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* [[{{BizarroEpisode}} BizarroEpisode]]: [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gx6WPQkhUXI The special episode with guest Stephen fry]]. In this more serious one-off episode there was no Audience, music or gags and Craig instead had a face to face conversation with Stephen where they discussed a number of subjects including, censorship, technology, the different attitudes between England and America and Stephen’s involvement in conservation efforts of the northern White Rhino.
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* [[{{BizarroEpisode}} BizarroEpisode]]: BizarroEpisode: The [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gx6WPQkhUXI The special episode with guest Stephen fry]]. In this more serious one-off episode there was no Audience, music or gags and Craig instead had a face to face conversation with Stephen where they discussed a number of subjects including, censorship, technology, the different attitudes between England and America and Stephen’s involvement in conservation efforts of the northern White Rhino.
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* [[{{BizarroEpisode}} Bizarro Episode]]: [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gx6WPQkhUXI The special episode with guest Stephen fry]]. In this more serious one-off episode there was no Audience, music or gags and Craig instead had a face to face conversation with Stephen where they discussed a number of subjects including, censorship, technology, the different attitudes between England and America and Stephen’s involvement in conservation efforts of the northern White Rhino.
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* [[{{BizarroEpisode}} Bizarro Episode]]: BizarroEpisode]]: [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gx6WPQkhUXI The special episode with guest Stephen fry]]. In this more serious one-off episode there was no Audience, music or gags and Craig instead had a face to face conversation with Stephen where they discussed a number of subjects including, censorship, technology, the different attitudes between England and America and Stephen’s involvement in conservation efforts of the northern White Rhino.
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* [[{{BizarroEpisode}} Bizarro Episode]]: [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gx6WPQkhUXI The special episode with guest Stephen fry]]. In this more serious one-off episode there was no Audience, music or gags and Craig instead had a face to face conversation with Stephen where they discussed a number of subjects including, censorship, technology, the different attitudes between England and America and Stephen’s involvement in conservation efforts of the northern White Rhino.
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link
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* CameraAbuse: Craig slaps the side of the camera after coming out for his monologue. Only twice (May 8, 2009 and March 7, 2011) has it backfired, with the former causing a piece of glass to ''fall out, '''shattering on the floor.''''' And then Craig grabbed the broom and cleaned it up himself while continuing to do his monologue.
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* CameraAbuse: Craig slaps the side of the camera after coming out for his monologue. Only twice (May 8, 2009 and March 7, 2011) has it backfired, with the former causing a piece of glass to ''fall out, ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj2ut7NApwQ fall out]], '''shattering on the floor.''''' And then Craig grabbed the broom and cleaned it up himself while continuing to do his monologue.
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* AchievementsInIgnorance: Craig only only had a passing interest in late night talk shows but took on the show because he was getting divorced and [[MoneyDearBoy needed a steady job]] (and one that stayed local). This attitude and his natural charisma gave the show a fresh "anything can happen" that emulated (often surpassing) Letterman at his best. He ended the show despite the immense success because he was never really invested in the format to begin with.
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[[caption-width-right:350:''Keep Bangin' On.'']]
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* AprilFoolsDay: For 2014, Drew Carey and George Gray switched places with Craig and Geoff; Craig would host ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' the following morning, with his announcer Shadoe Stevens replacing George Gray, and Geoff/Secretariat being prize models. For Drew, it [[{{Foreshadowing}} fulfilled a prophecy from a previous April Fools' day episode]] where Drew was [[MythologyGag introduced in the opening spiel]] as the host of ''The Late Late Show''.
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* AprilFoolsDay: For 2014, Drew Carey and George Gray switched places with Craig and Geoff; Craig would host ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' the following morning, with his announcer Shadoe Stevens replacing George Gray, and Geoff/Secretariat being prize models. For Drew, it [[{{Foreshadowing}} fulfilled a prophecy from a previous April Fools' day episode]] where Drew was [[MythologyGag introduced in during the opening spiel]] opening]] as the host of ''The Late Late Show''.Show with Craig Ferguson''.
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On April 28, 2014, Ferguson announced that he was ending the show at the end of the year. The last episode aired on December 19, 2014. Afterwards, ''Late Late Show'' began a series of episodes with guest hosts; new permanent host James Corden began his iteration of the franchise on March 23, 2015.
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On April 28, 2014, Ferguson announced that he was ending the show at the end of the year. The last episode aired on December 19, 2014. Afterwards, ''Late Late Show'' began a series of episodes with guest hosts; new permanent host James Corden Creator/JamesCorden began his iteration of the franchise on March 23, 2015.
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Renamed trope
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** January 6, 2011: His [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj7e7_Uz4Fk interview with]] Creator/AlexKingston started out with some innocent laughter about her rabbit ring, after which he pulled out Sid the Cussing Bunny. The conversation, however, took a turn into DoubleEntendre territory when they started talking about how she loved...well..."rabbits".[[note]]For the record, "rabbit" specifically refers to the Rampant Rabbit, a brand-name vibrator from UK sex shop chain Ann Summers. In the UK, they're famous for their TV commercials, including a [[GreenChristmas Christmas ad]] showing several women showing their [[TheImmodestOrgasm "O-faces"]] set to the gently sung lyrics of [[DoubleEntendre "Oh Come All Ye Faithful"]].[[/note]]
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** January 6, 2011: His [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj7e7_Uz4Fk interview with]] Creator/AlexKingston started out with some innocent laughter about her rabbit ring, after which he pulled out Sid the Cussing Bunny. The conversation, however, took a turn into DoubleEntendre territory when they started talking about how she loved...well..."rabbits".[[note]]For the record, "rabbit" specifically refers to the Rampant Rabbit, a brand-name vibrator from UK sex shop chain Ann Summers. In the UK, they're famous for their TV commercials, including a [[GreenChristmas [[CommercializedChristmas Christmas ad]] showing several women showing their [[TheImmodestOrgasm "O-faces"]] set to the gently sung lyrics of [[DoubleEntendre "Oh Come All Ye Faithful"]].[[/note]]
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* BerserkButton: Don't tell Secretariat that he's fat.
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* BerserkButton: BerserkButton:
** Craig's famous [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1sz3oxgDH0 "if you don't vote, you're a moron"]] rant began when 2008 election coverage hit his Berserk Button particularly hard.
** Don't tell Secretariat that he's fat.
** Craig's famous [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1sz3oxgDH0 "if you don't vote, you're a moron"]] rant began when 2008 election coverage hit his Berserk Button particularly hard.
** Don't tell Secretariat that he's fat.
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* MilestoneCelebration: The 1000th show was celebrated on December 15th, 2009, and to celebrate, the entire show was hosted by Wavey, The Waving Crocodile. Wavey actually interviewed Kristen Bell and Jason Schwartzman.
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** January 25, 2011: The censor said Craig was only allowed to show a certain phallic picture of a haggis once, [[LoopholeAbuse so he left it up for as long as possible]].
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** [[https://youtu.be/ZLm5j4MRznI?t=517 January 25, 2011: 2011]]: The censor said Craig was only allowed to show a certain phallic picture of a haggis once, [[LoopholeAbuse so he left it up for as long as possible]].
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* HappyDance: ''"Who's that at the door?? '''It's Secretariat!!!"''''' For ages after Secretariat first showed up on the show, Craig would celebrate his brief appearance (Secretariat would simply [[DynamicEntry bounce into the studio]], then turn around and bounce right back out again) with a happy dance to Secretariat's {{Leitmotif}}. For those who haven't seen it, it's basically Craig pumping his fists in the air back and forth, which gradually became more... flail-y. Before long, [[MemeticMutation the fanbase got into it]], and soon enough [[AudienceParticipation the entire audience was doing Craig's dance with him]] every time Secretariat showed up. They eventually cooled off on the bit once they moved into the new studio and Secretariat became a full-time sidekick, but they did one more for the road on Craig's last show.
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* HappyDance: ''"Who's that at the door?? '''It's Secretariat!!!"''''' For ages after Secretariat Secretariat, everyone's favorite pantomime horse, first showed up on the show, show on October 11, 2010, and just kept appearing night after night, at Craig's whimsy. Craig would celebrate his Secretariat's brief appearance (Secretariat - Secretariat would simply [[DynamicEntry bounce into the studio]], then turn around and bounce right back out again) again - with a happy dance to Secretariat's {{Leitmotif}}. For those who haven't seen it, it's basically Craig pumping his fists in the air back and forth, which gradually became more... flail-y. Before long, [[MemeticMutation Instead of the bit getting tired, the fanbase got into it]], it, and soon enough [[AudienceParticipation the entire audience was doing Craig's dance with him]] every time Secretariat showed up. They eventually cooled off on the bit once they moved into the new studio and Secretariat became a full-time sidekick, but they did one more for the road on Craig's last show.
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* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Till it ''collapsed.'' Craig spent extraordinary amounts of time making jokes about the show's utter absurdity and [[NoBudget lack of budget]], as if Craig himself was some great cosmic joke on the entire talk show genre.
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* MilestoneCelebration: The 1000th show was celebrated on December 15th, 2009, and to celebrate, the entire show was hosted by Wavey, The Waving Crocodile. Wavey actually interviewed Kristen Bell and Jason Schwartzman.
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* ArchEnemy: Geoff and Kristen Bell become these to each other when Kristen gets passed over to become Craig's sidekick in favor of Geoff (obviously not in reality). Starts off as an absurdist gag when Geoff is just an inanimate puppet, but once Josh Robert Thompson begins voicing him, Kristen's appearances invariably devolved into SnarkToSnarkCombat between the two.
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* AprilFoolsDay: For 2014, Drew Carey and George Gray switched places with Craig and Geoff; Craig would host ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' the following morning, with his announcer Shadoe Stevens replacing George Gray, and Geoff/Secretariat being prize models. For Drew, it [[{{Foreshadowing}} fulfilled a prophecy from a previous April Fools' day episode]] where Drew was [[MythologyGag introduced in the opening spiel as host]] of ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson''
to:
* AprilFoolsDay: For 2014, Drew Carey and George Gray switched places with Craig and Geoff; Craig would host ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' the following morning, with his announcer Shadoe Stevens replacing George Gray, and Geoff/Secretariat being prize models. For Drew, it [[{{Foreshadowing}} fulfilled a prophecy from a previous April Fools' day episode]] where Drew was [[MythologyGag introduced in the opening spiel spiel]] as host]] the host of ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson''Show''.
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* SoundEffectBleep: During the the teaser and the monologue, the censors pixelate Craig's mouth and mute the audio when he swears. When one of the puppets swears (i.e., Sid or Wavy Rancheros), there's a beep and sometimes pixelation over their mouths. During other segments of of the show, the censors place CG flags of other nations over the mouths of Craig, Geoff and the guests, accompanied by speeded-up audio of Craig saying a phrase supposedly associated with that country. These include;
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* SoundEffectBleep: During the the teaser and the monologue, the censors pixelate Craig's mouth and mute the audio when he swears. When one of the puppets swears (i.e., Sid or Wavy Rancheros), there's a beep and sometimes pixelation over their mouths. During other segments of of the show, the censors place CG flags of other nations over the mouths of Craig, Geoff and the guests, accompanied by speeded-up sped-up audio of Craig saying a phrase supposedly associated with that country. These include;country, such as:
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** French flag: '''OOHLALA! CROISSANT!'''
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** French flag: '''OOHLALA! CROISSANT!''''''OOHLALA!''' or '''CROISSANT!'''
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** Gay Pride flag: '''Ah-oh!''' or '''Ohh!'''
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** Gay Pride flag: [[CampGay Rainbow flag]]: '''Ah-oh!''' or '''Ohh!'''
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* FreudianSlip: "Tonight I might say sexy words penis. I could even boobies by accident. Oh my vagina!"
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* FreudianSlip: "Tonight I might say sexy words penis. I could even boobies by accident. Oh Oh, my vagina!"
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* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:
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* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Later in this show's run, circumventing the network censors became Craig's ''raison d'être''.
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** Even Geoff Peterson occasionally fell victim to corpsing, especially after being asked about [[https://youtu.be/qAHSUTB5BJc having a house in Scotland]].
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** The closing segment of each show, "What Did We Learn on the Show Tonight, Craig?" ("¿Qué aprendimos en el programa, Señor Craig?" or "Qu'est-ce que nous avons apris ce soir, Craig?") is introduced by a graphic of a kitty.
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** The closing segment of each show, "What Did We Learn on the Show Tonight, Craig?" ("¿Qué aprendimos en el programa, Señor Craig?" or "Qu'est-ce que nous avons apris ce soir, Craig?") is introduced by a graphic of a kitty.kitten.
