice when and how I leave. (You won't make your mind up, you won't make your mind up for me.)" There's also a sense of rebelliousness to the last line of "you won't make your mind up for me" that feels very punk rock, and that was definitely the spirit of Craig and this show. At the taping Bob Oschack, a writer that doubles as the current warmup comedian, told the audience not to be sad and that the evening was a celebration. By its end, the cold open felt like a huge party. There's a sense of optimism the song captured because there really isn't any better metaphor for perseverance for a drummer than to "keep banning on." As Craig said, he's not retiring so that perseverance doesn't end now. christinama, check your PMs. :) ETA: This is more of an overview than a recap, but it's worth quoting: Other late-night hosts are funny. They are charming. They can often be “eccentric”. If they are lucky, their comedy is labeled “edgy”. Each and every night, Ferguson achieved levels of transcendent batshittery that left the rest in the dust. http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/dec/20/craig-ferguson-last-late-show Edited December 21, 2014 by dbrits 7 Link to comment
Jamoche December 21, 2014 Share December 21, 2014 Bob Oschack, a writer that doubles as the current warmup comedian, "But he's not really a comedian" By its end, the cold open felt like a huge party It looked like it. I am so jealous that you got to be there :) 2 Link to comment
dbrits December 21, 2014 Share December 21, 2014 (edited) It looked like it. I am so jealous that you got to be there :) Actually, I'm jealous too. There were two audiences on Thursday, one for the taping of the Jim Parsons episode and one for the last episode. I think they taped the cold open during the Jim Parsons episode. They showed the cold open to the audience of the last episode before Craig came out to do his monologue. Edited December 21, 2014 by dbrits 2 Link to comment
Lingo December 21, 2014 Share December 21, 2014 Oh, I was gonna ask you what order they taped the segments in. I thought they might have taped the song at the very end. It sucks that the last audience didn't actually get to participate in the song. 1 Link to comment
opus December 21, 2014 Share December 21, 2014 It was nice to see all the activity in this thread the last couple of days. Too bad it took the end to cause it. 2 Link to comment
Lingo December 21, 2014 Share December 21, 2014 Here is the list of celebrities in the cold open (it doesn't mention Jay Leno, Drew Carey, or Bob Newhart). Wow I did NOT recognize Marion Cotillard! I was gonna ask who that was. 3 Link to comment
tessaray December 21, 2014 Share December 21, 2014 It was nice to see all the activity in this thread the last couple of days. Too bad it took the end to cause it. Once in a while I would discuss the LLS with fellow Whovians, but most of the time I just accepted that CF would be there when I needed him, usually on a Friday night after a really crappy week or when I couldn't sleep. It's funny, sometimes after a memorable show, I would check the internets the next morning but usually never saw anyone discussing it. I began to think that I hallucinated some of it. :-) 1 Link to comment
tessaray December 21, 2014 Share December 21, 2014 (edited) DMF is getting some welcome attention on their FB page. It's kind of sweet how much they seem to be enjoying it. https://www.facebook.com/deadmanfall Edited December 21, 2014 by tessaray 1 Link to comment
crystalball December 22, 2014 Share December 22, 2014 I was hoping for one final musical opening and that surpassed all expectations. So joyful and fun and just sentimental enough to get the waterworks going, but keep me smiling, too. I'm really going to miss this crazy show. "Transcendent batshittery" sums it up very, very well. I'm also really digging that song and am grateful to Craig for the introduction to Dead Man Fall. Loving watching them ride the wave of attention. It's very endearing. 2 Link to comment
opus December 22, 2014 Share December 22, 2014 (edited) Number one on iTunes (rock chart)-- http://musicchartfeeds.com/itunes-rock-chart/ Edit---- 37 and dropping, so if you're seeing this for the first time, please move along Edited December 24, 2014 by GaryE 2 Link to comment
Kromm December 22, 2014 Share December 22, 2014 Here is the list of celebrities in the cold open (it doesn't mention Jay Leno, Drew Carey, or Bob Newhart). Wow I did NOT recognize Marion Cotillard! I was gonna ask who that was. We'd have recognized Leno's gigantic chin if he had been. And Carey and Newhart got the epilogue, so I understand them not being in the opener. DMF is getting some welcome attention on their FB page. It's kind of sweet how much they seem to be enjoying it. https://www.facebook.com/deadmanfall Is Youtube mucking around with their stats? Their view count has BARELY gone up on their video. The 7000 additional hits its recorded since I posted the video could have come just from HERE. 1 Link to comment
dbrits December 22, 2014 Share December 22, 2014 (edited) It was nice to see all the activity in this thread the last couple of days. Too bad it took the end to cause it. Yeah, I usually watched the show on YouTube - I mean the CBS website - while at work (it was more like listening to the show while checking emails). Something would strike me as funny or noteworthy but I'd never get around to posting about it. Like I completely forgot to mention how hilarious I found Zoe Saldana's interview a few weeks ago because she spent most of it eating for her unborn twins. http://youtu.be/WnSMAa4clx4 Edited December 22, 2014 by dbrits 2 Link to comment
DownTheShore December 22, 2014 Share December 22, 2014 Every night by the end of the show I would have a smile on my face. I'm going to miss that nightly cheering-up. 1 Link to comment
how55 December 22, 2014 Share December 22, 2014 Amazed at the buzz of activity on these pages over the weekend. I missed hearing Craig's theme one last time.And will miss my daily dose of "lairning". 1 Link to comment
Brattinella December 22, 2014 Share December 22, 2014 Looks like we still get re-runs of Craig! Same time, same bat-channel. YAY! 2 Link to comment
opus December 22, 2014 Share December 22, 2014 (edited) Number one on iTunes (rock chart)-- http://musicchartfeeds.com/itunes-rock-chart/ Update- Down to number 3.Double update- 37 and dropping. Edited December 24, 2014 by GaryE Link to comment
mtlchick December 22, 2014 Share December 22, 2014 Is Youtube mucking around with their stats? Their view count has BARELY gone up on their video. The 7000 additional hits its recorded since I posted the video could have come just from HERE. As someone who has a Youtube channel (albeit it's for boybands and I haven't done much on it this year) Youtube tends to do audits every so often so the counts get screwed up for a certain period. Normally takes a few days before the number adds up. Link to comment
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