*So, you haven’t had a chance to check the new “Arsenio Hall Show” yet.
Annnnd, of course you wanna know if it’s a hit or a miss; is it worth your time staying up to see?
Well then, you may want to check out this review from Shadow and Act’s Tambay A. Obenson.
How fast time flies! After over a year of talking about it, the all-new The Arsenio Hall Show debuted nationwide last night, Monday, September 9 at 11pm, with main guest Chris Tucker, and Snoop Dogg providing the music.
Surprise, albeit brief appearances by Paula Abdul and Jay Leno in an intro skit (which I thought was maybe the episode’s funniest bit), spiced things up a bit, but, unfortunately, not enough to really excite.
The headline of this post describes it as “the all-new” Arsenio Hall Show, but, while watching, I felt like I’d been transported back in time, about 20 years. The set looked eerily similar, the show opened with the same opening theme song from its 1990s incarnation, although updated with the new Posse, and even Arsenio doesn’t look like he’s aged very much. Gone is the high-top fade, in favor of a low-cut trim, but the man doesn’t at all look like he’s 3 years away from 60.
I wasn’t kidding when I said that the intro skit with Jay Leno was maybe the premiere’s funniest, most unexpected bit, because the rest of the hour, I unfortunately found rather dry – the guests and the jokes.
I know it’s his first episode back after 20 years, so maybe it’ll take a few more for him to regain his mojo, because, despite my lackluster reaction to episode 1, I’m genuinely rooting for his success – especially given the noticeable absence of black late night talk-show hosts. And I was a huge fan of the previous Arsenio Hall Show.
The times have changed however. The TV landscape isn’t at all what it used to be, as television itself has seen a radical transformation in the last decade, thanks in large part to the information superhighway known as the world wide web. Competition for eyeballs is intense, with so much demanding the audience’s attention, even when at home; so content creators really need to stand out if they’re to survive.
Uh oh, it doesn’t sound like Arsenio made the best impression on Tambay. Read what else he has to say at Shadow and Act.
Meanwhile, here’s what you can expect on Arsenio the rest of this week:
· Wednesday, Sept. 11: Magic Johnson, George Lopez, and musical guest, rapper Nas.
· Thursday, Sept. 12: Actor Mark Harmon from NCIS, magicians Penn & Teller, and musical guest, Earth, Wind, & Fire.
· Friday, Sept. 13: Angela Bassett and Simon Cowell’s “X Factor” group, Emblem3 as musical guests. I’d assume Cowell will be there as well, if only to introduce the group.
Check out a skit on George Zimmerman from Tuesday night’s show here.