Television: Here's Johnny--Where's Merv?

In August, when it first got into the late-night talk show competition, CBS bannered its promotion campaign, "Give the Kid a Break." The kid was Host Merv Griffin, chosen to challenge NBC's champ, Johnny Carson, after clicking on daytime game shows and a syndicated afternoon talk series. By last week, it appeared that the kid was the kind that drooped without daylight.

Merv seemed lusterless after dark; his whoopee all seemed to come from an aerosol can that went poof. In the latest ratings, Carson was more securely than ever the nation's midnight idol, commanding a healthy 37% of the audience, compared with a measly 15% for Griffin. ABC's Joey Bishop is third, with 12%. The remaining 36% of the viewers are watching old movies and other shows scheduled by independent channels and network-affiliated holdouts.