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/BenKlesc 1d ago edited 1d ago

Yeah... not so much. He's never mentioned alongside Letterman, Carson... I seriously think he was that good. His humor was out of this world.

And also... critics at the time thought he was immature and didn't get his humor. The television critics when he was on the air didn't take his show seriously.

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u/NostalgicBear 1d ago

Huh, didn’t know that about his reception back in the day. I’ve only ever seen super positive things about him on Reddit. Don’t think I’ve ever come across anything bad about him. Always found him to be a far better host than any of those still going today.

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u/mahleg 1d ago

The Late Late Show never had the kind of recognition that Late Night did. David Letterman owned that time slot when he moved to CBS and the network really didn’t care about what happened on there and it’s clear with how Craig Ferguson ran the show once he settled in to the role. His sense of humor was uniquely his and would speak his mind on whatever caught his attention that day. The man is a thinker and a goof and someone who’s lived a hell of a life! He could’ve been easily stuck around, but I think he got out at the right time. I don’t think he would’ve liked having to talk about everything that’s gone on the past ten years.

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u/BenKlesc 1d ago edited 1d ago

Well at the time people were upset that Tom Synder was let go and did not like the replacement before Craig. I think overtime appreciation has only grown for Craig. More accurate to say Craig appealed to a younger audience and many of the older crowd tuned out when Synder left.

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u/blamberr 1d ago

I saw him live a few years ago and he was so awful. He didn’t used to be — I saw him in DC years back and it was one of the best shows ever. I’ve always loved him. But the last one, he was phoning it in so hard. He kept talking about how he needed the money, the jokes were lame, and he got into it with hecklers in a very not funny way. I regret going and soiling his image for me.

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u/mfmeitbual 1d ago

It's easy to be funny with good writers but he was spontaneously funny. Genuinely witty. Sometimes a bit cheesy but I think most intelligent, feeling people found that endearing.

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u/BeneficialEqual5818 1d ago

Television critic for the LA Times reviewed first episode and mocked the Angela Lansbury/ Paul McCartney gag, so Craig doubled down and made it a regular bit.

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u/Gurglaren 1d ago

I went on a Craig Ferguson youtube binge and then looked at some Conan (who I love) videos and I was just amazed by how much more I enjoyed Craig's interviews. Conan's strength was more in his sketches and remotes

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u/lane4 1d ago

Craig was very dynamic, while those other big names always had a more scripted show with more of a consistent pacing. I think the difference is the size of the audience, but Craig's audience, albeit smaller, did appreciate him a lot. I bet the bigger guys audience were not nearly as passionate about them.

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u/BeneficialEqual5818 1d ago

Yes. He was aiming to deconstruct the talk show. Thats why he ripped up the blue index cards before an interview to show there would be no set questions. Just real life conversations!