Friday Night With Jonathan Ross press clippings - Page 6 - British Comedy Guide (original) (raw)
Page 6
Press clippings Page 6
There are some editions of Ross's chat show when you half wish that instead of watching the host bounce one-liners off his guests, we could eavesdrop on the chit-chat in the green room. Tonight, for instance, I'd love to hear what Jeremy Clarkson, Peter Kay and Laurence Fishburne find to talk about as they loll in the chairs waiting to go on. Surely there's scope for a BBC3 spin-off show that would let us in on the behind-the-scenes fun and celebrity banter, possibly entitled Woss Going On? What we'll actually get is some alpha-male sparring in the studio between Ross and Clarkson, whose attempts to best each other have in the past made them sound like cocky teens trying to out-brag each other on the school bus. Still, it'll be worth seeing. Kay should lighten things up nicely while Fishburne, now heading up the all-conquering CSI franchise, brings genuine Hollywood star power.
David Butcher, Radio Times, 27th November 2009
Barbra Streisand hasn't done a chat show in the UK since being lightly grilled by Des O'Connor way back in the 1980s. The reason isn't that she has something to hide, it's more that she really doesn't need to. She's such a preposterously massive star that Ross might just drop his tiresome "pretending all the female guests fancy me" routine and actually ask her some decent questions. We can but hope.
The Guardian, 2nd October 2009
The once-disgraced television and radio broadcaster presents a show devoted to an interview with one of the world's best-loved stars, Barbra Streisand. Ross's at times brash interviewing style is not everyone's cup of tea, so it's a wonder that a star of Streisand's status would choose him for an exclusive chat. In her first UK studio interview since the Eighties, the A Star Is Born actress discusses her five-decade-long stage, television and film career and performs some of her classic hits as well as songs from her new album, Love Is the Answer.
Clive Morgan, The Telegraph, 2nd October 2009
It's perhaps a little melodramatic to say that it's do or die time for Jonathan. But something has to give. His last series tailed off following the Sachsgate balls - not that he lost his wit, A-listers or even his cheek. But he'd lost a definite spark. And where his presence had been a comfort on a cold Friday night in, it became something too easily missed. His radio show is nowhere near as fun pre-recorded. And so he has to try something. Could he go on the offensive? No, he'd be slaughtered. So what? Let his guests speak? Seems unlikely. He's stuck. Writing this, we've become convinced, we're watching the death of this chat show. Shame.