ISSUE DATE: Nov. 13, 1989
THE BUZZ:
We are seeing the future of the TV talk show, and it is, well, funky. The Arsenio Hall Show, a weeknightly joyride on 167 stations nationwide, is less a talk show than a televised party: hip, hyperkinetic and hot. The host can’t sit still, and the crowd can’t get enough of him. At any moment, Hall might race into the studio audience in response to a shouting fan, or sidle over to his five-piece house band (“my posse”) for some impromptu jamming. Meanwhile, as late-night’s first successful black talk host, he has turned his guest couch into TV’s liveliest melting pot. Rap groups get as much attention as Hollywood legends; George Hamilton or Glenn Close might find themselves rubbing elbows with one of the Jacksons — Jesse or Bo. And when things get slow, Eddie Murphy or Mike Tyson could drop in unannounced. Man, this show is loose!
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