Now Howard's really 'The Man Who Wasn't There'

Marking a year since he disappeared from the public eye and began doing his show in private for pay audience on the Sirius Satellite network, Howard Stern made the round of talk shows to try and get some more subscribers, some attention, and maintain some semblance of relevance (sadly, he was wearing the same outfit he wore before he disappeared in 2005). Among the stops was Friday night's appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Stern and Kimmel are close pals. But not as close you might think. There's something wrong with the picture above. It's easy to figure out after the first minute or so. Jimmy Kimmel is in Hollywood. Howard is a continent away, in New York, in front of a green screen. The audience is playing along. It's a nice trick and pretty obvious, but it could also be considered a test for the talk shows of the future.

And speaking of the future, Stern is bound to return to free radio in some form, like syndicating a censored portion of his show each day. He used to have an impact on the culture. No any more. And despite all the money he took from Sirius, that's got to be getting his goat...