Woody After Hours

The 2012 Golden Woodys, Part 1

It’s time for the 4th annual Awards for Excellence in Late-Night Talk Show Doing, aka, The 2012 Golden Woodys.

There are eight award categories. Each category contains three nominees. Nominees are selected and winners are chosen based on my viewing of late-night talk show episodes during 2012. Needless to say, the awards are very subjective, but also very sincere.

 

Category: Best Monologue Segments

2009 Winner: The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien
2010 Winner: Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
2011 Winner: The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

2012 Nominees:

Conan
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

And the award goes to… Conan

Reason: Conan O’Brien delivered the full entertainment package during his monologue segments in 2012. He told funny jokes, he told jokes that bombed but then followed them up with funny acknowledgements,  he interacted extremely well with his audience, he had terrific banter with Andy, his video segments were very amusing, and last but not least, his overall energy while on stage in front of millions of people was fantastic.

 
Category: Best Comedy Segments

2009 Winner: The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien
2010 Winner: Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
2011 Winner: Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

2012 Nominees:

Conan
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
The Late Show with David Letterman

And the award goes to… The Late Show with David Letterman

Reason: David Letterman is a great story teller, and over the past year he used the comedy segment to tell some terrific narratives. My favorite tales centered around adventures with his son and rants against Mitt Romney for refusing to come on his show in the weeks leading up to the presidential election. And hey, let’s not forget those awesome Top Ten lists. They deserve a lot of credit for the Late Show winning this award too.

 
Category: Best Couch Guest Interview Segments

2009 Winner: The Late Show with David Letterman
2010 Winner: The Late Show with David Letterman
2011 Winner: The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

2012 Nominees:

Jimmy Kimmel Live!
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
The Late Show with David Letterman

And the award goes to… The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Reason: Interviewing movie, television and music stars on a late-night talk show is difficult. Hosts have to balance the serious work of promoting their guests with the insatiable desire to be the center of attention in front of their audiences. Honestly, most hosts struggled to find this balance in 2012. Craig Ferguson, who is at his best when he’s talking one-on-one with someone, did not. He asked interesting questions, he listened, he shared, he flirted and he joked like no other host. In addition, closing most interviews with a big cash prize, basket of fruit or smashing coconuts was fresh and very comical.

 
Category: Best Musical/Stand-up/Cooking Segments

2009 Winner: The Late Show with David Letterman
2010 Winner: Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
2011 Winner: The Late Show with David Letterman

2012 Nominees:

Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
The Late Show with David Letterman

And the award goes to… Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Reason: There was a lot of musical talent on Jimmy Kimmel Live! over the year. I learned this not only by watching the show now and then, but also by hearing  a song for the first time somewhere, researching it online and discovering that the artist had already performed on JKL.

 
Who will win for best late-night host? Find out when Part II of the 2012 Golden Woodys is posted on Tuesday, January 1st 2013.

– Woody

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