Nicole Sullivan on The Late Late Show, August 2, 1999.

A sure sign that my job is starting to interfere with my hobby is the fact that I completely missed Nicole Sullivan's August 2, 1999 appearance on The Late Late Show. Another sign is the fact that after receiving a tape of this episode, I waited almost six weeks before documenting her appearance on this show.

I never saw The Late Late Show before watching this episode. But I had seen several episodes of The Daily Show when Craig Kilborn was still hosting it, and Kilborn brings many of the same elements that were successful on that show to The Late Late Show. The Five Questions are represented here, and Kilborn also skewers public figures with his news parody, which is far edgier than anything similar attempted on The Late Show or The Tonight Show (these shows reserve most of their sociopolitical satire for the opening monologue). I still remember how funny I thought his "Countdown to Impeachment" on The Daily Show was - when I didn't have time to watch the show, I usually watched the highlights using Real Player. Craig Kilborn is essentially playing much the same role as David Letterman was ten or fifteen years ago. Back then, college students who found Johnny Carson too passe could wait until 12:30 and watch Letterman, who back then was considered much more hip. Now, Letterman and Leno represent the establishment, while Kilborn and fellow Ken doll lookalike Conan O'Brien attempt to woo younger viewers.

Ms. Sullivan's appearance here represented her first appearance on a network late night talk show in almost a year. It occurred around the same time that Mad TV was beginning taping its fifth season. Ms. Sullivan mentions the show's two Emmy nominations (for wardrobe and hair); she discusses her efforts to get into shape so she can go snowboarding, and plays "Kitten Twister," essentially Kilborn's version of charades (she got one of the two phrases). Substantively, this segment was not much different than any of her Letterman appearances, although Kilborn is much more enjoyable to watch in my opinion; he makes the interviewing process seem so effortless. And while Kilborn does not by any means redefine the celebrity interview, the Late Late Show Game-o-Matic introduced a certain element of hey, dude-ness to the proceedings lacking in the present incarnations of the Leno and Letterman shows. It should be noted that Ms. Sullivan seemed very upbeat and ebullient during this appearance; when she was on Later in September 1999, she seemed much more subdued and serious. Nicole Sullivan fans looking for a show in which Ms. Sullivan's career is given more thoughtful treatment should perhaps watch instead her appearance seven weeks later on Later, NBC's half-hour interview show currently buried in the 1:30 AM time slot. But this appearance was not bad.