Why Doesn’t The Tonight Show End at 11:59?
You know, for weeks now, people (mostly Conan supporters) have claimed that moving The Tonight Show to 12:05 a.m. would have made it The Tomorrow Show.
In that case, why is the second half of The Tonight Show still considered The Tonight Show? After midnight, it’s no longer “tonight”, right?
Night doesn’t end at 11:59 p.m. Night spans from sunset to sunrise. So, 12:05 is still night, right? If you’re out late, do you refer to midnight as morning? It’s still night.
Let’s look at it another way. When is Saturday night? Saturday after sunset, right? Saturday Night Live is on at 11:30 p.m., right? It’s not on at 3:00 a.m. on Saturday, is it? When it turns to 12:00 a.m. and becomes Sunday, do you think of that as Sunday morning? Or, do you still think of it as Saturday night?
Do you think of 12:00 a.m. Saturday to sunrise as Saturday night? And then sunset to 11:59 p.m. on Saturday as the second Saturday night? The other Saturday night? The second-half of Saturday night? Or, do you still think of 12:00 a.m. as part of Friday night? It’s still night, right? And, if it’s not Saturday night, it’s Friday night. Even if you don’t think of it as Friday night, it’s still the same night, right? The sun didn’t pop up at 12:00:00 a.m. and dip back down at 12:00:59 a.m., right? So, it’s all the same night. Even though it may be a different day, it’s still the same night. It’s still tonight.
Otherwise, The Tonight Show would have to be a half-hour show.
Unfortunately I don’t stay up to watch it either way. Sometimes I may get a chance to catch it on the weekend.
I think of NONE of this stuff, as I go to bed at 7. Sometimes I stay up until 9. I think they should make an early-night talk show for people like me.
What JD said. The times never mattered for me, since if I recorded it, I’d only watch it during daylight hours anyway. I want to know who’s up at that god forsaken hour watching TV. I haven’t done that in 20 years. I mean, really. On a weeknight, with work the next morning? I don’t get it. Who can do it?
I have it on whilst I slumber, and record the show with my Chi-side brain receptors
This is quite a deep philosophical question. I’d have to say that those who claim that moving The Tonight Show to 12:05 am would make it The Tomorrow Show are just plain wrong, because tomorrow never comes. At 12:05 am, it would actually be a new today.
That said, I agree with you, Dan, that it would also be correct to refer to that time as tonight. Hence, I think it would be perfectly legitimate to continue calling the show The Tonight Show–and it’s a good thing, too, because there’s already a show called The Today Show. ;-D