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** January 25, 2011: The censor said Craig was only allowed to show a certain phallic picture of a haggis once, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bNdSXI4dK8#t=4m41s so he left it up for as long as possible.]]
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** January 25, 2011: The censor said Craig was only allowed to show a certain phallic picture of a haggis once, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bNdSXI4dK8#t=4m41s [[LoopholeAbuse so he left it up for as long as possible.]]possible]].
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Has nothing to do with familiarity with in-universe fiction.
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* GenreSavvy: Craig [[PlatonicLifePartners decorates gingerbread cookies]] with Kristen Bell. Kristen asks Craig to squirt some icing in her mouth. Craig "accidentally" [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything gets a little on her chin]]. Kristen ''immediately'' turns away from the cameras to clean it off.
-->'''Craig''': You're welcome, America.
-->'''Craig''': You're welcome, America.
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* EndOfSeriesAwareness: Craig and Geoff make more and more jokes about the impending end as they approach it.
-->Just a few more weeks of this crap~!
-->Just a few more weeks of this crap~!
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* EndOfSeriesAwareness: Craig and Geoff make made more and more jokes about the impending end as they approach it.
-->Justit, complete with a "Just a few more weeks of this crap~!crap!" jingle.
-->'''Geoff''': You're watching the very last Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson; now Grandma can finally get some sleep!
-->Just
-->'''Geoff''': You're watching the very last Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson; now Grandma can finally get some sleep!
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Changed line(s) 85 (click to see context) from:
-->'''Craig''' ''[[[ItMakesSenseInContext dressed as Prince Charles]], reading off Amusing Headlines in a preposterous RP accent]'': "Hillary on Top of New Poll." [[WinkWinkNudgeNudge Ooh, I hope Bill doesn't find out!]] ''[dissolves into laughter]'' Oh, that is the funniest [[SoundEffectBleep ----ing]] thing I've ever seen!
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-->'''Craig''' ''[[[ItMakesSenseInContext dressed as Prince Charles]], reading off Amusing Headlines in a preposterous RP accent]'': "Hillary on Top of New Poll." [[WinkWinkNudgeNudge [[LampshadedDoubleEntendre Ooh, I hope Bill doesn't find out!]] ''[dissolves into laughter]'' Oh, that is the funniest [[SoundEffectBleep ----ing]] thing I've ever seen!
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** For the puppets:
*** Kronos typically introduces himself with a hearty '''[[LargeHam "People. Of. Earth!"]]'''
*** Sid's appears to be [[SoundEffectBleep "f--k."]]
*** Kronos typically introduces himself with a hearty '''[[LargeHam "People. Of. Earth!"]]'''
*** Sid's appears to be [[SoundEffectBleep "f--k."]]
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* {{Corpsing}}: Craig [[{{Understatement}} was not immune to this]]. The time [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAHSUTB5BJc Geoff made him cry]] is a highlight, but one episode of [[ShowWithinAShow The Rather Late Programme]] from the 2008 primary elections went in an unexpected direction:
-->'''Craig''' ''[[[ItMakesSenseInContext dressed as Prince Charles]], reading off Amusing Headlines in a preposterous RP accent]'': "Hillary on Top of New Poll." [[WinkWinkNudgeNudge Ooh, I hope Bill doesn't find out!]] ''[dissolves into laughter]'' Oh, that is the funniest [[SoundEffectBleep ----ing]] thing I've ever seen!
-->'''Craig''' ''[[[ItMakesSenseInContext dressed as Prince Charles]], reading off Amusing Headlines in a preposterous RP accent]'': "Hillary on Top of New Poll." [[WinkWinkNudgeNudge Ooh, I hope Bill doesn't find out!]] ''[dissolves into laughter]'' Oh, that is the funniest [[SoundEffectBleep ----ing]] thing I've ever seen!
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* DirtyMindReading: Speaking of rabbits, Sid claims to be capable of this.
-->''You dirty bastards.''
-->''You dirty bastards.''
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* GenreSavvy: Craig [[PlatonicLifePartners decorates gingerbread cookies]] with Kristen Bell. Kristen asks Craig to squirt some icing in her mouth. Craig "accidentally" [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything gets a little on her chin]]. Kristen ''immediately'' turns away from the cameras to clean it off.
-->'''Craig''': You're welcome, America.
-->'''Craig''': You're welcome, America.
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** Once the 2008 election rolled around, he referred to her as "governor by day, naughty librarian by night."
** Beth, the CBS Censor, sports SexySpectacles and rather tight business attire. Presumably [[HypocriticalHumor this was accidental]] on her part.
** Beth, the CBS Censor, sports SexySpectacles and rather tight business attire. Presumably [[HypocriticalHumor this was accidental]] on her part.
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* LoopholeAbuse: Craig shows us a very suggestive picture of a haggis. He's been told he can only show the picture once...so he leaves it up for about thirty seconds.
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* SirSwearsALot: Sid the Cussing Bunny.
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* StylisticSuck: If Secretariat were two people in a costume, and [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial not an actual horse]], he'd be this. "The Rather Late Programme" and most of the green-screen sketches also fall under here. Craig likes to use it as an excuse for BitingTheHandHumor, blaming his bosses for the show's low budget.
** Averted with Geoff Peterson, most of the hand puppets, and the occasional musical opening.
** Averted with Geoff Peterson, most of the hand puppets, and the occasional musical opening.
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* ChickMagnet: Craig has become pretty notorious for being able to charm almost any high-profile actress he interviews on the show, to the point that there are multiple "Craig Ferguson and the Ladies" compilations on Youtube of flirting between him and his guests.
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Changed line(s) 175 (click to see context) from:
** Ferguson sometimes jokingly alludes to the competition with his counterparts at Creator/{{ABC}} (Jimmy Kimmel) and Creator/{{NBC}} (Jimmy Fallon, and before that Creator/ConanOBrien), and occasionally interacts with them by proxy. Ferguson and Fallon have waved at each other with giant MickeyMouse hands, and once sent each other Christmas gifts (a [[CuteKitten pair of kittens]] for Jimmy, a [[HomemadeSweaterFromHell garish Christmas sweater]] for Craig) and displayed them on their respective shows.
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** Ferguson sometimes jokingly alludes to the competition with his counterparts at Creator/{{ABC}} (Jimmy Kimmel) (Creator/JimmyKimmel) and Creator/{{NBC}} (Jimmy Fallon, (Creator/JimmyFallon, and before that Creator/ConanOBrien), and occasionally interacts with them by proxy. Ferguson and Fallon have waved at each other with giant MickeyMouse hands, and once sent each other Christmas gifts (a [[CuteKitten pair of kittens]] for Jimmy, a [[HomemadeSweaterFromHell garish Christmas sweater]] for Craig) and displayed them on their respective shows.
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Clarification
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*** Early on, The Los Angeles Times newspaper gave the show a terrible review, quoting ''“and he continually shows a picture of Angela Langsbury instead of [=Paul McCartney=] [[ComicallyMissingThePoint without any apparent irony]].”''
---> '''Craig''': So I've been showing the picture at least once a week ever since. ''In your face'', now a website.
---> '''Craig''': So I've been showing the picture at least once a week ever since. ''In your face'', now a website.
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missing word
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* HotLibrarian: Back in June 2007, Craig had an ongoing bit where he asked U.S. mayors and state governors to declare him an "honorary citizen" of their town or state. On June 22, he aired a pre-recorded video response from Alaska Governor UsefulNotes/SarahPalin (this was ''before'' she was famous), who granted Craig's request while enthusiastically promoting her state had to offer. Craig's first thought?
to:
* HotLibrarian: Back in June 2007, Craig had an ongoing bit where he asked U.S. mayors and state governors to declare him an "honorary citizen" of their town or state. On June 22, he aired a pre-recorded video response from Alaska Governor UsefulNotes/SarahPalin (this was ''before'' she was famous), who granted Craig's request while enthusiastically promoting everything her state had to offer. Craig's first thought?
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added Hot Librarian example
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* HotLibrarian: Back in June 2007, Craig had an ongoing bit where he asked U.S. mayors and state governors to declare him an "honorary citizen" of their town or state. On June 22, he aired a pre-recorded video response from Alaska Governor UsefulNotes/SarahPalin (this was ''before'' she was famous), who granted Craig's request while enthusiastically promoting her state had to offer. Craig's first thought?
-->'''Craig:''' Is it just me, or do you get a kind of naughty librarian vibe from the Governor?
-->'''Craig:''' Is it just me, or do you get a kind of naughty librarian vibe from the Governor?
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Changed line(s) 191 (click to see context) from:
** Jerry from Room Service, who calls Craig instead of the other way around. Started out as a skit which followed the sequence with the bells mentioned above (One bell, speak German; two bells, still German; three bells, Dracula; four bells, Italian Bill Clinton; five bells, room service).
to:
** Jerry from Room Service, who calls Craig instead of the other way around. Started out as a skit which followed the sequence with the bells mentioned above from another running gag about ringing a bell (One bell, speak German; two bells, still German; three bells, Dracula; four bells, Italian Bill Clinton; five bells, room service).
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** All the endings to interviews, from mouth organs, to quiz questions, to awkward silences.
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** Alfredo Sauce and the Shy Fellas, who are too shy to come out from behind the curtain.
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** Alfredo Sauce and the Shy Fellas, who are a house band that is too shy to come out from behind the curtain.
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* QuietlyPerformingSisterShow: Not just to ''Series/TheLateShowWithDavidLetterman'' but late night talk shows in general. While Craig Ferguson built a devoted fanbase, received critical acclaim and performed adequately in the ratings, he never benefitted from network hype (like Creator/JimmyFallon) and his presence on a regular broadcast network didn't give him the trendy cred he might have gotten on cable. His GrandFinale got a fair amount of media coverage, but a lot of the stories started off with some variation on "''Series/TheColbertReport'' isn't the only late night show signing off this week."
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* QuietlyPerformingSisterShow: Not just to ''Series/TheLateShowWithDavidLetterman'' but late night talk shows in general. While Craig Ferguson built a devoted fanbase, received critical acclaim and performed adequately in the ratings, he never CBS didn't seem to go out of their way to publicize his show very much[[note]]Compared to the heavy viral video-based promotion that James Corden has benefitted from network hype (like Creator/JimmyFallon) from[[/note]] and his presence on a regular broadcast network didn't give him the trendy cred he might have gotten on cable. His GrandFinale got a fair amount of media coverage, but a lot of the stories started off with some variation on "''Series/TheColbertReport'' isn't the only late night show signing off this week."
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[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_late_late_show_with_craig_ferguson.jpg]]
''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' is an American late-night TalkShow hosted by Scottish American comedian Creator/CraigFerguson. It was the third iteration of the ''[[Series/TheLateLateShow Late Late Show]]'' franchise, airing from 2005 to 2014. It followed ''Series/TheLateShowWithDavidLetterman'' in the Creator/{{CBS}} late-night lineup, airing weekdays in the U.S. at 12:35 a.m.
During the late 2004 transition of guest hosts following the departure of previous host Craig Kilborn, Craig Ferguson hosted a series of shows in October and November, culminating in being announced on December 7 as the pick for new host. Since launching ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' on January 3, 2005, Ferguson achieved the highest ratings since the show's inception in 1995. While comedy was emphasized in the majority of the episodes, Ferguson also addressed difficult subject matters, such as the deaths of his parents, his struggles with alcoholism, and commentating on national tragedies; and undertook serious interviews, such as one with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, which earned the show a 2009 Peabody Award. Despite not initially having a sidekick, comedian and voice actor Josh Robert Thompson joined the show in 2010 and voiced sidekick Geoff Peterson until the show's finale.
On April 28, 2014, Ferguson announced that he was ending the show at the end of the year. The last episode aired on December 19, 2014. Afterwards, ''Late Late Show'' began a series of episodes with guest hosts; new permanent host James Corden began his iteration of the franchise on March 23, 2015.
----
!!Tropes associated with ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' include:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:A–D]]
* AcidRefluxNightmare: According to the GrandFinale [[spoiler: the entire 10 year run was actually just one of these experienced by [[Series/TheDrewCareyShow Nigel Wick]].]]
* AcquiredSituationalNarcissism:
-->'''Craig:''' [[BitingTheHandHumor Craig, why are you insulting people from Hollywood?]]\\
'''[[TalkingToHimself Craig]]:''' [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Because nobody around here won the Peabody Award!]]
