The Arsenio Hall Show

I admit to being an Arsenio show fan in the 80's 90's. This was not because I liked the dude. It was because his show was a vehicle to get black entertainers some airtime. The rap culture was jumping off during this time. his show followed the arc of rap popularity. when rap because really commercial and crappy in the mid 90's, his show became obsolete. his "comedy" was never funny. Now is a great time to celebrate the diversity of America because we have a black president and entertainment is also much more diverse. the problem with his show is he's living in the past. who wants to see washed up guys like Nelly and Bill Bellamy? I haven't seen one A-list celebrity yet in over 2 months. I believe they will cancel it by spring or summer.....

But this show is pure, Tribune crap unlike the more popular first show. This show isn't as funny. It's far more by-the-book. Let's not forget The WB was nothing more than a "Friends"-loving crappy CBS(another crappy "Friends"-loving "Seinfeld"-hating unpopular network)-wannabe. And like The WB was for 11 years compared to UPN, that's why this show wasn't popular either. The jokes aren't as funny (but I don't blame Arsenio for that one, I blame Tribune and The CW for this one). It's a shame that instead of being on popular WWOR again (but to be fair MyNetworkTV isn't a full-fledged network anymore, but yet, like PTEN in the 1990s, they have great shows that stomp The CW anyways), it was on WPIX. The show is pure pendantic crap compared to the more rowdy 90s original. The stars aren't as happy being here. I don't even think Arsenio was happy.

He talks about different topics than the other guys. Tt's refreshing. and Tt's nostalgic at the same time. The conversation is more free speech than the others. Leno and Letterman you can tell they forced their guest to make up a quip or a stupid story that never happened to them.

It's a bit more mellow with more conversation.

Have you noticed that the shots and panning are longer than other talk shows? It's because he can carry a conversation and doesn't really on multiple camera shots.

Good for you, Arsenio. I hope this gains some traction, and people will adjust their attention spans so that they want to learn about the guests he interviews.

Not good. It wasn't good the first time around.

Watching this show, I feel uncomfortable for the guests.

"He's not funny", is probably the best way to describe his comedy. Even if he had good writers (he doesn't) I honestly don't think he could sell actual well written/funny jokes, like a real host can. His delivery is as subtle as a sledge hammer to the point of him pandering to the audience and guests.

And the dog pound thing? Really? Still with that? He should round out his yawnologue jokes with some side splitters about Y2K.

Like Leno, some of his jokes are in poor taste and come off as petty. You can poke fun, but it's got to be in a smart, funny way. Like Conan lampooning Clinton in his ongoing "via satellite" gag.

For me, he's just a talking head. He's more of an actor, trying to be a host. Take all the successful hosts and looks at their credentials. Many of them made their bones as writers for other shows or were actual comedians. They understand comedy, how to deliver a line, how to determine what is funny, what the audience will perceive as funny. It doesn't seem that Arsenio has this skill set.

So, I guess nothing has changed. The show is as un-funny as it was in the 90s.

He should stick to more scripted type hosting or maybe a game show. Late night just isn't a good match for him.

So he gets another shot, most likely because he won Trump's Apprentice. I get that. But I've watched a few episodes and came to the realization of why his first show was canceled back in the 90's.

First of all, as in the past, his monologues just aren't funny.

Secondly, even if it's not the case, he just comes off as self-absorbed and totally disinterested when he's interviewing a guest. It always seems like his mind is elsewhere and that he's thinking about something other than the guest or what they are saying. For God's sake, look them in the eye, instead of acting like you're annoyed by the guest and have to really pee bad.

Thirdly, not sure why, but for some reason and for lack of a better word, he's just creepy.

Anyway, I know there's no way to undo his natural born creepiness, but if he wants to stay on the air, I suggest he should watch some old Carson to see how to actually interview somebody and come off as interested and engaged in the conversation.

Otherwise, this show faces the same demise as his first. Cancellation.