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Late Night
- 460 statements
- 89 feature instances
- 60 referencing feature instances
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Late Night is a NBC late-night (specifically, 12:35-1:35 AM) Talk Show franchise and (as the above quote will tell you) training ground for other networks' 11:35 hosts. Began in 1973 as The Tomorrow Show hosted by Tom Snyder, but replaced in 1982 due to lower ratings and stations dropping it for Reruns with the current format. Originally hosted by David Letterman in the 1980s and early '90s. When Johnny Carson stepped down in 1992, Letterman expected to inherit The Tonight Show. Instead, NBC gave it to Jay Leno, previously a regular guest host, and Letterman jumped ship to CBS, taking the show lock, stock and barrel with him. That is, aside from the title "Late Night", which was owned by NBC. Letterman's new show, The Late Show with David Letterman, was placed opposite Leno's Tonight Show. NBC initially wanted Saturday Night Live alumnus Dana Carvey to fill Letterman's old post; when that didn't happen, they gave the job (for reasons nobody was quite sure of at the time) to an unknown writer for SNL and The Simpsons named Conan O'Brien.O'Brien was largely not expected to last much longer than a week, and indeed was on the verge of cancellation for years, with the fact that there was nobody to replace him the only saving factor. (The critical consensus, O'Brien included, is that the show was terrible for its first three years.) However, O'Brien grew into the role and ended up hosting for nearly sixteen years. NBC made darn sure not to lose another Late Night host to a rival network and plans were drawn up as early as 2004 for him to take over The Tonight Show. After O'Brien did inherit The Tonight Show in 2009, Late Night went to former SNL cast member Jimmy Fallon (who if he's smart had alternate names for all his characters and routines memorized or on undated handwritten papers kept strictly in his home, even though they turned out not to be needed. Yet.)In 2010, The Tonight Show and The Jay Leno Show touched off what the media (and many viewers) termed the 'Late-Night War'; basically, Conan O'Brien made a lateral move to host The Tonight Show, and Leno moved up to an earlier timeslot to helm The Jay Leno Show.After the switch, Leno and O'Brien's ratings began a serious decline; NBC's response was to shorten The Jay Leno Show to thirty minutes and move it from its 10:00 timeslot to 11:35, and move Tonight from 11:35 to a new 12:05 timeslot.The new schedule didn't sit well with O'Brien, who refused to participate in what he called the wholesale destruction of The Tonight Show, which would also bump other programs back by thirty minutes (and possibly remove one from the late-night roster altogether). NBC reportedly gave him the option to accept the timeslot or leave the network; faced with the choice-that-was-not, O'Brien negotiated with NBC for a forty-five million dollar 'walk away' deal, and left NBC entirely, later signing with TBS.Unlike many late night hosts during the conflict, Jimmy Fallon largely resisted jumping into the fray, as he considers both Leno and O'Brien good friends. Fallon took over The Tonight Show in early 2014 when Leno re-retired and was replaced at Late Night by Seth Meyers, also an SNL alum.Not to be confused with the 2019 film of the same name, although it does revolve around a late-night talk show. | |
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Late Night / int_131650cb | type |
If I Wanted X, I Would Y | |
Late Night / int_131650cb | comment |
If I Wanted X, I Would Y: During a "Ya Burnt" segment about cucumbers, Seth quips, "If I didn’t want to taste anything while eating, I would just get COVID." | |
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Late Night / int_14c3ced2 | type |
Bad Impressionists | |
Late Night / int_14c3ced2 | comment |
Bad Impressionists: When talking about Rudy Giuliani's nonsensical speech at the 20th anniversary of 9/11, during which the former NYC Mayor did a strange impression of Queen Elizabeth, Seth plays a montage to show that all of Rudy's impressions sound the same: just him moving stiffly and using a gruffer version of his regular voice, all the while sounding nothing like the people he was supposedly imitating. | |
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Late Night / int_1667cb1 | type |
Calvinball | |
Late Night / int_1667cb1 | comment |
Calvinball: The "Wheel of Carpet Samples" game. Even worse, the "losers" get $300 Apple Store gift cards, while the "winner" gets a carpet sample. Taken further with "Wheel of Game Shows", where the joke is that everyone loses because of an Unexpectedly Obscure Answer, or Fallon not explaining the rules for a game at all (i.e. "Brownie Points", where he only hands out plates of brownies and expects the contestants to know what to do next). | |
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All According to Plan | |
Late Night / int_167bd2ca | comment |
All According to Plan: In the first episode following Donald Trump's indictment for the Stormy Daniels payment, Seth mentions that for seven years people have been blaming him for Trump's presidency because of his comments at the 2011 White House Correspondents Dinner, and claims that this was his plan from the beginning: | |
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Late Night / int_1af2b763 | type |
Celebrity Resemblance | |
Late Night / int_1af2b763 | comment |
