ABC Puts An End To Drinks On Jimmy Kimmel's new show.

Webcenter News ^ | January 29, 2003 | Associated Press

[ConservativeMan55]

Last call at Jimmy Kimmel's new ABC talk show NEW YORK (AP) - It's last call at Jimmy Kimmel's new ABC talk show.

After a boisterous premiere during which actor George Clooney passed around a bottle of vodka and an audience member vomited, the bar that serves drinks to audience members has been shut down.

Kimmel's late-night talk show, to run regularly on weeknights, premiered early Monday two hours after the end of the Super Bowl and was seen by an average of 4.8 million viewers.

Besides Clooney pouring drinks, rapper Snoop Dogg tested censors by several times making an on-camera obscene gesture.

``We were not comfortable with the systems in place for serving wine and beer,'' ABC spokesman Kevin Brockman said.

Daniel Kellison, the show's executive producer, said, ``They just said `let's chill out on it and take it away for now,' and we said fine. We have bigger fish to fry.''

ABC is hoping to build a late-night franchise by replacing ``Politically Incorrect'' with a new show led by Kimmel, former co-host of ``The Man Show'' on Comedy Central. ABC had resisted letting the show operate a bar in the first place, but Kellison pointed out drinks are served at the Disney-owned California Angels' games.

Kimmel, speaking earlier this month, said he wanted to make going to the show a more pleasant experience than it normally is for audience members.

``You stand out there for three hours,'' he said. ``They poke you with cattle prods to get in, and then you're forced to laugh and applaud at certain times. I want to make it more of an evening out where people actually enjoy themselves from the beginning of the experience until the end.''

Drinks aren't served to audience members at Jay Leno's ``Tonight'' show and David Letterman's ``Late Show.'' On-air guests at ``Tonight'' are asked backstage if they want a drink; Letterman's people won't ask, but will get something if it's requested.

Last June, ``Tonight'' show guest Tom Green got progressively drunk on the air as a gimmick, an experiment thought to quickly spiral out of control.

For a new show seeking attention like Kimmel's, publicity about a raucous opening night and bar shutdown might not necessarily be a bad thing.

``It gives us some stature in terms of people thinking this is a different show and not a conventional talk show,'' Kellison said. ``Honestly, what we want to do is create a place where the young audience and young talent feel like this is a fun place to come.''

[Bella_Bru]

I liked it when he was trying to sell beer. :-)

[DoughtyOne]

I'm not immune to the appeal of the Man Show. At first it appeals because, as other folks have mentioned, it's unPC. Women are used as objects, as if any guy(or woman) doesn't view members of the other sex as an object at times. The in your face stereotypical "man things (traits)" that are exhibited are hilarious. But at some point the absurdity factor deminishes and the show just becomes ho-hum, at least for me.

[DoughtyOne]

I think you misunderstood. Snoop Dog was simply doing his best to count higher than one, a new record for him.

[CalvaryJohn]

You Kimmel fans should really take a close look at your mental development. I find it very telling when I find out that someone listens to Stern or watches trash like this. I imagine Married with Children is a really big hit among you people too. So what's your favorite movie? Weekend at Bernie's? Or maybe House Party? This is the crowd who thinks a real woman is one that has plastic boobs and can swallow. This is the crowd who thinks that being a man is to drink beer and wolf whistle. This is the crowd I am ashamed to share any kind of conservative viewpoints with.

[ServesURight]

Jimmy Kimmel is THA MAN! Sometimes you FReepers are so wrapped up that anything less than a one-hour prayer show isn't up to your holier-than-thou standards.

[sox_the_cat]

I watched some last night. Kimmel was doing some lame hand-shaking bit with his band leader after he said Snoop didn't shake his hand like a "brother".

I liked Kimmel on Ben Stein and Fox Sundays, but his best humor is pointing out that George Clooney is a big time loser and not schmoozing with him.

I was amazed at the Snoopy guy last night. Kimmel asked him if he watched the SOTU and he replied he couldn't bear to watch it, but he always watched Clinton and that he loved Clinton. Kimmel asked him if he hated Bush and he said no that he couldn't feel close enough to him to know him. I'm not sure if this has to do with the whole first black president junk or what, but I found it odd that he loved Clinton. Snoopy was involved somehow with porn and Clinton was our first pornographic president, maybe that's it.

[ContemptofCourt]

Jimmy Kimmel is a no talent hack who always uses the gutter as his source of jokes. He will not last.......

Yeah, just like Howard Stern, huh?

Personally, I loved the Man Show, and I think Kimmel is funny. He pushes the envelope.

[Vicki]

Mainstream television for the most part has become depraved and simply gross.

[ServesURight]

Guys, Kimmel is simply appealing to the good old man-child in us all. Similiar to what Maxim did when they saw a market dominated by feminist liberal rags. Now they're the number one magazine out there.

[TontoKowalski]

Lighten up.

*Belch*

[matthew_the_brain]

Anytime a comedian has to resort to either bathroom or sexual humor, they cease to be funny, and begin only to shock. It is the most base of all humor, something most mature, functional people laughed last when they were 12....

[Petronski]

This is the crowd I am ashamed to share any kind of conservative viewpoints with.

You talkin' to me?

[snowstorm12]

oh great another late show where they interview celebs....no thanks!

[TontoKowalski]

Well, Petronski, even if they're ashamed of us, I still claim them as part of my conservative family.

After all, prissy conservatives vote, too.

[Sam's Army]

"This is the crowd I am ashamed to share any kind of conservative viewpoints with."

Well, isn't that special? Can we come over to your house and watch Lawrence Welk this weekend?

[BrooklynGOP]

I liked it when he was trying to sell beer. :-)

Yea, that was a good one... Did you see the one of him on the beach trying to get girls to put lotion on him? Or the one of him picking up girls on some college campus?

[Bella_Bru]

You sound like a shrill NOW feminazi.

Here, I have something for your whiney self.

[BrooklynGOP]

This is the crowd who thinks a real woman is one that has plastic boobs and can swallow. This is the crowd who thinks that being a man is to drink beer and wolf whistle. This is the crowd I am ashamed to share any kind of conservative viewpoints with.

You have issues.

[Bella_Bru]

Oh man...the beach was great! Where did they find that kid??

[discostu]

Way to sterotype from a position of ignorance. Re your accusations:
The Man show is funny, deal
Stern, never liked him, mostly it's his voice I find it highly irritating, never actually been able to listen to what he says.
Married with Children was hilarious for about half it's run, most of what made it funny was breaking away from the Bill Cosby mythical sit-com "family structure" and showed a TV family much more similar to what Cosby actually grew up in (alcoholic father with crappy job, disaffected mother, no money).
Favorite movie depends heavily on my mood, off the top of my head Big Jake comes immediately to mind, Buckaroo Bonzai gets a lot of play on my DVD player to. Never even seen Weekend at Bernie's or House Party.
Don't know about boobs and swallowing, but I do know that real women think Allen Alda is a sissy and want their man to act like a man, which does occasionally include treating them as a sex object for a while behind closed doors.
I drink beer because I like beer, wolf whistling is soooo 1950s.
You should be ashamed to blather on so much about something you clearly don't understand.