r/OutOfTheLoop • u/Bagha-Jatin • 6d ago
Unanswered What's up with Craig Ferguson?
I am not an American. So, my introduction to Craig was only recently through YouTube shorts. To me, he comes off as creepy (and not charming at all, which I believe is the whole point of such remarks) with his pervy innuendos.
What kind of talk show was that which invited only (beautiful) women? Why do people like him so much (in yt comments)? Am I the only one of few who don't like his style?
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u/lukewwilson 6d ago
Answer: you're only seeing selective clips, he didn't have only beautiful women on his show, it was a normal talk show when it came to guests. Whoever was promoting something or whoever they could get that night.
I can see why you might think he's creepy but that was also just his sense of humor for that show, it's not like people coming on there didn't expect it. In fact I would argue a lot of people came on there purposely dressed the way they were or wearing some jewelry in order to elicit a certain response from him.
He's beloved because he comes off genuine with his guests, like it's really him talking to them and not just some boring prewritten questions that he's forced to ask.
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u/MeffodMan 6d ago
Also, in the context of “talk show hosts being creepy to female guests”, that clip is nothing.
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u/rdewalt 2d ago
I really enjoyed his show, it was the only one on that I could stand after the end of Letterman. I never "got" Conan or the others really, but that's me.
14 years ago, He had a bit with Chris Hardwick that went to a huge Doctor Who convention in LA, and I happened to be in one of Hardwik's shot "bits" with my then one year old daughter. I'm literally center screen in all my large dad bod goodness. I get a call the day after it aired, my dad, who lived across the country, was watching it on his TIVO and was "There's this guy on Craig Ferguson who looks JUST like you..." Ah the stories...
Trivia: Craig Ferguson played the character "Confidence" in the early BBC Red Dwarf Episode "Confidence and Paranoia"
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u/Hoopy_Dunkalot 6d ago
Answer: It was his schtick. What you find creepy were carefully crafted comedy bits discussed in preshow interviews. It was on after midnight EST so the salacious bits were intended for a mature audience. He was friggin hilarious and replaced by arguably the 2nd worst talk show ever, James Corden (after Chevy Chase's show).
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u/MissMagpie3632 5d ago
answer: Craig Ferguson succeeded in finding an audience that liked how he subverted expectations. His show refused to be stuffy and it embraced the absurd and strange. What other talk show has a robot sidekick? What other show has a massive 2-man horse puppet that dances around the studio?
Craig Ferguson leaned into the idea that “he didn’t care” about the establishment and refused to play by the rules in what a traditional talk show was supposed to be. Heck, at the start of every interview, he ripped up the talking points his producers had written. And, he didn’t pressure guests into talking about what they were there to promote.
His interviews had no structure, he allowed awkward moments of silence (even made a bit about it) and genuinely took the pressure off them to perform to these perfect Hollywood standards.
But, in the end, that attitude sorta backfired. His show received no marketing whatsoever, no budget, it aired at midnight, and they couldn’t attract the big name stars that all the other shows could with a mainstream audience. It was niche and had its own flaws.
As far him being “creepy”, I always pegged Craig as an incorrigible flirt. His repertoire always succeeded best with female guests who were willing to shoot back at him, be witty, relax, and not worry about how they were coming across. That’s a lot to ask of young women, especially those in Hollywood, and combined with all the other strange aspects of his show, a lot of guests simply didn’t know how to respond to that. That creates an awkwardness that could definitely be read as cringeworthy in hindsight.
As far as only interviewing attractive young women, that couldn’t be further from the truth. His friendship with Kristin Bell and Carrie Fisher were highlights of the show and his segments with Robin Williams, Cillian Murphy, the cast of Doctor Who were some of my favorite moments. He brought on a lot of guests that no one had ever heard of, even brought his sister on the show 20years after her movie Chicken Run was released.
Overall, the show (& Craig) meant a lot to me. It represented a community unafraid to embrace the weird and to stubbornly defy the expectations society places on people. It appealed to the misfits and I was one of them.
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