The other night I went to a taping of BEST TIME EVER with Neil Patrick Harris. Yes, it was a Tuesday night and I ventured to Astoria for a live taping of the show, leaving my responsibilities (quite happily) behind for a few hours.
I’m also a product of the Mike Douglas/Phil Donahue era, so I am a big fan of talk shows I adore a good variety show. I’m also a big fan of Neil Patrick Harris and his Broadway/Tony performances over the past few years and I wanted to see if he could bring Broadway to network television.
Well, he hasn’t done exactly that but he’s definitely trying to, while entertaining a mass audience. His show was recently moved to 8pm from the 10pm timeslot, so he has a real shot. The taping was fun and moved quickly, as his show does, because his production team have squeezed a lot into 60 minutes. The guests were pretty great, as expected. I love Jack Black, so seeing him up close and personal as NPH’s emcee for the night was very cool. There was a hilarious bit with Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie. Neil Patrick Harris brings a lot to the show, as expected, from singing, audience participation to dancing and music. One woman got a “This is Your Life” experience in which her secret loves from sleepaway camp 20 years ago were brought to the set as a surprise, and it was lovely to see her reaction.
But best of all, the appearance by the B-52s rocked my world. I’m from Atlanta; they used to play my college campus. I’ve been smitten with them for 30 years now and seeing them onstage to facilitate NPH’s singalong was tremendous. I’m trying to obtain a clip.
I think I was at show #4, so they definitely still have a few kinks to iron out. I think, though, that NPH is so incredibly talented that the show has a good chance of moving to season #2.
We need a variety show. I hope this one makes it.
BEST TIME EVER With Neil Patrick Harris now airs on NBC Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
Disclosure: I was provided with ticketst to Best Time Ever but all opinions are my own.
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