Celebrity Resemblance: During one "A Closer Look" segment that mentioned Joe Biden getting his own figure at the Disney Hall of Presidents, Seth noticed that close to Biden's figure is the one of Franklin Pierce (it's the one immediately at the left of Biden's◊), and that it bears an uncanny resemblance to Seth himself. While understandably not exactly thrilled by it, given that Pierce is considered one of the worst presidents due to his and James Buchanan's actions being credited with hastening The American Civil War, he does point out that Piece is also considered to have been one of the most handsome presidents. He then caps it off by showing a picture of the aforementioned Buchanan … that is, a picure of Buchanan with Jimmy Fallon's face photoshopped in. | |
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Late Night / int_1e7c47ab | type |
Stealth Pun | |
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Stealth Pun: He often wore a letterman jacket during his taped segments. | |
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Late Night / int_240fd641 | type |
Long-Runner Cast Turnover | |
Late Night / int_240fd641 | comment |
Long-Runner Cast Turnover: Has had four hosts - five if you count its predecessor, Tomorrow with Tom Snyder. | |
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Late Night / int_24a045cd | type |
Wants a Prize for Basic Decency | |
Late Night / int_24a045cd | comment |
Wants a Prize for Basic Decency: Inverted;note "Gives Out Prizes for Basic Decency?" Seth notes how often the mainstream media is willing to forgive everything Trump does whenever Trump makes a speech without resorting to his usual anger and invective; even though Trump inevitably relapses back into his usual ways, and the reserved tone of the speeches does not mean that his policy has changed for the best, the media will still praise Trump and claim that he's turning a positive corner. | |
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Only in Florida | |
Late Night / int_25c60be7 | comment |
Only in Florida: "Fake or Florida?", where audience contestants have to guess if a sample newspiece is an actual story from Florida or a fake story. | |
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My Parents Are Dead | |
Late Night / int_267a0440 | comment |
My Parents Are Dead: Milked to the extreme in the sketch "Seth Brings Jon Snow to a Dinner Party". Jon Snow, a hero from Game of Thrones, is unable to make small talk with New Yorkers. Whatever the other guests bring up, Jon has something very bleak to say about himself ("My mother is so and so" — "I'm a bastard, so I never knew my mother." & "Your father sounds like a very impressive guy" — "My father's head was chopped off." & "Do you have any siblings?" — "My brother was stabbed to death at his own wedding." & "You remind me of my first love, Ygritte" — "So tell me bout Ygritte." — "She shot me with three arrows and then a child murdered her in cold blood.") | |
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Late Night / int_26eb6287 | type |
Funny Background Event | |
Late Night / int_26eb6287 | comment |
Funny Background Event: Invoked in the closing of the "A Closer Look" segment regarding Trump firing John Bolton. As Seth summarizes the situation of Donald Trump hiring Bolton in the first place, next to him are a bunch of clips of "Mascot Fails". | |
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Late Night / int_27a42ebc | type |
Spiritual Successor | |
Late Night / int_27a42ebc | comment |
Now has a Spiritual Successor in the notecard that Seth reads off that week's Corrections from, where the text on the back is different every week. | |
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Muppet Cameo | |
Late Night / int_28ceeb9d | comment |
Muppet Cameo: There have been quite a few Sesame Street characters coming to visit. In his very last scene on Late Night, he accompanied the Muppets on drums as they sang "The Weight" by The Band, and then he left the stage and walked down a hallway(with the camera following) to the set of The Tonight Show. | |
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Late Night / int_295087bf | type |
Non-Indicative Name | |
Late Night / int_295087bf | comment |
Non-Indicative Name: Technically, it airs in the early morning. | |
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Late Night / int_2a090d00 | type |
Lampshade Hanging | |
Late Night / int_2a090d00 | comment |
The recurring segment "One of My Writers Explains a Joke" is about lampshading the subversions, alongside Lampshaded the Obscure Reference. | |
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Late Night / int_33f1c576 | type |
Not Helping Your Case | |
Late Night / int_33f1c576 | comment |
Not Helping Your Case: When discussing the controversy over whether or not Rudy Giuliani was drunk at his 9/11 memorial speech: | |
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Late Night / int_37499c8 | type |
OnceAnEpisode | |
Late Night / int_37499c8 | comment |
Once an Episode: A mug with a logo from an NBC affiliate is on his desk nightly. | |
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Late Night / int_406b2a2e | type |
The Talk Show with Host Name | |
Late Night / int_406b2a2e | comment |
The Talk Show with Host Name: All incarnations of the show are known as "Late Night with" followed by the host's name. | |
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Late Night / int_40bb59d0 | type |
Blatant Lies | |
Late Night / int_40bb59d0 | comment |
Blatant Lies: A frequent theme with "Fred Talks" is Fred Armisen talking about how he had done something that either is suspiciously similar to some event that happened recently at the time (e.g. after New Jersey Governor Chris Christie had a public altercation with a man during a sports game, Fred said that he had an altercation with Christie too) or something that either it's highly improbable or flat-out impossible (e.g. saying that he would host a BBQ in the sky). | |
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Late Night / int_415b3315 | type |
Stylistic Suck | |
Late Night / int_415b3315 | comment |
Stylistic Suck: Quite a few recurring bits are meant as intentional snark fodder, e.g. "Dwight the Troubled Teen," an obvious thirtysomething who spouts tritely angsty lines in a letter jacket. | |
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Late Night / int_42a87000 | type |
Unexpectedly Obscure Answer | |
Late Night / int_42a87000 | comment |
Taken further with "Wheel of Game Shows", where the joke is that everyone loses because of an Unexpectedly Obscure Answer, or Fallon not explaining the rules for a game at all (i.e. "Brownie Points", where he only hands out plates of brownies and expects the contestants to know what to do next). | |
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Late Night / int_43273c71 | type |
LongRunner | |
Late Night / int_43273c71 | comment |
Long Runner: It's been running continuously since 1982. | |
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Late Night / int_453871ec | type |
What Could Have Been | |
Late Night / int_453871ec | comment |
One night, he pretended it was The Morning Show with Dave & Tawny (perhaps a statement on his ill-fated eponymous 1980 series)...and actually seemed like a pretty decent idea. Apparently Dave himself was very impressed with this episode. Generally when he would announce that the next night's episode was a repeat, he'd say it's "Just a lousy re-run, don't bother tuning in". But when announcing "The Morning Show" episode's re-showing, he suggested people giving it another viewing. | |
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Late Night / int_462ea851 | type |
Straw Fan | |
Late Night / int_462ea851 | comment |
Straw Fan: Predominantly used by Letterman to mock his audience in the "Viewer Mail" segments. | |
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Late Night / int_4c8d0294 | type |
Oh, the Humanity! | |
Late Night / int_4c8d0294 | comment |
Oh, the Humanity!: Directly parodied with the "Who Cares Hindenburg". After bringing up some useless news stories, usually celebrity gossip, Fallon declares that all those stories are going into the "Who Cares Hindenburg". Then we see Stock Footage of the Hindenburg exploding while an announcer sarcastically mourns the loss of all those stories, ending with "Oh, the humanity! WHO CARES?!" | |
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Late Night / int_4ddd4d1a | type |
Swivel-Chair Antics | |
Late Night / int_4ddd4d1a | comment |
Swivel-Chair Antics: Dave and Paul have raced down the halls of NBC on fire extinguisher powered office chairs. | |
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Late Night / int_59204dfb | type |
Greeting Gesture Confusion | |
Late Night / int_59204dfb | comment |
Greeting Gesture Confusion: The infamous "GE Corporate Handshake". In 1986, after General Electric bought NBC, Letterman tried to start his relationship with his new employers on the right foot by delivering a fruit basket to GE's corporate headquarters. Security told him he needed official approval to enter the building. After getting tired of waiting he walked into the lobby, where he was confronted by a manager who told him to turn his camera off. When Dave and director Hal Gurnee both tried to shake the manager's hand, the manager held out his hand, then quickly pulled it away. | |
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Late Night / int_643659d4 | type |
Spit Take | |
Late Night / int_643659d4 | comment |
Spit Take: Inverted in one scene where Seth talks about how he was so unsurprised by a recent story that water spontaneously jumped into his mouth. Cue a clip that's obviously a Spit Take played backward. | |
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Late Night / int_670db7d7 | type |
Formula-Breaking Episode | |
Late Night / int_670db7d7 | comment |
Formula-Breaking Episode: Late Night would sometimes stage an entire episode in a bizarre, novel way. One night, he pretended it was The Morning Show with Dave & Tawny (perhaps a statement on his ill-fated eponymous 1980 series)...and actually seemed like a pretty decent idea. Apparently Dave himself was very impressed with this episode. Generally when he would announce that the next night's episode was a repeat, he'd say it's "Just a lousy re-run, don't bother tuning in". But when announcing "The Morning Show" episode's re-showing, he suggested people giving it another viewing. On another occasion, he let the audience vote via applause for a "custom-built show". The resulting episode featured the theme from Gilligan's Island, Dave and his guests sitting in lawn chairs, Larry "Bud" Melman walking through 30 Rock in a bear suit, and closing credits with the names of the members of that night's studio audience Still another episode was an "upside-down show" where the camera rotated 360 degrees throughout the course of the hour. Not to mention the 4 AM show, which was taped at, you guessed it, 4 in the morning. The show featured an introduction from Hillary Rodham Clinton, Dave entering on a horse, rat catching in the streets of Manhattan, and a guided tour of one of the guest's neighbourhood. | |
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Late Night / int_6b35bdff | type |
Serious Business | |
Late Night / int_6b35bdff | comment |
Serious Business: Taking something dumb and treating it with deadpan seriousness was an early staple of Letterman's comedy, probably exemplified when he devoted a whole week in 1983 to showcasing "the world's largest vase" on his show, culminating with the vase itself giving a poignant But Now I Must Go speech promoting world peace as the show's misty-eyed crew gathered around it onstage. | |
