3 ms·

I was watching that while my wife overheard and commented on how funny he was. Meanwhile UK TV prime time talk shows only have reality TV people, and film peo

I was watching that while my wife overheard and commented on how funny he was. Meanwhile UK TV prime time talk shows only have reality TV people, and film people (both times I avoided the word 'star' deliberately). Most of them are dull-as-a-door-mat, and so the show relies on the host saying outrageous things to them. There must be some people left in the world who are both funny and smart.

Cyph0n 8y ago
David Letterman was just good. The majority of US talk shows work exactly as you describe.
- adventured 8y ago
  Carson was even better than Letterman (by Letterman's admission as well). That style of late show - and I suspect the soil it requires to thrive - seems to have entirely disappeared from the culture.
- tomjakubowski 8y ago
  everyone has to see the Nathan For You episode "The Anecdote", where he constructs a perfect "talk show anecdote" for his appearance on Jimmy Kimmel, and then retroactively orchestrates the bizarre events of his anecdote in real life so that they "actually" happened to him. the supercut of several nearly identical, and obviously fake, stories told by "real" celebrities on late night talk shows is amazing. https://www.avclub.com/nathan-stages-the-perfect-talk-show-anecdote-on-a-stunn-1819702888 https://www.avclub.com/nathan-stages-the-perfect-talk-show-a... see also: his later appearance on Seth Myers where he explains the deal and then re-tells the anecdote. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L7GsGc5adk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L7GsGc5adk
jogjayr 8y ago
Asimov was a well-regarded, in-demand public speaker. It's been a long time since I read his autobiography but I think talks and lectures were one of his major sources of income after writing. It's not surprising that he seems good at being interesting in-person, on-camera.
- DelightOne 8y ago
  He wasn‘t able live off of 221 books, or did I miss something?
  - jogjayr 8y ago
    He actually ended up with close to 400 by the time he died :-) If someone offers you a nice fat check to talk about science and make jokes for an hour, would you turn it down? No matter how many books you'd already written?
    - setpatchaddress 8y ago
      Also, it’s clear from his biographies that he genuinely enjoyed speaking.
    - DelightOne 8y ago
      I wondered more about whether he Had To(with that many books under his belt) or whether he just did it for enjoyment. Turning it down? Depends on whether the audience and the participants are any good.
      - jogjayr 8y ago
        Sorry, I thought it was obvious that for a guy like Asimov, talking science and telling jokes were both enjoyable activities :-) . Yes liked doing it - it wasn't forced on him by economic hardship. > Depends on whether the audience and the participants are any good. Presumably anyone that books a talk by a renowned science, mystery, and sci-fi writer knows exactly what they're getting - and wants exactly that. It's not like getting a pop star to make an appearance at your event.
        DelightOne 8y ago
        > it wasn't forced on him by economic hardship. What I wondered about! Thanks > Presumably anyone that books a talk by a renowned science, mystery, and sci-fi writer With the talkshows lately I'm not so sure, some might just want to look a little more authoritative/persuasive. Nonetheless good point.

Cyph0n 8y ago

David Letterman was just good. The majority of US talk shows work exactly as you describe.

adventured 8y ago
Carson was even better than Letterman (by Letterman's admission as well). That style of late show - and I suspect the soil it requires to thrive - seems to have entirely disappeared from the culture.
tomjakubowski 8y ago
everyone has to see the Nathan For You episode "The Anecdote", where he constructs a perfect "talk show anecdote" for his appearance on Jimmy Kimmel, and then retroactively orchestrates the bizarre events of his anecdote in real life so that they "actually" happened to him. the supercut of several nearly identical, and obviously fake, stories told by "real" celebrities on late night talk shows is amazing. https://www.avclub.com/nathan-stages-the-perfect-talk-show-anecdote-on-a-stunn-1819702888 https://www.avclub.com/nathan-stages-the-perfect-talk-show-a... see also: his later appearance on Seth Myers where he explains the deal and then re-tells the anecdote. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L7GsGc5adk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L7GsGc5adk

jogjayr 8y ago

Asimov was a well-regarded, in-demand public speaker. It's been a long time since I read his autobiography but I think talks and lectures were one of his major sources of income after writing. It's not surprising that he seems good at being interesting in-person, on-camera.

DelightOne 8y ago
He wasn‘t able live off of 221 books, or did I miss something?
- jogjayr 8y ago
  He actually ended up with close to 400 by the time he died :-) If someone offers you a nice fat check to talk about science and make jokes for an hour, would you turn it down? No matter how many books you'd already written?
  - setpatchaddress 8y ago
    Also, it’s clear from his biographies that he genuinely enjoyed speaking.
  - DelightOne 8y ago
    I wondered more about whether he Had To(with that many books under his belt) or whether he just did it for enjoyment. Turning it down? Depends on whether the audience and the participants are any good.
    - jogjayr 8y ago
      Sorry, I thought it was obvious that for a guy like Asimov, talking science and telling jokes were both enjoyable activities :-) . Yes liked doing it - it wasn't forced on him by economic hardship. > Depends on whether the audience and the participants are any good. Presumably anyone that books a talk by a renowned science, mystery, and sci-fi writer knows exactly what they're getting - and wants exactly that. It's not like getting a pop star to make an appearance at your event.
      - DelightOne 8y ago
        > it wasn't forced on him by economic hardship. What I wondered about! Thanks > Presumably anyone that books a talk by a renowned science, mystery, and sci-fi writer With the talkshows lately I'm not so sure, some might just want to look a little more authoritative/persuasive. Nonetheless good point.