* AllJustADream: At the end of the series in December 2014, on the segment "What Did We Learn On The Show In The Past 10 Years, Craig?", Craig and Geoff ask Secretariat's operator to take off the costume. He is revealed to be [[spoiler: Bob Newhart who tells Craig he's dreaming. [[Series/TheDrewCareyShow Nigel Wick then wakes up in bed next to a still-fat Drew Carey]], announcing that he's had a terrible dream where he had to host a late night talk show with a robot skeleton and a fake horse for ten years, and even worse, Drew had gotten ''skinny''. Drew says to Wick that he was just dreaming and to go back to sleep. [[TearJerker Wick groggily mumbles, "Good night, Geoff,"]] and falls asleep. The camera zooms into a snow globe on the bedside table with Geoff, Craig and Secretariat.]]
* TheAnnouncer: Unlike the previous runs of the show, Ferguson has some bits announced by Shadoe Stevens.
* AnythingThatMoves: Geoff was originally in theory supposed to be gay, but still has had a tendency to hit on female guests. Then, as of October 11, 2011, he got a girlfriend and is officially bi.
-->'''Geoff:''' ''[in Creator/MatthewMcConaughey's voice]'' What can I say? Sometimes my current flows the other way.
* AprilFoolsDay: For 2014, Drew Carey and George Gray switched places with Craig and Geoff; Craig would host ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' the following morning, with his announcer Shadoe Stevens replacing George Gray, and Geoff/Secretariat being prize models. For Drew, it [[{{Foreshadowing}} fulfilled a prophecy from a previous April Fools' day episode]] where Drew was [[MythologyGag introduced in the opening spiel as host]] of ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson''
* AudienceParticipation: The show's cold open frequently involves selected members of the audience standing facing the camera. Craig circles them while questioning them, initially in the manner of an aggressive trial lawyer.
* AuthorAvatar: Craig often uses the puppets as an outlet for thoughts and opinions that he might get in trouble for expressing in person. Sid the Cussing Bunny especially has become a thinly-disguised alter-ego who even has some of the same vocal and physical mannerisms. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C2rjmp0NBc Sid had a memorable rant about the CBS censors]] in which he amusingly kept slipping into first-person:
-->'''Sid:''' And I was like "well 'ow come Geoff Peterson can do it but [[FreudianSlip I can't do--]]I mean, Craig Ferguson can't do it?"
* BaitAndSwitchComparison: "You've got A and B. One is (''list of insulting characteristics that sound like they describe A''), and the other one is A." Craig is the king of this trope, able to pull it off episodely without even trying.
** Subverted once, when on his wedding anniversary (and UsefulNotes/JosephStalin's birthday) he started comparing his wife to Stalin, and then he caught himself and stopped.
** Subverted on the shared birthday of Music/ElvisPresley and Music/DavidBowie "Elvis and David Bowie are very different though, one of them was a music legend who was whacked out on drugs and wore sparkly jumpsuits... Actually, they are pretty similar if you think about it."
* {{Beat}}: Craig enjoys ending his monologue and guest interviews with an awkward pause.
* BerserkButton: Don't tell Secretariat that he's fat.
* BlatantLies: Craig likes to use these in his comedy. "My next guest appears on the show ''Series/DoctorWho''. I've never seen it." Also, when his ''Doctor Who'' cold open, that he was forbidden to use, was leaked to the internet: "He was horrified."
* BrickJoke: The show has this in spades, with jokes from one night creeping into the next.
* BroadcastLive:
** Not. But Craig often jokingly implies that it is. (This may also be allusion to when Tom Synder hosted the show, when it was broadcast live on the East Coast. Notably, a picture of Synder is on the mantle above the fake fireplace on his set.)
--->'''Craig:''' And I'll be watching the ''Series/AmericanIdol'' final tonight...or I already did because we're live. Congratulations, ''[covers mouth with hand and in a slightly deeper voice]'' '''winner!'''
** In early 2011, a change was made so that the opening segment of the show as the viewers see it is taped following the monologue. Sometimes this leads to a skip in continuity, where A) something that happens in the opening segment isn't referred to at all during the monologue but then is brought up again during the "Check the Tweets" segment or B) something the home viewers haven't seen happen yet is brought up in the opening segment.
** Both Craig and Geoff will often make jokes about Ferguson's clothing, in that it was worn (or will be worn) on another day's show, most often at the end of the week as Thursday's and Friday's shows were usually taped together, with the same audience. This carried through even up to the last episode of the show.
* ButtMonkey:
** The professional warm-up comedian, the producer, and Aqualad.
** After he crashed Craig's car, the production assistant, Bridger, has become this.
* CallBack: During the final episode's celebrity-filled music number, ''Creator/MatthewMcConaughey'' is playing bongos as his drum of choice; referencing his interview with Craig where they joked about if he "still played the bongos" (a reference to a drug-induced arrest where he was playing the bongos).
* CameraAbuse: Craig slaps the side of the camera after coming out for his monologue. Only twice (May 8, 2009 and March 7, 2011) has it backfired, with the former causing a piece of glass to ''fall out, '''shattering on the floor.''''' And then Craig grabbed the broom and cleaned it up himself while continuing to do his monologue.
-->'''Craig:''' That was AWESOME!
* CaptainErsatz: When Craig discovered that the French talk show ''Ce Soir Avec Arthur'' had plagiarized his intro, he ended up inviting its host Arthur to appear as a guest (and even made an appearance to deliver the monologue on "his" show, much to Craig's dismay). The two seem to be friends now, as seen by their trip to Paris.
* CatchPhrase:
** "It's a great day for America, everybody!" (used to start off his monologue most every night; for a time, he approached the phrase in an impersonation of Walter Cronkite)
** An incredulous, half-whispered "I ''knooow!''" after sharing an unusual news item with the audience.
** "You too, ladies."
** "I look forward to your letters."
** "Eyes up here, mister!"
** "By the way, _____ was the name I used to dance under." Usually followed by "Ladies and gentlemen, _____!" and him singing "Black Velvet!"
** The vacuum with "the proper amount of ''suc''tion".
** "CBS in no way endorses [whatever remotely objectionable thing he just said]."
** "CBS Cares." "They do, just not about you..."
** "REMIND you of anyone...?"
** "It's kind of a papery blog." (after mentioning a newspaper, magazine, or book)
** "A lot of people say to me, 'Craig, put your pants on!' And I do."
** "You're welcome stoners!"
** While pointing at the bird icon on a Check the Tweets printout, "[name] is actually a [bird/goose/duck/etc.]"
** "What do the ladies say when Craig and Geoff walk in the club? 'Here come the ''players''! (They're so ''fine''...)'"
** (''bows to Secretariat'') "The horse is learning Japanese, I'm being supportive."
** And for Geoff Peterson:
*** "OOOHHH YEEAAHH!"
*** "You think...you're...all...that!"
*** "Loooooove it!"
*** "Naaaailed it!"
*** "IN YOUR PANTS!"
*** "Balls."
*** "[[APartyAlsoKnownAsAnOrgy Seeex partyyyy!]]"
*** "Is that [[DoubleEntendre code]]?"
*** (when confused) ".....the hell??"
*** Lately, after Craig says something sexual, "There goes my penis!"
*** "I bid you adieu!" (''turns his head sideways'')
** Animated bits:
*** The Check the Tweets animations always include the phrase "Ass Möde".
*** "What did we learn on the show tonight, Craig?"
* CharacterizationMarchesOn:
** Geoff Peterson started off with a high pitched, {{robo|Speak}}tic, Creator/CaryGrant-ish voice. Later, he received an "upgrade" and became the wisecracking effeminate robot with a low voice we know today. Beginning in late May 2011, Geoff is usually voiced live by Josh Robert Thompson instead of the original canned tidbits.
** When Thompson was out of the country for two weeks in November 2011, several celebrities filled in as Geoff's voice. One of them, Tom Lennon, created a whole new character for the robot - Khloe Banderas, Antonio's lesser-known sibling. Lennon/"Khloe" has filled in for Thompson a few times since then.
* ClusterFBomb: Sid was prone to this, most memorably in a cold open for one of the Paris shows where he vented his frustration over people walking dogs on the Champ de Mars and French restaurants serving rabbit meat.
* {{Crossover}}: The "cold open" to an episode featuring the cast of ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' as guests featured Craig applying to be a roommate in the show. He fails.
* CuteKitten:
** The closing segment of each show, "What Did We Learn on the Show Tonight, Craig?" ("¿Qué aprendimos en el programa, Señor Craig?" or "Qu'est-ce que nous avons apris ce soir, Craig?") is introduced by a graphic of a kitty.
** Also Nadine (voiced by Lauren Graham), Wavy Rancheros' girlfriend.
* ADateWithRosiePalms: During an interview, ''Series/{{Bones}}'' star Emily Deschanel suggested that Geoff Peterson make an appearance on the show. When he responded a little over-enthusiastically ("SPROING!"), she added "Ours don't masturbate." To which Craig replied "For legal reasons, neither does he."
* DeathbringerTheAdorable: Sid the Cussing Bunny.
* DepravedBisexual: Craig ''loves'' to make jokes painting himself as this.
* DiggingYourselfDeeper: Poor Alex Kingston. Had she simply said "Yes, I like rabbits", no one would've been the wiser. Instead, she spends five minutes trying to change the subject while Craig's trying to figure out what "rabbit" she's talking about.
* DisneyAcidSequence: The "Check the Tweets"[[note]](Und also Emails!)[[/note]] sequence.
* DisproportionateRetribution: Geoff irritated Creator/RussellBrand so much that he first [[KillItWithWater poured his glass of water on him]], and then proceeded to smack him in the head so hard that the top of his skull came off.
* DoItYourselfThemeTune: Craig both co-wrote and sung the theme tune. Later seasons have shown him performing the song in a musical sequence at the start; for the Paris episodes, he performed a special version.
* DontExplainTheJoke: Often used for bonus humor, ex. right after a HurricaneOfEuphemisms, "Look, I'm talkin' about masturbation!"
* DoubleEntendre: By the truckload.
-->'''Geoff:''' Is that code?
[[/folder]]
[[folder: E–M]]
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Geoff's voice used to be VERY different from what people are now used to.
* EndOfSeriesAwareness: Craig and Geoff make more and more jokes about the impending end as they approach it.
-->Just a few more weeks of this crap~!
* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: Kronos!
* EvolvingCredits: In 2013 a revised opening sequence debuted that replaced shots of Craig and his hand puppets (who hadn't been featured on the show in a while) with shots of Geoff Peterson and Secretariat.
* FanBoy: Ferguson is known to be a ''Series/DoctorWho'' fan, who keeps a TARDIS on his desk and once had a Dalek stand next to the entrance to the set for a week. Ferguson is credited with being the first major-network talk show host to feature then-current cast members of ''Doctor Who'' on his show, with Creator/MattSmith, Creator/KarenGillan, and Creator/AlexKingston all having made multiple appearances. The show has also run a segment shot at a ''Doctor Who'' convention.
* FlyCrazy: During the tweets segment Craig gets constantly pestered by a fly that sounds like Jay Leno (and sometimes one that sounds like Jimmy Fallon).
* FreudianSlip: "Tonight I might say sexy words penis. I could even boobies by accident. Oh my vagina!"
* FunWithAcronyms: One of the games Craig and Geoff like to play is making up meanings for CBS.[[note]](for the record, it's "Columbia Broadcasting System", although the full name hasn't been used since the 1970s)[[/note]]
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:
** January 6, 2011: His [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj7e7_Uz4Fk interview with]] Creator/AlexKingston started out with some innocent laughter about her rabbit ring, after which he pulled out Sid the Cussing Bunny. The conversation, however, took a turn into DoubleEntendre territory when they started talking about how she loved...well..."rabbits".[[note]]For the record, "rabbit" specifically refers to the Rampant Rabbit, a brand-name vibrator from UK sex shop chain Ann Summers. In the UK, they're famous for their TV commercials, including a [[GreenChristmas Christmas ad]] showing several women showing their [[TheImmodestOrgasm "O-faces"]] set to the gently sung lyrics of [[DoubleEntendre "Oh Come All Ye Faithful"]].[[/note]]
** January 25, 2011: The censor said Craig was only allowed to show a certain phallic picture of a haggis once, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bNdSXI4dK8#t=4m41s so he left it up for as long as possible.]]
--->'''Craig:''' Take a long look. Keep looking. Imagine how much fun the censor is having now. Imagine the censor thinking "Oh ''[censored]'', I should have put a time limit on this." Keep looking at the haggis. Try to think of a man's ''penis'' as you look at the haggis!
