MO
Bit shouty. Never been able to stay up that late.
Well I know that many people will sample his efforts on the 1st episode, but that wont be much to go by, as he will be super nervous and probably wont have developed his own style and get comfortable with the job. That usually the case. Needs a year or so to bed in probably.
When Wendy Williams jumped from radio to tv. It wasnt pretty for the first few months. Now she is brilliant. She is not as shocking as her radio persona, but she still "goes in" when she has to. Give James time. Hopefully he'll get there.
Well I know that many people will sample his efforts on the 1st episode, but that wont be much to go by, as he will be super nervous and probably wont have developed his own style and get comfortable with the job. That usually the case. Needs a year or so to bed in probably.
When Wendy Williams jumped from radio to tv. It wasnt pretty for the first few months. Now she is brilliant. She is not as shocking as her radio persona, but she still "goes in" when she has to. Give James time. Hopefully he'll get there.
LL
The problem is Fallon is that he has that vibe, but also has a very neutral facial expression when he does it. The enthusiasm doesn't match the mannerisms. Corden seems genuinely enthusiastic, but I can see where you're coming from.
Corden has a touch of that Jimmy Fallon 'OH MY GOD THIS IS SO AWESOME, I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT EVERYTHING!' vibe.
The problem is Fallon is that he has that vibe, but also has a very neutral facial expression when he does it. The enthusiasm doesn't match the mannerisms. Corden seems genuinely enthusiastic, but I can see where you're coming from.
PA
Liking the new set. Looks very Graham Norton - no desk, guests all out at once on a sofa, etc. Very nice backdrop too. For the first time it looks like The Late Late Show got a big enough budget to look nice set-wise and they now have a house band for the first time ever.
I'm 50/50 over whether Corden will pull this off but let's see where we are after seeing the first episode and after six months into the job.
I'm 50/50 over whether Corden will pull this off but let's see where we are after seeing the first episode and after six months into the job.
LL
I'm currently watching it on the CBS website. Frankly, he's taking to it like a duck to water as far as I can tell. He comes across as warm and friendly during the monologue with his nervousness not surpassing any further than some humble chuckles at his own jokes, and the sketch with the golden ticket is brilliant.
I don't think his enthusiasm should be compared to Jimmy Fallon. He comes across a lot more sincere than Jimmy does, and especially after how we've seen him on shows in the UK, you can tell it's genuine. I do have to say that I'm not overly keen on the "all the guests on at the same time" system, but I don't like it regardless of the show. I always find that if you only have one guest that you like, they're drowned out by the other guests that you don't like. Or if there's one guest you despise, they ruin it for everybody else. One positive though is if they keep it to two guests at a time (which it seems to be with the addition of a musical guest) then those problems shouldn't become too apparent.
The chat segment is split up by a segment with Tom Hanks where he and Corden pay tribute to Tom's movie performances by re-enacting extracts from them in quick succession, and it's showing off James' comedic abilities as well as his apparent ability to bond with his guests.
Reggie Watts seems to be getting little exposure past providing the music. There was a brief moment where James asked him what was coming up across the week, but that was all. Frankly, I've seen Reggie on Russell Howard's Good News, and any more exposure than that would've spoilt things. The closing ballad was pretty lovely. It's not as funny as a Scottish man conversing with a robot skeleton, but at least it lasts a bit longer.
Lasting impressions? I'm very impressed. Coming from somebody who actually likes James Corden, I had doubts about how successful this would be. But he's proving himself to be well worth the risk after day one. As for the show itself, the production value seems to have skyrocketed. Whether this is because it's now a CBS production as opposed to Worldwide Pants, I don't know, but it works better for it.
All in all, the sooner a UK broadcaster picks this up, the better.
I don't think his enthusiasm should be compared to Jimmy Fallon. He comes across a lot more sincere than Jimmy does, and especially after how we've seen him on shows in the UK, you can tell it's genuine. I do have to say that I'm not overly keen on the "all the guests on at the same time" system, but I don't like it regardless of the show. I always find that if you only have one guest that you like, they're drowned out by the other guests that you don't like. Or if there's one guest you despise, they ruin it for everybody else. One positive though is if they keep it to two guests at a time (which it seems to be with the addition of a musical guest) then those problems shouldn't become too apparent.
The chat segment is split up by a segment with Tom Hanks where he and Corden pay tribute to Tom's movie performances by re-enacting extracts from them in quick succession, and it's showing off James' comedic abilities as well as his apparent ability to bond with his guests.
Reggie Watts seems to be getting little exposure past providing the music. There was a brief moment where James asked him what was coming up across the week, but that was all. Frankly, I've seen Reggie on Russell Howard's Good News, and any more exposure than that would've spoilt things. The closing ballad was pretty lovely. It's not as funny as a Scottish man conversing with a robot skeleton, but at least it lasts a bit longer.
Lasting impressions? I'm very impressed. Coming from somebody who actually likes James Corden, I had doubts about how successful this would be. But he's proving himself to be well worth the risk after day one. As for the show itself, the production value seems to have skyrocketed. Whether this is because it's now a CBS production as opposed to Worldwide Pants, I don't know, but it works better for it.
All in all, the sooner a UK broadcaster picks this up, the better.
JC
"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" must be the phrase being bandied around the Tonight show offices this morning. The show is incredibly Fallon influenced but he's very good at it and it was certainly more enjoyable than Late Night with Seth Meyers which, after a year, is still the bladnest show of them all.