Doctor Who night on Craig Ferguson Late Tue/Early Wed

[Allyn Gibson]

It is better than nothing, it just does not seem like that bigger deal, when the show is on past midnight.

Wamdue, you do understand that Doctor Who isn't the cultural institution in the United States that it is over there in Blighty? That Doctor Who is a niche science-fiction series on a cable channel that not everyone gets and is watched by a dedicated adult audience? That Doctor Who isn't "family viewing," but instead it's firmly in the science fiction ghetto?

You may say to yourself, "But that's not who Doctor Who is for," but that's who it is for over here. For an American Whovian, having Matt Smith on an American late night talk show is huge. Doctor Who has escaped, even if it's just for an hour, from the ghetto.

I'm not trying to oversell Craig Ferguson, but this is arguably more important for Doctor Who's visibility over here than even the FOX television movie was fifteen years ago, because that movie was terrifically easy to pigeonhole into the science-fiction ghetto. This is a late night talk show. There's nothing pigeonholing about that.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

C'mon guys, don't drain the fun out of this, let's just enjoy.

 

[Photoman15]

I wonder WHY he's on tonight. Is he promoting the Christmas Special? Will we see a clip? It's too early to promote the next season (series for those UK-ly challenged) I would think.

 

[Cyke101]

Late night talk shows aren't just for entertainment, they're an American institution. Politicians have announced their candidacy, A-list celebrities frequently pop up, the press covers gags and fights and all, hosts get paid exorbitant amounts of money because they deliver. Having Doctor Who on a late night talk show is such great exposure.

 

[Samurai8472]

I wonder WHY he's on tonight. Is he promoting the Christmas Special? Will we see a clip? It's too early to promote the next season (series for those UK-ly challenged) I would think.

The dvd and blu-ray of Season five was released last week.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I wonder WHY he's on tonight. Is he promoting the Christmas Special? Will we see a clip? It's too early to promote the next season (series for those UK-ly challenged) I would think.

Smith happens to be in the United States because Who is filming in Utah this week.

 

[wamdue]

It is better than nothing, it just does not seem like that bigger deal, when the show is on past midnight.

Wamdue, you do understand that Doctor Who isn't the cultural institution in the United States that it is over there in Blighty? That Doctor Who is a niche science-fiction series on a cable channel that not everyone gets and is watched by a dedicated adult audience? That Doctor Who isn't "family viewing," but instead it's firmly in the science fiction ghetto?

I am not the one saying "this feels like the moment when Doctor Who has finally arrived"

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I am not the one saying "this feels like the moment when Doctor Who has finally arrived"

Fine, whatever. *sigh*

 

[The]

Well, I'M happy about it!

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Well, I'M happy about it!

Word!

 

[davejames]

I wonder WHY he's on tonight. Is he promoting the Christmas Special? Will we see a clip? It's too early to promote the next season (series for those UK-ly challenged) I would think.

Because Craig is a bit of a scifi geek (hence the robot sidekick), and has said he and his son both watch the show. He's also talked quite a bit about watching the original show back when he was a kid living in Scotland.

I would LOVE to see a clip from the special, but most likely it'll just be something from Series 5.

 

[Samurai8472]

The Scottish-ness would go through the roof if Tennant were on. Hopefully he'll be a guest when "Fright Night" starts promotion.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I wonder WHY he's on tonight. Is he promoting the Christmas Special? Will we see a clip? It's too early to promote the next season (series for those UK-ly challenged) I would think.

Because Craig is a bit of a scifi geek (hence the robot sidekick), and has said he and his son both watch the show. He's also talked quite a bit about watching the original show back when he was a kid living in Scotland.

I watched some of Leno last night because he had Anna Torv as a guest who has also been on Craig's show. I normally don't watch Leno but he talked all over her constantly and was just overall a terrible interview so less people may see it but I think it will be much more fun with Craig.

