the mug

when i visited 'the late late show with craig ferguson' this past spring i went to the gift shop and bought everything they had with craig on it! i got this coffee mug there, and i dont even drink coffee! its currently on display on the shelf above my kitchen sink. feel free to drop by and gaze upon its beauty. now taking reservations.

warm up comedian

when i visited the show back in april i got to see how the show goes. before craig ferguson comes out the audience is treated to a warm up comedian, he is someone who comes out and gets everyone riled up so that when craig starts we will know how to conduct ourselves- lots of laughs! he started by reminding everyone that if we think he is funny we should laugh loud, 'the camera doesnt hear smiles!'. he told some jokes, most of them fairly lame, in order for us to practice our laughing. another tried and true trick he used: throw free candy into the crowd! he told us often that we should applaud loudly when craig first comes out 'i want to hear thunder!'
(the rest of my awesome visit to 'the late late show' is talked about here)

mouse pad

when i went to california and saw a taping of 'the late late show with craig ferguson' i made sure to stop in the gift shop and buy anything with the show on it. among the things i got was this mouse pad for the show. i now have it at school and use it everyday!

summary

lately craig ferguson has been getting a bit undressed at the end of his show. he started with just undoing his tie, and now takes off his shoes and socks as well.

craig got comfy, took off his shoes and tie and took a minute to summarize the show for us. here is the summary, and keep in mind, all of this was improvised: 'its getting late everybody, if youve stayed with the show this long, youve got to ask yourself a couple questions- first of all: why? are you really that lonely?!? but i think its been an interesting show, for example, what do you think weve learned tonight? well, weve learned that i shouldnt really drink coffee before the show, or take my extra hit of crystal meth... we had some wonderful guests on the show. aisha tyler was here, and we learned from her that hotel sex is better when there are two people in the room... let me rephrase that, at least two people in the room. we learned that i have one sexual position that i like, or indeed, know. we also learned from sir richard branson that rich people enjoy massage. we learned branson would like me to be the face of earth as we go into space. i think that we have learned that he is clearly insane. but hes very wealthy, so i kiss his ass anyway. we learned that branson founded 'virgin', but aisha tyler is not one.

good night everybody!!!'

richard branson

craig welcomes sir richard branson, the founder and chairman of virgin group. he walks in and immediately puts his feet up on craigs desk. craig realizes 'you are hugely wealthy, i should probably suck up to you a bit more' and proceeds to rub bransons shoulders, to which he replies 'not bad!' they then talk about a myriad of subjects, including hot air ballooning, and music. craig mentions one of his favorite albums that branson released, which happened to be the first and the reason for the forming of virgin music in the first place: mike oldfields 'tubular bells'.
craig asks him if he is still involved with the music side of his business and he shares that he is more involved in the space travel side of the business. virgin group has been working on providing zero gravity flights and bringing people up to experience that. he also talks about this new partnership with google, called 'virgle', where they are planning to send a manned space vessel for a one way trip to mars to colonize it. it designed to be a sort of noahs ark, filled with animals and plants and stuff. after much speculation on this idea during the interview, and by my friends and i over the next few days, i came to realize it was just part of an elaborate april fools joke. we all fell for it because it wasnt april 1. well, it wasnt april 1 when it was filmed, but it doesnt air until 12:30am that night, which would make it actually april first... oh, he got us good!
but then, branson does the worst thing you can do on a talk show. he shows terrible etiquette, and walks out as the camera pulls out for the commercial. come on, we know you have billions of dollars and much better things to do, richard, but at least stay until your segment is over...

jack benny

after craig ferguson returns from the commercial break after his first guest, he grabs his elbow and waves his hand about. he improvs for a little bit and tries to find a reason why he is standing that way 'im using advanced puppetry now to control my arm.' after playing with his arm in that position for a bit, he hits improv gold: 'you know, jack benny used to always stand like that. when he was doing comedy he would always stand like that, he was very funny... he would have no place on this show! i think its a funny way to stand, not quite as funny as this, obviously' craig then proceeds to turn around bend over and stick his hand through his legs to great comedic effect. 'but then what do we know about comedy?'

aisha tyler

craig ferguson welcomes aisha by saying 'my first guest tonight is a beautiful actress and comedienne, which is what you say if someone is a lady, and a comedian. your welcome people who dont know shit.' everyone in the audience laughed at this hysterically! granted, it was edited for tv, but was outrageously funny to hear live.

craig welcomes her in, after they have a seat he comments on her lovely outfit asking her 'are those what the kids are calling 'bloomers'?' she responds 'or knickers, but some times people dont understand you, and it starts fights, so its better to call them bloomers...' puzzled, craig asks 'that starts fights?' she explains 'someone says knickers- what did you call me?!? and it just goes downhill from there...'