** Also: "Mouth Organ" (i.e., harmonica), and as of late "Touch My Glittery Ball" and Craig's [[StealthPun rusty trombone]].
** Actual sex slang is censored, so random phrases are implied to be sexual acts.
** Directly addressed during one episode. When Craig asked the Scottish Creator/KarenGillan if she could speak Gaelic, she stated that she couldn't, but did know one song in Gaelic, and proceeded to sing it. Afterward, he said that because of Standards and Practices, he asked what specifically she said. Karen said she had no idea (she could sing in Gaelic, just not understand it.) Craig turned to the camera and rather smugly said, "Your move, censors."
** Search for any interviews with guest Creator/RobinWilliams (the ''GCPTR'' incarnate). Even Craig gets a little bit uncomfortable getting crap past the radar with Robin.
* GrandFinale: Among other things, we got an epic musical cold open, Craig randomly deciding to introduce a new character, Pipey [=McPiperson=], and Creator/JayLeno as the final guest. The ending? Well, it started off as a normal "[[EveryEpisodeEnding What Did We Learn on the Show Over the Last 10 Years, Craig?]]", where he decided that it was about time to resolve the show's greatest mystery: just who ''is'' in the Secretariat costume? [[spoiler:It's ''[[Series/{{Newhart}} Bob Newhart]]?!'' Apparently the whole show was AllJustADream by [[Series/TheDrewCareyShow Nigel Wick]], who wakes up in bed with Drew Carey, who he accidentally offends by mentioning the Drew in his dream had lost weight, looked well, and became a [[Series/ThePriceIsRight game show host]]. Cue the final shot of [[Series/StElsewhere a snow globe with a miniature version of the show's set in it]] and a ''[[Series/TheSopranos Sopranos]]''-style SmashToBlack with "Don't Stop Belevin'" getting cut off.]]
* GratuitousFrench: The 2011 week in Paris, which among other things re-titled the show "Le Late Late Show avec Craig Ferguson a Paris" (which, by the way, should've really been "[[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign Le Spectacle Plus-Plus Tard avec Craig Ferguson]]")
* GratuitousGerman:
** ''"FlügenWeb, Späcecode, Twit Zöne, Ass Möde...Check ze Tweets..."''[[note]]("Und also e-mails!")[[/note]]
** Whenever Craig reads a Tweet or e-mail from a person living in a German-speaking country, he insists on reading it in a faux German accent.
** A running gag through the 2013 season had Ferguson ringing a concierge's bell to force he and Geoff into speaking into different accents. On the first ring ''[in faux German accent]'': "One ring, we speak German. Two rings -" the the second ring: ''[a pause, then still in the faux German accent]'' "Still German."
* GratuitousSpanish: "Craig's Spanish Word of the Day". His goal was to do the final show of 2010 entirely in Spanish, until he realized learning Spanish is...well, hard. The segments were subsequently replaced by such features as "Gardening Tips with Music/WillieNelson", "Style Tips with [[Series/ProjectRunway Tim Gunn]]", and "Summer Livin' with Creator/SeanConnery".
* HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday: Frequently and jokingly inverted by Ferguson.
* HappyDance: ''"Who's that at the door?? '''It's Secretariat!!!"''''' For ages after Secretariat first showed up on the show, Craig would celebrate his brief appearance (Secretariat would simply [[DynamicEntry bounce into the studio]], then turn around and bounce right back out again) with a happy dance to Secretariat's {{Leitmotif}}. For those who haven't seen it, it's basically Craig pumping his fists in the air back and forth, which gradually became more... flail-y. Before long, [[MemeticMutation the fanbase got into it]], and soon enough [[AudienceParticipation the entire audience was doing Craig's dance with him]] every time Secretariat showed up. They eventually cooled off on the bit once they moved into the new studio and Secretariat became a full-time sidekick, but they did one more for the road on Craig's last show.
* HitlerAteSugar: "You know who else doesn't like ________? Al-Qaeda!"
* HumanResources: PlayedForLaughs. Canadian Bacon is made FROM PEOPLE!
* {{Improv}}:
** A lot of the moments on the show are not scripted, and as such, it's common to see Craig (or even Geoff's voice actor) crack up laughing at something that was done or said, to the point sometimes where Craig can't continue with the skit.
** Craig has also done a few serious and unscripted monologues (many times at the opening of the show) when events in the news have bothered him, or when someone in his family passed away. Sadly, these cold opens have occurred more and more often, as in after the Newtown massacre, the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPRlPyba7Xg Boston Marathon]] bombing, and when his friend Creator/MichaelClarkeDuncan passed away. Usually, he'll also forgo the "It's a great day for America" tag in the opening monologue as well, if he even decides to tape an monologue at all.
* InsistentTerminology: It's not a harmonica, it's a [[DoubleEntendre mouth organ]]!
* ItsPopularNowItSucks: Discussed many times in-universe. Craig is of the opinion that it's better to have mediocre ratings as then the network doesn't pay attention to you (unlike a show that's AdoredByTheNetwork), thus averting ExecutiveMeddling.
* ItWasHisSled: [[invoked]] Not directly used, but definitely talked about during one of his email sessions.
-->"Are you ready, film students??? ItWasHisSled! Hahaha! Now you don't have to sit through [[Film/CitizenKane THREE HOURS]]!"
* IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine:
** Craig often invites guests with whom he used to run around with in his pre-sobriety days. And he doesn't tend to shy away from talking about having a crush on a guest in his younger days (like when interviewed author [[Literature/BridgetJones Helen Fielding]]) or inferring having a relationship with a guest before he was married, like he seemed to when interviewing actress Creator/OliviaWilliams, with whom he co-starred with in the 2000 film ''Born Romantic''.
** British comedienne Hattie Hayridge appeared in a guest slot, when she turned up ''in the studio audience'' and was spotted by Craig, who then invited her onto the show. As Ferguson was a fixture of the stand-up circuit in the UK before he decided to pursue acting in the US, he obviously knows many British comedic actors from those days. Hayridge is probably best known to US audiences as the second Holly on ''Series/RedDwarf'', on which Craig once had a guest role (he actually appeared on the show a few years before Hayridge joined the cast).
** Some actors like Creator/KristenBell, [[Series/TheOfficeUS Angela Kinsey]], [[Film/DazedAndConfused Adam Goldberg]], and Creator/RashidaJones have been on the show so often, he seems to treat them more as friends than as guests, often having them on the show without having something to promote.
** Bell, Jones, and Kinsey were all guests during the final two weeks of the show, and appeared during the finale's musical open.
** Ferguson's love of ''Doctor Who'' converged with this trope when his friend and former bandmate Creator/PeterCapaldi started his role as the Twelfth Doctor in 2014. Unfortunately, he didn't get to have Capaldi back on the show since he began the role before it ended, but he did have him on as a guest in 2009.
* LargeHam: Craig himself, particularly when he plays [[NoIndoorVoice Aquaman]].
* MarketBasedTitle: In-universe, Craig occasionally jokes that in Japan, the show is re-named ''Super Happy Fun Time Hour with [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff Robot]] and Old Man''.
* MrFanservice:
** Craig's bondage boy Chris. "Apparently, Chris has what the kids call 'pecs'."
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3m6hoeL-pw Craig himself.]]
* MsFanservice:
** Beth the (fake) CBS censor, played by actress Dana [=DeLorenzo=], during a brief tenure on the show.
** He'll occasionally have a pair of his female makeup artists, who are both very attractive and usually are in very flattering costumes, come out and dance, usually before the introduction of the second guest.
* MultipleChoicePast: Geoff tells many mutually-exclusive stories about how he died and became skeletal. For example, on the 7th Anniversary episode, Craig showed a fake clip of his very first monologue, which {{retcon}}ned Geoff as his original flesh-and-blood sidekick (with a strong resemblance to Josh Robert Thompson) who went on an ill-fated skydiving trip.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: N–R]]
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: Geoff aside, there was also [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNE6dMvlXIc a sketch]] where Craig pitched ''Ghost Chimp M.D.'' to [[Series/{{Reno911}} a very familiar-looking CBS executive]].
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Geoff Peterson's current voice bears a striking resemblance to that of Creator/GeorgeTakei. Indeed, his voice actor (Josh Robert Thompson) describes Geoff as "one part [[WesternAnimation/YogiBear Snagglepuss]], one part Creator/VincentPrice, and two parts George Takei".
* NonHumanSidekick:
** His variety of {{Hand Puppet}}s, including (but not limited to) an {{Unicorn}}, [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs a dinosaur]], [[EverythingsBetterWithPenguins a penguin]], Kronos (King of the [[EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys Monkey People]]), Brian the [[ThreateningShark Shark]], Agatha the Chicken, [[PunnyName Wavy Rancheros]] the Waving Crocodile, [[Creator/SeanConnery Connery]] the Bull, the Swine Flu Comedy [[MessyPig Pig]], a sheepdog, a camel, a ball on a stick, Skully the flaming ''Comicbook/GhostRider'' skull on a stick, an owl that doesn't have a mouth, Sid the Cussing Bunny, Storm Trousers the Fourth from the Planet Thunderpants (one of the "People of Earth" intros), and '''himself'''.
** According to his fans, Creator/BettyWhite and Mahmoud Ahmadinnerjacket (the President of Iran) are puppets as well.
** Geoff Peterson, thanks to Grant Imahara. "[[RoboSpeak Ha!...Ha!...Ha!...You're...the...man...Craig!]]"
** There is also an (un)explainable giraffe puppet. "Don't you hate it when you [[DoubleEntendre explain your giraffe]] by accident?"
** The new set has a talking rhino head above the fireplace named Sandra.
** And don't forget about Secretariat too!
* OhCrap: Geoff Peterson has one with [[RoboSpeak "Uh...oh!"]]
* PantomimeAnimal: "Who's that at the door? IT'S SECRETARIAT!" ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuEIVtLE4d8#t=13m18s Participants]] in the Secretariat Dance receive "Team Secretariat" t-shirts.) As of the last set, Secretariat has his own stable and window on the right end of the set; Craig personally feels his presence is a little creepy.
* PatchworkMap:
** Whenever Craig asks for a map of an area, such as Italy, the map appears with such fake places as the Sea of ''Film/{{Borat}}'', [[Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia Narnia]] — and, in one Italy example, [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario Bros. Island]].
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bez-T_kz-bs#t=6m45s This map of France]] has the Bay of Borat, Narnia, Graceland, and (on the continent of England) [[Series/DoctorWho Dr. Who-istan]].
* PreciousPuppies: The time that Craig brought his French bulldog, Cabbage, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucMxqh-6BHA on the show]] (April 13, 2009). He actually seemed pretty dismayed at the audience's reaction.
-->'''Craig:''' Why did you laugh when the dog came on, and then when I came on, you went "Awwww...."?
* PricelessMingVase: A bunch of Ming vases were supposedly loaned to Craig from the Getty Museum for the first show of 2011, and destroyed by Secretariat during the Tweetmail segment.
* QuietlyPerformingSisterShow: Not just to ''Series/TheLateShowWithDavidLetterman'' but late night talk shows in general. While Craig Ferguson built a devoted fanbase, received critical acclaim and performed adequately in the ratings, he never benefitted from network hype (like Creator/JimmyFallon) and his presence on a regular broadcast network didn't give him the trendy cred he might have gotten on cable. His GrandFinale got a fair amount of media coverage, but a lot of the stories started off with some variation on "''Series/TheColbertReport'' isn't the only late night show signing off this week."
* RearrangeTheSong: Not long after it was introduced, the theme song was re-done a little and had a line added ("You can always sleep through work tomorrow").
* ReplacementFlatCharacter: Craig has said on the air more than once that the purpose of having Geoff Peterson on the show is to make him seem less creepy and weird by comparison, even invoking original TropeNamer [[Series/{{Frasier}} Niles Crane]] as a precedent.
* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: Played with; Wavy Rancheros is pretty friendly and likes to wave, but rarely gets through a segment without talking about eating someone.
* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: Geoff, since Josh started doing his voice.
* TheRival:
** Ferguson sometimes jokingly alludes to the competition with his counterparts at Creator/{{ABC}} (Jimmy Kimmel) and Creator/{{NBC}} (Jimmy Fallon, and before that Creator/ConanOBrien), and occasionally interacts with them by proxy. Ferguson and Fallon have waved at each other with giant MickeyMouse hands, and once sent each other Christmas gifts (a [[CuteKitten pair of kittens]] for Jimmy, a [[HomemadeSweaterFromHell garish Christmas sweater]] for Craig) and displayed them on their respective shows.
