Fox's talker is a taste worth acquiring

BY VERNE GAY | Newsday Staff Writer

September 15, 2006

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Viewers have every right to be deeply suspicious of this new late-night show on Fox called "Talkshow." The Fox late-night tradition demands scorn and ridicule: From Joan Rivers to Chevy Chase to whomever, they've all been duds of such stupendous proportions that the very arrival of any new Fox late-nighter ("Mad TV" as the lone exception) has become the cultural equivalent of a nuclear-magnitude belch.

That's why "Talkshow With Spike Feresten" is such a miracle: It's hilarious, really, and refreshing, and original and - absolutely - an acquired taste. But give this one just 10 minutes: It's easily acquired.

Who's Spike Feresten? To the average viewer, he's an unknown, but in the tight, cloistered world of TV comedy writing, he's a superstar. Feresten got his writerly chops on "Saturday Night Live," then moved onto "Late Night With David Letterman," "Late Show With David Letterman," as well as "Seinfeld" (he wrote the classic "Soup Nazi" episode) and "The Simpsons." He's one of the guys behind Letterman's "found comedy" routines (man on the street, and such) and who knows what else. He also wrote for the late, lamented "Space Ghost Coast to Coast" (an Adult Swim staple not too long ago), which has probably exerted greater influence on "Talkshow" than anything else out there. On "Talkshow," Feresten - with glasses, goofy frat-boy grin, clean-cut suit and conservative red tie - begins by paying homage to the sad sack Fox hosts of yore - notably, Rivers who (the opening sequence "reveals") lost her face in a backstage accident though later had it reglued on.

There are other quick sketches, all of them winners: "Talkshow," for example, leaves the studio to reveal just how easy it is to produce "man-on-the-street" comedy bits; all you need are alcoholic writers, a bullhorn and a tape of Rupert Holmes' "The Piña Colada Song." (And how many times has late-night TV relied on "The Piña Colada Song" as a prop? A hundred times? A thousand?)

Another bit is called "Idiot Paparazzi," featuring idiot paparazzi who charge around Beverly Hills snapping pictures of people they think are celebrities, but who barely resemble the intended targets.

Or "Electric Lincoln": This bit is expressly designed for stoners, featuring a pixilated, neon-flashing "Lincoln" grooving to Iron Butterfly-ish riffs.

Then there's the requisite interview segment: On tomorrow's show, a very game Andy Richter assumes the abuse.

We could go on, but why bother? By his own admission, Feresten predicts a short life for this terrific new show (which airs only once a week, on Saturdays). Too bad. Guess we'll have to catch the reruns on Adult Swim.

TALKSHOW WITH SPIKE FERESTEN. Fox's newest late-nighter, and a winner from beginning to end. Premieres tomorrow at midnight on Fox/5.

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