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Late Night / int_6b92d74d | type |
Correction Bait | |
Late Night / int_6b92d74d | comment |
Correction Bait: Shows up a lot in the "Corrections" videos, with Seth making inaccurate statements that are clearly intended to rile up the "jackals" the segment is made for. In one case he talks about Michelangelo painting The Mona Lisa. | |
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Late Night / int_71e514b5 | type |
Don't Try This at Home | |
Late Night / int_71e514b5 | comment |
Don't Try This at Home: Warning disclaimer for many Late Night stunts in the 1980s. Occasionally subverted by Letterman with the addendum "Go to a friend's house instead." | |
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Late Night / int_7301ae04 | type |
Serial Killer | |
Late Night / int_7301ae04 | comment |
Many jokes like this are made at the expense of Trump's policy advisor Stephen Miller, whose appearance, personality, and policies lead to him being compared to a demon, vampire, or Serial Killer. | |
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Late Night / int_74d46396 | type |
OrphanedPunchLine | |
Late Night / int_74d46396 | comment |
Orphaned Punch Line: A 1985 episode has guest Johnny Carson delivering the punchline to a joke that he'd started on The Tonight Show earlier that night: "And the man says to Mrs. O'Hara, 'I'm not so sure about that, he got out three times to go to the bathroom'."note The first part of the joke — A man knocks on the door of Mrs. O'Hara and says, "I'm sorry to be the one to tell you, but your husband died today after falling into a vat of beer." Mrs. O'Hara says, "Oh no! Well...at least he died quickly." | |
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N-Word Privileges | |
Late Night / int_7815ba15 | comment |
N-Word Privileges: The segment "Jokes Seth Can't Tell" attempts to circumvent this via Loophole Abuse, bringing out two female writers — Amber Ruffin, who's black, and Jenny Hagel, who's gay — to deliver the punchlines of jokes that would seem inappropriate coming from a straight white man.note Jenny also fields the punchlines of any jokes about Hispanic people or Catholics. The sketch always ends with Amber and Jenny encouraging Seth to tell one of the jokes himself, getting deeply offended by it when he does, and the whole thing devolving into a shouting match. The final dialogue is always the same, and is always hilariously over-the-top: | |
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Late Night / int_7bfff4ca | type |
Mock Headroom | |
Late Night / int_7bfff4ca | comment |
Mock Headroom: In two 1986 episodes, Letterman brings out a television featuring recurring character Larry Bud Melman dressed as Max Headroom and nicknamed "Larry Bud Headroom". | |
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Obviously Evil | |
Late Night / int_7c0bfb83 | comment |
Obviously Evil: Many jokes like this are made at the expense of Trump's policy advisor Stephen Miller, whose appearance, personality, and policies lead to him being compared to a demon, vampire, or Serial Killer. Seth also notes that many Trump associates who get indicted in corruption scandals also happen to "look like gangsters in a Tex Avery cartoon." | |
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Late Night / int_7c9dcc1 | type |
THeUnfavorite | |
Late Night / int_7c9dcc1 | comment |
Eric Trump (and sometimes Tiffany) getting treated as The Unfavorite of the President's children, which, while a staple of other late-night comedians as well, is punctuated by Seth by always giving Eric a Simpleton Voice that paints him as The Igor. | |
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Impossibly Cool Clothes | |
Late Night / int_7f3be191 | comment |
Impossibly Cool Clothes: For a while in the 80s David had a number of special suits. Sitting in a giant bowl he was doused with barrels of milk while wearing a Suit of Rice Krispies; Hoisted by a crane he was placed in a giant glass of water wearing a Suit of Alka-Seltzer; And perhaps most famous of all - he jumped off a trampoline on to a wall while wearing a Suit of Velcro to see if he'd stick. He did. As Letterman himself freely admitted, these were inspired by Steve Allen, who during his run as host of The Tonight Show, once sat in a giant tea cup with warm water and 200 lemon wedges while wearing a Suit of Teabags. | |
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Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking | |
Late Night / int_808cbaeb | comment |
Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: In a late 2017 episode, Seth speaks out against Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore, whom he calls "a lawless theocrat who said that homosexual conduct should be illegal and that a Muslim member of congress shouldn’t be seated because of his religion, not to mention the fact that [Moore] dresses like a judge at a chili cook-off!" In an early 2018 episode, Seth expressed skepticism at Trump's claiming to have compromising information on Senator John Tester. On the day of Trump's impeachment, Seth opened the "A Closer Look" segment with a list of Trump's illegal and immoral actions as President, lasting over half a minute and ending with "...and drove his golf cart onto the green." And again in the first episode following Trump's indictment for the Stormy Daniels hush money payment. In response to a clip from Eric Trump claiming that, "at some point, the guy deserves a pass": Used twice in quick succession in January 2024, in response to Trump making claims that the President should have total immunity even for actions that "cross the line": | |
