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Al Franken on Letterman Tonight
- Thread starter dampier
- Start date
Phillip Dampier said:The title says it all.
Great reason to watch Jay Leno.
F
fred flintstone
Guest
Possibly Frenchman has not seen Franken in prior Letterman appearances.
I have and he has come alive in front of an audience (and with a Letterman serving as an excellent straight man). When he's more concerned with being funny than being political, he is funny. Too bad AAR management has not noticed any of this.
I have and he has come alive in front of an audience (and with a Letterman serving as an excellent straight man). When he's more concerned with being funny than being political, he is funny. Too bad AAR management has not noticed any of this.
1
1q2w3e
Guest
fred flintstone said:Possibly Frenchman has not seen Franken in prior Letterman appearances.
I have and he has come alive in front of an audience (and with a Letterman serving as an excellent straight man). When he's more concerned with being funny than being political, he is funny. Too bad AAR management has not noticed any of this.
I have seen Franken live in "concert". Boring and completely non-funny are words that come to mind. HE thinks he is funny. The rest of the audience was not laughing.
1q2w3e said:I have seen Franken live in "concert". Boring and completely non-funny are words that come to mind. He thinks he is funny. The rest of the audience was not laughing.
Not true. I've seen Franken speak in front of a large audience of radio executives on a few occassions and he was very well received. Everyone was laughing. I personally think that he is a lousy talk show host. However, when he performs or speaks to a group he can be very funny.
I'm just disappointed I missed Opie and Anthony Thursday night. Had it on, then fell asleep on the couch right before.
I'm guessing someone already put it on YouTube.
I'm guessing someone already put it on YouTube.
1
1q2w3e
Guest
barooosk said:1q2w3e said:I have seen Franken live in "concert". Boring and completely non-funny are words that come to mind. He thinks he is funny. The rest of the audience was not laughing.
Not true. I've seen Franken speak in front of a large audience of radio executives on a few occassions and he was very well received. Everyone was laughing. I personally think that he is a lousy talk show host. However, when he performs or speaks to a group he can be very funny.
Not arguing your opinion. Just giving you the example that I was at. Seriously there were very few chuckles.
Franken is a pathetically unfunny and generally nasty person.
Him being on Letterman is about the only way I'd watch Leno
Him being on Letterman is about the only way I'd watch Leno
R
Radio_Realist
Guest
I remember AL Franken well from his days on Saturday Night Live. He wasn't funny then (not even during the "Al Franken Decade") and he still isn't funny.
It's not about his political views. His non-political stuff is just as unfunny.
It's not about his political views. His non-political stuff is just as unfunny.
Radio_Realist said:I remember AL Franken well from his days on Saturday Night Live. He wasn't funny then (not even during the "Al Franken Decade") and he still isn't funny.
It's not about his political views. His non-political stuff is just as unfunny.
I disagree. I think Franken is a lousy talk show host (too many interviews, guests, etc. and way to Ahs and Ums.) but he was a very funny television comedian. The reason is that television humor both verbal and visual humor. Franken was very good a melding the two formats. Franken's Stuart Smiley character was very funny. (and despite what you and I think RR, the ratings associated with his TV performance confirms this.) However, it would only work on television. None of Franken's radio characters or bits is as funny. To understand radio humor forget about any of the top talk show hosts from Limbaugh to Rhodes. Far and away the funniest bits on radio were performed by Phil Hendrie who mastered the spoken word like no one else since Bob and Ray. Unfortunately, Hendrie got burned out and his retired.
I'm with the above poster on this one... AAR (as most of you likely already know) was chosen because of his celebrity. He is not exactly a good radio host, but he beats the required AAR drum.
Franken, however, is funny. Many of his SNL bits are classics or borderline, and his Liberal slant on the former SNL news commentaries are funny because of his ability to use the video medium to emphasize the comedy in his commentary.
I have never seen him live. Commedians, however, are prone to having some klunker shows. The poster who said he wasn't very funny one evening may have caught one of them.
Franken, however, is funny. Many of his SNL bits are classics or borderline, and his Liberal slant on the former SNL news commentaries are funny because of his ability to use the video medium to emphasize the comedy in his commentary.
I have never seen him live. Commedians, however, are prone to having some klunker shows. The poster who said he wasn't very funny one evening may have caught one of them.
R
Radio_Realist
Guest
I have a few friends in the nightclub business. They're responsible for booking comedians, and have good reputations for being able to tell which comedians will appeal to a large audience, and which ones will only appeal to a smaller, niche audience. When we were discussing comedians, they all mentioned Al Franken as an example of a comedian who only appeals to a small audience.
Not that his small fan base doesn't think he's really, really funny. His fans all think he's a hoot. But his fan base isn't as big as most other comedians.
Not that his small fan base doesn't think he's really, really funny. His fans all think he's a hoot. But his fan base isn't as big as most other comedians.
