Late Show with David Letterman

Dave is King of Late Night. If rumors are true, Carson chose Letterman to replace him, but NBC exec's decided otherwise. I can believe this. Letterman's run of 10 years on late-late night TV was brilliant, though a bit "cheap".

Well, with this show, some of the "homey" feel of the small show has gone, but the humor and style has stayed the same. From classics such as "Stupid Pet Tricks", to new skits such as the adventures of Mujibur and Sirajoul (apoligies for spelling) - two guys who ran a shop next to the theater where the Late Show was on, Dave finds a way to make anyone entertaining to everyone. It is rare that he can't find a chemistry to work with someone on stage with him, and that's the secret. Steve Allen, Jack Paar (to an extent), and Carson all had that gift. With the larger budget, Dave got bigger, grander, and funnier, while maintaining the "individual" appeal of a smaller budget show. There was Taxi Tic Tac Toe, the cross country trip of our two friends listed earlier and the van of gifts. The only thing missing was "Larry Bud Melman". Calvert DeForest shows up from time to time, but very rarely, and not with the same type of style that we had from Bud.

Dave is the King. It's a shame he had to leave the old court and build a new one.

I recently watched the Late Show when Janet Jackson was the guest. She had a very toppish top on that kind of embarrassed Dave. I laughed like never before. Despite him being embarrassed, he deliverd some lines that were simply perfect. "Need help with the zipper?" "I'm 54, I'm not used to these kind of things." Paul: "You have always loved fast women, Dave."

Well, Dave cracks Leno everytime. He is just more personal than mr standup.

I'm "only" 34 but I've been watching Letterman since I was about 13. He in fact has one of the few shows I can tolerate to watch on TV. I can always count on him to be entertaining. He clearly has it down to a science now and doesn't deviate much from his standard ritual whereas years ago it was always something new and different. That said, his ritual is actually reliably entertaining. Clearly one of the attractions to watching him for so long is the comfortable feeling one has with having the same show play around the same time of night for so many years. Of course, now I use TiVo. The bottom line is that Letterman is truly the best thing going for TV and is a reliably good and entertaining show.

David Letterman is the king of Late Night TV. On the air now for 21 years, apporching 10 years as host of the "Late Show" on CBS. Leno is no match to Letterman, nor is Jimmy Kimmel on ABC. I feel like the "Late Show" has more class then other late night talk shows, though you might think not it at times. When Dave retires he will leave BIG shoes to fill.

Upfront, I will say that I enjoyed him more in the past, especially when he was on at 12:30 ... he mellowed some, but after twenty years, he still is quite good. Dave may not have been able to fulfill his dream and take over from Johnny on CBS, but in a sense, he has ... he is the comfortable veteran, someone you feel good ending your night watching (unless you are into news ... then, you check out Ted Koppel). And, he still shows his edge at times, especially sometimes when he has those little monologues such as when he decided to try to get a parkway named after him (lol).

The CBS Mailbag feature is still funny, he interacts with the audience pretty good (I don't care for those segments, but I got to admit he connects with them), and the announcer is hiliarious. Other amusing, though getting a bit old things ... the "will it float" and "is this anything" segments -- that grinder girl is amusing. Stephany ... "did you see or touch any monkeys" ... is great too, her sarcastic voice at times reminds one of a young female Dave. The crew also has some good bits. The deli bits are getting tired though and go too long. Paul? People seem to love to dis him, but one gets the idea that he is a perfect fit for Dave, and finding a new guy would be damn hard.

It might be a generational thing (it's also regional ... Jay has higher rating, and is more popular in the heartland), but I don't understand why people are saying Conan is better than Dave. Now, Conan has some better comic bits and is decent overall, but he's really no match to Dave. Dave might seem bored during some interviews (but when he isn't, he really connects ... e.g. Drew Barrymore, Lisa Presley, Regis Philbin, Kelly Ripa, and others), but he surely is a better interviewer than Conan -- even after Conan has had years of on the job training. Also, Conan does not have good monologues ... many are actually pretty lame, and he even jokes about the lack of reaction (doesn't make it any less lame). Finally, his bits often go too long. So, really, Dave might be older and at times seems a bit tired, but he still beats Conan imho. Jay? Smarmy in my opinion ... and I used to like the guy.

It is amusing to note that David Letterman has many credits, especially before his talk show stint. I wonder if someone did a collection to highlight that fact. Oh well ... I check when the guests are good, but even when they are not, he has a good 1/2 hr more often than not.

-j