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Exactly What It Says on the Tin | |
Late Night / int_8409a385 | comment |
Once he moves into what he dubs "The Captain's Quarters" (a room in his in-laws house), the debate over Seth's controversial new sidekick, a talking painting of a sea captain called the Sea Captain and whether he is a welcome addition or an annoyance. | |
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Didn't Think This Through | |
Late Night / int_8d0785d5 | comment |
Didn't Think This Through: One episode has Wally interrupt A Closer Look to plug his new kids book, a Where's Wally? rip-off (actually called Where's Wally?) featuring pictures of himself in the studio. Leaving aside the obvious legal issues of publishing a book by that name (which may not have been part of the joke, since it's not quite clear whether anyone involved with it knew that Waldo was originally called Wally and still is outside the US), it apparently didn't occur to him to include pictures of himself anywhere other than where he always is anyway (i.e, standing next to the camera holding cue cards). When Seth points this out, Wally pauses for a moment before sarcastically replying, "Thanks for ruining my book, Seth." | |
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Swapped Roles | |
Late Night / int_8d612fe6 | comment |
Swapped Roles: In the fiftieth "Jokes Seth Can't Tell" segment, Amber and Jenny arrange to read the setups and force Seth to read the punchlines instead, ending on Seth encouraging Amber and Jenny to read a joke which turns out to be at his expense. Seth was completely unprepared for this, having previously rehearsed with a different script. | |
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The Bus Came Back | |
Late Night / int_927b2f11 | comment |
The Bus Came Back: Dave made a number of guest appearances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, complementing Conan on being able to successfully put his own spin on the Late Night set and formula. During his Letterman tribute on the episode of Conan that aired opposite the final The Late Show with David Letterman, O'Brien recalled being a "national punchline at 30" during the disastrous first months of his Late Night, and credited Letterman's return appearance and verbal approval of all the changes they made for turning things around for his career. He also showed up as the main guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers for February 1, 2022—the 40th anniversary of his Late Night debut. | |
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Cross-Cast Role | |
Late Night / int_985d3ad0 | comment |
Crosscast Role: The "Real Wives of Late Night" have the cast of the show playing their wives. Lampshaded when the Indianapolis Colts' wives (the players also in drag) come over for a party and Higgins wife offhandedly mentions they look like dudes. | |
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Late Night / int_9ae0cca6 | type |
Character Blog | |
Late Night / int_9ae0cca6 | comment |
Character Blog: The Sea Captain has a Twitter account, though it is mainly used to gauge his popularity or what storylines he should follow. | |
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Foreshadowing | |
Late Night / int_9d12bbc1 | comment |
Foreshadowing: A retroactive example. One of Seth's first ever "A Closer Look" segments was on Donald Trump announcing his presidential campaign. After being elected President, Trump and his presidency's actions became the main focus of the "A Closer Look" segments. | |
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No-Hoper Repeat | |
Late Night / int_9e15bdab | comment |
No-Hoper Repeat: Letterman tweaked the hype and controversy surrounding The Day After by opening his next show with a panel discussion about the devastating impact and serious issues raised by...the episode of Alice that CBS aired opposite The Day After. | |
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Token Trio | |
Late Night / int_a0947d78 | comment |
Token Trio: Seth is occassionally joined by Amber Ruffin and Jenny Hagel for the segment "Jokes Seth Can't Tell", allowing the audience to hear jokes by the writers that Seth, being a straight, white male, wouldn't get away with telling, or just wouldn't work coming from him. Both are Token Twofers - Amber is a black woman, Jenny is a gay woman. | |
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The Show Must Go On | |
Late Night / int_a10d8339 | comment |
The Show Must Go On: The show was taped without an audience while New York City was battening down the hatches for the arrival of Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. (David Letterman did a Sandy show in a similar manner.) | |
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Homage | |
Late Night / int_a1a1491e | comment |
Homage: As a tribute to David Letterman, the night before his last show, Late Night recreated the original 1982 opening sequence. | |
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Late Night / int_a220d528 | type |
What Could Possibly Go Wrong? | |
Late Night / int_a220d528 | comment |
What Could Possibly Go Wrong?: Jimmy Fallon used this in a joke while hosting the 2010 Primetime Emmys: | |
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Award-Bait Song | |
Late Night / int_a3eae597 | comment |
Award-Bait Song: Parodied with "It's a Late Night World of Love", the show's official "anthem". | |
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Late Night / int_aec43c5f | type |
Thanksgiving Episode | |
Late Night / int_aec43c5f | comment |
Thanksgiving Episode: While mostly in his standard format, every Thanksgiving Seth has had his parents, Larry and Hilary Meyers, and his brother Josh as his guests. | |