Radio_Realist said:I have a few friends in the nightclub business. They're responsible for booking comedians, and have good reputations for being able to tell which comedians will appeal to a large audience, and which ones will only appeal to a smaller, niche audience. When we were discussing comedians, they all mentioned Al Franken as an example of a comedian who only appeals to a small audience.
Not that his small fan base doesn't think he's really, really funny. His fans all think he's a hoot. But his fan base isn't as big as most other comedians.
I have a few friends in the TV ratings business who tell me that Franken contributed to SNL's ratings success in the 1990's when they would attract weekly audiences of the six to seven million households. That's a real small audience.
R
Radio_Realist
Guest
"Franken contributed to SNL's ratings success in the 1990's when they would attract weekly audiences of the six to seven million households."
That's true. With Franken, SNL attracted 7,000,000 households. Without Franken, SNL would have only attracted 6,990,000 households. So you are correct in your statement. Al Franken contributed to SNL's ratings success. He added an extra 10,000 households. That is a contribution.
Of course, the "Al Franken Decade" was the 80's, which was when Franken was most prominent on SNL, not the 90's.
That's true. With Franken, SNL attracted 7,000,000 households. Without Franken, SNL would have only attracted 6,990,000 households. So you are correct in your statement. Al Franken contributed to SNL's ratings success. He added an extra 10,000 households. That is a contribution.
Of course, the "Al Franken Decade" was the 80's, which was when Franken was most prominent on SNL, not the 90's.
Baroosk, get over it, Franken was a bit player and writer in the 90's
SNL is an ensemble cast
Stuart Smalley was funny once, charming twice, tedious the third time, and "Where is the remote?' the fourth time.
Celebrities need to shut the hell up about politics, left and right.
Most are uneducated, semi literate, self obsessed, compulsive jerks, why the hell do we need their political beliefs thrown at us?
SNL is an ensemble cast
Stuart Smalley was funny once, charming twice, tedious the third time, and "Where is the remote?' the fourth time.
Celebrities need to shut the hell up about politics, left and right.
Most are uneducated, semi literate, self obsessed, compulsive jerks, why the hell do we need their political beliefs thrown at us?
F
fred flintstone
Guest
Funnier Than You
For the record: Al Franken was principally a writer on Saturday Night Live during it's "Golden Age" (1975-1980) and joined the writing staff a second time 1985 to 1995. He was never a member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players." During his first tenure with the show, he appeared 26 times. During his second tour, he appeared six times, and has appeared three times subsequently. He has appeared six times on Letterman, four times on Leno and 10 times on Conan O'Brien. He was creator, writer and star of the critically-acclaimed satiric sitcom, "Lateline" (available on DVD, if you never saw it, I recommend it highly).
Lorne Michaels hired him twice for SNL and kept him around the second time for 10 seasons - a notably long time on a show with some turn-over of writers. Larry David, the creator of Seinfeld, only lasted one season. So did Christopher Guest (Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind).
Apparently, some people who make their livings as judges of humor think Franken is a funny writer. I don't think as a comedy performer he measured up to many of the people for whom he wrote (including Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, John Belushi, Gilda Radner). And, clearly, as a talk show host his act is wearing thin on some of AAR's biggest fans on this board. But the guy knows funny, certainly more than any of his critics in this thread (none of whom have produced any yucks in any of their posts, that I can recall).
For the record: Al Franken was principally a writer on Saturday Night Live during it's "Golden Age" (1975-1980) and joined the writing staff a second time 1985 to 1995. He was never a member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players." During his first tenure with the show, he appeared 26 times. During his second tour, he appeared six times, and has appeared three times subsequently. He has appeared six times on Letterman, four times on Leno and 10 times on Conan O'Brien. He was creator, writer and star of the critically-acclaimed satiric sitcom, "Lateline" (available on DVD, if you never saw it, I recommend it highly).
Lorne Michaels hired him twice for SNL and kept him around the second time for 10 seasons - a notably long time on a show with some turn-over of writers. Larry David, the creator of Seinfeld, only lasted one season. So did Christopher Guest (Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind).
Apparently, some people who make their livings as judges of humor think Franken is a funny writer. I don't think as a comedy performer he measured up to many of the people for whom he wrote (including Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, John Belushi, Gilda Radner). And, clearly, as a talk show host his act is wearing thin on some of AAR's biggest fans on this board. But the guy knows funny, certainly more than any of his critics in this thread (none of whom have produced any yucks in any of their posts, that I can recall).
R
Radio_Realist
Guest
Apparently, some people who make their livings as judges of humor think Franken is a funny writer.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but on the radio, Franken has to deliver his humor verbally, as in out loud. Being able to write funny isn't quite the same as being able to be funny. There's a reason why some people are hired to write funny material, and other people are hired to perform funny material. '
True, some people can do both. Franken ain't one of them.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but on the radio, Franken has to deliver his humor verbally, as in out loud. Being able to write funny isn't quite the same as being able to be funny. There's a reason why some people are hired to write funny material, and other people are hired to perform funny material. '
True, some people can do both. Franken ain't one of them.
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