why would he drop below Kimmel

Because he's only 0.3 points ahead now in the ever-important 18-49 demo after two nights?

yeah, once the fall shows start blah blah blah ratings will go up. but so will Kimmel's when ABC's more youth-friendly programming boosts him.

I desperately want Colbert to succeed.

What it would've been like to be in the audience tonight for Colbert. Goodness.

I'm conflicted on the Biden interview, but honestly I thought it was a raw, moving interview that side-stepped any necessary political bullet points and catchphrases in exchange for a genuine sit-down. Yeah, we lost most of the comedy in favor of a serious discussion but I'm not opposed to that. Colbert has been hit and miss with interviews so far and I felt more for Biden than Clooney or Scarlett.

He still needs to re-work the monologue. It feels like he's struggling to come up with something to say. It should be tighter and lead right into the desk stuff after three or four minutes.

Jimmy Fallon's interview with Donald Trump might be one of the most disappointing things I've ever seen. I know Fallon was never going to pose any tough questions or offer harsh criticisms of Trump's run thus far, but I really didn't think Fallon would fawn over Trump as much as he did. Even worse was the obviously-primed audience that applauded Trump several times.

Fallon's policy of "Let's have some fun" on his incarnation of Tonight is not my cup of tea, but it never bothered me much until the Trump thing. I'm not sure what he was trying to convey, but it felt dangerous to openly support this fever dream of Trump's to run the United States. Fallon knows the influence he has over his demographic, and to think someone with little knowledge of politics could have watched that and was swayed by Trump's prepared answers and hokey catchphrase "Make America Great Again", coupled with Fallon's seal of approval, is scary.

Biden interview was great stuff.

Can't wait for Colbert's Trump interview - now that should be interesting.

Monday's Late Show was the best one yet. No complaints at all. Loved his interview with the Supreme Court justice. Emily Blunt is his best celebrity interview so far. All around an excellent show.

Not a lot to say about Colbert Week 2. I thought it was leaps and bounds above an already-solid debut week. The kinks are getting worked out very well.

Anyone watch the premiere of Celebrity Name Game? Craig is so in his element right now. Interacting with real people, celebrity guests, silly humor. He's shaken off his apprehensions about being himself that hindered the first season. If I can't have him every night, I'll take every afternoon.

Colbert needs to either cut the Jon Battiste bits entirely, or give him some lessons in timing. I like the music but I hate when he uses Jon or the band for comedy. Paul Shaffer was already well-versed in comedy, while Max Weinberg had a naturally funny persona despite his own inabilities at comedy. Doing an entire segment on Jon's "book" was a major letdown. Felt like I was watching Seth and Fred bicker about a made-up story on Late Night, except not funny at all.

I enjoy when he asks the band a question and they all reply at the same time. So...

That's alright, especially because it's over in 20 seconds. But devoting an entire segment to Jon was a misfire, IMO.

Also, is anyone watching Celeb Name Game at all? He's basically turning it into The Late Late Show, even throwing a log on the "fire" and excusing his use of dirty words as their being Scottish terms. All he's missing is The Racist to blame.

I only do Netflix/Hulu now so I haven't been able to watch episodes live. I did watch a compilation of him just cursing freely on the show and it makes me very happy to see Craig back in that state.

And except that it wouldn't work for general audiences, I would love to see him joined by a certain sidekick.

Watched the new Daily Show last night. I think Trevor has a ton of potential, but man, he needs to get better at his timing and interviewing. Not comedic timing, necessarily, but his presentation timing.

Trevor Noah has, arguably, the biggest shoes of all to fill.

David Letterman and Jay Leno bid farewell well past their primes. Leno has always been plagued by being a dumbed-down version of himself, not to mention the controversies that began and ended his career (on his first stint) on The Tonight Show. And Letterman's best days were on Late Night, and even Late Show in its first decade or so. But most who followed him seem to say he lost much of his edge and drive in the later years.

On the reverse side, Jon Stewart left while he was still at his most popular. He could have went at least one more decade, if not longer. And while The Daily Show didn't start and didn't end with his version, his will always remain the benchmark, not just for the franchise but for all shows of this format, current Late Show included since Colbert's only time standing is for the brief three-minute intro.

I don't envy Trevor Noah. I think there's a ton of goodwill for him right now and I believe reviews are good. I watched the first night, I thought he did a decent job although I can't say I would ever watch unless for a special reason.

Four weeks and 19 shows down. I think Stephen Colbert has found the right rhythm. His strength is behind the desk. And while we're talking The Daily Show, I think the true heir to the Daily Show throne is Colbert. He does two or three segments at the desk, all of them with a Colbert Report flare to them, and his political comedy is just as clever as it's always been, just without the faux-Conservative tinge. The numbers are good, but I think if people keep giving him a chance, the numbers could go up, as long as he doesn't change too much. He's the best alternative to the viral-ready Tonight Show.

I thoroughly have enjoyed the music the show has given. Yo-Yo Ma? Zelda Orchestra?! And I was not aware of how talented Stay Human are. They're pretty damn good.

MORE PLEASE!

I think I may start DVR'ing Jimmy Fallon. He had a very funny SNL style skit [one of his strengths] with David Alan Grier. He also played a funny game with Selena Gomez. I also like his interview style and general apolitical behavior.

Colbert has rated lower the last two nights than Kimmel in 18-49 year olds. 0.4 both nights.

I'm worried this won't get better. And as much as I enjoy Colbert, it's definitely the go-to show for older audiences. His style may not be as vanilla and boring as Leno, but it's more appealing to older folks than the viral-ready Fallon and the ever-sleepy, newly-bearded Kimmel.

Colbert's interviews with Whoopi and Ethan Hawke were fantastic, imo.

This made my day. Say what you will about Corden but he is likable.



I do love love love Alanis so I may be biased.

Is this where we talk about SNL now?

Upcoming episodes:

November 21: Matthew McConaughey/Adele
December 5: Ryan Gosling/Leon Bridges
December 12: Chris Hemsworth/Chance the Rapper
December 19: Tina Fey & Amy Poehler/Bruce Springsteen

Holy shit. Bruce Springsteen doing SNL? That's epic. And with Fey and Poehler hosting?

Talk about a very Merry Christmas.

If this is where we'll discuss SNL, I'm cool with that.

For the first time in about six or seven years, I watched the first five episodes of a season. And while there are definitely a lot of low points, especially in the writing, I actually kind of like the show again. The cast gels well. The standouts are definitely the women (Cecily, Vanessa and Kate especially). I'm even coming around on Jost and Che on Update. Too often their shtick is wooden, but sometimes their "too cool for school" attitude works, almost like an anti-news update, which is what they were going for back in '75 with Chevy Chase. It's only since Fey and Fallon that it was less about mocking the format and more about actual smart political humor.

Elizabeth Banks has been the best host. Hope to see her back again.