Why I love Wednesdays... Part 1

I like talk shows.

I’m not really sure what it is about them that I find so fascinating but fascinating they are. I watch Graham Norton most weeks. I love the weird combinations of guests they throw together and the occasions this hits gold. And then there’s The Late Late Show, which I continue to loose sleep over. The rest of uni is out partying at 11pm. I’m watching late night TV. Funny thing is, when Adam Hills in Gordon Street Tonight was announced I wasn’t like “HURRAH! It’s a talk show! I love talk shows!”
Maybe I’m in denial.

There are a lot of things I love about IGST. I love the credits and the set and logo. I love that it isn’t trying to be something its not. They’re acknowledging and celebrating the long tradition this show is stepping into. No one’s trying to make something ground breaking or innovative. They set out to do and talk show and do it well. It’s a little bit retro and a little bit kitch. I love that.

But you know what? Without trying to make something totally new, they have. This is unique. Because what they’ve done is take everything the world loves about Adam and distil it into an hour of TV.

One of my favourite things is the audience interaction. On Graham Norton they have The Red Chair. Which is hilarious. But where everyone else is cutting and cynical Adam is nice to his audience. He sets them up on dates and gives them singing daleks and asks about their lives. You just want to invite him over to your house and make him biscuits.

I’m not usually a fan of the musical bits. It tends to be when I switch the jug on or make a dash to the loo but I adore Gorgon Street Classics. I’ve been utterly captivated by them. Its not just people trotting out their latest single to promote a concert tour, its artists trying to genuinely do justice to a song with history. And that’s incredibly powerful.

I could go on for quite a while about this show. About how lovely the combinations of guests are and how well the regulars slot into the format. To be honest I could rave for a while about the camera work. And the writing. I love the writing. But you’ve all seen it yourselves.
And I want to know what you think.

The Late Late Show

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson deserves your attention for one simple reason- it has some of the best opening credits of all time.

I’ve had that song in my head for days. It’s poetic and catchy. Plus its coupled with hand puppets and a fountain. All of which achieves the quite difficult task of convincing you to loose the hour of sleep this show asks you to sacrifice.

The Late Late Show (henceforth referred to as LLS) interviewed Matt Smith a couple of months ago wearing the now infamous polka dot socks2. So if you follow any of the major Who related news sources, chances are you’ve seen the interview on YouTube. That was my introduction to LLS. Then it was heavily involved in all that hot air which launched Eleven.

So what is this LLS thing anyway? It’s a talk show, of sorts, hosted by a Scottish/American dude called Craig Ferguson. This is television in its purest form. Its raw and messy and funny. Craig has this wonderful way of interacting with the camera. There’s something about the opening monologue that makes you think he’s actually talking TO YOU. Especially because lately he keeps mentioning Australia. And you keep going “That’s me! I’m from AUSTRALIA!3”

And no, I don’t understand half of what’s going on either. I don’t get some of the jokes but I laugh hysterically at others. I can’t really explain why there’s a robot with a mohawk who randomly makes suggestive remarks. His name is Geoffrey Peterson. Just go with it. And the random dancing horse? Its name is Secretariat and apparently has something to do with a Disney movie. That horse has its down dance. A really awesome “I want to do that in public in between bouts of the drunk giraffe” sort of dance.

The only problem with the show is the timeslot. It goes to air here at 10:30pm. Given that’s lot better than the ACTUAL timeslot which is 12:35am (seriously). But 10:30 is that dangerous time. It doesn’t feel all that late but I, for one, always regret any television viewed after that time. So why should you stay up for this?
I’m glad you asked.

“Its hard to stay up, its been a long, long day and you got the sandman knocking at the door. But hang on, leave the TV on and lets do it anyway, its ok. You can always sleep through work tomorrow. Ok? Hey hey. Tomorrow’s just your future yesterday.”

1- My number one footnote went missing during editing. I will therefore use it to draw your attention to all the pointless hyerlink goodness I've spent an unhealthy amount of time peppering this post with.

2- For those of you who aren’t aware I have a slightly unhealthy love affair with Matt Smith’s taste in socks. 

3- This sort of vaguely insane thought pattern is what happens when you watch late night TV.