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Late Night / int_b2283870 | type |
Retool | |
Late Night / int_b2283870 | comment |
Retool: In mid-2015, the program began to shift towards a news comedy-oriented format not unlike The Daily Show (even more notable is the fact that this happened right around the time that Jon Stewart was preparing for his final episode, and Stephen Colbert was preparing for The Late Show on CBS, which would eventually follow suit), with longer segments focused on political stories, with the segment "The Check-In" in particular being compared to a shorter version of the "deep dive" stories in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. In September, Meyers' set was also redesigned, seeing him perform his monologue entirely from his desk rather than standing. Meyers explained that he had originally used a more traditional format so that viewers wouldn't view it as simply a continuation of Weekend Update, but began to tweak the format over time to ease his writers into topical content. | |
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Simpleton Voice | |
Late Night / int_b3198876 | comment |
Simpleton Voice: Seth's go-to when he is doing an impression either of Trump's sons, particularly Eric. | |
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Take That! | |
Late Night / int_b53077b3 | comment |
Take That!: The "Ya Burnt!" segment exists simply so that Seth can deliver a rapid-fire round of insults to various people, places, and things that annoy him. | |
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Talk Show | |
Late Night / int_b7396aae | comment |
Talk Show | |
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Meat Versus Veggies | |
Late Night / int_b8a13baa | comment |
Meat Versus Veggies: Seth once dedicated a "Hey" segment to calling out people who bring veggie trays to Super Bowl parties. | |
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Late Night / int_b96fdd94 | type |
Extra-Long Episode | |
Late Night / int_b96fdd94 | comment |
Extra-Long Episode: The Grand Finale of Letterman's run ran about 5 minutes longer than usual, ending with Dave Riding into the Sunset on a horse (and implied over to CBS). | |
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Late Night / int_b9fa17b7 | type |
Pretender Diss | |
Late Night / int_b9fa17b7 | comment |
Pretender Diss: When Rudy Giuliani claimed that he liked to emulate Winston Churchill, Seth couldn't help but make fun. | |
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Late Night / int_bd29e069 | type |
PreciousPuppies | |
Late Night / int_bd29e069 | comment |
Precious Puppies: From "If Puppies Could Vote" (Gary Frick, you stop it!) to their 2011 Emmy nomination reel, which featured a puppy dressed up as each member of the writing staff, this incarnation certainly loves a puppy gag. | |
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Late Night / int_c25c7890 | type |
Fun with Acronyms | |
Late Night / int_c25c7890 | comment |
Fun with Acronyms: In September 2019, news broke of a whistleblower report about Donald Trump being caught making a call to a foreign leader promising something, without any real details, so Seth discussed a mnemonic memory aid he came up with. In late 2019, Seth called out the hypocrisy of certain politicians who once supported the USA PATRIOT Act now attacking the FBI and the CIA for investigating Trump. | |
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Irony | |
Late Night / int_c335b9ec | comment |
Irony: Late Night originally was intended to be the grooming ground for The Tonight Show's future hosts, but as the controversies that both Dave and Conan had to face against NBC and Jay Leno would tell you, Late Night hosts seem to be destined to eventually host other networks’ 11:35 slots instead. Fallon during the Conan situation even remarked that "if there's one thing I've learned from Dave and Conan, it's that hosting this show is a one-way ticket to not hosting The Tonight Show." Four years after the Conan-Leno fiasco however, Leno retired from The Tonight Show once more, and Fallon took over The Tonight Show in 2014. | |
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Late Night / int_c450b632 | type |
So Unfunny, It's Funny | |
Late Night / int_c450b632 | comment |
So Unfunny, It's Funny: Seth tends to find it really amusing when one of his jokes doesn't go over well with the audience. The meta-commentary he provides when this happens is often a lot funnier than the joke itself. | |
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Missing Reflection | |
Late Night / int_c505d6ec | comment |
Missing Reflection: Suggested by Seth as the only plausible reason Republicans aren't worried about being able to face themselves in the mirror. | |
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Shout-Out | |
Late Night / int_c75df49a | comment |
Shout-Out: His first episode as host of Late Night in 1982 opened with Larry "Bud" Melman delivering a slightly reworded version of the famous opening monologue from Frankenstein (1931). | |
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Self-Deprecation | |
Late Night / int_c9597a03 | comment |
Self-Deprecation: Early on during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Seth would record the episodes at his home with a webcam. One episode has this gem. In one episode, Seth notes Rudy Giuliani's propensity to imitate other people (which appears to be mainly limited to Giuliani simply putting up a gruff voice, even when the other person is the Queen of England), to which Seth reacts with, "Man, this SNL audition sucks." | |
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Heteronormative Crusader | |
