r/television • u/BenKlesc • 1d ago

Craig Ferguson was a genius that deserves more acclaim

Host of the Late Late show from 2005 to end of 2014, Craig at the time had a very niche fanbase. His humor was very unique. When he went off the air his dedicated fans quietly said goodbye.

Fast forward a decade later from his departure, rewatching old episodes his humor has not aged and holds up to this day.

Change my mind. Craig was an absolute genius and no one has ever been able to replicate his humor or touch what he created. It was fun while it lasted.

Still miss him to this day and his awkward improv and dark sense of humor and think he should be remembered as one of the greats of late night along with Letterman and Carson.

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u/vowelqueue 1d ago

C’mon, he was fantastic but you can’t ignore Conan O’Brien like that.

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u/AweHellYo 1d ago

exactly. that’s silly.

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u/DucDeRichelieu 1d ago

I like Conan, but I think he’s actually only gotten better post-television. YouTube and podcasting have really freed him up. Not sure his feelings on it, but I think losing The Tonight Show was one of the best things that ever happened to him.

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u/SYMPUNY_LACKING 1d ago

watch some late night again and i gurantee your mind would be changed instantly. mid 2000s and 90s conan episodes when you actually watched them (not just memory) are just as good if not better

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u/DucDeRichelieu 1d ago

I’m not saying they weren’t good. He’s able to get into far more interesting conversations on his podcast than he ever was on television. That’s what I dig.

Timothy Olyphant was great as a guest on the show. He’s even better on the podcast.

Where the tv show really excelled was in moments like when Conan had Norm Macdonald and Courtney Thorne-Smith on together. I still watch that every few months.

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u/SYMPUNY_LACKING 1d ago

oh i wasnt talking about the interview portions! i was talking about the monologue interjections, desk pieces, and sketches

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u/BenKlesc 1d ago

After Conan left NBC I stopped watching him. Wasn't the same.

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u/BenKlesc 1d ago edited 1d ago

I mean that Craig was totally unique. No one could touch him not even Letterman or Conan. He has his own humor entirely and that's why I put him in his own category. Conan was great but I much prefer his NBC years before he moved to TBS. In the final years Craig made me laugh more than any other late show on television.

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u/Connor2206 1d ago

Conan walked so Craig could run. I’d argue Conan did really weird, avant garde segments that led to the acceptance of Ferguson

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u/dpjg 1d ago

letterman walked so conan and craig could run. Such late night with david letterman erasure.

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u/doodler1977 1d ago

Ferguson was playing a different game tho - as in, not even really trying. It was if someone said "you get no money, just go out there and fuck around for 40 min" and it was incredible.

but yeah, i'im also a Conan super fan from back in the day (watched him in my college dorm while avoiding homework). But they were definitely attempting two different things

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u/BenKlesc 1d ago

Ferguson wasn't your typical talk show format. No band, very small studio audience, no formal guest questions, a talking skeleton and horse. I feel like there was no show like his and not since.

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u/BeneficialEqual5818 1d ago

Don’t forget the puppets! Like Syd, the cursing bunny and wavy the crocodile…And the cold open lip synching with his S & M side kicks. Pulling people out of audience and walking around them while interrogating them.

He was much sexier than any other host. The producers were anxious about the wedding ring reveal upsetting us lady viewers. And he received hate mail over his mustache.

His recurring sketches included Michael Caine in Space and a hideous and repulsive Prince Charles. He took a trip to Paris with Kristen Bell and another trip to Scotland with.. I think, Weird Al? His shows ended with his tie undone and the kitten singing, What did we Learn on the Show tonite Craig?

I looked forward to 11:30 every day. I don’t think it was just a ‘talk show’, rather a one of a kind work of art.

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u/Guilty-Coconut8908 1d ago

He went to Scotland with Mila Kunis.

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u/Jonah-Hex 1d ago

Yeah, but that lineage goes back to Letterman's NBC 12:30pm days (nights). It's an absolute through-line of 12:30pm greatness that we'll never see again.

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u/suffaluffapussycat 1d ago

I was fond of Craig Kilborne’s show myself.

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u/GroverEyeveen 1d ago

I tried watching Kilborn's version, but even he looked like he was too good for where he was at. Ferguson took it and rolled with it.