** Craig often self-mockingly refers to himself as "the Scottish Conan guy".
** Whenever Kristen Bell is on the show, the "rivalry" between her and Geoff Peterson is renewed. She blames him for stealing her chance at being co-host, and the two have no problem hurling insults at each other whenever she's a guest.[[note]]It's played for laughs, obviously.[[/note]]
* RobotBuddy: Geoff is thorough aversion of this, since he's not very functional (he can only move his head and arms) and he frequently mocks and bickers with Craig.
* RunningGag:
** Asking for a picture of Music/PaulMcCartney and receiving one of Creator/AngelaLansbury. And this is a gag that exists because of spite!
** Whenever Craig asks for a picture of Music/{{Cher}}, he gets one of Music/MarilynManson.
** Whenever Craig asks for a picture of Kim Jong Il, "That is one angry lesbian."
** Whenever he mentions a network besides CBS he spits, but if said network airs the show of a guest he adds "but the '''show's''' good!"
** Commenting on the nature of the audience's applause at the beginning of almost every show, usually about how it was coerced out of them by a warm-up comedian with candy.
** Insisting that the show is done live when it quite obviously is not.
** Secretariat, although he's added that he won't stop it until people stop sending him tweets telling him to stop it. Secretariat eventually became a full sidekick.
** Craig and his ferrets. Occasionally, the camera will linger on the photograph for [[OverlyLongGag far too long]].
** Craig asking Geoff if he's ever visited a random location, and Geoff responding that he has a place there, [[note]](where he likes to throw beads at people, take his clothes off, and go swimming)[[/note]] and Craig should come by sometime.
** Early in the show's run, Craig would make repeated jokes about [[Series/ThePriceIsRight Bob Barker]] being a vampire.
** When he mentions Music/EltonJohn, he shows a picture of Elton from 1980's concert in Central Park, wearing [[http://morethings.com/music/elton_john/elton_john-120.jpg the infamous]] WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck costume.
** Craig brings up ''"Fashion!!!"'' and a few seconds of generic dance music plays. It sounds suspiciously like "Get Ready For This" by 2 Unlimited.
** The cartoonish graphics on the monologue, usually celebrating incredibly trivial holidays. Each one explodes after a few seconds for no reason.
** Jerry from Room Service, who calls Craig instead of the other way around. Started out as a skit which followed the sequence with the bells mentioned above (One bell, speak German; two bells, still German; three bells, Dracula; four bells, Italian Bill Clinton; five bells, room service).
** Alfredo Sauce and the Shy Fellas, who are too shy to come out from behind the curtain.
** Creator/BettyWhite "needed some cash; she lost it on (insert any incident here)".
** Michael Naidus is a racist. [[labelnote:Explanation]] Michael Naidus is the show's producer. He informs Craig when a word or a gesture is going to be censored. Craig's standard response is that it's a Scottish word, and Naidus is censoring it because he's a racist.[[/labelnote]]
** It had been a long-standing running gag that what Craig really wanted out of life was a secret volcano base with an army of [[SkeleBot9000 robot skeletons]] (one of the Tweets & Emails animated intros still shows a volcano with an army of Franchise/{{Terminator}}s.) RobotMaster Grant Imhara of ''Series/MythBusters'' (a show Craig had repeatedly said he was a fan of) then contacted him and offered to actually build him a robot skeleton. Geoff Peterson is the result.
** Whenever a show or movie is mentioned - in particular ''Series/GameOfThrones'' - a musical snippet vaguely similar to (or nothing like) that work's theme is played because they couldn't afford the real thing. In ''Game of Thrones''' case, a generic medieval theme is played.
** References to the warm-up comedian usually begin with this: ''"We call him a comedian... he's not really a comedian."''
[[/folder]]
[[folder: S–Z]]
* SelfDeprecation: Craig employs this a ''lot'', with regard to himself as well as the show in general.
* ShamelessSelfPromotion:
** "You know, ''Film/{{Clash of the Titans|2010}}'' comes out this weekend...[[FantasticAesop but will you learn anything from it?]] Why don't you watch something you can learn something from...like...''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon''? ...[[DontExplainTheJoke Alright, I'm in it!]]"
** Did it ''again'' when [[WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon2 the sequel]] came out, lauding it as "the greatest movie in the history of movies". Jay Baruchel, the guest in question, admitted their opinion ''might'' perhaps be a little skewed on the matter.
* ShoutOut:
** Craig's anchorman schtick for "It's a great day for America, everybody" had him adjusting a dial which would briefly switch to ''Tijuana Taxi'', then make a series of beeps before proceeding to deliver the "news" in a voice that usually was an impression of Walter Cronkite.[[note]](The "beep" sound effects were typically used to open each ''CBS Evening News'' broadcast during Cronkite's tenure, making this even more likely to be an homage to him.)[[/note]]
** Craig ran side-by-side his intro and the intro of a French talk show that's copied it. The host sings, plays drums, and ends up in a water fountain...same as Craig does. The logo even uses the same font as the ''Late Late Show'' graphic. The only difference is that the French show's intro didn't have any hand puppets and was shot from different angles.
** Geoff Peterson wears a nametag from ''Series/ThePriceIsRight''.
** Josh Robert Thompson as Creator/MorganFreeman: "[[Film/TheShawshankRedemption Get busy watchin', or get busy sleepin'!]]"
* SomethingCompletelyDifferent:
** For his 1,000th episode, Craig stayed off-camera and performed the whole show (including opening monologue, guest interviews, etc.) as Wavy.
** On February 24, 2010, he did a show without the usual StudioAudience or comedy bits, and featuring only one guest (Creator/StephenFry). As Craig explained in the opening, it was intended as a sort of homage to Tom Snyder.
** Occasionally, shows will feature one guest. In 2013 alone, both Stephen Fry and Robin Williams were the only guest. Considering the guests involved, this seems less of an error or due to a 2nd guest not showing up, but more by design. The Stephen Fry appearance in particular, as it was taped well in advance of its airdate.
* ShowWithinAShow: ''[[BuddyCopShow Bone Patrol with GP and the Fergs]]''
* SkeleBot9000: Geoff Peterson is, well, a skeleton robot.
* SoundEffectBleep: During the the teaser and the monologue, the censors pixelate Craig's mouth and mute the audio when he swears. When one of the puppets swears (i.e., Sid or Wavy Rancheros), there's a beep and sometimes pixelation over their mouths. During other segments of of the show, the censors place CG flags of other nations over the mouths of Craig, Geoff and the guests, accompanied by speeded-up audio of Craig saying a phrase supposedly associated with that country. These include;
** Spanish flag: '''¡AY CARAMBA!'''
** French flag: '''OOHLALA! CROISSANT!'''
** Italian flag: '''Tootsi Frootsi!''' or '''[[GratuitousItalian Whassa cummanago!]]'''
** Australian flag: '''Crikey Dingo!''' and '''Boing!'''
** Swedish flag: '''[[Literature/TheMillenniumTrilogy Girl With the Dragon Tattoo!]]'''
** Gay Pride flag: '''Ah-oh!''' or '''Ohh!'''
* SpoofAesop: ''What did we learn on the show tonight, Craig?''
* StraightGay: Geoff, at first, but then became bi - or as Geoff puts it, ac/dc.
* StudioAudience: [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial That's Completely Genuine In Their Applause Which Is Not At All Prompted By A Warm-Up Comedian]].
* StuffBlowingUp: The graphics during the occasional "theme week". Hell, just about [[IncendiaryExponent ANY graphic he calls for]] [[MadeOfExplodium explodes at the end]]. [[AvertedTrope NOTABLY averted]] during "Nobel Prize Week", where the graphic simply rose up to a small trumpet fanfare, then lowered back down without incendiary incident.
* TakeThat: Against CBS, Jay Leno, Jimmy Fallon, ''himself'' ("Take that... me.") — actually, pretty much anything and everything. He even does them against ''people he likes''. "Take that... man who's been nothing but nice to me!"
* TakeThatAudience: Craig sometimes mocks the studio audience as a bunch of drowsy, toothless seniors who still lament the cancellation of ''Series/{{Matlock}}'' and ''Series/MurderSheWrote''; "paid hobos"; or full of people who were turned down to get into ''The Price Is Right''. (His sidekick Geoff Petersen even wears a name tag taken from the game show).
* TheTeaser: The show opens with one of these every night. Sometimes takes the form of a mini-monologue from Craig, sometimes it's a backstage sketch with that night's guest, sometimes it's an all-singing, all-dancing musical lip-sync number.
* ThemeTuneExtended:
** A fully recorded studio version can be found [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q22ut6HchNg here.]]
** For the closing credits of the last episode of Scotland week, The Imagineers (the Glasgow band who was the musical guest for all five shows) performed the full version of the theme.
* ThrowingOutTheScript: Symbolising his free-wheeling interviewing style, Craig begins every interview by tearing up a set of palm cards that presumably contains his notes for the interview. Sometimes he says "We won't be needing these" for good measure.
* TitleThemeTune: All together now...
-->''It's hard to stay up, it's been a long long day, and you got the sandman at your door''
-->''But hang on, leave the TV on, and let's do it anyway! It's okay!''
-->''[[SchmuckBait You can always sleep through work tomorrow, okay?]] Hey, hey!''
-->''Tomorrow's just your future yesterday!''
* {{Troll}}: Craig often taunts Geoff's inability to move more than 12 feet from an outlet, move his left arm or play the harmonica.
* UnresolvedSexualTension: Played straight with many of the show's female guests. Some of the men, too. ''Especially'' if the guest opts for an awkward pause with sexual subtext to close out the interview.
** ''Especially'' with Creator/KristenBell, who has such great chemistry with Ferguson she has appeared more times than any other guest and at one point lobbied to be hired as a full-time co-host (see above for who she accuses of "stealing" the spot from her). During a series of episodes shot in Paris, she did in fact serve in a co-host capacity, and the UST is referenced when the two actually have a "moment" (played for laughs) during one on-location sequence. In reality, the two are happily involved in other relationships; they just carry on as if they're involved. In her final appearance they had more of a brother-sister vibe, mainly due to Kristen being nine months pregnant.
** He and James [=McAvoy=] created a Vortex of Scottish Charm.
* VacationEpisode: A week in Paris in 2011, a week in Scotland in 2012 and a special episode in New Orleans that aired after the Super Bowl in 2013.
* VitriolicBestBuds: Craig and Geoff Peterson often give off this vibe, made a bit surreal by the fact that one of them is a robot skeleton.
* VivaLasVegas: One sketch was about Craig and Geoff going to UsefulNotes/LasVegas to celebrate Geoff's birthday with guests like ''Series/MythBusters''' Grant Imahara, who originally made Geoff, and Creator/MorganFreeman doing Secretariat's voice for [[RuleOfFunny lord knows what reason]]. It all builds up to [[{{Robosexual}} Craig and Geoff getting married]], much to their (or at least Craig's) surprise.
* WalkingTheEarth: Craig's plan once the show ends. Drew Carey compares this to ''Literature/JackReacher'', but only in the books because he doesn't like [[Film/JackReacher the movie]].
* WeaselMascot: Craig and his ferrets. Occasionally, the camera will linger on the [[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WrKY10IR-ng/TLuTrEYzcTI/AAAAAAAANhs/FFkxPmo0a-0/s1600/craig+ferret+1.jpg photograph]] for [[OverlyLongGag far too long]].
* WeCare: Craig likes to mock the ones his network does — [[SarcasmMode "CBS Cares."]]
-->'''Craig:''' In fact, that's what CBS stands for — Cares...'Bout...Stuff.
[[/folder]]
''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' is an American late-night TalkShow hosted by Scottish American comedian Creator/CraigFerguson. It was the third iteration of the ''[[Series/TheLateLateShow Late Late Show]]'' franchise, airing from 2005 to 2014. It followed ''Series/TheLateShowWithDavidLetterman'' in the Creator/{{CBS}} late-night lineup, airing weekdays in the U.S. at 12:35 a.m.
During the late 2004 transition of guest hosts following the departure of previous host Craig Kilborn, Craig Ferguson hosted a series of shows in October and November, culminating in being announced on December 7 as the pick for new host. Since launching ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' on January 3, 2005, Ferguson achieved the highest ratings since the show's inception in 1995. While comedy was emphasized in the majority of the episodes, Ferguson also addressed difficult subject matters, such as the deaths of his parents, his struggles with alcoholism, and commentating on national tragedies; and undertook serious interviews, such as one with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, which earned the show a 2009 Peabody Award. Despite not initially having a sidekick, comedian and voice actor Josh Robert Thompson joined the show in 2010 and voiced sidekick Geoff Peterson until the show's finale.
