An American Talk Show Host in Paris: Craig Ferguson Takes His Show on the Road

Credit: Tomas Van Houtryve for The New York Times

“I hope what I do has an art to it, and as an artist you have to try new things and keep yourself entertained,”- Craig Ferguson, TV artist, discusses taping his "Late Late Show" in  Paris last week with Maïa De La Baume of The Times.

"Le Late Late Show avec Craig Ferguson"(seriously, that's what they're calling it) airs the week of Aug 1st on CBS. Read more about Craig's immensely DVR-worthy week abroad here. It sounds as dope as dope gets. I can't wait!

In Case You Missed It: When Olbermann Met Colbert

Thanks to Lisa De Moraes' The TV Column for the embed as I did in fact miss this enjoyable sit-down between smartly-spectacled bloviators Stephen Colbert and Keith Olbermann. Keith was on to plug the new Current TV reboot of  "Countdown" (premieres Mon, June 20th at 8pm EST) while Stephen happily went about his usual practice of busting balls.

I typically prefer Stewart's sarcasm to Colbert's caricature, but in this clip he's perfect, rendering Olbermann downright demure.

You know it's a worthwhile clip when the host informs his guest: "You're universally regarded as insane!"

Watch:

The Colbert Report
Tags: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

An Etsy Find For Tellyphiles

I just moved to a swankier zip code (by swanky I mean you're a lot less likely to hear sirens in the background of my phone calls). I'm also paying swankier rent which sucks and makes conversation pieces like this out of my financial reach. You see, I'm busy working towards the lofty pursuit of actually owning a brand new, store-bought sofa.   

To be honest my current living room TV set isn't that far off from this "wowee" vintage Zenith my Etsy-addicted sister found and tauntingly thoughtfully brought to my attention. She writes:

Dear Sister,
So, I found this on Etsy yesterday (see link below). I thought it would be the PERFECT housewarming present, buuuuut since I don't have $100 to ship it, let alone the $375 to buy it, I decided to gift it to you in another form: you can post it on tellyphile! 

You're welcome. Don't say I never gave you anything.
And yes, feel free to quote me on the blog. 

Your favorite older sister,
Dana Lindsay Greenidge

And don't say I never gave anything to you, dear tellyphiles. Send me a pic when it has a starring role at your place.

Dana, you made the blog. How crazy is that?!

As Seen on TV: Lil Wayne does MTV "Unplugged"

Everybody's talking about Lil Wayne's "Unplugged" premiere on MTV last night. You can watch each performance on demand here. Props to MTV for creating a show that has been around for more than two decades and remains relevant and unmarred (sorry, "Real World") as today's buzz proves. Check out the simplicity of the staging and the way they've immersed Wayne in the crowd.

Also, I like that the director gave us lots of chances to take Wayne in. He is such an fascinatingly weird looking hobbit of a dude when you really take the time to look at him and yet he commands the crowd like a true rock star. He's sort of like Bob Dylan in that way.  To see what I'm talking about, watch Wayne's cover of Tupac's "Hail Mary" with lots of closeups starring his insane diamond encrusted grill.

Tags: Lil Wayne, Music, More Music Videos

The other standout...

As Seen On TV: "I Believe" from "The Book of Mormon" on the 2011 Tony Awards

Preparing to watch Romney tap dance in the first Republican debate on CNN tonight--"Yes, I did usher in a healthcare system in Massachusetts that bears a striking resemblance to Obamacare, but hear me out, my Tea Party babies, I can explain."--I am reminded of another outstanding performance featuring a Mormon character from last night's Tony Awards.

Watch Best Leading Actor in a Musical-nominee Andrew Rannells as the perfectly earnest Elder Price singing "I Believe" from "The Book of Mormon" below: