I am one of those people who has always have friends tell me, “You should have been here! So-and-so from TV/movies was here earlier!” Not that I much care about spotting them, I have just always found my timing amazing. Yet, somehow, while here in England I am up to six!
Now, let me preface this by saying I was delayed on the BBC tour when I went there and was held back to join a later tour in the area they call “Stage Door” where all of the celebs arrive to film shows. Five of my sightings happened there and included:
Matt Lucas from Little Britain (Who seemed very sour when someone else on the tour dared to say hi to him)
Len Goodman from Dancing With the Stars and Strictly Come Dancing (They were filming the Christmas special the day)
Bruno Tonioli from Dancing With the Stars and Strictly Come Dancing
Some blonde girl From Eastenders that was appearing on the dancing special
Said blonde girl’s pro dancing partner
Like I said, I was at the BBC itself, so not totally unexpected, but then came the randomness that happened outside 10 Downing Street.
Having missed a turn for somewhere else I was going, I found myself outside of the street that houses the Prime Minister. I had never intended to go there, but I was there, so why not look? As I looked through the gate down the road, I saw someone approaching with shoulder-length salt-and-pepper hair, and a huge smile. I just thought, “Oh, what a happy guy.” … and then did a double take. I turned to one of the policemen on duty, tossed my thumb towards the man and mouthed, “Is that …?” And he just gave me a big grin and said, “Yeah.”
I couldn’t get a good picture by the time I figured it out, but it was James May, one of the three hosts of the ultra-popular Top Gear. Why he was at the British equivalent of the White House is beyond me, but what a completely random encounter.
And the police officer who confirmed it was him? He immediately went in behind the gate to ask May for a picture, which he very cheerfully obliged.
Okay, I have two more days, anyone else want to run into me?
Top Gear is the only thing I can ever remember getting me actually caring about cars as more than just a way to get from point A to point B.
Anyone who knows me knows that my extent of car knowledge is pretty much limited to where to put the gas. That’s it… it just isn’t my thing. Then a couple years ago I came across a show on BBC America called Top Gear… and I suddenly found myself caring about cars.
Okay, maybe “caring” is too strong of a word… I enjoy watching the hosts,Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, caring about cars. I still can’t do anything past putting gas in them.
Well, Duncan Riley over at The Inquisitr posted a video from the shows current 12th season which has yet to air in America that gives you an excellent taste as to why it is so easy to get hooked on a show about cars when you have no interest in them. In this particular clip, James May, known as “Captain Slow” to fans of the show as he doesn’t drive with the insane passion of Hammond and Clarkson, takes a ride with world rally driver Ken Block. I mark a lot of this shows popularity up to its amazing cinematography: it is on par with a lot of movies, and far above anything else on television.
I think it’s easy to see how this show gets the blood pumping even in a non-car person. Mix in their whip smart humor and you have a highly enjoyable show. If you ever have a chance to check it out, make sure to do so.
When Jay Leno leaves The Tonight Show in 2009, he won’t be leaving NBC after all.
It has been known for quite some time now that Jay Leno would be leaving his post on The Tonight Show in 2009. This was going to allow Conan O’Brien to move up from the 11:30 EST spot to the far more lucrative 10:30 EST spot, kind of like being called up to the major leagues in baseball, this was a sign that Mr. O’Brien had made it.
Now, image if after all this shifting and maneuvering you come to find out that the major leagues are actually just another farm team as the real “show” will now be in prime time. While Mr. O’Brien has not yet said anything, that is what I imagine ran through his head yesterday when it was leaked that Leno would be getting a new show at 10 PM EST when he leaves The Tonight Show.
Essentially NBC has completely changed the rules of the late night talk show game, and it will either end up badly hurting the shows that remain in those late slots, or Leno’s show will crash and burn like nothing you have ever seen before. The people who enjoy Leno will no longer have to wait until after the 11 PM EST news to see him, they will be able to watch him at 10, then their news, and be in bed before Conan even comes on… just as things are now with the current set up.