On April 28, 2014, Ferguson announced that he was ending the show at the end of the year. The last episode aired on December 19, 2014. Afterwards, ''Late Late Show'' began a series of episodes with guest hosts; new permanent host James Corden began his iteration of the franchise on March 23, 2015.
----
!!Tropes associated with ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' include:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:A–D]]
* AcidRefluxNightmare: According to the GrandFinale [[spoiler: the entire 10 year run was actually just one of these experienced by [[Series/TheDrewCareyShow Nigel Wick]].]]
* AcquiredSituationalNarcissism:
-->'''Craig:''' [[BitingTheHandHumor Craig, why are you insulting people from Hollywood?]]\\
'''[[TalkingToHimself Craig]]:''' [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Because nobody around here won the Peabody Award!]]
* AllJustADream: At the end of the series in December 2014, on the segment "What Did We Learn On The Show In The Past 10 Years, Craig?", Craig and Geoff ask Secretariat's operator to take off the costume. He is revealed to be [[spoiler: Bob Newhart who tells Craig he's dreaming. [[Series/TheDrewCareyShow Nigel Wick then wakes up in bed next to a still-fat Drew Carey]], announcing that he's had a terrible dream where he had to host a late night talk show with a robot skeleton and a fake horse for ten years, and even worse, Drew had gotten ''skinny''. Drew says to Wick that he was just dreaming and to go back to sleep. [[TearJerker Wick groggily mumbles, "Good night, Geoff,"]] and falls asleep. The camera zooms into a snow globe on the bedside table with Geoff, Craig and Secretariat.]]
* TheAnnouncer: Unlike the previous runs of the show, Ferguson has some bits announced by Shadoe Stevens.
* AnythingThatMoves: Geoff was originally in theory supposed to be gay, but still has had a tendency to hit on female guests. Then, as of October 11, 2011, he got a girlfriend and is officially bi.
-->'''Geoff:''' ''[in Creator/MatthewMcConaughey's voice]'' What can I say? Sometimes my current flows the other way.
* AprilFoolsDay: For 2014, Drew Carey and George Gray switched places with Craig and Geoff; Craig would host ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' the following morning, with his announcer Shadoe Stevens replacing George Gray, and Geoff/Secretariat being prize models. For Drew, it [[{{Foreshadowing}} fulfilled a prophecy from a previous April Fools' day episode]] where Drew was [[MythologyGag introduced in the opening spiel as host]] of ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson''
* AudienceParticipation: The show's cold open frequently involves selected members of the audience standing facing the camera. Craig circles them while questioning them, initially in the manner of an aggressive trial lawyer.
* AuthorAvatar: Craig often uses the puppets as an outlet for thoughts and opinions that he might get in trouble for expressing in person. Sid the Cussing Bunny especially has become a thinly-disguised alter-ego who even has some of the same vocal and physical mannerisms. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C2rjmp0NBc Sid had a memorable rant about the CBS censors]] in which he amusingly kept slipping into first-person:
-->'''Sid:''' And I was like "well 'ow come Geoff Peterson can do it but [[FreudianSlip I can't do--]]I mean, Craig Ferguson can't do it?"
* BaitAndSwitchComparison: "You've got A and B. One is (''list of insulting characteristics that sound like they describe A''), and the other one is A." Craig is the king of this trope, able to pull it off episodely without even trying.
** Subverted once, when on his wedding anniversary (and UsefulNotes/JosephStalin's birthday) he started comparing his wife to Stalin, and then he caught himself and stopped.
** Subverted on the shared birthday of Music/ElvisPresley and Music/DavidBowie "Elvis and David Bowie are very different though, one of them was a music legend who was whacked out on drugs and wore sparkly jumpsuits... Actually, they are pretty similar if you think about it."
* {{Beat}}: Craig enjoys ending his monologue and guest interviews with an awkward pause.
* BerserkButton: Don't tell Secretariat that he's fat.
* BlatantLies: Craig likes to use these in his comedy. "My next guest appears on the show ''Series/DoctorWho''. I've never seen it." Also, when his ''Doctor Who'' cold open, that he was forbidden to use, was leaked to the internet: "He was horrified."
* BrickJoke: The show has this in spades, with jokes from one night creeping into the next.
* BroadcastLive:
** Not. But Craig often jokingly implies that it is. (This may also be allusion to when Tom Synder hosted the show, when it was broadcast live on the East Coast. Notably, a picture of Synder is on the mantle above the fake fireplace on his set.)
--->'''Craig:''' And I'll be watching the ''Series/AmericanIdol'' final tonight...or I already did because we're live. Congratulations, ''[covers mouth with hand and in a slightly deeper voice]'' '''winner!'''
** In early 2011, a change was made so that the opening segment of the show as the viewers see it is taped following the monologue. Sometimes this leads to a skip in continuity, where A) something that happens in the opening segment isn't referred to at all during the monologue but then is brought up again during the "Check the Tweets" segment or B) something the home viewers haven't seen happen yet is brought up in the opening segment.
** Both Craig and Geoff will often make jokes about Ferguson's clothing, in that it was worn (or will be worn) on another day's show, most often at the end of the week as Thursday's and Friday's shows were usually taped together, with the same audience. This carried through even up to the last episode of the show.
* ButtMonkey:
** The professional warm-up comedian, the producer, and Aqualad.
** After he crashed Craig's car, the production assistant, Bridger, has become this.
* CallBack: During the final episode's celebrity-filled music number, ''Creator/MatthewMcConaughey'' is playing bongos as his drum of choice; referencing his interview with Craig where they joked about if he "still played the bongos" (a reference to a drug-induced arrest where he was playing the bongos).
* CameraAbuse: Craig slaps the side of the camera after coming out for his monologue. Only twice (May 8, 2009 and March 7, 2011) has it backfired, with the former causing a piece of glass to ''fall out, '''shattering on the floor.''''' And then Craig grabbed the broom and cleaned it up himself while continuing to do his monologue.
-->'''Craig:''' That was AWESOME!
* CaptainErsatz: When Craig discovered that the French talk show ''Ce Soir Avec Arthur'' had plagiarized his intro, he ended up inviting its host Arthur to appear as a guest (and even made an appearance to deliver the monologue on "his" show, much to Craig's dismay). The two seem to be friends now, as seen by their trip to Paris.
* CatchPhrase:
** "It's a great day for America, everybody!" (used to start off his monologue most every night; for a time, he approached the phrase in an impersonation of Walter Cronkite)
** An incredulous, half-whispered "I ''knooow!''" after sharing an unusual news item with the audience.
** "You too, ladies."
** "I look forward to your letters."
** "Eyes up here, mister!"
** "By the way, _____ was the name I used to dance under." Usually followed by "Ladies and gentlemen, _____!" and him singing "Black Velvet!"
** The vacuum with "the proper amount of ''suc''tion".
** "CBS in no way endorses [whatever remotely objectionable thing he just said]."
** "CBS Cares." "They do, just not about you..."
** "REMIND you of anyone...?"
** "It's kind of a papery blog." (after mentioning a newspaper, magazine, or book)
** "A lot of people say to me, 'Craig, put your pants on!' And I do."
** "You're welcome stoners!"
** While pointing at the bird icon on a Check the Tweets printout, "[name] is actually a [bird/goose/duck/etc.]"
** "What do the ladies say when Craig and Geoff walk in the club? 'Here come the ''players''! (They're so ''fine''...)'"
** (''bows to Secretariat'') "The horse is learning Japanese, I'm being supportive."
** And for Geoff Peterson:
*** "OOOHHH YEEAAHH!"
*** "You think...you're...all...that!"
*** "Loooooove it!"
*** "Naaaailed it!"
*** "IN YOUR PANTS!"
*** "Balls."
*** "[[APartyAlsoKnownAsAnOrgy Seeex partyyyy!]]"
*** "Is that [[DoubleEntendre code]]?"
*** (when confused) ".....the hell??"
*** Lately, after Craig says something sexual, "There goes my penis!"
*** "I bid you adieu!" (''turns his head sideways'')
** Animated bits:
*** The Check the Tweets animations always include the phrase "Ass Möde".
*** "What did we learn on the show tonight, Craig?"
* CharacterizationMarchesOn:
** Geoff Peterson started off with a high pitched, {{robo|Speak}}tic, Creator/CaryGrant-ish voice. Later, he received an "upgrade" and became the wisecracking effeminate robot with a low voice we know today. Beginning in late May 2011, Geoff is usually voiced live by Josh Robert Thompson instead of the original canned tidbits.
** When Thompson was out of the country for two weeks in November 2011, several celebrities filled in as Geoff's voice. One of them, Tom Lennon, created a whole new character for the robot - Khloe Banderas, Antonio's lesser-known sibling. Lennon/"Khloe" has filled in for Thompson a few times since then.
* ClusterFBomb: Sid was prone to this, most memorably in a cold open for one of the Paris shows where he vented his frustration over people walking dogs on the Champ de Mars and French restaurants serving rabbit meat.
* {{Crossover}}: The "cold open" to an episode featuring the cast of ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' as guests featured Craig applying to be a roommate in the show. He fails.
* CuteKitten:
** The closing segment of each show, "What Did We Learn on the Show Tonight, Craig?" ("¿Qué aprendimos en el programa, Señor Craig?" or "Qu'est-ce que nous avons apris ce soir, Craig?") is introduced by a graphic of a kitty.
** Also Nadine (voiced by Lauren Graham), Wavy Rancheros' girlfriend.
* ADateWithRosiePalms: During an interview, ''Series/{{Bones}}'' star Emily Deschanel suggested that Geoff Peterson make an appearance on the show. When he responded a little over-enthusiastically ("SPROING!"), she added "Ours don't masturbate." To which Craig replied "For legal reasons, neither does he."
* DeathbringerTheAdorable: Sid the Cussing Bunny.
* DepravedBisexual: Craig ''loves'' to make jokes painting himself as this.
* DiggingYourselfDeeper: Poor Alex Kingston. Had she simply said "Yes, I like rabbits", no one would've been the wiser. Instead, she spends five minutes trying to change the subject while Craig's trying to figure out what "rabbit" she's talking about.
* DisneyAcidSequence: The "Check the Tweets"[[note]](Und also Emails!)[[/note]] sequence.
* DisproportionateRetribution: Geoff irritated Creator/RussellBrand so much that he first [[KillItWithWater poured his glass of water on him]], and then proceeded to smack him in the head so hard that the top of his skull came off.
* DoItYourselfThemeTune: Craig both co-wrote and sung the theme tune. Later seasons have shown him performing the song in a musical sequence at the start; for the Paris episodes, he performed a special version.
* DontExplainTheJoke: Often used for bonus humor, ex. right after a HurricaneOfEuphemisms, "Look, I'm talkin' about masturbation!"
* DoubleEntendre: By the truckload.
-->'''Geoff:''' Is that code?
[[/folder]]
[[folder: E–M]]
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Geoff's voice used to be VERY different from what people are now used to.
* EndOfSeriesAwareness: Craig and Geoff make more and more jokes about the impending end as they approach it.
-->Just a few more weeks of this crap~!
* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: Kronos!
* EvolvingCredits: In 2013 a revised opening sequence debuted that replaced shots of Craig and his hand puppets (who hadn't been featured on the show in a while) with shots of Geoff Peterson and Secretariat.
* FanBoy: Ferguson is known to be a ''Series/DoctorWho'' fan, who keeps a TARDIS on his desk and once had a Dalek stand next to the entrance to the set for a week. Ferguson is credited with being the first major-network talk show host to feature then-current cast members of ''Doctor Who'' on his show, with Creator/MattSmith, Creator/KarenGillan, and Creator/AlexKingston all having made multiple appearances. The show has also run a segment shot at a ''Doctor Who'' convention.
* FlyCrazy: During the tweets segment Craig gets constantly pestered by a fly that sounds like Jay Leno (and sometimes one that sounds like Jimmy Fallon).
* FreudianSlip: "Tonight I might say sexy words penis. I could even boobies by accident. Oh my vagina!"
