Thursday, February 18, 2016

On The Air: Join or Die with Craig Ferguson (2016)

Halfway through his 2nd season of the syndicated Celebrity Name Game, Craig Ferguson brought his stand-up tour to the home district two months ago. Couldn't get the cheddar together to buy a ticket, and passed. Now, Ferguson is filling what free time he had left with a new show for the History Channel.

Join or Die with Craig Ferguson starts off the same way his run on CBS' Late, Late Show did, with a quick monologue in which Ferguson walks out and stands directly in front of the camera, but not too close to prompt fish-eye shots. The monologue sets up the discussion du jour, which Ferguson debates with three panelists. Jimmy Kimmel guests on the opener, and cable's busiest guy, Chris Hardwick, is on the panel in the 2nd half hour (2 episodes on opening night, but it won't be that way every week). There is one other holdover from the Late, Late Show, and that is announcer Shadoe Stevens (ex-Hollywood Squares, Dave's World, American Top 40), heard during the 2nd half hour.

The opener took a look at history's biggest political blunders. The panel pares it down from six to one in the course of the half hour, though it's a little curious that a list of political blunders that didn't include former President Bill Clinton just isn't complete.

Following is a short promo from History Channel's YouTube channel:



Rating: A.

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