When Johnny Carson prepared to leave the show in 1992, he had appointed David Letterman to be his successor. Depending on who tells the story, Leno somehow ended up usurping Dave as the annoited one, much to Carson’s displeasure, and got the show. This caused Letterman to leave NBC for CBS, where he ended up finally getting his desired 11:30 slot. (and unknown until Carson’s death in 2005, where Carson secretly sent Dave monologue jokes. If that wasn’t a flip off to Leno, I don’t know what was)
With the 12:30 slot, Letterman’s old slot, vacant, O’Brien was hired to take over the show with the promise that he would someday inherit The Tonight Show. Well, as Leno’s latest contract expired, it was decided it was time for that to happen, but it seems Mr. Leno wasn’t quite as ready for it. This is when rumors started circulate that Leno may jump ship for a new show on ABC, much to Jimmy Kimmel’s displeasure, and NBC started frantically trying to come up with a way to keep Leno at NBC while still giving O’Brien his promised show.
Rumors circulated that Leno would host the American version of the popular British car show Top Gear, but he opted against it. Rumors went quiet for a while as to what NBC would do, but then news came out yesterday that NBC was going to cut down on scripted dramas due to budget concerns. Some specualted they would go to 2 hours of prime time a night, or even cut a whole night, but then this rumor broke, and this appears to be the true solution.
Five nights a week Leno will be on at 10 PM EST. This will keep NBC filling 3 hours or prime time a night, will keep them on every night and will keep Leno from going to another network. Leno’s show will cost less to produce than even reality shows, and far less than scripted dramas which run, at minimum, $1 – $2 million per episode. This is a win-win deal for NBC, but I fear it is everyone else who loses.
NBC will have three hours of talk shows a night, which will probably lead to talk show fatigue amongst viewers. The A-list guests who went on The Tonight Show will probably opt for the primetime show, leaving O’Brien back with his b & c-list celebrities, and who knows what Jimmy Fallon will come up with when he takes over O’Brien’s old show.
Let me make no bones about this… I despise Leno. I think he is a talentless hack who rips off his material from everyone under the sun. His comedic bits are horribly outdated and he has the interviewing skills of a chimp. In short, I don’t watch him at 11:30, I’m such as heck not watching him at 10. My only dog in this fight is that he was easier to avoid at 11:30, now I may run into him.
I also think O’Brien has gotten the very raw end of this deal. When all of the attention should be on him and his success at taking over the lognest running show in late night… he is now back to being the second fiddle. True, NBC kept their promise to him, but when you devalue the promise in the 11th hour, it still sucks. I have not been a big viewer of late night talk shows in some years, but I may start back up just to give Conan support.
As I said up front, Leno is either going to crash and burn like no one has ever seen before, or he is going to take down the whole late night circuit just from the sheer fatigue of this many talk shows. This whole thing stinks from top to bottom, and all of the blame is squarely on the shoulders of Jeff Zucker, head of NBC. He has green lighted horrible show after horrible show, and now he is desperate for anything that will save his job, and damn the consequences.
I could be wrong, it’s been known to happen, and this whole scheme may just work out fine and dandy for all the parties involved… but I doubt it. NBC is in a shambles, and they need a Hail Mary move, there is no doubt about that, but this just isn’t it. Honestly, can anyone point out one single person in this world that has ever said, “Gee, I’d watch late night talk shows if they would just put them in primetime!”
My guess to the answer to that questions is a big old, “no”.
I am one of those people who has always have friends tell me, “You should have been here! So-and-so from TV/movies was here earlier!” Not that I much care about spotting them, I have just always found my timing amazing. Yet, somehow, while here in England I am up to six!
When Jay Leno leaves 
As I said up front, Leno is either going to crash and burn like no one has ever seen before, or he is going to take down the whole late night circuit just from the sheer fatigue of this many talk shows. This whole thing stinks from top to bottom, and all of the blame is squarely on the shoulders of Jeff Zucker, head of NBC. He has green lighted horrible show after horrible show, and now he is desperate for anything that will save his job, and damn the consequences.