* FunWithAcronyms: One of the games Craig and Geoff like to play is making up meanings for CBS.[[note]](for the record, it's "Columbia Broadcasting System", although the full name hasn't been used since the 1970s)[[/note]]
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:
** January 6, 2011: His [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj7e7_Uz4Fk interview with]] Creator/AlexKingston started out with some innocent laughter about her rabbit ring, after which he pulled out Sid the Cussing Bunny. The conversation, however, took a turn into DoubleEntendre territory when they started talking about how she loved...well..."rabbits".[[note]]For the record, "rabbit" specifically refers to the Rampant Rabbit, a brand-name vibrator from UK sex shop chain Ann Summers. In the UK, they're famous for their TV commercials, including a [[GreenChristmas Christmas ad]] showing several women showing their [[TheImmodestOrgasm "O-faces"]] set to the gently sung lyrics of [[DoubleEntendre "Oh Come All Ye Faithful"]].[[/note]]
** January 25, 2011: The censor said Craig was only allowed to show a certain phallic picture of a haggis once, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bNdSXI4dK8#t=4m41s so he left it up for as long as possible.]]
--->'''Craig:''' Take a long look. Keep looking. Imagine how much fun the censor is having now. Imagine the censor thinking "Oh ''[censored]'', I should have put a time limit on this." Keep looking at the haggis. Try to think of a man's ''penis'' as you look at the haggis!
** Also: "Mouth Organ" (i.e., harmonica), and as of late "Touch My Glittery Ball" and Craig's [[StealthPun rusty trombone]].
** Actual sex slang is censored, so random phrases are implied to be sexual acts.
** Directly addressed during one episode. When Craig asked the Scottish Creator/KarenGillan if she could speak Gaelic, she stated that she couldn't, but did know one song in Gaelic, and proceeded to sing it. Afterward, he said that because of Standards and Practices, he asked what specifically she said. Karen said she had no idea (she could sing in Gaelic, just not understand it.) Craig turned to the camera and rather smugly said, "Your move, censors."
** Search for any interviews with guest Creator/RobinWilliams (the ''GCPTR'' incarnate). Even Craig gets a little bit uncomfortable getting crap past the radar with Robin.
* GrandFinale: Among other things, we got an epic musical cold open, Craig randomly deciding to introduce a new character, Pipey [=McPiperson=], and Creator/JayLeno as the final guest. The ending? Well, it started off as a normal "[[EveryEpisodeEnding What Did We Learn on the Show Over the Last 10 Years, Craig?]]", where he decided that it was about time to resolve the show's greatest mystery: just who ''is'' in the Secretariat costume? [[spoiler:It's ''[[Series/{{Newhart}} Bob Newhart]]?!'' Apparently the whole show was AllJustADream by [[Series/TheDrewCareyShow Nigel Wick]], who wakes up in bed with Drew Carey, who he accidentally offends by mentioning the Drew in his dream had lost weight, looked well, and became a [[Series/ThePriceIsRight game show host]]. Cue the final shot of [[Series/StElsewhere a snow globe with a miniature version of the show's set in it]] and a ''[[Series/TheSopranos Sopranos]]''-style SmashToBlack with "Don't Stop Belevin'" getting cut off.]]
* GratuitousFrench: The 2011 week in Paris, which among other things re-titled the show "Le Late Late Show avec Craig Ferguson a Paris" (which, by the way, should've really been "[[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign Le Spectacle Plus-Plus Tard avec Craig Ferguson]]")
* GratuitousGerman:
** ''"FlügenWeb, Späcecode, Twit Zöne, Ass Möde...Check ze Tweets..."''[[note]]("Und also e-mails!")[[/note]]
** Whenever Craig reads a Tweet or e-mail from a person living in a German-speaking country, he insists on reading it in a faux German accent.
** A running gag through the 2013 season had Ferguson ringing a concierge's bell to force he and Geoff into speaking into different accents. On the first ring ''[in faux German accent]'': "One ring, we speak German. Two rings -" the the second ring: ''[a pause, then still in the faux German accent]'' "Still German."
* GratuitousSpanish: "Craig's Spanish Word of the Day". His goal was to do the final show of 2010 entirely in Spanish, until he realized learning Spanish is...well, hard. The segments were subsequently replaced by such features as "Gardening Tips with Music/WillieNelson", "Style Tips with [[Series/ProjectRunway Tim Gunn]]", and "Summer Livin' with Creator/SeanConnery".
* HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday: Frequently and jokingly inverted by Ferguson.
* HappyDance: ''"Who's that at the door?? '''It's Secretariat!!!"''''' For ages after Secretariat first showed up on the show, Craig would celebrate his brief appearance (Secretariat would simply [[DynamicEntry bounce into the studio]], then turn around and bounce right back out again) with a happy dance to Secretariat's {{Leitmotif}}. For those who haven't seen it, it's basically Craig pumping his fists in the air back and forth, which gradually became more... flail-y. Before long, [[MemeticMutation the fanbase got into it]], and soon enough [[AudienceParticipation the entire audience was doing Craig's dance with him]] every time Secretariat showed up. They eventually cooled off on the bit once they moved into the new studio and Secretariat became a full-time sidekick, but they did one more for the road on Craig's last show.
* HitlerAteSugar: "You know who else doesn't like ________? Al-Qaeda!"
* HumanResources: PlayedForLaughs. Canadian Bacon is made FROM PEOPLE!
* {{Improv}}:
** A lot of the moments on the show are not scripted, and as such, it's common to see Craig (or even Geoff's voice actor) crack up laughing at something that was done or said, to the point sometimes where Craig can't continue with the skit.
** Craig has also done a few serious and unscripted monologues (many times at the opening of the show) when events in the news have bothered him, or when someone in his family passed away. Sadly, these cold opens have occurred more and more often, as in after the Newtown massacre, the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPRlPyba7Xg Boston Marathon]] bombing, and when his friend Creator/MichaelClarkeDuncan passed away. Usually, he'll also forgo the "It's a great day for America" tag in the opening monologue as well, if he even decides to tape an monologue at all.
* InsistentTerminology: It's not a harmonica, it's a [[DoubleEntendre mouth organ]]!
* ItsPopularNowItSucks: Discussed many times in-universe. Craig is of the opinion that it's better to have mediocre ratings as then the network doesn't pay attention to you (unlike a show that's AdoredByTheNetwork), thus averting ExecutiveMeddling.
* ItWasHisSled: [[invoked]] Not directly used, but definitely talked about during one of his email sessions.
-->"Are you ready, film students??? ItWasHisSled! Hahaha! Now you don't have to sit through [[Film/CitizenKane THREE HOURS]]!"
* IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine:
** Craig often invites guests with whom he used to run around with in his pre-sobriety days. And he doesn't tend to shy away from talking about having a crush on a guest in his younger days (like when interviewed author [[Literature/BridgetJones Helen Fielding]]) or inferring having a relationship with a guest before he was married, like he seemed to when interviewing actress Creator/OliviaWilliams, with whom he co-starred with in the 2000 film ''Born Romantic''.
** British comedienne Hattie Hayridge appeared in a guest slot, when she turned up ''in the studio audience'' and was spotted by Craig, who then invited her onto the show. As Ferguson was a fixture of the stand-up circuit in the UK before he decided to pursue acting in the US, he obviously knows many British comedic actors from those days. Hayridge is probably best known to US audiences as the second Holly on ''Series/RedDwarf'', on which Craig once had a guest role (he actually appeared on the show a few years before Hayridge joined the cast).
** Some actors like Creator/KristenBell, [[Series/TheOfficeUS Angela Kinsey]], [[Film/DazedAndConfused Adam Goldberg]], and Creator/RashidaJones have been on the show so often, he seems to treat them more as friends than as guests, often having them on the show without having something to promote.
** Bell, Jones, and Kinsey were all guests during the final two weeks of the show, and appeared during the finale's musical open.
** Ferguson's love of ''Doctor Who'' converged with this trope when his friend and former bandmate Creator/PeterCapaldi started his role as the Twelfth Doctor in 2014. Unfortunately, he didn't get to have Capaldi back on the show since he began the role before it ended, but he did have him on as a guest in 2009.
* LargeHam: Craig himself, particularly when he plays [[NoIndoorVoice Aquaman]].
* MarketBasedTitle: In-universe, Craig occasionally jokes that in Japan, the show is re-named ''Super Happy Fun Time Hour with [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff Robot]] and Old Man''.
* MrFanservice:
** Craig's bondage boy Chris. "Apparently, Chris has what the kids call 'pecs'."
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3m6hoeL-pw Craig himself.]]
* MsFanservice:
** Beth the (fake) CBS censor, played by actress Dana [=DeLorenzo=], during a brief tenure on the show.
** He'll occasionally have a pair of his female makeup artists, who are both very attractive and usually are in very flattering costumes, come out and dance, usually before the introduction of the second guest.
* MultipleChoicePast: Geoff tells many mutually-exclusive stories about how he died and became skeletal. For example, on the 7th Anniversary episode, Craig showed a fake clip of his very first monologue, which {{retcon}}ned Geoff as his original flesh-and-blood sidekick (with a strong resemblance to Josh Robert Thompson) who went on an ill-fated skydiving trip.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: N–R]]
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: Geoff aside, there was also [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNE6dMvlXIc a sketch]] where Craig pitched ''Ghost Chimp M.D.'' to [[Series/{{Reno911}} a very familiar-looking CBS executive]].
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Geoff Peterson's current voice bears a striking resemblance to that of Creator/GeorgeTakei. Indeed, his voice actor (Josh Robert Thompson) describes Geoff as "one part [[WesternAnimation/YogiBear Snagglepuss]], one part Creator/VincentPrice, and two parts George Takei".
* NonHumanSidekick:
** His variety of {{Hand Puppet}}s, including (but not limited to) an {{Unicorn}}, [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs a dinosaur]], [[EverythingsBetterWithPenguins a penguin]], Kronos (King of the [[EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys Monkey People]]), Brian the [[ThreateningShark Shark]], Agatha the Chicken, [[PunnyName Wavy Rancheros]] the Waving Crocodile, [[Creator/SeanConnery Connery]] the Bull, the Swine Flu Comedy [[MessyPig Pig]], a sheepdog, a camel, a ball on a stick, Skully the flaming ''Comicbook/GhostRider'' skull on a stick, an owl that doesn't have a mouth, Sid the Cussing Bunny, Storm Trousers the Fourth from the Planet Thunderpants (one of the "People of Earth" intros), and '''himself'''.
** According to his fans, Creator/BettyWhite and Mahmoud Ahmadinnerjacket (the President of Iran) are puppets as well.
** Geoff Peterson, thanks to Grant Imahara. "[[RoboSpeak Ha!...Ha!...Ha!...You're...the...man...Craig!]]"
** There is also an (un)explainable giraffe puppet. "Don't you hate it when you [[DoubleEntendre explain your giraffe]] by accident?"
** The new set has a talking rhino head above the fireplace named Sandra.
** And don't forget about Secretariat too!
* OhCrap: Geoff Peterson has one with [[RoboSpeak "Uh...oh!"]]
* PantomimeAnimal: "Who's that at the door? IT'S SECRETARIAT!" ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuEIVtLE4d8#t=13m18s Participants]] in the Secretariat Dance receive "Team Secretariat" t-shirts.) As of the last set, Secretariat has his own stable and window on the right end of the set; Craig personally feels his presence is a little creepy.
* PatchworkMap:
** Whenever Craig asks for a map of an area, such as Italy, the map appears with such fake places as the Sea of ''Film/{{Borat}}'', [[Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia Narnia]] — and, in one Italy example, [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario Bros. Island]].
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bez-T_kz-bs#t=6m45s This map of France]] has the Bay of Borat, Narnia, Graceland, and (on the continent of England) [[Series/DoctorWho Dr. Who-istan]].
* PreciousPuppies: The time that Craig brought his French bulldog, Cabbage, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucMxqh-6BHA on the show]] (April 13, 2009). He actually seemed pretty dismayed at the audience's reaction.
-->'''Craig:''' Why did you laugh when the dog came on, and then when I came on, you went "Awwww...."?
* PricelessMingVase: A bunch of Ming vases were supposedly loaned to Craig from the Getty Museum for the first show of 2011, and destroyed by Secretariat during the Tweetmail segment.
* QuietlyPerformingSisterShow: Not just to ''Series/TheLateShowWithDavidLetterman'' but late night talk shows in general. While Craig Ferguson built a devoted fanbase, received critical acclaim and performed adequately in the ratings, he never benefitted from network hype (like Creator/JimmyFallon) and his presence on a regular broadcast network didn't give him the trendy cred he might have gotten on cable. His GrandFinale got a fair amount of media coverage, but a lot of the stories started off with some variation on "''Series/TheColbertReport'' isn't the only late night show signing off this week."
* RearrangeTheSong: Not long after it was introduced, the theme song was re-done a little and had a line added ("You can always sleep through work tomorrow").