 

[DrCorby]

I missed the first part of Craig's show last night (TNG reruns on another channel until Craig was half over), but he had a lot of fun with the Dalek prop the rest of the show. A female guest even even made a point to hug the Dalek before Craig. And he mock-scolded Dennis Miller, telling him not to make fun of the Dalek or the Dalek would destroy his planet.

Looking forward to tonight's show. Should be a lot of fun.

 

[DrCorby]

Sorry. Double post.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

I dunno. I'd say the apex of Doctor Who's American pop culture penetration has been the handful of Comic Book Guy references on The Simpsons.

so Doctor Who being on a talk show that airs after midnight, counts as "finally arrived" ?

You yanks and your crazy talk shows

You Brits and your crazy talk shows:
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXcsW1_pUZ8&feature=related[/yt]

I'm actually on Team CoCo myself. But, I know LOTS of people who watch Ferguson religiously. I would actually have a heterosexual erection if Smith were to appear on Conan, no doubt. But, you would need two full nights to do it. With Smith's energy and Conan's random wit, the interview would take forever to even get to Doctor Who!

I'm sure that will be the same with Craig Ferguson. He almost never talks about what the guest is plugging. Hell, there was a time when the guests would end up talking about Ferguson's autobiography instead.

 

[23skidoo]

I'm not trying to oversell Craig Ferguson, but this is arguably more important for Doctor Who's visibility over here than even the FOX television movie was fifteen years ago, because that movie was terrifically easy to pigeonhole into the science-fiction ghetto. This is a late night talk show. There's nothing pigeonholing about that.

I agree with you 100% (and the similar sentiment you had on your blog regarding this). Also, what people outside North America might not realize is that the ratings for the late-late talk shows (Ferguson, Fallon, etc) are meaningless and are generally ignored these days. That's because within hours of the broadcast clips from these shows go viral. Even without any numbers to back me up I am pretty confident in stating that more people likely viewed that clip of the Dalek from last night's show than actually physically watched Ferguson at 12:35 or whenever the heck it airs. He has an entire YouTube channel dedicated to basically rebroadcasting the shows (plus they stream on cbs.com).

This is definitely a big deal. A major American network (and if someone wants to really argue that CBS isn't a major American network, they're welcome to try) is about to have Matt Smith on, AND will inevitably include a clip from Series 5. On CBS. The last time we had anything like this happen was the Fox TV movie and Fox didn't really know how to handle it and it got creamed by Roseanne of all things. When David Tennant came over during the 2009 San Diego Comic Con to promote the US showing of Planet of the Dead, the best he and RTD could manage (no disrespect intended to the guys) was an early morning local news show. And that was because there happened to be a lot of DW fans on staff. Tennant could have been booked on Ferguson, or Conan's Tonight Show.

Again, I can say with 100% confidence that Ferguson will get at least some people interested in Doctor Who who might not have known anything about it before. The Dalek last night probably gained some curious onlookers. That doesn't mean they'll all run out and drop 75 clams on a Doctor Who box set, but when BBC America - or their local PBS station - puts on Doctor Who again, some of them might decide to check it out.

And if Matt Smith proves to be a hit on Ferguson, who is to say he might not show up on another US show when the time comes to promote, if not the Christmas special necessarily, certainly Series 6 and 7? Or if not him, Karen Gillan. Even Steven Moffat. I'd love to see him and Ferguson get together - that would be a riot.

Alex

 

[Rowan Sjet]

I discovered Craig Ferguson a little while ago and I love his interviews. Definitely looking forward to this.

 

[Cyke101]

I discovered Craig Ferguson a little while ago and I love his interviews. Definitely looking forward to this.

I love his monologues even more if it's about one single topic. We talk about the value of oration but the guy's delivery and confidence in the material is just great.

I say that and of course, i'll be watching the interview and the entire episode

 

[Nerys Myk]

I'll take Ferguson over Jay, Dave and Conan any day of the week. I DVR his show every night. Was thrilled to see the Dalek and I'm looking forward to seem Matt on tonights show.