Celebrities Alergic to Couches?

It hurts my feelings when a celebrity is a guest on a late night talk show and then leaves when his or her segment is done. It hurts me as a viewer.

The guest might be an attractive model in a short dress, or maybe a politician who I want to hear more from, or just a funny comedian. Regardless of who they are or what they do, guests should be forced to sit on that side-couch to the left of the interview chair. They should not be allowed to leave when their five minutes are done.

The major reason I say this is because of the potential for awkward and/or unique interaction between dissimilar guests. I want to see what the comedian says to the Victoria Secret model. I want to see how the violin virtuoso compliments the metal guitar rocker on his new album. I want to see how Barack Obama reacts to Paris Hilton's idiotic comments.

This is my favorite part of the talk show setup. The first guest scooting over, and the second guest sitting next to the first. Usually celebrities have an agenda while on the show--to promote a new album, movie, charity, or whatever. But when their five minutes are done, and they are sitting on the side couch, they can just be themselves. Real. Natural. No agenda. I don't like it when a guest is "too busy" and has to leave. I get the feeling they came on the show just to shill their crappy tv show. But if they stick around, I know that they care, or at least are good sports and act like they care.

Comedians are probably the best side-couchers. They sit over there and interrupt with a relevant joke. Ha ha, people laugh. The host says a joke too. Ha ha, more laughs. And back to the interview. I like this. I smile. Veteran actors are good, too. They are confident and don't mind interrupting/joining in/sharing. Models are also good, because everyone wants to talk with a model. Some rocket scientist could be explaining solar physics to Conan O'Brien, and he would pause to see if Heidi Klum had some funny story that even partially relates to anything.

Sometimes the side-guest main-guest relationship doesn't work out. The people are just too different, one guest is shy, or one is really creepy. This isn't always a bad thing. As a viewer, I enjoy conflict as well. This week on the Jimmy Kimmel Show, Jimmy kicked Andy Dick off the side-couch for fondling Ivanka Trump. I wish there had been more kicking and fighting, but I'll take what I can get.



So, I propose a new ultimatum. All guest on late night talk show are required to stay until the credits roll. No exceptions. Except for models, because, I mean come on, who wouldn't bend the rules for a model?