the two of them chat about comedy gigs they have done in the past, and one that she is going to soon. craig explains its like an old sizzler restaurant. aisha agrees 'ahh, steak and comedy. people are like 'these shrimp are great- why is that black lady yelling?'.'

they go on to talk about aishas husband, who was her college sweetheart, and how they love to 'get busy' in hotel rooms she says there is just a different mentality to a hotel room, where she asks 'how can i get my dna on every surface of this room?'

flamenco!

after returning from his commercial break, craig ferguson usually talks to the camera a bit. this time, he decided to break out into a little dance! his dance of choice: flamenco! with quick steps and hand claps, he declares 'your welcome people that enjoy flamenco! 'finally, a show we can enjoy! that dancing with the stars is crap!''

the monologue

as the applause continued, craig ferguson claims 'you are behaving like giddy teenagers! and i like me some giddy teenagers. er, um...'

'well, its a great day for america everybody! why? well, its monday... thats right, way to go day of the week! only in l.a. do we applaud the days of the week...' then craig tells us that he is really buzzing, he had way too much coffee! hes past fidgety, now he in the zone!!! and for some reason he keeps flailing around his arms like an old man 'im practicing for when im on 60 minutes...'

craig talks about when he was in st. louis and really wanted some bbq. he got some, but what was even better was the fried chocolate ravioli! 'it is the best thing ive ever had in my mouth! well, for censorship reasons well say yes, the best thing...' 'they were great! fat, greasy, goes straight to my ass... remind you of anybody?!?'

next he talked about the start of the baseball season and how president bush threw out the first pitch for the nationals team. when he walked out at the field he was booed! craig says 'his approval rating was so low he left for europe the next day! you know its bad for an american president when the french look friendly by comparison.' at which point he does his impression of a frenchman 'i used to hate him, now i just dont care. and if americans hate him, maybe i like him. you dont know me america! i love you, i hate you, you will never know...' after the laughter died down, he went to a commercial break.

hello craig!

once craig ferguson stepped out, we were chearing as loud as we could eager to see him and to start the show! usually one of the first shots of the show is from a cameral behind the audience looking down at craig. well, i just so happened to notice this shot just in time, so i figured id make sure i could notice myself when it was shown on tv. i raised my hand at just the right minute and waved. if you look closely, you can see my hand in this episode still frame that i took.

audience member

and finally, we come to the episode i was there for! the last weekend of march aaron, jeffry lee, and i all went to visit adam in l.a., and one of the important requirements for my visit was that we would go and see craig ferguson. and we did!!! it was truly an amazing experience.

we arrived at cbs studios around two oclock to get in line for the show. the tickets asked that we be there by 3:45, but we wanted to make sure that we would have good seats (and because i was giddy about it all day and wouldnt leave everyone else alone). at around 3:30 the shepherded us all around the gates into a section of benches. by this point i was vibrating because i was so excited, words escaped me, all i could do was squeal like a little girl. and im not ashamed to admit it. as we waited for everyone to get through security i stopped in the gift shop and scooped up anything that had craig ferguson written on it! once the briefed us on what we would be doing and making sure that we understood that we must laugh- and laugh loudly so the mics can pick us up, we shuffled in. unfortunately they took away all of our cameras at the security check point, so i dont have any photos of the studio or performance.

after climbing up three flights of stairs, we were shuffled into what was a surprisingly small studio. we filled up the seats, which has a shockingly small amount of only 113 chairs! we got second row, and i was elated! a guy came out and introduced himself as the audience entertainer. he informed us about all the ins and outs about the different segments and commercial breaks. he told some jokes to test our laughing volume and and prepare us for the treat ahead.

finally the moment had come, shadow stevens, the shows announcer, introduces craig ferguson. he steps out, and we go wild! wow, there he is, right in front of me!!! ive been anticipating this day for about two years now, and here i am. awesome. he goes through his monologue and i cant catch my breath from laughing so hard! his guests come out one by one, aisha tyler was even more beautiful in person and very charming, richard branson is even more eccentric in person, and quite a trickster (this episode was to air on april fools day after all). and then its over. wow. my life is now complete, i have achieved nirvana. thank you craig for one of the highlights of my life (i am fully aware of how sad that is, but i dont care)!!!

audience participation

i am going to california this weekend and i have tickets to see craig live on monday! ever since i first talked to my friend about going out there and seeing him i always told him 'ill come, as long as we go see craig.' well, he is a man of his word, and i will be seeing craig tape his show in less than a week! i am super excited!
it looks like the guest list was recently posted on his website, and on monday it will be neil patrick harris! wow!!! ill actually be there to see craig talk with barney! needless to say, i am very excited about the whole thing...

*update* looks like the guest list has changed, now its going to be aisha tyler and richard branson. oh well, im sure it will still be a blast!