Late Night with David Letterman

"Late Night with David Letterman" is without a doubt the most clever, experimental (apologies to Steve Allen and Ernie Kovacs), and downright hysterical television program in TV history. To describe it would be pointless, because so many different things would happen in a given show. From about 1986 to about 1990 was Dave's finest period (he was still smiley sarcastic Dave and hadn't yet become angry sarcastic Dave), but the show was very solid overall. The Top Ten lists on those shows were 50 times better than the lists on the CBS show, and to me are some of the most valuable comic documents of this century, a sort of numerological Dave Barry.

Kids, you think Tom Green was the first person to get into confrontations on camera? Check Dave when he went to bring "those weasels at G.E." a fruit basket and was promptly escorted out. Sure Viewer Mail and Stupid Pet Tricks were Dave's trademarks (both superior to the CBS versions), but it was things like the "Late Night Thrill Cam" and "Network Time Killers" and the show filmed in an airport, and the show that was played at a high speed to "save time," etc. that made Late Night the best thing on TV when it was on.

People today take for granted the style of humor that is so common today on late night TV. Don't forget that in the 1980's no one was doing that "anything goes", "screw those executive weasels", "hey, it's only TV, let's have some fun" type of show except Letterman. Dave Letterman spawned an entire generation of pale imitators such as Conan and Leno and many others. Letterman showed just how funny remote segments could be if perform with wit and disregard for consequences. Tom Green has only the latter, Leno has neither. Letterman showed that you could do a celebrity interview show without sucking up to the guests and that most celebrities actually have a sense of humor about themselves if given a chance. Letterman also turned the cameras on regular people with no special performance talent, showing that they could be as funny as anyone in the right situation. Chris Elliott and Calvert DeForest are still getting mileage out of their appearances. Fans of the old show will never forget Al Frisch, Jimmy Fitzgerald in "Technician's Corner", Gerard Mulligan, or Chris Elliott as the guy under the seats. No one could have made "Stupid Pet Tricks" and "Stupid Human Tricks" fly like Letterman could because Dave can take any silly situation and improve upon it with his quick wit. That is truly the mark of a great talk show host and no one is better than Dave. I could go on and on about all of the great comedy bits Letterman has done over the years and a couple of them may seem relatively tame by today's standards, but no one has ever improved upon the standard that Dave has set over the last 20 years. His current show isn't as anti-establishment or daring as his NBC show, mainly because there are no more barriers to break down. But the fact remains that if you want to watch a talk show that relies on cleverness and wit as opposed to smarmy pandering or mindless obnoxious behavior, The Late Show with David Letterman on CBS is the only place to go.

Thank God David left for CBS (Crud Broadcasted Seasonally) and took that joke of a band leader with him. I'll grant that Dave had his moments in the 80's, but Paul alone makes his show completely unwatchable. He's often rude to his guests, slow on his jokes, and most of his "good" material consists of stumbling over punchlines and waiting for his audience to respond to the "Applause" sign when it lights up. Can there be anything worse than a comedian who gets his laughs merely as a courtesy, not due to any actual talent?

The temper tantrum he threw over not getting Carson's gig was ridiculous, and given his mediocre performances, he should have seen it coming. Oh well, his decision to jump ship gave the world Conan and Andy, so I guess he deserves indirect praise for that.

With Dave having won best series Emmy two years in a row, one need only check his track record to see who really kicks butt in late night TV.

Dave has won Emmys at each of the three shows he has hosted. Unlike Conan, he has some sense of perspective. Unlike Jay, he has some sense of humor.

Dave has been King ever since Johnny got too tired to try. Ever since, it's been no contest.

I have followed Letterman in his time at CBS and am a big fan, but I think the way Letterman treated Bill Hicks in the early 90s shows a real weakness. I am not sure if it was on NBC or CBS, but Letterman 'bumped' comedian Bill Hicks because of his cutting edge pro-choice material. If this is the way a veteran treats an up-and-comer, then the show falls short is being true variety.