Spike Feresten's new late-night talk show on Fox is nothing like Greg Behrendt's new syndicated daytime relationship show, except for this: Both hosts are trying to be TV stars because they wrote for hit comedies.
Feresten's a former "Seinfeld" writer credited with the famous "Soup Nazi" episode, and Behrendt is a former "Sex and the City" "story editor/consultant" and the co-author of the funny-best-friend-of-a-book "He's Just Not That Into You."
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Tuesday October 10, 2006 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 0 inches; 30 words Type of Material: Correction
'The Greg Behrendt Show': A television review in Monday's Calendar section said that "The Greg Behrendt Show" is distributed by Tribune Media. The show is distributed by Sony Pictures Television.
Credits can corrupt, and absolute credits can corrupt absolutely. Behrendt should probably no more be entrusted with the power of TV therapist than Feresten should be handed the power of a late-night host. They've jaywalked across careers to get here. It's what gives their respective shows a certain edge of possibility: Both guys are impostors at what they're doing.
Feresten is open if not exploitative of this; "Talkshow with Spike Feresten," which airs Saturdays at midnight after "MADtv," apes the straight-faced deadpan of a headline in the Onion. Fox, alone among the Big Four networks without a late-night franchise, is now developing a pilot called "This Just In," from "24" executive producer Joel Surnow, that's being described as a conservative answer to "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart."
Not surprisingly, Feresten has spent the initial weeks on the air calling attention to how rinky-dink his operation is. He's as green as Conan in the early days, as un-telegenic, and even more of a latchkey host, because he doesn't have a sidekick or a band.
"They're applauding, and they have no idea who I am," Feresten said of the studio audience on his debut broadcast Sept. 16. "Thank you for accidentally tuning in to my show," he began another week. His musical guest that night was a barbershop quartet harmonizing gay sex jokes.
But Feresten's ironic pose -- pretend you're aren't really doing a show so when you actually do one, people will be pleasantly surprised -- is kind of disingenuous in an age of the MySpace Leno and the YouTube bedroom host.
Irony Central
Feresten in comparison to Internet amateurs does have a real studio audience, a real set and a real Fox executive bothering him during the show (Feresten's first real guest, former boss Jerry Seinfeld, drops in Oct. 21).
