Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Late Night with Seth Meyers: First Night Review

Hi everyone. Andrew here once again on a Tuesday night.
Last week, I made a review of the new Tonight Show starring new host Jimmy Fallon.
Of course, I raved a little about it and gushed a lot about the set, which still holds up quite wonderfully. And the show has done very well, and will still be great for years to come. And now it's time for Seth Meyers to take the reigns of NBC's other late night show, Late Night.

Before I get to the review, here's a quick crash course on Seth himself. He's from Saturday Night Live, has been an cast member for 11 years and has anchored the show's Weekend Update segment for 6 years. He's a really talented performer and very impressive writer. He's written or co-written many hilarious sketches and shorts and has later become the longest running male cast member in SNL history. Now that you know, let's get to it.
Also the bandleader and curator of the 8GBand is fellow former SNL veteran Fred Armisen. Talk about a nice reunion.

The INTRO:
I really like the fast pace of the open. I expected it to be this way, to compliment the news-y style this Late Night incarnation would undertake. This open and theme definitely and truly contrasts the slower, more moodier open and theme Tonight Show utilizes.

The SET:
Unlike the Tonight set, which I loved, mind you, and is directly under this set, I really like only parts of it. Well, at first. I later warmed up to most of it before writing this review,
including the arch curtain middle part--thing. I love its design and structure, and the lights around the arch and the blue brings extra cool to it. I also like the door, which is really nice and refreshing change from the decades-long use of a curtain.


I also like the blue walls and odd patterns around the set...for some reason--I don't know why, though.

And the 8GBand platform is nice. Everyone has a lot of space to perform and all have a lot of equal camera shot. Also I love the background; its strange-looking, kinda like an abstract painting, but I love it.

I don't really like desk section. Although the platform is pretty big and perfect enough, the desk is really small than at first thought; The guests sit in small chairs, close to the desk; instead of big, clunky, but still comfortable chairs. I'm really not a fan of Seth's desk; to be honest, it looks like it should be in Seth's work office, or even a classroom; not the set. I thought it would look really different, with a complex design, and a different color to match the colors and vibrancy of the set. And, you know, BIG.

The MONOLOGUE:
In his first mono, Seth mentions, among others, Toronto mayor Rob Ford (who isn't?) doing something stupid (again), 7-Eleven selling new products, while known for its food on the dirty floor, churches required to allow guns (my favorite), a remote-controlled monkey (who became the Bachelor), and the first UPS driver becoming a Senator (their first "sorta" bomb).

The BITS:
In the first bit, "Olympic Wrap-Up", Seth quips about the Olympics, joking about the Olympic mascot crying about the Olympics ending, but Seth thinks that he's going back to work...at Russian Chuck E. Cheese.
The next was "Costas Vision", which lampoons the host of NBC's coverage Bob Costas (well, his eyes) and what he sees while he suffered pinkeye. It was kinda funny, but not hilarious. The bobsled part was really funny.
Also, what would happen when Olympics announcers voicing other sports--such as college basketball...and MMA. (Sportsmanship at its finest.)
Another bit, Venn Diagrams, was the one I like even more. I would love to see this more. The funniest Diagram for me was this:
Russia & The NBA--







The GUESTS:
His first guest was fellow former SNL cast member and former Update co-anchor Amy Poehler. She first chatted about their younger selves at SNL, the jokes she said about George Clooney at the Golden Globes, and other thing the did over the years.
It was also hilarious when Amy and Fred become antagonistic after "being past lovers". Talk about a really good reunion. It really was funny and a really warn and fantastic chat between them.
The next guest was Vice President Joe Biden.

The RESULT:
His interview skills seem really good. Having Amy Poehler was a smart idea as the first guest; he really loosens up and gives a really wonderful delivery. Of course, as expected, he'll find his tone soon, so we'll see where he goes from here.
I'll give it another chance to see if he does better when the days progress. I'll wish Seth and the crew the very best of luck. They really will need it.

Favorite Jokes:
The Church Guns Requirement
Russian Chuck E. Cheese--"We're out of Chesse."
Venn Diagrams

Alright everyone. this has been a really fun review. Thanks for joining me, and I'll see you later.
Unless NBC announces another late night talk show, and I'll have to cover that too.
I'm looking at you, Carson Daly.

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