Craig Ferguson, his robot sidekick Geoff Peterson and fake horse Secretariat appeared on CBS’ TheLate Late Show for a final time on Friday, Dec. 19. After a celebrity friend-filled and pre-taped musical number to “Bang Your Drum’ by Scottish band Dead Man Falls, Ferguson had fellow late night veteran Jay Leno as his last guest. British actor James Corden will lead the show starting in March. The following are reviews from TV critics around the web, compiled by B&C.
“So congratulations to Ferguson and his team for telling jokes in such a singular way—one full of puppets and robot skeletons and a dancing horse; what they built certainly felt like art.”
—Joshua Rivera, Entertainment Weekly
“A massive musical number? Check. A casual, low-stakes chat with Jay Leno? Check. A surprise ending that will surely echo through the annals of television history? Oh my God, check.”
—Andy Swift, TVLine
“But what will likely be talked about was what happened when the horse Secretariat took off his mask for the first time, revealing Bob Newhart was underneath. That led to a meta moment in which Ferguson channeled the controversial series finale of Newhart. Ferguson (as his Drew Carey Show character Mr. Wick) woke up in bed next to Drew Carey, to recount the horrible dream he'd had of being a talk show host.”
—Aaron Couch, The Hollywood Reporter
“Completely bizarre, very clever and really, classic Craig Ferguson.”
—Emily Yahr, Washington Post
“On his last Late Late Show, Ferguson coyly hinted at what's to come. ‘I wanted to make this clear, I'm not retiring,’ he says. ‘I’m stopping doing this, I'm not stopping doing it. I'll still do it to you. I might do it a bit earlier and I might do it in a different place.’”
—Michael Schneider, TV Guide
