"You're doing things that haven't been done on late-night television for 20 years," guest Jeffrey Ross said in mock appreciation of the host of ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live." "Things like saying, 'And now, I'd like to welcome my first guest, Corey Feldman.'" For Jimmy Kimmel fans such as myself, the line is altogether accurate, hysterical and tragic.
Seated on the guest couches at the time of Ross' quip were Feldman, Ross and Kathy Griffin. I couldn't get "Taps" out of my head. Somewhere, Chevy Chase was cleaning up his apartment. He's gotta be expecting company.
It's not good when I watch television and say, "I can do that," which happens when Judge Judy scolds an auto mechanic and Jimmy Kimmel host a live talk show. His mastery of puppets, Crank Yankers, always made me bust a gut. Same with The Man Show, which, at times, also made me bust a nut. "Jimmy Kimmel Live" does neither, and too often I ask myself, "How could it be over? I haven't even laughed yet."
Why the show is live I'll never know. Clearly it's a gimmick, since almost none of the show is written around that aspect. And while the live airing distinguishes itself, it runs the risk of extinguishing itself with poor delivery and botched sketches.
After two weeks, I can't recall a single bit I thought was genius, and the second-funniest line was also delivered by Ross: "I was in Hollywood the other day and saw some guy pissing on Rosie O'Donnell's star on the Walk of Fame. I said, 'Dude, show some respect. Next time take a dump.'"
I don't think it'll be very long before ABC takes a dump.
In Five Words of Less: Kimmel's Best on Comedy Central
Links:
Couch! Kimmel Hurts — The New York Daily News reports on how Kimmel's guests are being blocked by rival networks.
ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Strikes Out — Jon Friedman of CBS.MarketWatch.com listed Kimmel as one of the "People to Watch" in the media for 2003. Now he says "'Jimmy Kimmel Live' may just be the least funny talk show I've ever seen."
Behind the Scenes of Jimmy Kimmel Live — Humor columnist Joel Stein spent a week as a writer for "The Man Show." He catches up with his old boss and learns that for him to be a guest, ''every member of every reality show that ever aired would have to cancel.''
'Kimmel Live' Shows Few Signs of Long Life — The Kansas City Star's Aaron Barnhardt sees no more promise in the show than I do.
Official Show Page — Lists the guests each night. On Wednesday's show were Jolene Blalock, Patton Oswalt and Talib Kweli. I still don't know who they are.
I really expected a lot out of this show. And I keep watching it night after night expecting it to get better. As much as I hate to admit it, you're right, his best work has definitely been on Comedy Central. Minus Kathy, every co-host has been more entertaining than Jimmy. Even his role on "Win Ben Stein's Money" was better than this.
Kimmel has his moments, but it's obvious network TV has him acting much too reserved. Maybe he'll hand the gig over to the Armenian Comedian, he actually makes me laugh (although not at his actual jokes).
Posted by Ryan at February 13, 2003 3:16 AM