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The Tonight Show: Difference between revisions
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This late-night series on [[NBC]] is part [[Variety Show]] and part celebrity [[Talk Show]]. Steve Allen was the first host, starting in 1954; Ernie Kovacs had Monday and Tuesday nights for the final (1956-57) season due to Allen's Sunday-night show on the same network.
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NBC attempted to fix this by moving Leno's show to ''The Tonight Show'''s time slot and bumping O'Brien's critically-acclaimed but ratings-poor run back a half-hour to 12:05 AM. This wasn't received well. Leno was upset about it, he had agreed to the arrangement by insisting the network promise both his and O'Brien's shows a full year before making any further decisions. The network agreed, but within less than four months they reneged. [http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/conan-obrien-says-he-wont-do-tonight-show-following-leno/ O'Brien threatened to quit], Leno had as well, and both routinely savaged NBC in their nightly opening monologues.
On January 15, 2010 Conan, tired of the whole fiasco, [http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/theampersand/archive/2010/01/15/nbc-agrees-to-pay-conan-30-million-to-leave-reports.aspx settled on a $30 million payout from NBC] (later upped to $45 million to accommodate his staff) to leave ''The Tonight Show''. O'Brien came out of the debacle with most of the public and TV writers on his side, Leno ended up taking a severe PR beating. Leno finally left the ''Tonight Show'' for real in early 2014.
On February 17, 2014 [[Jimmy Fallon]] took over the helm of the show, and as of the time of this writing appears to be a worthy successor to the program's legacy.
And then there's the series regular who didn't expect to be one — Lillian Miller (aka "Miss Miller") was an audience member on so many episodes of the Allen/Kovacs, Parr, and Carson versions that she was forced to join AFTRA. She also frequented [[Game Show|Game Shows]] (including ''[[Match Game]]'' and ''[[What's My Line?|What's My Line]]''), ''The Merv Griffin Show'', ''The Carol Burnett Show'', and even appeared on ''The Jack Paar Program'' in November 1962 as a guest alongside Liberace and Cassius Clay.
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{{tropelist}}
=== Steve Allen's incarnation (1954-57) provides examples of: ===
* [[Missing Episode]]: Much of his tenure is gone, although the premiere seems to exist.
{{quote|'''Allen''': In case you're just joining us this is ''[[The Tonight Show]]'', and I can't tell you too much about it, but I want to give you the bad news first...this show is going to go on [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v{{=}}n8AYUfBt1dE FOREVER!] <ref>(Okay, so he was talking about the show's night-by-night length, but still...)</ref>}}
* [[Impossibly Cool Clothes|Suit Of Awesome]]: In one episode Allen sat in a giant teacup in warm water with 200 lemon wedges while wearing a Suit of Teabags. Years later this stunt would inspire [[David Letterman]] to wear Suits of Alka-Seltzer, Rice Krispies and Velcro at various times during ''[[Late Night with David Letterman]]''.
=== ''Tonight! America After Dark'' (1957) provides examples of: ===
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=== Jack Paar's incarnation (1957-62) provides examples of: ===
* [[The Beatles]]: Paar showed clips of fans reacting to the Fab Four during the very early days of Beatlemania, mainly to dis the clothing, manners and
* [[Precious Puppies]]: On his last night, after saying his [[Final Speech]], Paar ended the show by calling to his dog sitting in the audience area. "Come on, Lika. We're going home".
* [[Smoking Is Cool]]: Back in the day where smoking was not only the norm, it was expected of celebrity guests. Paar and many (not all) of his celebrity guests regularly caused the set to be fogged over with smoke, thanks to five (or more) smoking guests on the set at any one time.
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* [[Baa Bomb]]: "Sis boom bah!"
* [[Beware the Nice Ones]]: Carson was forever affable on-stage but had a legendary temper in his private life. [[Madonna]] and Sean Penn got married right next to his house; legend has it he was so annoyed by paparazzi helicopters that he went out and spelled '''[[Precision F-Strike|FUCK OFF]]''' on his front lawn with rocks.
** After Charlie Callas tried to get a cheap laugh by deliberately shoving Carson, he retaliated by banning him from ever appearing on the show again... '''on-air''', after which he left Callas to sit there pleading pathetically for another chance for the rest of the show.
** Close friend and "permanent guest host" Joan Rivers accepted a talk show gig on [[FOX]] (''The Late Show'') without first asking Carson's permission; when she subsequently called to apologize, he hung up on her without a word and never spoke to her again for the rest of his life.
* [[Catch Phrase]]: ''"Heeeeeeeeeerrrrreeee's JOHNNY!"'' (although technically it was Ed McMahon's line)
* [[Everything's Better with Monkeys]]: Carson would frequently have zoology experts like Jack Hanna on with various animals for him to interact with.
* [[Groin Attack]]: Accidentally carried out on a wooden target by actor Ed Ames during [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGeN0QkZmmY an axe-throwing demonstration]. The entire audience went into hysterics for over a minute, and their efforts to stop laughing were not at all aided by a circumcision joke from Johnny.
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* [[Missing Episode]]: Much of the first 10 years, due to tape reuse. 1972-92 are intact.
* [[Signature Laugh]]: Ed McMahon's deep belly-laugh.
* [[Smoking Is Cool]]: Many of Carson's celebrity guests smoked, and unashamedly lit up on the set. There were frequent instances where five or more people on the set (Carson and McMahon included) had
* [[Who's on First?]]: A variant occurs in a skit where Carson played Ronald Reagan being briefed on his day's activities by his aide. One of the most memorable exchanges was Reagan reviewing his plans to go swimming with James G. Watt at the YMCA.
{{quote|'''Carson''': Who?
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'''Aide''': Y. }}
=== Both (1992-2009, 2010-
* [[Catch Phrase]]
* [[Coca Pepsi Inc]]: One segment involves showing products of hypothetical mergers between companies to make humorous product names.
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** Conan deliberately ratcheted up the cost of his show, thanks to a contract loophole that allowed him to do whatever the hell he wanted on NBC's tab. Starting with a [[Cool Car|Bugatti Veyron]] mouse and the 2009 Kentucky derby winner in a mink coat. {{spoiler|Most of it wasn't real.}}..except the expensive songs and their royalties.
* [[Zeerust]]: Deliberately invoked by "In The Year 3000", a continuation of his "In The Year 2000" bits on ''Late Night''.
=== [[Jimmy Fallon]]'s incarnation (2014-present) provides examples of: ===
* Someone who watches should fill this section out.
{{reflist}}
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