About the only real change anybody at the network has made to Ferguson came in the form of a new haircut a couple of days after he premiered in January. "I guess if we had done tryout shows, somebody, somewhere would have gone, 'Eh, let's make his hair different,' " he said. "Actually, I got sent off to get my hair cut. They sent me down to some Beverly Hills, ludicrous place where they cut my hair for the price of a house."

And he's a bit bemused by it all. "There's a crack staff of people who follow me around all day with gels and potions and loads of crap," Ferguson said. "Amazing. They're always fiddling with hair."

They're sort of fiddling with the show as it evolves, too. The speed with which all of this took place is nothing short of dizzying. "It's fascinating to me that I have since found out that most people, when they start up a show, have about three months. They do try-out shows — they get shows that they don't air and stuff like that," Ferguson said. "I had, what,two-and-a-half 2 1/2, three days?"

"Two-and-a-half days," Yasui said.

But Ferguson said he's glad it worked out this way.

"It's like — rip the band-aid off. Let's go," said Ferguson, who is relishing sort of "winging it and having fun and enjoying it. And owning my own mistakes on the show. . . . Believe me, I've made mistakes. And I'll continue to do that. I think I've learned that I just got to accept that, take it on the chin and move on."

His enthusiasm has infected the staff, mostly holdovers from the Kilborn show, who are seeing their jobs through the eyes of someone who's new to the genre and completely enthralled with it. "It's great," said one staffer. "There's so much excitement here now. We're having so much fun."

That's a thought Ferguson echoes. "It's a lot of fun. And what I dread is that it becomes a routine. It's not that yet."

And it looks like he might be a part of the late-night lineup for some time to come. Not only have the "Late Late Show" ratings picked up since he took over, but there's already considerable conjecture that CBS has found the successor to David Letterman when he decides to retire.

But, for now, being the man who comes on after Letterman is a huge deal for Ferguson. "Every now and again I will go, 'Oh my (gosh), I cannot believe it!' Usually, walking out to start the monologue, the room is bumping and the music's going and the folks are on their feet and you see everybody, and you say, 'Oh, I really am here. It's just unbelievable.'

"And then you've got work to do and you kind of go on with it."

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Timeline

Highlights of Craig Ferguson's career

1962