Classic Roots Choice #24

In this installment of "Classic Roots Choice", Jimmy Fallon does all the explanation himself. Enjoy.

True Grit Trailer

The Coen Brothers have made another movie starring Jeff Bridges. Is it "The Big Lebowski 2"? No, not quite.

Here's the trailer:

Snap. I'm looking forward to it. It's a perfect trailer in that it gives you a sense of the movie but is completely vague in every respect. I felt the 30 commercial was even better but couldn't find that online. Apparently the movie is a remake of an old John Wayne film. Fortunately for me, I haven't seen that movie so I still don't know what to expect.

Who Cares Wins - Thanksgiving Edition

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, the folks at Video Vision were kind enough to make an instructional video 25 years ago to guide the weary viewer through this tricky holiday.

Tracy Morgan Explains Star Wars

I've seen the Star Wars Trilogy countless times but sometimes you just don't "get" something until someone comes along and articulates it so well....

"If you got a ghost telling you not to do it, don't do it, holmes. You ahead of the game!"

Book Review : The War for Late Night

Over the weekend I read the book "The War for Late Night : When Leno Went Early and Television Went Crazy" by Bill Carter. Bill Carter also wrote the definitive book about the original Late Night war (Leno vs. Letterman) over who would replace Johnny Carson, "The Late Shift" which I'm reading now.

The book obviously centers on the events which took the Tonight Show away from Leno to give it to Conan, the disaster known as "The Jay Leno Show", and then the events which took the Tonight Show back from Conan to give it to Leno. But it also thoroughly explores how the situation was set up by events and personalities years before as well as the conclusion of the battle where Conan goes to TBS. Every personality and event is covered step-by-step. It goes through all the Machiavellian machinations from the NBC executives, the affiliates, the lawyers, the press, mistakes made with the contracts and, of course, the thoughts and actions of the stars themselves. It also goes into some of the recent history and the reactions by the other talk show hosts, particularly Letterman, but also Kimmel, Kilborn, Fallon, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.

The book is an extremely well done and extremely insightful fly-on-the-wall insight into all the executive whispers, back room deals, show business politics and just general chaos that transpired within NBC and out to the other networks as well. Reading the book, it quickly becomes apparent that the author either had incredible connections and interviews or simply likes to makes stuff up (but of course, his reputation and risk of lawsuit precludes the latter). Which is exactly what I wanted out of it - when Conan and his producer go in an office and shut the door, the trail doesn't stop there, you get the spoken dialog of the discussion. The tone is also extremely even-handed - Leno is not made out to be a demon, and Conan isn't made out to be a victim - the book presents the viewpoints and insights of a wide array of "show biz insiders" and allows the viewer to judge.

This isn't a life-changing book or one that will greatly expand your understanding of the universe; the rating or recommendation is simply a matter of interest in the subject matter. If you don't find the Late Night battle an interesting topic, there's no reason for you to read this book, but if you're like me, this is mandatory reading. But (chuckles) you don't have to take my word for it...

[DO DO DO]

High Pitched 8 Year Old: DO YOU LIKE BOOKS ABOUT PINHEAD NETWORK EXECUTIVES? IF SO, THEN "THE WAR FOR LATE NIGHT" IS FOR YOU! When the story begins, executives at NBC are stuck with a problem: how do you keep two of your stars happy if they both want the same show?!

[Illustration of a man peering into a cave with a flashlight]

They think they have a solution by moving one of them to primetime but it turns out to be a bad idea and it makes their affiliates mad!

[Illustration of a bear running away from a cloud of bees]

What can they DO? Could the answer be found in the small print of their contracts?!

[Illustration of a farmer hauling watermelon in a pickup truck]

I'M NOT GOING TO TELL WHAT HAPPENS NEXT BUT IF YOU LIKE STORIES ABOUT PR WARS AND THREATS OF LITIGATION, THEN GO TO YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY AND REQUEST A COPY OF "THE WAR FOR LATE NIGHT"! YOU'LL BE GLAD YOU DID!

[DO DO DO]

Web Redemption - Charmed

Usually "Web Redemption" is sole province of Tosh.0 but not in this case. In this episode, actor Rainn Wilson seeks redemption for his bad acting in an episode of "Charmed".