Volume Control
by Staff -- Multichannel News, 1/7/2008
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“How do late-night hosts go on in the midst of a writers’ strike? With a mix of ingenuity and guilt.”
Joanna Weiss, The Boston Globe http://www.boston.com
Can It Last if The Strike Does?“Leno’s ratings may stay the same or even go up as audiences anticipate a potential on-air train wreck. But can they stay there? Will America’s late night viewing habits change? And will NBC suffer?”
Nikki Finke, Deadline Hollywood Daily www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com
Some Say Leno Kept His Luster“Leno, the ratings winner for some years now, came out on top. His unscripted, pre-taped [earlier Wednesday] effort evoked the suspense here and there of live TV, but with few flubs and no disasters.”
Sid Smith, Chicago Tribune http://www.chicagotribune.com
Others Miss the Writers’ Touch“Those millions of TV fans who were wondering what Leno and O’Brien would do without writers got their answer: not much that anyone would consider worthy of network television. In Leno’s case, in addition to lobbing softball questions to a self-promoting politician, the lantern-jawed comedian co-hosted a cooking segment (pepper steak) and answered questions from the audience ('When will you be coming to Branson, Mo.?’).”
David Zurawik, The Baltimore Sun http://www.baltimoresun.com/
Did Dave’s Writers Get Back to Work?“Letterman’s show felt more haphazard, featuring the kind of stuff you’d expect from a show that didn’t have writers, such as a reprise of retired director Hal Gurnee’s “Network Time Wasters” — a gag the host cooked up 20 years ago, when he had to return to air during the last writer’s strike WITHOUT writers.”
Eric Deggans, The Feed http://blogs.tampabay.com/media
Unintended Consequences“For the Writers Guild, there’s a clear advantage to having the shows back; the comedians are bound to spend time, as they did last night, joking about the strike and taking the writers’ side in the process.”
Tom Shales, The Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com
