Jon Hamm and Kayla Ewell
This week demonstrated that not everyone on TV is cynical. Mad Men's Don Draper finally came clean with his wife. A One Tree Hill investigation uncovered a cruel deception. Amazing Race's Mika had a panic attack. And it would take a real cynic to think that Shepard Smith wasn't being real in calling for more balance in Fox News Channel's political coverage. This Halloween, we're removing our masks and embracing genuine human emotion. Welcome to Top Moments: Cynicism-Free Edition.
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Craig Ferguson
Who's afraid of the dark? Apparently not Craig Ferguson.
The Late Late Show host was forced to complete Tuesday's show in the dark after the studio lot lost power in the middle of...
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Craig Ferguson by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
CBS' Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson is writing a tell-all memoir which will reveal difficult aspects of his past, as well as his road to fame from a small town in Scotland to the United States.The upcoming book will detail, among other things, Ferguson's past addictions to drugs and alcohol and a failed suicide attempt during a period of depression. The newly minted American citizen will publish the book, America on Purpose, next year through HarperCollins.Before his comedy career, the Scotsman apparently tried his hand as a punk rocker, club bouncer, construction worker and even a modern dancer. Ferguson has clearly fully embraced his life as a comedian, however. Commenting on the book's potential, he said he's writing it "in the hope that it will inspire other alcoholic, punk-rock drummers from Scotland." Is this an opus you plan to peruse? — Anna DimondUse our Online Video Guide to catch more of Ferguson
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American Idol Gives back by Jackson Hill/Fox
Wednesday's roundup:8 pm/ETIdol Gives Back averaged 17.6 million total viewers, a 33 percent drop from last year's fund-raiser night. Keep in mind, back then we thought someone was getting the boot. Maybe peeps simply don't tune in to be scared by Robin Williams? Let's hope the donations didn't suffer.9 pmCriminal Minds placed second behind Idol with 13.1 mil, gaining 300K week-to-week.10 pmCSI: NY did 12.23 mil, a drop of 600 thou. Primetime was No. 2 with 8.2 mil.More ratings news: CBS' The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson last week topped NBC's Conan O'Brien for the first time ever in a full week of original head-to-head broadcasts, averaging 1.88 mil.
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Jay Leno with guest, Mike Huckabee, on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno by Paul Drinkwater/NBC Photo
Should the Writers Guild of America take this personally? According to Nielsen's overnight ratings in 55 markets, NBC's writer-less Tonight Show with Jay Leno was the audience favorite with a 5.3 rating and a 12 share on Wednesday night. That topped CBS' Late Show with David Letterman, which returned with its writers after Letterman's production company worked out its own deal with the WGA. It scored a 4.3/10. Viewers were clearly happy to see both shows return after a strike-imposed two-month hiatus, as both hit season highs. The same goes for NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien, which averaged a 2.5/8 in its return. That topped the 1.9/6 delivered by Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live, which actually saw a ratings spike in November while the leading shows were in repeats, scored a 1.4/4. — Stephen BattaglioRelated:• TVGuide.com Asks... Which Late-night Host Had the Write Stuff?• Matt Roush grades Letterman, Leno and the restIn TVGuide.com's ...
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Conan O'Brien by Dana Edelson/NBC Photo
Did absence make our hearts grow fonder of late-night TV's hosts, missing in action for the last two months? I suppose it's possible, though I doubt anyone's preferences were changed by what they saw Wednesday night, when all of the network hosts finally returned to work, all but David Letterman and Craig Ferguson without writers. (If anything grew, it was facial hair, at least on Dave and Conan.)If you're the sort who for whatever reason prefers affable Jay Leno over cranky Dave, or chooses to stay up late for the delectable derangement that is Conan O’Brien, nothing about Wednesday’s opening night would likely have shaken you from your long-ingrained after-hours habits. The strike beards sported by Dave and Conan in solidarity with the still-striking writers (“and to prove that I still have some testosterone,” joked Conan) were the most noticeable changes on the late-night landscape.Here’s my report card on late-night’s opening night, keeping in mind ...
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The new year brings new shows from Letterman, Leno and the gang. As Dave and his night-owl peers return to the airwaves, come here to share your takes on the individual hosts. Did Dave and Craig Ferguson take advantage of the enormous advantage given them by the WGA-approved return of their writing staffs?Did Jay, Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Kimmel happen to impress you with their writer-less wit?Chime in here with your opinions! Plus, see how TV Guide's Matt Roush grades the assorted returns.Related:• WGA Plans "Intense" Pressure on Returning Late-night Shows• Letterman, Ferguson to Return With Writers, Thanks to WGA Deal• Stewart and Colbert Return Jan. 7, But WGA Isn't Laughing
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CBS has sent out a press release confirming that for all of next week as well, both Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson will be airing repeats.During the 1988 WGA writers' strike, Letterman ultimately returned to work — conducting interviews only, thus needing no writer — but not until Johnny Carson made that move first. As I just said to Battaglio in the hallway here, I imagine that is not Letterman's plan this time around.More strike coverage:• Ellen DeGeneres Defends Her Crossing of Picket Line but Still Gets Dissed• Ask Matt answers your burning questions about the strike!
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David Letterman by JP Filo/CBS
Verizon Wireless and CBS Mobile are now offering full-length, commercial-free episodes of Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. In making this announcement, CBS becomes the first broadcast network to offer V CAST subscribers access to full-length, on-demand programming.Granted, to fit the screen Letterman's top-10 list will now be reduced to about 7.75 items, but still....
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Craig Ferguson, The Late Late Show
With a comedic campaign for honorary U.S. citizenship and his increasingly inspired monologue, CBS' The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (weeknights at 12:35 am/ET) has really hit its stride. We spoke to the show's Glasgow-born host about what it's like working the night shift.
TV Guide: At nearly 15 minutes, your monologue is practically a stand-up gig.Craig Ferguson: That's what we do — 10, 15 minutes of new stand-up every show. I have eight or nine writers, and we decide what subject it's going to be... and construct a set of bullet points. Basically, [the monologue] is just my life. It's a stand-up-slash-blog. But you know what the difference is? A lot of blogs are terrible.
TV Guide: The monologue really started to pop when you began talking more about yourself, including your battle with al
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