Ram Review: The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Scottish comedian Craig Ferguson ("The Drew Carey Show") has hosted "The Late Late Show"on CBS since January 2005. Though still not quite as high profile as some other late-night hosts, Ferguson has built a loyal fan base and become increasingly popular over the last five years, thanks to his quirky sense of humor and willingness to depart from late-night TV conventions.

            The show generally begins with a two-minute cold open, usually featuring a short monologue, a brief interaction with a random audience or "Late Late Show" staff member, or Ferguson acting with one of his popular hand puppets, which include a Cajun crocodile named Wavy Rancheros and a cussing white rabbit named Sid. After the opening credits, Ferguson performs a largely improvised, stream-of-consciousness monologue, rather than reading news-related jokes off cue cards.

After the monologue, he reads tweets and e-mails from viewers, offering silly, usually nonsensical answers and advice to their questions (The jingles that always precede the tweets and e-mails make even less sense and are usually hilarious as a result). The rest of a "Late Late Show" episode consists of at least one celebrity guest, as well as occasional short skits, musical performances and more appearances from the hand puppets. Ferguson tends to have relaxed, humorous conversations with his guests, rather than structured interviews based on prepared questions; he even rips up a set of interview cards with every guest's arrival to show his disdain for rigid question-and-answer sessions. Throughout an episode, he will make jokes about the low budget and quality of his show, deal with interruptions from his "robot skeleton sidekick" Geoff Peterson and amuse the audience with a variety of other running gags.

Ferguson's brand of humor is one that distinguishes him from the rest of the American late-night crowd; his show is often more reminiscent of legendary British comedy troupe Monty Python than it is of "The Late Show with David Letterman" or "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." The show may seem a little too strange for some at first, but those who stick with "The Late Late Show" will find themselves enjoying the program's eccentricities and the break from the tired formats of other late-night mainstays. Despite his jokes about the show, Ferguson seems to enjoy hosting it, often laughing just as much as his guests and his audience during a broadcast.

However, the most interesting departure of "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" from similar programs is not in its usually goofy nature, but the occasions on which Ferguson gets more serious. During his five years on the show, he has eulogized both his parents, spoken about issues ranging from U.S. voter fatigue to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and even dedicated an entire episode to the history of South Africa and an interview with Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Perhaps most famously, during a February 2007 broadcast Ferguson announced that he would not be making any jokes about Britney Spears, who was struggling at the time with alcohol abuse and other personal problems. Having fought his own battle with drug and alcohol addiction, Ferguson explained his belief that "comedy should have a certain amount of joy in it" and that "attacking the vulnerable" was not a good way to get laughs. This kinder attitude was yet another way that Ferguson proved himself to be not quite like the other late-night hosts on network TV.

"The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" airs weeknights starting at 12:37 a.m. on CBS. Night owls who love to laugh will find it a terrific way to end the day with a laugh.