Late Night / int_ca5eda76 | comment |
In a late 2017 episode, Seth speaks out against Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore, whom he calls "a lawless theocrat who said that homosexual conduct should be illegal and that a Muslim member of congress shouldn’t be seated because of his religion, not to mention the fact that [Moore] dresses like a judge at a chili cook-off!" | |
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Late Night / int_ca5eda76 | |
Late Night / int_cb0743c0 | type |
Lame Pun Reaction | |
Late Night / int_cb0743c0 | comment |
Lame Pun Reaction: Seth calls out his writers like this frequently, in particular in March 2021 when Mike Scollins wrote a string of jokes involving national days: "Today was World Water Day, so shout out to my hose!" Which he followed up a day later with "Today was National Agriculture Day, so shout out to my hoes!" The "Surprise Inspection" segment has Seth reading out jokes that were rejected for the monologue, often due to puns that are bad even by Scollins' standards, though some end up coming off as So Unfunny, It's Funny. One "A Closer Look" segment uses the typical ending Call-Back Brick Joke to turn a clip of Donald Trump saying, "I speak on behalf of you, too," into, "I speak on behalf of U2." Seth, while visibly smirking at it, reacts by saying, "No. I'm not okay with that. Not okay with it." | |
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Late Night / int_d076824c | type |
Every Episode Ending | |
Late Night / int_d076824c | comment |
Every Episode Ending: The "Jokes Seth Can't Tell" segment *always* ends the exact same way: see N-Word Privileges below. The stock ending may be modified slightly based on whoever else is reading jokes alongside Seth, but otherwise is unchanged. | |
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Breakout Character | |
Late Night / int_da0eeab5 | comment |
Breakout Character: Amber Ruffin, who ended up with her own segment "Amber Says What," and now her own weekly show. At some points the jokes in "Jokes Seth Can't Tell" spread out of the range of Amber and Jenny's demographics, so they rope in another writer from their pool, and one of them, the young, dorky Karen Chee, got popular enough to get her own segment "What Does Karen Know". | |
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Audience Participation | |
Late Night / int_dd91f8d8 | comment |
Audience Participation: He seems to have taken after Fallon, since one of his first episodes featured a game called "Fake or Florida". The online exclusive "Corrections" segment is for Seth to address mistakes that viewers point out over the week, usually resulting in weeks long back-and-forth as different commenters weigh in on if his initial correction was correct enough. | |
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Award Snub | |
Late Night / int_e32ce9e0 | comment |
Award Snub: invoked Seth cited the fact that The LEGO Movie didn't win an Oscar as one of the USA's greatest failings. | |
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Late Night / int_e52a0409 | type |
Calling the Old Man Out | |
Late Night / int_e52a0409 | comment |
Calling the Old Man Out: Many of the "A Closer Look" segments that have aired since Donald Trump became president have done this, regarding behavior exhibited by Trump that is less than becoming of an American president. It is one of the few late-night comedy talkers that has continued to call out Trump's admiration for strongmen in faltering democracies and authoritarian/totalitarian regimes, and possibly the only one that, since he became president, has repeatedly criticized Trump for his own authoritarian behavior (particularly, his threats to the press, his abuses of government power including those involving attempts to investigate political opponents [read: Hillary Clinton] and the frequent reports of his wanting to curtail Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into his campaign's alleged collusion with the Kremlin). Seth has also repeatedly called out Congressional Republicans in several of these segments for both failing to rein in Trump, and for their decision to focus on unpopular policies that many outside (and, to some extent, inside) of the right wing would consider a "reverse Robin Hooding" of the middle class and poor to favor the wealthy (specifically, donors such as the Koch Brothers, Robert Mercer, etc.). | |
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Late Night / int_e5421161 | type |
Expy | |
Late Night / int_e5421161 | comment |
Expy: Letterman has always credited his "Suit of Alka-Seltzer" spot as being an expy of Steve Allen's Suit of Teabags on The Tonight Show. | |
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Zonk | |
Late Night / int_e54b7b17 | comment |
Zonk: Some of the contestant games involve these. In "Doll Posin'", the losers get a doll-sized "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" T-Shirt. In the Spit Take game, the losers get moist towelettes. | |
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Late Night / int_e563bf09 | type |
Insistent Terminology | |
Late Night / int_e563bf09 | comment |
The online exclusive "Corrections" segment is for Seth to address mistakes that viewers point out over the week, usually resulting in weeks long back-and-forth as different commenters weigh in on if his initial correction was correct enough. | |
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Late Night / int_e563bf09 | |
Late Night / int_ea5c413d | type |
Biting-the-Hand Humor | |
Late Night / int_ea5c413d | comment |
Biting-the-Hand Humor: Letterman constantly took shots at NBC and their parent company, General Electric. | |
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Ham-to-Ham Combat | |
