Question: After reading all of those Jay Leno tributes — I mean letters — in your column, I have to wonder if any of these people have ever seen Graham Norton's show? As someone who previously has never seen the value of talk shows, whether it be Leno, Letterman, Ellen or Megan Mullally (except for Carson, of course — Johnny, not Daly), I found that there actually was a way to make this genre interesting once I saw Graham Norton's show on BBC America. After watching a show like that, you look at Leno and it's just so bland. The guests are basically just like one long advertisement: Announce exciting new project about guest, guest tells pre-planned "funny" story, host fawns over guest about great work, guest talks about how great the cast is, and then host introduces movie or TV clip, guest leaves or sits on couch. What am I missing here that people are so intrigued about on these shows? Whereas Graham gets some great A-listers like Dustin Hoffman and Kevin Bacon and has them doing ...
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As I expected, Kathy's trip to the U.K. was a nonstop laugh fest. Didn't it seem like there were more scenes with Kathy narrating than usual? The more the merrier, I say. I love when Kathy gets tips from experts in the field of wherever she is heading, and this time she got advice from some of today's best British comedy whizzes. Could Ricky Gervais have looked any more uncomfortable? You could tell he wanted to play the politically correct card, especially when he freaked out that Kathy was dissing Oprah ("the most powerful woman in the world"). You knew Kathy was in the wrong place when Ricky mentioned how he wasn't a fan of media whores (as Kathy looked at the camera and pointed to herself). You've got to give Ricky credit for being a sport. Luckily, Kathy was able to make Ricky legitimately laugh a few times.Graham Norton seemed like he was having more fun with Kathy than Ricky. She certainly chose the right Pied Piper to walk through the gay-populated Old Compton: "Just being w...
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Irish funnylad Graham Norton has hosted a talk-show hit, So Graham Norton, in the UK for six years. Tonight on Comedy Central, he debuts an American version called The Graham Norton Effect at 10 pm/ET. The weekly, hourlong celebrity chatfest promises to be 13 episodes of racy, cheeky fun — more if it's a success. Here, Norton tells TV Guide Online he's "a little nervous," but definitely ready to show us all a good time.
TV Guide Online: So you just taped the first Effect episode on Monday.Graham Norton: Although we've been doing the show for six years back home, it's daunting to start over. Obviously, you cannot judge something from the reaction of 250 people in the studio, but they had a really good time.
TVGO: Maybe they were just happy for free gifts under their chairs.Norton: Right! They got T-shirts, and we had Sandra Bernhard and Marlon Wayans on. They're both very funny. We also met a man who get
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Connoisseurs of BBC America already know Graham Norton from his cheeky U.K.-based talk show, So Graham Norton. Starting in June, Comedy Central will introduce him to a wider American audience with The Graham Norton Show. "It's exciting," the Dublin-born wit says. "We're taking a very popular, successful comedy show in Britain and remaking it for the American market. Who knows? By June, I could be the new Coupling!"
As usual, he's smarting off. If you recall, NBC's version of Coupling was hyped as "the next Friends," then vanished soon after. But Norton doesn't feel as much pressure on his wacky chatfest. "It's not big. It's not clever," he says. "It's the sort of rubbish you get drunk at parties and laugh about, but with celebrities and an audience there as well."
Don't know much about Norton? Here's some vital stats:
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Connoisseurs of BBC America already know Graham Norton from his cheeky U.K.-based talk show, So Graham Norton. Starting in June, Comedy Central will introduce him to a wider American audience with The Graham Norton Show. "It's exciting," the Dublin-born wit says. "We're taking a very popular, successful comedy show in Britain and remaking it for the American market. Who knows? By June, I could be the new Coupling!"
As usual, he's smarting off. If you recall, NBC's version of Coupling was hyped as "the next Friends," then vanished soon after. But Norton doesn't feel as much pressure on his wacky chatfest. "It's not big. It's not clever," he says. "It's the sort of rubbish you get drunk at parties and laugh about, but with celebrities and an audience there as well."
Don't know much about Norton? Here's some vital stats:
read more