Late Night American TV Review: Greg Gutfeld

I first saw Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld about five or so years ago, when he ran the very late-night offering on Fox. His show was a little far-out and presented a collection of guests, one of whom was usually a serious person, the rest show regulars. All stayed in their seats and Gutfeld lead the discussion with a few racy comments and some fairly outrageous film sequences. His side kick, always on the show, was obviously gay and Greg's own show-face was fast talking, somewhat acerbic and showed a metrosexual image. Did this limit his topics or his specific guests? No, I don't think so. He ran the show for I guess two years or so, then was transferred to a more meaty role on 'The Five', Fox's now principal evening news and comment program, important since the Left has managed to bring down Bill O'Reilly and Glen Beck.

When he started on 'The Five', he looked a little unsure of himself. Always fully prepared for 'Red Eye', on taking over a spot with Fox's major news presentation and discussion show, he sounded sure of his facts but a bit intense, maybe a bit too serious.This veneer wore off quickly as his natural talent for telling the truth accurately and leaving a hint of the wise-acre in his display showed itself. Knowing him from Red Eye, I was willing to give him a try with his new position qqand he quickly played to form. He now has his own weekly program on Sunday night as well as his place on The Five panel.

Gutfeld says he went to Berkeley and is a conservative. He sounds like a libertarian to me but I could believe this story. He has become self-effacing in new ways; he allows some short jokes, which he simply never acknowledged in the past. He has begun to joke about his size, which is short but not grotesque or circus-side-show-alarming. How tall is he? I find myself looking carefully as we watch him walk from the desk where he presents his introductory story across the stage to his other desk, where his guests wait on an L-shape gathering of sofas. All I can say is that I think he's taller than George Stephanopolas. At least, I hope he is. My best guess is 5'4'' or so, maybe a little more. Let's remember that Alan Ladd had a handsome face, a manly and melodious voice. He sounded intelligent and take-charge, was a leading man of the first water but required careful photography and scene developments and clever lifts for him to use for close company and movie scenes with his leading ladies because of his short stature.

The complexity of a show's ongoing conversation and proper guest involvement is well-shown on Gutfeld's shows. The end result can't be easy to achieve but is worth it. Gutfeld is cool and controlled; he laughs frequently, even when the joke from him or another is a bit weak or is simply not laugh-out-loud funny. It is clear: he is not running a comedy hour and deals with serious topics but never shows a too-sober face. Some of his brief animal film-lets, though, are hysterical.

He generally has one serious guest, sitting next to him and to whom Greg shunts important questions. Much of the time, a topical book the guest has penned is discussed. Recently, Twelve Lessons of Life by the Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson was the evening's topic and Greg was to discuss it. I had bought a Kindle version of the book and was perusing it. It is over 400 pages long. Whoops. This is more like a two-hour Charlie Rose intellectual low-light piece, one you can't pretend to have read. Also, Dr Jordan Peterson doesn't seem a glib facile verbal fencer. Greg had seen and maybe read the first chapter, dealing a little bit with Lobster domination of one another in the deep oceans and the associated hormone-play. He then was off on a comet with what must have been scanty preparation, but pulled it off with a bit of quick word play and some deference to Dr. Peterson and his thoughts and new book, then immediate calls for help from libertarian columnist Kat Timpf and the smart corner-man, George Murdoch, AKA Tyrus. Now, Gutfeld went to the University of California at Berkeley. He is not dumb. And he needs topical, interesting guests. It attracts his fans and justifies their attention. His background at UC Berkeley gives him a certain elan but, God, Peterson Is bright.

As I said, he pulled it off and everybody was worth listening to. Everyone working for Gotfeld is smart and educated. They are all people I'd enjoy having dinner with. Being 6'4'' myself when not confined to my electric wheelchair, I think I'd fit in. BTW, Gutfeld is 5'5''. I just checked. He is not a too-small man.

I am always interested in seeing how a successful, very public entertainment venue is handled. Greg gets kudos for this. His situation, Fox News, has been recently eaten alive with the firing, as said above, of Glen Beck and then Bill O'Reily for fairly poor reasons and the desertion of Megan Kelly to her new place in MSNBC. Fox's owners are young, left-leaning brothers, a new situation which doesn't speak well for things. Only the high ratings of the Fox stations and the ever-entertaining frolics of our president keep the network screwed tightly in its place.

CNN, ever 'Chicken Noodle News' to me, has the lowest of ratings. Their 'hosts' are not smart people, embarrassingly so. The moderators of their offerings have no control over their guests, who seem to constantly run over each other's speech. The hosts, all of them, are obvious democrat and Leftist tools forced into the role of public stupidity and two-dimensionality. No one I ever want to meet, talk to or cohabitate with.

I have to be careful,

Just watching Gutfeld's show, we can deduce a few Un-Circulated facts. He is appreciated at Fox. He has an appreciative audience; his off-color or slightly bizarre humor has found a place, at Fox and in general. I'm an example of a guy who appreciates his showmanship and forgives his nonsense. I would never watch any other news platform, certainly no big system because I don't trust them with the truth. I would probably never watch Gutfeld again if he ever had to work for these people: NBC, CBS, ABC or the like. I've outgrown them as I have Grade School.

Gutfeld is 53, older than he looks. He and his posse, first seen as quite young, are all themselves aging into place.The Uber-Libertarian, Kat Timpf, writes for the National Review, William F Buckley's magazine. She is 29. Tyrus, George Murdoch, is 6'7'', is well-spoken and very intelligent to my reading. He is 45 and it doesn't sound like he wrestles much for the WWE anymore. He sounds like he went to college and was considering a career as a teacher. I'd be surprised if an educated-sounding guy like him hadn't had an interesting life in this twenties and thirties.

Greg has found that four guests total for each show is perfect. When the guest-offerings are scant, four is easier to fill with other Fox hosts and Friends.

So, I'll enjoy and appreciate what Fox offers me for awhile, as long as it stays worth watching.

...................................................

Attention!! Please Feature this piece. It is well-written, spell-checked and comes with attractive pet-pictures and Arizona Outside pics. Please Feature, or tell me Why Not!