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...
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