|
 Meyers launched his "Late Night" venture with a nod to the
show's previous host, appearing to write a thank you note to
Jimmy Fallon for moving to his Manhattan-based "Tonight Show"
gig, which debuted a week ago.
Meyers and Fallon both cut their comic teeth at "Saturday Night
Live" before ascending to highly visible late night talk show
hosting duties.
And while the new "Late Night" honored the talk show tradition
of opening monologue, followed by banter with the band leader
and comic sketches leading up to light-hearted chat with guests,
some of Meyers' material ventured well beyond the usual,
well-worn pop-culture fodder.
In one notably arcane reference, Meyers joked that among his
competitors, PBS' Charlie Rose was featuring "the 100th
appearance" by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Safe to say that cracks
about Pulitzer Prize-winning American historians are not what
21st-century network television audiences have come to expect.
Introducing what seemed to be intended as a recurring bit, the
show presented a "Venn Diagrams" segment, harking back to high
school math classes, in which two overlapping circles highlight
commonality between two seemingly unrelated ideas.
One example: the overlap of snow and toilet paper — "things you
won't find in Sochi," where the Olympics just concluded.
While his monologue featured a more rapid-fire delivery than
other such hosts, it featured such topical issues as the
Olympics, singer's Bjork's odd sartorial style, 7-11 chain
stores, Taco Bell, and the reality show "The Bachelor."
Meyers, 40, the oldest host in the history of the show, which has
also been helmed by David Letterman and Conan O'Brien, has also
stated he wants the show to offer a mix of guests from actors
and athletes to writers and politicians, and Poehler's and
Biden's appearances on Monday bore that out.
[to top of second column] |
Meyers and Poehler tapped into their well-established on-air
chemistry honed during the years they spent together anchoring the
Weekend Update newsdesk on "Saturday Night Live."
Poehler then engaged in a bit of mock-role play with the new host,
pretending to be a boring guest. Meyers joked: "We have faked
chemistry so well" in the past.
Meyers joined "Saturday Night Live" in 2001 and left earlier this
year after having served half his tenure as head writer.
Biden used his time on air to make a pitch for a pet cause of
encouraging U.S. train transportation, while Poehler referenced her
work with Biden on her sitcom, "Parks and Recreation," saying they
would next "do 'Snakes on a Train.'"
The vice president also addressed his political future in a joking
manner, stating "I had planned on making a major announcement
tonight, but I decided tonight's your night," adding: "I hope you
will invite me back."
"Late Night with Seth Meyers" will appear Monday through Thursday on
NBC at 12:35 EST a.m. (0535 GMT), with guests during the first week
ranging from actor Patrick Stewart to hip-hop artist Kanye West to
author Robyn Doolittle.
(Reporting by Chris Michaud; editing by
Lisa Shumaker)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
