Video: And Now, Nice-Guy Talk Hosts

Morton Downey Jr. has turned foul temper into a TV style. Geraldo Rivera continues to test the bounds of tawdry sensationalism. Phil, Oprah and Sally Jessy race to outdo one another in pursuit of the odd, the aberrant and the kinky. But something even more bizarre and audacious is about to appear on the talk-show scene. Make way for . . . the nice guys.

Well, at least they seem nice so far. Pat Sajak is the low-key, dryly sardonic host of TV's most popular game show, Wheel of Fortune. Starting next Monday, he will appear, bereft of Vanna White and those fabulous prizes, as host of the Pat Sajak Show, CBS's first late-night talk program in 17 years. Arsenio Hall, who co-starred with Eddie Murphy in the movie Coming to America, made his own TV splash as Joan Rivers' boyishly enthusiastic replacement on the Fox network's Late Show. This week he will rejoin the late-night fray on a permanent basis as host of the Arsenio Hall Show, syndicated on 135 stations.

Sajak and Hall will compete against each other in many cities, but their main target is that unyielding edifice of late night, the Tonight show, starring Johnny Carson. The mission might seem suicidal. A gaggle of talk hosts, from Joey Bishop to Alan Thicke, have emerged over the years to challenge Carson, only to slink away in failure. But Sajak and Hall have one potential advantage: they could simply outlast Carson. After 26 years behind the desk, the NBC veteran may be nearing retirement, though neither he nor NBC will comment on whether he expects to continue beyond September. Even with substitute host Jay Leno in place as heir apparent, the post-Carson field is wide open.

Sajak and Hall are avoiding at least one mistake made by their predecessors: trying to be too different. Thicke of the Night attempted an offbeat mix of comedy and talk but misfired badly. Rivers brought a more abrasive edge and some attempts at wacky stunts to the format but failed to catch on. Only Late Night with David Letterman, with its hip, self-parodying pose, has succeeded in cutting a new path. Letterman's influence will be evident in both shows: each, for example, plans to take the camera outside the studio occasionally. But mostly the newcomers are following the old-fashioned approach: a band, a couch and an easygoing, plain-folks appeal. Not since the heyday of Merv Griffin and Mike Douglas have talk shows been so user friendly.

On paper at least, Sajak, 42, has the right credentials. While growing up in Chicago, he used to sneak out of bed to watch Jack Paar and decided that doing a talk show "would be a fun way to earn a living." He became a radio disk jockey, TV weatherman and local talk-show host; then in 1981 he replaced Chuck Woolery on Wheel of Fortune. Part of the show's success can be traced to his laid-back, let's-not-take-this-seriously attitude. Indeed, Sajak has trouble taking even himself seriously. "No matter how charming and delightful I am," he says, "I knew that people tuned in ((to Wheel of Fortune)) to see the game, not me. Still, 40 million viewers know my name and may look in out of curiosity -- just to see what this clown can do."