For those of you who want to learn about the Late Night wars of Leno vs. Letterman, there is no better resource than Bill Carter's book "The Late Shift."
But if you don't want to commit hours and hours of reading time, the "Why Are You Laughing?" podcast is perhaps the second best source of information.
The book was turned into a made-for-tv movie also (same name), for those of you who would prefer that. But that's a distant 3rd place, as the movie is less informative and a bit cheesy.
And for those of you who want to learn about the Late Night wars of Leno vs. Conan, there is no better resource than Bill Carter's book "The War for Late Night."
But, as above, if books aren't for you, the following podcast has you covered. There has been no made-for-tv movie about this topic, to my knowledge, but can you imagine?
If you'd like to read my book review of "The War for Late Night" see here.
As a self-proclaimed expert, I have my disagreements and differences with the podcast, just as I do with the TV movie. But they're mainly minor quibbles and who cares anyway? I enjoy their fresh perspective shedding light on my own.
You're probably aware of Joe Materese from the time he tried to do a TV show and got roasted - I posted it on this blog last year. Here's a podcast re-visiting the event and adding in some context and analysis.
"Why Are You Laughing" re-visits and discusses Norm's appearances on Conan O'Brien's talk shows over the years.
A History of Comedy Podcast tells the story of "Windy City Heat" a real documentary about the making of a fake movie where the star didn't know that it was all an elaborate prank.
The full movie is on youtube:
