Plenty of fans for the ‘wee monkey’

I caught one of Craig Ferguson’s recent monologues and I thought the riffing he did on JetBlue and NASCAR drivers using jet fuel was hilarious [“It’s Even Later Than ‘Late Late’ Thinks,” Feb. 18]. His impersonations of Sean Connery, Larry King and others are inspired.

C’mon Jon -- direct your withering scorn elsewhere! There are plenty of tabloid-driven “newscasts” and bottom-feeding reality shows to skewer -- don’t trash someone who is genuinely funny.

CYNTHIA FOX

Los Angeles

Fox is with KLOS Radio.

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OK, L.A. Times -- now I have to write. I’ve watched Ferguson from week one. He has grown into a charming, engaging host, precisely because he is uniquely interested in his guests.

He’s an impish Scot, a recovering “bad boy” we’ve all grown to love. He is honest and inherently funny. When he took off his tie, the show loosened up and he started making rim shots.

Letterman was smart to recognize an original comic genius and give him a shot. CBS should give him free rein. Hold great guests over a break. Less skits, more roving reporters. Lose the tie. He’s a “cheeky wee monkey” and his show is still a work in progress.

MARTHA STEVENS

Calabasas

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I only discovered Craig Ferguson a few months ago, but I love him. He’s charming, self-deprecating and funny. I enjoy watching him far more than any other talk show host, including Letterman and Leno.

Some of the aspects of Ferguson’s performance that Caramanica cites negatively are exactly what make him appealing. “He seemed as if he were inventing his style on the fly” -- yeah, he’s not artificial, he’s in the moment, not always the same, seems like he’s having fun and takes the audience along with him. And really -- Ferguson “often forewent wearing a tie”? What does that have to do with anything?

Caramanica did at least grudgingly note that Ferguson, in speaking about the recent death of his father, was “self-effacing and openhearted all at once.” But too little too late in a glib and thoughtless review.

GILLIAN BAGWELL

Pasadena

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JON CARAMANICA’S review of Craig Ferguson’s “The Late Late Show” made me wonder how he could be watching the same program that has had me laughing out loud since I discovered it several months ago. Ferguson is the funniest guy on late-night TV, in this viewer’s humble opinion.

JIM KNOTTS

Indio