Host lightens up 'Late Late Show' as lights go out

NEW YORK (AP) — Craig Ferguson kept it light when the lights went out.

CBS says Wednesday's edition of "The Late Late Show" was faced with lighting problems after a transformer blew, shorting out the light grid above the stage for the taping just hours before airtime.

Ferguson, referring to his mechanical sidekick, quipped that the show would rely on "the light of a robot's eye."

Not quite. Two temporary lights were positioned to illuminate Ferguson and his guests, former "Friends" star Lisa Kudrow and producer Harvey Weinstein, who also joked around with flashlights.

Ferguson, whose show is taped at CBS' Television City in Hollywood, has weathered technical glitches before. In October 2009, he had a power failure and taped part of the show entirely by flashlight. He's also been plagued periodically by a leaky roof.

And he isn't the only late-night host who's lost juice. Two years ago, Jimmy Kimmel was forced to tape his ABC show with his laptop's webcam after a power outage in the studio control room.

But the future burns bright for "The Late Late Show": It's scheduled to move to a better-equipped studio by summer's end.

Of course, sometimes people ask Ferguson why he's making a move, he noted during his monologue.

"And I say, 'Oh, no reason,'" he cracked as he gestured toward his darkened stage.

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Online: http://www.cbs.com