MovieChat Forums > The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962) Discussion > Antenna TV Episode Observations

Antenna TV Episode Observations

posted 9 years ago by sea_salt53
19 replies | jump to latest

I'm enjoying the classic Carson on Antenna TV. Here are some observations....

- They're using the same opening theme and Ed's "Heeeeeeeeere's Johnny" for every episode. They cut to the episode's original audio as Johnny emerges from the curtains. The opening montage of a siren light, lighting rigs, and other "behind-the-scenes" footage is okay - at least we get to hear "Johnny's Theme"! EDIT: Ed was absent from the episode that aired last night (January 23, with Jane Fonda and Orson Bean from 10/06/1977) and Doc had the honors of introducing Johnny. So, I guess they're using the same theme up until the "Heeeeeeeeere's Johnny".

- The title cards before and after the commercial breaks are great! I really like the paintings of W.C. Fields, Harold Lloyd, and other comedy icons. I wonder if the subject matter was chosen by Johnny? And where are they now? NBC storage or someone's attic?

- I feel sorry for the guests mentioned in the monologue and not included in these episodes. Same goes for the musical guests. I know the rights to certain songs can be expensive, but we're missing out on some great performances!

- Are younger folks getting all the Reagan, Dr. Ruth, Ayatollah Khomeini, and other references to famous 1980s personalities? I imagine there's lots of googling going on after certain jokes!

- Most of it is genuine, but every now and then I sense some nervous, forced laughter from Johnny with certain guests. Maybe he was having a bad day - or just wasn't enjoying the guest!

- How many of these episodes are we gonna get? I fear that we will be watching the same episodes this summer! Sources claim that nearly all of the episodes from 1972 - 1992 have been preserved. Hopefully, they'll show some rare ones and, dare I say it, some with just so-so guests.

- These shows remind me of an era when Johnny was truly the king of late night.

[–] wordsatplaytoday 9 years ago

Good post and observations. I would like to comment on them...

- They're using the same opening theme and Ed's "Heeeeeeeeere's Johnny" for every episode. They cut to the episode's original audio as Johnny emerges from the curtains. The opening montage of a siren light, lighting rigs, and other "behind-the-scenes" footage is okay - at least we get to hear "Johnny's Theme"!

I was wondering about that to. We don't get Ed's voice over of the guests or the camera shot of him saying his famous intro of Johnny. When did they come up with this opening? Is it just for Antenna TV, the DVDs. or other times they repeated this show?

- The title cards before and after the commercial breaks are great! I really like the paintings of W.C. Fields, Harold Lloyd, and other comedy icons. I wonder if the subject matter was chosen by Johnny? And where are they now? NBC storage or someone's attic?

I'd forgotten about those. Those things are so vastly underrated. Did they ever use the same one twice?
Remember when Dave Letterman also had them?

- Are younger folks getting all the Reagan, Dr. Ruth, Ayatollah Khomeini, and other references to famous 1980s personalities? I imagine there's lots of googling going on after certain jokes!

I don't care but I'm getting them.

- Most of it is genuine, but every now and then I sense some nervous, forced laughter from Johnny with certain guests. Maybe he was having a bad day - or just wasn't enjoying the guest!

The other night he mentioned that he is a shy person. And shy people do tend to be socially awkward at times.

- How many of these episodes are we gonna get? I fear that we will be watching the same episodes this summer! Sources claim that nearly all of the episodes from 1972 - 1992 have been preserved. Hopefully, they'll show some rare ones and, dare I say it, some with just so-so guests.

I dunno. He could come out and read a phone book for an hour and I'd still dig it. I'm really enjoying seeing these. I missed him and his show.

- These shows remind me of an era when Johnny was truly the king of late night.

Jimmy Fallon comes the closest but there will always be just one JC.

[–] darin1234 9 years ago

The intro is made for antenna tv (the DVDs have the original open, I believe). They made it to avoid using the title "the tonight show" because NBC still owns the trademark or something like that. It might be a little awkward to cut just "tonight show" off the original intro and have Ed read the guests, the new intro seems to flow better. The "more to come" bumpers are great. Also of note, some of the original bumpers had "the tonight show starring johnny carson" on them and those have been edited (photoshopped maybe) to simply say "johnny carson". Speaking of Letterman slides, the man who took those photos has a website (http://lettermanbumpers.com/) and facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/LettermanBumpers) devoted to them.

[–] ScarletKnights 9 years ago

I saw a "Tonight" title card recently

[–] midnitelamp 9 years ago

some will google those folks. I just stumbled into the original lyrics of "Anything Goes" and I certainly googled the references.

I have no idea why I posted this here.

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] olds1999 9 years ago

Supposedly, the shows are being shown uncut. But it looks like the beginnings and ends are missing a few seconds. I especially like the 90 minute shows,being shown on the weekend. The guests were not limited to 5 -10 minutes. On the show on this Saturday with Mel Brooks,he was on for about 45 minutes!And unlike todays talk shows,Carson let all the guests remain on the couch for the whole show.

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] sea_salt53 9 years ago

Did anyone notice the janitor's mop and bucket in plain view on the set during the Oprah Winfrey and Jerry Seinfeld episode from 1986? It was to the left of Johnny's desk!

You can see it in this video at the 0:25 mark!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QfsnDvysJU

Was it a mistake or a planned sight gag?

[–] wordsatplaytoday 9 years ago

I noticed what looked like a clothes line with clothes on it, like socks, behind him.

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] wordsatplaytoday 9 years ago

Yeah, or maybe it was explained in an earlier show the week it originally aired.

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] greenmandmspt2 9 years ago

I'm actually watching the show as I type this, haha. On this episode, Carol Wayne did the "heeere's Johnny!" but perhaps it was left in because of the way that Johnny Carson came out and looked at her. I didn't catch the date, unfortunately, but it's an episode with Rodney Dangerfield and an Art Fern sketch.

Formerly known as "Greenmandms"

[–] desertskies 9 years ago

As mentioned in a previous post, NBC owns the Tonight Show. That's why we don't hear Ed "From Hollywood, it's the Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson...". In some markets (at least here in Phoenix), it competes with the current Tonight with Jimmy Fallon mess Mon-Fri and SNL on Sat nights.
While Carson Productions owns these tapes, they can not claim Tonight Show. They are probably legally prohibited. Incidental mentions are ok (bump cards).

"You can run me, you can starve me and you can beat me and you can kill me. Just don't bore me."

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] Carycomic 8 years ago

And I sincerely wonder why certain of his flubs aren't followed by "Tea For Two?" It makes me wonder if the piano arpeggio that _is_ being played was retroactively edited in via some high-tech present-day process?

[–] KC-7 8 years ago

Looks like the new year is bringing us a mix of shows we saw last year along with some new ones. Last night's show and tonight's are both shows that were shown on Antenna TV last year while Tuesday's show is a first-run.

[–] hallrk 8 years ago

I e-mailed Antenna TV to see if they will be showing "new" shows this year. They wrote back and said it would be mostly repeats with a few new ones mixed in.

[–] perfectpawn 8 years ago

Thanks for the info. Seems kind of weird...did they only buy rights for one year's worth of shows? Or does this have something to do with music rights?