It looks, from home, that he is going after his guests but when you are the guest, you can feel the many ways he’s protecting you – cushioning the ride, leading you away from danger, and towards the hot spots. My first time, the feeling was sort of like this: you wake up and find yourself in a cage with a tiger. After a few nervous seconds, you think: ‘Hey, this is not so bad, I’m hanging in with this tiger.’ And then you see something in his eyes and you realise you’re alive only because the tiger’s letting you be….Generally, I always felt a little like Dorothy, in the face of the Wizard for the first time. Or like the Cowardly Lion, stroking my own tail. So to speak. But he is also a very generous host. The writers I know really, deeply appreciate the fact that Stephen has given writers a platform and some pop-culture cred. I think he’ll continue to do that with the new show. In fact, I predict the loss of the persona is going to free him up. He is so smart and well-read… Backstage I once heard him do an incredible little explanation of what the Stations of the Cross are, and it was mind-blowingly precise and interesting and original. He is utterly fearless and the least likely person in the world to tame his format to some sort of external or corporate expectations – and he’s powerful enough to be able to resist as well. So I think the fun is just beginning.