The Johnny Carson Award- Late Night Host

Named For: Johnny Carson (The Tonight Show)
Awarded To: The best late night show host
2009 Winner: Saturday Night Live [Best Late Night/Variety Show]
2010 Winner: Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien [Best Late Night Talk Show]

Place. Nominee (Series) Points (My Vote)

5. Norm MacDonald (Sports Show) 4 points (3rd)

4. Steven Colbert (Colbert Report) 7 points

3. Conan O'Brien (Conan) 8 points

2. Joel McHale (The Soup) 10 points (1st)

and the Poolie goes to...

1. Jimmy Fallon (Late Night) 11 points (2nd)

This is technically Jimmy Fallon's second Poolie nomination, counting last year's nom for Late Night, and his first ever win for the best late night show host.

Finally people are starting to catch on.  Jimmy Fallon is a stud on Late Night.  He was absolutely awful back on Saturday Night Live, but he has been killing from day one after taking over for Conan.  Whether it is Lost parodies or attempting to get a Saved by the Bell Reunion together, Fallon is certainly deserving of this award.

The Johnny Carson Award- Late Night Talk Show

Named For: Johnny Carson, host of The Tonight Show from 1962-92
Awarded To: Best late night talk show from June 1, 2009 - May 31, 2010
Last Year's Winner: Saturday Night Live (late night/variety)

Place. Show (Network) Points (My Vote)

5. The Colbert Report (Comedy Central) 7 points

4. Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC) 8 points (3rd)

3. Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (NBC) 10 points (1st)

Runner-Up
2. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central) 15 points

and the Poolie goes to...
1. The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (NBC) 18 points (2nd)

Although I voted for Jimmy Fallon first in this category, I find it only fitting that Conan O'Brien and the rest of the Tonight Show crew took the second annual Jonny Carson Award. Named after the king of The Tonight Show, Coco receives this recognition after taking the big stage and losing it shortly after.

By this point we all know the ins and outs of what happened between Conan, Jay Leno, and NBC this year. Having said that, it's worth noting that Conan came out smelling like roses, while the other two have garnered much hatred from fans all over. That is surely a credit to Coco's personality on and off of late night.

Sure his Tonight Show wasn't as good as his longer stint as the host of Late Night, but he was certainly good enough to earn this award. And as an award that (as chairman of the Poolie Awards) I might scrap next year, I will be pleased to know that Coco won the only true late night award of the Quiet Pool Television Awards.

The Johnny Carson Award (2009)

With each award of the 2009 Poolies I will give a rundown of the nominees, how many points they received and what I voted each one. For some categories The Quiet Pool Perspective will welcome guest voters to write about why a show or character won that specific award.

The Johnny Carson Award for
Best Late Night/Variety Series

Rank. Show- Total Points...(My Rank)
5th. The College Humor Show- 3 points

4th. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart- 10 points

3rd. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno- 16 points...(2nd)

Runner-Up
2nd. The Late Show with David Letterman- 18 points...(3rd)

The Poolie Goes To
1st. Saturday Night Live- 27 points...(1st)

And now with his take on Saturday Night Live here is T-time of Solomons Lines...

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Saturday Night Live has always taken more than its fair share of criticism. The Saturday Night Dead insult seems to pop up every off-night, and it has certainly walked some low roads, but it has always been the standard bearer for late night and this year is no exception. The show is in a pretty good place in 2009 with an excellent cast, some snappy writing and a good crop of recurring sketches. More often then not, SNL depends on a quality host, and there have been a few of those this year as well.

The 2009 cast doesn't have a lot of big names but it really is as talented as any outside of the early 90s. Kristen Wiig has become the star, bringing life to a number of memorable characters. Perhaps the funniest female in the program's history, she has mastered a squad of recurring characters, notably the Target Lady. She performs equally well in small parts and in one off sketches, the skit in which she loves surprises is one of the best of the year. Bill Hader has also come into his own this year, making the leap to full fledged star. Will Forte has produced quality in bunches to single out one more performer from a cast that is solid all the way through.

The hosts have ranged from outstanding (The Rock) to atrocious, (Michael Phelps) but there have been enough quality guests to keep the season entertaining. From old friends like Tracy Jordan to new faces like Bradley Cooper, each show has left us with something memorable. While a few shows have been duds, and Weekend Update has become must-fast-forward-tv, the SNL format is still going strong. With a young cast that has yet to come into its own, Saturday Night Live is on top once again.