...i finish work past midnight, so by the time i get home it's bobbins central on t.v. - (in scotland, it's shoutouts over bits of coastal scenery..)... if i was in america, this would be the norm. (sigh).
(incidentally, 10 years ago, craig ferguson couldn't be arrested in britain even if he shat in The Queen's handbag... now he is the heir apperent to david letterman..... maybe i should move to the u of s of a............)

...every week night.
The guests usually just peddle celebrity puff, but Ferguson just uses them for comedy riffs anyway.

I know it's only a late night talk show but the way that Craig Ferguson has deconstructed the format in the US has to be applauded.

While the format looks the same - sidekick, monologue, bit, guest 1, guest 2, end, etc.. he has breathed new life into an old scenario with his robot sidekick, (mostly) unscripted monologues - his reaction to his boss, David Letterman's scandal a couple of years ago was brilliant – and his mixture of fascination and disinterest in his guests. He really has no interest in plugging his guests' new product which often makes for hilarious and sometimes uncomfortable viewing.

To give you an example of how he thinks, last year Clare Danes was on and she mentioned that her English father in law was a philosophy lecturer. After a lengthy discussion about pre- and post- Enlightenment philosophers, Ferguson concluded that they'd have to get her father in law on the show. And a couple of weeks later, he did. Now I'm not saying it's the stuff of a genius but you wouldn't get that kind of behaviour from Letterman, Jonathan Ross or any of the other big name operators.

He also seems quite content when things don't work out finds it hard to hide his disdain for the constant whooping and hollering from his audience.

Like I say, it's just a chat show, but it's a great chat show.

And if anyone is *that* interested, a dedicated fan uploads Ferguson's show (with Ferguson's approval - sometimes he even mentions the chap) every day in handy segments. Just search for tvscraigferguson.

Finally, if anyone is inclined his two books - one fiction, one memoir are terrific too.

A very talented man indeed. And yes - I'm a fan!

Didn't he have a chat show over here which bombed appallingly?

you may be thinking of Jack Docherty on Channel 5, who made the mistake of going on holiday and getting the relatively unknown Graham Norton to stand in for him.

Norton was quickly snapped up by Channel 4 and Docherty is now residing in the Where Are They Now? file

... his Stephen Fry special from last year - one guest, no audience, and some great joint anecdotes about the 80's comedy scene. - very, very good indeed..

And as we're talking about fake robots on US TV shows, YouTube "Zingbot 3000", easily the best thing about US Big Brother, a robot that wanders through the house insulting the housemates, exactly what the UK edition needs...