Late Night / int_eb0df85e | comment |
Ham-to-Ham Combat: The ending of the "Jokes Seth Can't Tell" segment is almost always very hammy, which of course just makes it even funnier. | |
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Fourth-Wall Mail Slot | |
Late Night / int_ee3ea61e | comment |
Fourth-Wall Mail Slot: "Viewer Mail", in which he will answer questions from viewers. | |
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Late Night / int_ee3ea61e | |
Late Night / int_f15c2859 | type |
NO INDOOR VOICE | |
Late Night / int_f15c2859 | comment |
No Indoor Voice: His announcer, Joel Godard, had an over-the-top shrill delivery, to the point that on at least some occasions, he was literally screaming the names of the guests. | |
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Homemade Sweater from Hell | |
Late Night / int_f32e02af | comment |
Homemade Sweater from Hell: During the twelve days before the show takes its Christmas break, Fallon gives them away to members of their audience. | |
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FacePalm | |
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A photo of Dr. Anthony Fauci Face Palming during one of Trump's press conferences has also become a Running Gag. The irony of Fauci, an immunologist, touching his face during a pandemic in which people are specifically advised not to touch their faces is sometimes lampshaded, while at the same time giving Fauci a pass, mostly due to the person that causes Fauci to do so. | |
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Running Gag | |
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Running Gag: Eric Trump (and sometimes Tiffany) getting treated as The Unfavorite of the President's children, which, while a staple of other late-night comedians as well, is punctuated by Seth by always giving Eric a Simpleton Voice that paints him as The Igor. Every time he brings up Stephen Miller, a flash of thunder & lighting plays. Seth always jumps. The segments recorded at Seth's home during the coronavirus outbreak has several. At first, it was Seth's inability to find a good place to record the episodes, with the room changing almost every episode. Once he finally settled on the attic, many viewers started asking what's up with the small door on the background and why Seth's table keeps piling up with copies of The Thorn Birds. The crew ran with this, Lampshade Hanging ensued, and both are addressed at least Once per Episode. One segment used fake sequels to The Thorn Birds, and subsequent segments used equally fake books with puns on the title. Now has a Spiritual Successor in the notecard that Seth reads off that week's Corrections from, where the text on the back is different every week. Once he moves into what he dubs "The Captain's Quarters" (a room in his in-laws house), the debate over Seth's controversial new sidekick, a talking painting of a sea captain called the Sea Captain and whether he is a welcome addition or an annoyance. A photo of Dr. Anthony Fauci Face Palming during one of Trump's press conferences has also become a Running Gag. The irony of Fauci, an immunologist, touching his face during a pandemic in which people are specifically advised not to touch their faces is sometimes lampshaded, while at the same time giving Fauci a pass, mostly due to the person that causes Fauci to do so. After the Four Seasons Total Landscaping gaffe, Rudy Giuliani going to the wrong location that has a very similar name to the designated one he was tasked to go has also become this, with it usually ending up with Rudy saying "Oh Rudy! You did it again!" Seth also loves bringing up Giuliani unwittingly marrying his second cousin, and using a stock photo of Rudy with a shocked, bug-eyed expression. | |
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Don't Explain the Joke | |
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Don't Explain the Joke: Frequently subverts this. If a joke clearly falls flat with the live audience, Seth would follow it up by explaining it, and that actually tends to end up getting a good reaction from the audience. The recurring segment "One of My Writers Explains a Joke" is about lampshading the subversions, alongside Lampshaded the Obscure Reference. | |
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Fun with Subtitles | |
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Fun with Subtitles: For the "A Closer Look" segment after Trump accused Puerto Rico's mayor of being nasty, Seth handed part of the segment over to Jenny Hagel, one of the show's writers, to demonstrate what it really looks like when an angry Puerto Rican woman gets nasty. At one point, Hagel drops into subtitled Spanish, with parts of the rant being subtitled "[Puerto Rican insult that doesn't really translate. But trust me — it's a good one.]", "[This is also a good insult.]", and "[This is a great one. Google it.]". | |
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Brick Joke | |
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Brick Joke: Almost every segment will have a clip or funny observation set up near the start or during the middle, which gets brought again as the very last joke of the segment. This is especially prevalent in the "A Closer Look" segments. In one April 2020 segmentnote "Trump Looks to "Reopen" Economy after NYT Coronavirus Bombshell" on Youtube, Seth dismisses the theory that he uses the tiny attic door behind him to keep his children locked up in there when he's recording. At the end of the segment, the door opens and his two sons run out laughing, while Seth can't keep a straight face as he asks how'd they escape. | |
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