Kimmel is edgy in premiere

With baited breath, talk show failures Chevy Chase, Magic Johnson, and Martin Short waited for a new member to join their ignominious club. But Jimmy Kimmel stood strong in his first week of his new late night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live, withstanding corporate censorship, lackluster guests, and a ghost scare, to ultimately host one of the funniest and wackiest weeks in late night television in recent memory. If he's lucky, ABC executives will agree and give the irreverent show a chance at success.

Kimmel is a veteran of comedic television, making his career as co-host of the game show Win Ben Stein's Money. He also had success with the misogynist and culturally insensitive, yet uproariously amusing The Man Show, which he co-hosted with wise-guy Adam Carolla. On FOX Sports' NFL pre-game show, Kimmel reached network audiences with his sarcastic wit and football insight, providing sports fans with his picks and his best Terry Bradshaw insults.

Kimmel's raunchy comedic mind is joined by Carolla, previous Head Writer for Late Night with David Letterman Steve O'Donnell, fellow Letterman veteran executive producer Daniel Kellison, and ESPN Page 2 columnist Bill Simmons. Simmons, also known as The Sports Guy is the most unique edition to this staff, as he has never written for a television show of any sort. But, ask practically any college aged sports fan, and they will tell you that Simmons is a comedic genius who should be a fine addition to an established comedy writing team.

Advertised to premiere after the Super Bowl, Live was aired much later than expected due to ABC's extended post-game coverage, missing out on some of its core demographic. Those who turned off their televisions passed up a great hour of entertainment, as the grand opening featured George Clooney, Tampa Bay Buccaneer (and recent Super Bowl champ) Warren Sapp, and the band Coldplay. Yet all of them were upstaged by the week's co-host Snoop Dogg, who infused the show with his own brand of "Snoop" humor. As fake snow fell from the ceiling as a spoof of NBC's themed "Blizzard Monday," Kimmel asked, "Hey, how do you say 'blizzard' in Snoop?" to which the possibly stoned guest host replied, "Blizzy KuhNizzy."

The running joke on the show is that they essentially have no guests. Since the show is run on the East Coast live, if a guest fails to show, as Jon Gruden did on Sunday night, Kimmel has to run the show on the fly. Carolla showed up one night to fill time, as did Kimmel's uncle, who works as the show's "security guard." The motley crew adds a fresh enthusiasm that is a sharp contrast to The Tonight Show and Letterman. However, the unrehearsed, hodgepodge feel of Live has kept ABC executives and censors very edgy, which is not a commercially savvy way to premiere a new late night program.

Jimmy Kimmel Live is based on the ideology that the show should really have no structure. Its unpredictability is the greatest drawing factor, as each episode brings new twists and spontaneous moments of hilarity. After an audience member vomited on opening night, ABC/Disney yanked the show's liquor license, prohibiting the host from providing his audiences with free beer. A "ghostbuster" came on the show later in the week to exorcise the spirits haunting the theater, and the sheer randomness of a woman yelping and hyperventilating on the screen brought side-splitting laughter. Yet the greatest sketch of the new show came with the "slang spelling bee" where two National Spelling Bee Champs squared off against two gangsta rappers, spelling out words like "fasheezy" and "killaz." While it may not offer the level of sophisticated humor that one would find on Letterman, Live is a volatile and crazy ride that is destined to thrill viewers each and every night.