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#Post#: 193--------------------------------------------------
The Late Shift - Bill Carter
By: Chip Date: July 21, 2011, 9:22 pm
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[CENTER]The Late Shift: Letterman, Leno, and the Network Battle
for the Night (1995)
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HTML http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i266/Chiprocks1/Star%20Ratings/HTL_04star.gif[/img]
[IMG]
HTML http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i266/Chiprocks1/Books/Talk%20Shows/TheLateShiftLarge.jpg[/img]
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Shocking, but this is the first time I've ever read this. This
was another one of those books where the majority of the stuff
within it's pages I had already heard about from different
sources over the years: Online forums, Magazines, Entertainment
News Shows, etc... So, for me there really was no desire to give
this one a read. But then I heard that Bill Carter had a new
book out called The War For Late Night, detailing the train
wreck that was Jay Leno Vs. Conan O'Brien. Once I had a copy of
that book in my hand I decided that I might as well start with
The Late Shift and make it a marathon read for myself. And I'm
glad I did just that.
Simply put, The Late Shift is hands down the nuttiest, wackiest
soap opera ever printed on paper. Truth is indeed stranger than
fiction. The stuff that went down was so outlandish that it had
to be made up. And yet, it's all real. The book itself reads
like a roller coaster. There are so many peaks and valleys that
you get dizzy after awhile. But you can't really ever put the
book down at all, no matter how hard you try.
The peaks in the book get to insane heights, and the highest of
them all is of course Helen Kushnick. For those that don't know
about her, she was Jay Leno's manager and Producer of the show
who ruled with an iron fist. Even though this book is about Jay
Leno and David Letterman fighting over who gets the keys to
Johnny Carson desk on The Tonight Show, I believe the real star
of the book is Helen, without a doubt. And once she is ousted
from the show (as well as the book), it does take a big hit that
you end up missing her crazy antics. I did anyways.
The rest of the book continues with the roller coaster ride, but
doesn't ever quite reach the same heights that you get with
Helen at the forefront. This is why it gets a lesser rating from
me. But that's not to say that the rest of the book sucks. There
are still a handful of scenarios that will engage you all the
way to the end: Jay hiding in a closet, David seeking council
from Johnny and of course all the info pertaining to the
pretenders to the throne: Arsenio Hall, Pat Sajak, Chevy Chase,
Dana Carvey, Dennis Miller, etc...Yes, even Conan O'brien is
here. Duh.
This is indeed a very fun, entertaining read that will have you
flipping pages as fast as people were getting fired. I can
easily recommend this to anyone that is a fan of Talk Shows or
Soap Operas. I really hope that The War For Late Night doesn't
disappoint here. But after The Late Shift, it's got a big task
of at least equaling it. I still need to watch the movie version
of The Late Shift. I have seen parts of it over the years, but
never the entire movie all at once.
[CENTER]
Trailer
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXnh4tYpA-U&feature=player_embedded
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#Post#: 16056--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Late Shift - Bill Carter
By: Chiprocks1 Date: January 21, 2013, 2:13 pm
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[center]David Letterman Talks with Johnny Carson about Jay Leno
Hosting 'The Tonight Show'
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLQwp-kTXEg
Man, how I miss Johnny Carson. They still can't replace the
Icon!!!
#Post#: 16057--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Late Shift - Bill Carter
By: Chiprocks1 Date: January 21, 2013, 2:14 pm
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Added Poll
#Post#: 32823--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Late Shift - Bill Carter
By: Neumatic Date: January 9, 2015, 8:28 am
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I just happened upon this flick on Amazon and just started it.
I'll let you know how I like it, but right now I'm surprised to
see that this movie is in HG 16:9.
A couple thoughts right off the bat: I immediately kept thinking
of Norm MacDonald's impression of Dave and Kevin Nealon's
impression of Jay, maybe because I was so used to that. It
actually reminded me of "W," how we were so used to Will
Ferrell's impression that it was strange seeing Josh Brolin do
it. And maybe it's a combination of the time period and the
actors not looking that much like their characters, but they
look like the real life versions of the caricatures that
appeared on Pinky And The Brain.
THis might be the first time I can recall seeing Peter Jurasik
without that weird hair/wig he sported on Babylon 5 (he was
wonderful on that show).
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