* ReplacementFlatCharacter: Craig has said on the air more than once that the purpose of having Geoff Peterson on the show is to make him seem less creepy and weird by comparison, even invoking original TropeNamer [[Series/{{Frasier}} Niles Crane]] as a precedent.
* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: Played with; Wavy Rancheros is pretty friendly and likes to wave, but rarely gets through a segment without talking about eating someone.
* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: Geoff, since Josh started doing his voice.
* TheRival:
** Ferguson sometimes jokingly alludes to the competition with his counterparts at Creator/{{ABC}} (Jimmy Kimmel) and Creator/{{NBC}} (Jimmy Fallon, and before that Creator/ConanOBrien), and occasionally interacts with them by proxy. Ferguson and Fallon have waved at each other with giant MickeyMouse hands, and once sent each other Christmas gifts (a [[CuteKitten pair of kittens]] for Jimmy, a [[HomemadeSweaterFromHell garish Christmas sweater]] for Craig) and displayed them on their respective shows.
** Craig often self-mockingly refers to himself as "the Scottish Conan guy".
** Whenever Kristen Bell is on the show, the "rivalry" between her and Geoff Peterson is renewed. She blames him for stealing her chance at being co-host, and the two have no problem hurling insults at each other whenever she's a guest.[[note]]It's played for laughs, obviously.[[/note]]
* RobotBuddy: Geoff is thorough aversion of this, since he's not very functional (he can only move his head and arms) and he frequently mocks and bickers with Craig.
* RunningGag:
** Asking for a picture of Music/PaulMcCartney and receiving one of Creator/AngelaLansbury. And this is a gag that exists because of spite!
** Whenever Craig asks for a picture of Music/{{Cher}}, he gets one of Music/MarilynManson.
** Whenever Craig asks for a picture of Kim Jong Il, "That is one angry lesbian."
** Whenever he mentions a network besides CBS he spits, but if said network airs the show of a guest he adds "but the '''show's''' good!"
** Commenting on the nature of the audience's applause at the beginning of almost every show, usually about how it was coerced out of them by a warm-up comedian with candy.
** Insisting that the show is done live when it quite obviously is not.
** Secretariat, although he's added that he won't stop it until people stop sending him tweets telling him to stop it. Secretariat eventually became a full sidekick.
** Craig and his ferrets. Occasionally, the camera will linger on the photograph for [[OverlyLongGag far too long]].
** Craig asking Geoff if he's ever visited a random location, and Geoff responding that he has a place there, [[note]](where he likes to throw beads at people, take his clothes off, and go swimming)[[/note]] and Craig should come by sometime.
** Early in the show's run, Craig would make repeated jokes about [[Series/ThePriceIsRight Bob Barker]] being a vampire.
** When he mentions Music/EltonJohn, he shows a picture of Elton from 1980's concert in Central Park, wearing [[http://morethings.com/music/elton_john/elton_john-120.jpg the infamous]] WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck costume.
** Craig brings up ''"Fashion!!!"'' and a few seconds of generic dance music plays. It sounds suspiciously like "Get Ready For This" by 2 Unlimited.
** The cartoonish graphics on the monologue, usually celebrating incredibly trivial holidays. Each one explodes after a few seconds for no reason.
** Jerry from Room Service, who calls Craig instead of the other way around. Started out as a skit which followed the sequence with the bells mentioned above (One bell, speak German; two bells, still German; three bells, Dracula; four bells, Italian Bill Clinton; five bells, room service).
** Alfredo Sauce and the Shy Fellas, who are too shy to come out from behind the curtain.
** Creator/BettyWhite "needed some cash; she lost it on (insert any incident here)".
** Michael Naidus is a racist. [[labelnote:Explanation]] Michael Naidus is the show's producer. He informs Craig when a word or a gesture is going to be censored. Craig's standard response is that it's a Scottish word, and Naidus is censoring it because he's a racist.[[/labelnote]]
** It had been a long-standing running gag that what Craig really wanted out of life was a secret volcano base with an army of [[SkeleBot9000 robot skeletons]] (one of the Tweets & Emails animated intros still shows a volcano with an army of Franchise/{{Terminator}}s.) RobotMaster Grant Imhara of ''Series/MythBusters'' (a show Craig had repeatedly said he was a fan of) then contacted him and offered to actually build him a robot skeleton. Geoff Peterson is the result.
** Whenever a show or movie is mentioned - in particular ''Series/GameOfThrones'' - a musical snippet vaguely similar to (or nothing like) that work's theme is played because they couldn't afford the real thing. In ''Game of Thrones''' case, a generic medieval theme is played.
** References to the warm-up comedian usually begin with this: ''"We call him a comedian... he's not really a comedian."''
[[/folder]]
[[folder: S–Z]]
* SelfDeprecation: Craig employs this a ''lot'', with regard to himself as well as the show in general.
* ShamelessSelfPromotion:
** "You know, ''Film/{{Clash of the Titans|2010}}'' comes out this weekend...[[FantasticAesop but will you learn anything from it?]] Why don't you watch something you can learn something from...like...''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon''? ...[[DontExplainTheJoke Alright, I'm in it!]]"
** Did it ''again'' when [[WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon2 the sequel]] came out, lauding it as "the greatest movie in the history of movies". Jay Baruchel, the guest in question, admitted their opinion ''might'' perhaps be a little skewed on the matter.
* ShoutOut:
** Craig's anchorman schtick for "It's a great day for America, everybody" had him adjusting a dial which would briefly switch to ''Tijuana Taxi'', then make a series of beeps before proceeding to deliver the "news" in a voice that usually was an impression of Walter Cronkite.[[note]](The "beep" sound effects were typically used to open each ''CBS Evening News'' broadcast during Cronkite's tenure, making this even more likely to be an homage to him.)[[/note]]
** Craig ran side-by-side his intro and the intro of a French talk show that's copied it. The host sings, plays drums, and ends up in a water fountain...same as Craig does. The logo even uses the same font as the ''Late Late Show'' graphic. The only difference is that the French show's intro didn't have any hand puppets and was shot from different angles.
** Geoff Peterson wears a nametag from ''Series/ThePriceIsRight''.
** Josh Robert Thompson as Creator/MorganFreeman: "[[Film/TheShawshankRedemption Get busy watchin', or get busy sleepin'!]]"
* SomethingCompletelyDifferent:
** For his 1,000th episode, Craig stayed off-camera and performed the whole show (including opening monologue, guest interviews, etc.) as Wavy.
** On February 24, 2010, he did a show without the usual StudioAudience or comedy bits, and featuring only one guest (Creator/StephenFry). As Craig explained in the opening, it was intended as a sort of homage to Tom Snyder.
** Occasionally, shows will feature one guest. In 2013 alone, both Stephen Fry and Robin Williams were the only guest. Considering the guests involved, this seems less of an error or due to a 2nd guest not showing up, but more by design. The Stephen Fry appearance in particular, as it was taped well in advance of its airdate.
* ShowWithinAShow: ''[[BuddyCopShow Bone Patrol with GP and the Fergs]]''
* SkeleBot9000: Geoff Peterson is, well, a skeleton robot.
* SoundEffectBleep: During the the teaser and the monologue, the censors pixelate Craig's mouth and mute the audio when he swears. When one of the puppets swears (i.e., Sid or Wavy Rancheros), there's a beep and sometimes pixelation over their mouths. During other segments of of the show, the censors place CG flags of other nations over the mouths of Craig, Geoff and the guests, accompanied by speeded-up audio of Craig saying a phrase supposedly associated with that country. These include;
** Spanish flag: '''¡AY CARAMBA!'''
** French flag: '''OOHLALA! CROISSANT!'''
** Italian flag: '''Tootsi Frootsi!''' or '''[[GratuitousItalian Whassa cummanago!]]'''
** Australian flag: '''Crikey Dingo!''' and '''Boing!'''
** Swedish flag: '''[[Literature/TheMillenniumTrilogy Girl With the Dragon Tattoo!]]'''
** Gay Pride flag: '''Ah-oh!''' or '''Ohh!'''
* SpoofAesop: ''What did we learn on the show tonight, Craig?''
* StraightGay: Geoff, at first, but then became bi - or as Geoff puts it, ac/dc.
* StudioAudience: [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial That's Completely Genuine In Their Applause Which Is Not At All Prompted By A Warm-Up Comedian]].
* StuffBlowingUp: The graphics during the occasional "theme week". Hell, just about [[IncendiaryExponent ANY graphic he calls for]] [[MadeOfExplodium explodes at the end]]. [[AvertedTrope NOTABLY averted]] during "Nobel Prize Week", where the graphic simply rose up to a small trumpet fanfare, then lowered back down without incendiary incident.
* TakeThat: Against CBS, Jay Leno, Jimmy Fallon, ''himself'' ("Take that... me.") — actually, pretty much anything and everything. He even does them against ''people he likes''. "Take that... man who's been nothing but nice to me!"
* TakeThatAudience: Craig sometimes mocks the studio audience as a bunch of drowsy, toothless seniors who still lament the cancellation of ''Series/{{Matlock}}'' and ''Series/MurderSheWrote''; "paid hobos"; or full of people who were turned down to get into ''The Price Is Right''. (His sidekick Geoff Petersen even wears a name tag taken from the game show).
* TheTeaser: The show opens with one of these every night. Sometimes takes the form of a mini-monologue from Craig, sometimes it's a backstage sketch with that night's guest, sometimes it's an all-singing, all-dancing musical lip-sync number.
* ThemeTuneExtended:
** A fully recorded studio version can be found [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q22ut6HchNg here.]]
** For the closing credits of the last episode of Scotland week, The Imagineers (the Glasgow band who was the musical guest for all five shows) performed the full version of the theme.
* ThrowingOutTheScript: Symbolising his free-wheeling interviewing style, Craig begins every interview by tearing up a set of palm cards that presumably contains his notes for the interview. Sometimes he says "We won't be needing these" for good measure.
* TitleThemeTune: All together now...
-->''It's hard to stay up, it's been a long long day, and you got the sandman at your door''
-->''But hang on, leave the TV on, and let's do it anyway! It's okay!''
-->''[[SchmuckBait You can always sleep through work tomorrow, okay?]] Hey, hey!''
-->''Tomorrow's just your future yesterday!''
* {{Troll}}: Craig often taunts Geoff's inability to move more than 12 feet from an outlet, move his left arm or play the harmonica.
* UnresolvedSexualTension: Played straight with many of the show's female guests. Some of the men, too. ''Especially'' if the guest opts for an awkward pause with sexual subtext to close out the interview.
** ''Especially'' with Creator/KristenBell, who has such great chemistry with Ferguson she has appeared more times than any other guest and at one point lobbied to be hired as a full-time co-host (see above for who she accuses of "stealing" the spot from her). During a series of episodes shot in Paris, she did in fact serve in a co-host capacity, and the UST is referenced when the two actually have a "moment" (played for laughs) during one on-location sequence. In reality, the two are happily involved in other relationships; they just carry on as if they're involved. In her final appearance they had more of a brother-sister vibe, mainly due to Kristen being nine months pregnant.
** He and James [=McAvoy=] created a Vortex of Scottish Charm.
* VacationEpisode: A week in Paris in 2011, a week in Scotland in 2012 and a special episode in New Orleans that aired after the Super Bowl in 2013.
* VitriolicBestBuds: Craig and Geoff Peterson often give off this vibe, made a bit surreal by the fact that one of them is a robot skeleton.
* VivaLasVegas: One sketch was about Craig and Geoff going to UsefulNotes/LasVegas to celebrate Geoff's birthday with guests like ''Series/MythBusters''' Grant Imahara, who originally made Geoff, and Creator/MorganFreeman doing Secretariat's voice for [[RuleOfFunny lord knows what reason]]. It all builds up to [[{{Robosexual}} Craig and Geoff getting married]], much to their (or at least Craig's) surprise.
* WalkingTheEarth: Craig's plan once the show ends. Drew Carey compares this to ''Literature/JackReacher'', but only in the books because he doesn't like [[Film/JackReacher the movie]].
* WeaselMascot: Craig and his ferrets. Occasionally, the camera will linger on the [[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WrKY10IR-ng/TLuTrEYzcTI/AAAAAAAANhs/FFkxPmo0a-0/s1600/craig+ferret+1.jpg photograph]] for [[OverlyLongGag far too long]].
* WeCare: Craig likes to mock the ones his network does — [[SarcasmMode "CBS Cares."]]
-->'''Craig:''' In fact, that's what CBS stands for — Cares...'Bout...Stuff.
[[/folder]]
