Late Night with David Letterman

Nothing in my lifetime has resonated as deeply as this show during the first 6 years that it was on and that I watched it (82-88). I've never enjoyed any tv show as much. For my generation it was the thing to watch, the place to be every night; you felt at the time that this was where the party was and every other place paled by comparison. The combo of Letterman's extraordinarily facile wit and warm leadership with Steve ODonnell's genius writing, Calvert DeForest and Chris Elliott's unique talents, Paul Shaffer's amazing musical abilities and Hal Gurney's creative stewardship as director, made this show magical. For years I tried to get on the writing staff to no avail. I lived 4 avenues away at 50th and 2nd Ave during this time and would BS a kindly woman named Kathy Vasipoli who worked there that I was a famous publicist and she'd unfailingly reserve me last minute tickets to shows (she later married Paul). For some reason I just stopped watching one day, then eventually moved to Los Angeles and that ended that. And the times I tuned into the subsequent CBS show it was apparent that the bloom was off the rose; no more O'Donnell or Calvert or Elliott or Bill Wendell; everything about it slick and shiny and over produced, from the segment graphics to the musical jingles to the announcer to the forced character stage hands, to, sadly Letterman's evolution into a somewhat cynical and neurotic guy who you sensed longed to get out of there, but had no other life plan of what to do. But all fires burn themselves out, and for a short glorious stretch Late Night w David Letterman was the apogee of all that mattered.

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.

While Conan does have one of the best shows on TV now, David Letterman's original Late Night talk show is what created it all. This is where such classic things like "Stupid Pet Tricks" and "The Top Ten List" were born. Dave knows what people want to laugh at, and from that show he did it all, like once leaving an audience member as host for nearly the entire show while he "looked for his fake teeth" and other great things. David Letterman's current show may get more viewers, but this one should never be forgotten.

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.

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.