12/18/04

12/18/04—Late Late Show, CBS

Occasionally, I turn on the television and find I’ve entered an alternate universe. Kind of like Lizard Music, but without the herpetology. As always, the tv schedule isn’t a help, because whatever is being seen hasn’t been listed. No matter how tired I am, I’m motivated to watch the surprise through. Maybe Elvis will appear

The Late Late Show was one such occurrence. These shows are the province of stand-up comedians, and mostly male stand-ups at that. When the idiot box came on, it was Susan Sarandon talking to the audience. Cleavage was also surprising, and Sarandon was happy to share. Her presence seemed out of format, and she was doing a meta-show, making fun of the conventions of doing a stand-up routine in front of a television audience. Oddly, she rarely looked at the camera; guess actors are taught not to look into it, while their talky cousins are taught the reverse.

Then, she introduced her sidekick. Tim Robbins acted as if he was a combination of Ed McMahon and Dean Martin, guffawing for no reason and mixing martinis. He’s younger than Susan, yet gray. It was a goofy combination of styles, almost seemingly giving into the Dino conceit of acting drunk.

Her desk bits were written to her sensibilities. She showed a holiday card from Arnold Schwarzenegger that read “seasons gropings.” She did common sense new bits like, “if we want to stop teen girls from drinking, all we have to do is tell them ‘drinking makes you fat.’”

The main guest of the hour was Gore Vidal, who probably hasn’t kibbitzed on commercial television since the 70s. Vidal didn’t look vital, but his commentary was. Naturally, it leaned left, but it was long and cogent and didn’t go for the cheap shots. Another example of entertainment television swapping seats with news television.

Don’t know whether it was a one-night stand for Susan or not, but it was a welcome change to the ossified late night talk format. A few more nights would be great, though as Robin Williams pointed out, the daily grind of the talk show host sucks material out of you faster than a vacuum cleaner on speed.