If you're on the West Coast and you act quickly, I guess you still have a chance to catch tonight's Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

I feel bad, because while I tried to tell you you should be watching "TV's Craig Ferguson" on his CBS Late Late Show, I didn't come to your house and make you watch. Which means it's my fault you've missed one of the most remarkable hours of TV you might ever have watched.

To make matters worse, I screwed myself. I came ever so close to having the DVR record the show as insurance against my falling asleep. But I didn't.

Who knew that Craig was recently back from Scotland, where he spent some days with his dying father in the hospital? They said good-bye on Friday, both knowing it was a final good-bye. Robert Ferguson died of cancer Sunday at 75.

Craig appeared for tonight's show in a black suit and tie, explained that he would get back to complaining about Starbucks tomorrow, and is spending the hour talking about his father, and about death, and about life. He's had Dr. Drew, a friend, on to help, and now, explaining that a wake has to have music, he's got some group called Wicked Tinkers on, offering sounds of the Scottish Highlands, or a version thereof. The show has about 20 minutes to go, and I don't know what's coming. I also don't know how to tell you about what you've missed.

Soon it will be over, and that will be that--except for the people in the later time zones, I guess. Craig is one of the funniest guys I've encountered, and there have even been laughs tonight. But mostly it's been "real" in a way that TV hardly ever gets, especially in the age of "reality TV."