Late Show with David Letterman

As far as American talk show hosts go, I find David Letterman the least pretentious and the least fake out of all of them. He seems to mostly say what he thinks and not JUST for the sake of being shocking or funny.

Letterman is mostly a likable guy and can at times be very witty, and of course satirical, which is something about him (as indeed his writers) that I enjoy. Yes I know, he is at times cocky and a bit of a show pony, but he's a talk show host and he's meant to have a personality and in my opinion he's the best there is.

I enjoy the little sketches like "Great Presidential Speeches" and "Will it Float?," I always enjoy watching Biff Henderson's little adventures and of course hearing from the always wonderful, Alan Kalter.

It's a nice little piece of late night entertainment and while some episodes are obviously going to be better than others depending on the guests - you know you're always going to have a bit chuckle.

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 have been a big Letterman fan for years. I would tape shows when I was only 13, never missed a show. I agree that Letterman had his years where you could tell he felt like a failure and didn't put much into it. But I will add that he is much more real than Jay Leno. Jay Leno is your typical phony talk show host. You really saw how real Dave is if you saw his show on January 31, 2005 remembering Johnny Carson. I saw both his and Leno's shows on Johnny. Jay seemed much more scripted and fake. This was probably due to how the death of Johnny Carson hit the two, being that Dave was close with Johnny. (Johnny even wrote jokes in retirement and sent them to Dave to use). I have noticed lately that Dave's comedy is turning back around to the old Dave. Hopefully he realizes that he is appreciated and keeps up the turn around!

"Late show with David Letterman" is in many ways superior to other talk shows in late night television. Even if Letterman is the main focus, and often tends to act a bit egocentric, he still (or perhaps it`s more correct to say that the writing does) includes many of the crew members in the sketches. This gives the show an excellent flavour of diversity, and make it even more outrageous and entertaining. The writing is very original and innovative, and is able to grasp with current events in a clever, and at the same time, plain crazy way that will make you burst out in laughter.

But of course, the most important person is Dave himself, a highly individual host with his own, unique style. He is by all due respect not a very good stand up comedian, and might sometimes seem quite uncomfortable delivering his jokes in the opening monologue, but he is well aware that this is not his strength, and keep it to a minimum, 3 or 4 minutes (as a comparison, Jay Leno`s monologues last for 10 minutes) Also considered harsh, sarcastic and unpredictable, Letterman is not loved by everyone, and these traits might sometimes make him a bit unhuman, but at the same time, his unpredictability is also his genius, and what makes him stand out from his fellowships.

His greatest strength is his exceptional ability to ad lib and deliver funny comments to almost any situation, and that is why the writing includes a lot of segments where the camera is capturing the life and people in New York City. In this way, Letterman can easily comment on what he observes and ask silly questions to the people on camera, and the fun will soon appear. Despite his reputation as a bad boy, he is a great ironic, and is able to joke with himself in a way that most comedians can`t. Still, he is just not goofing around all the time, and might appear quite serious when he is interviewing his guests with curios questions, especially those who have something to say.(unfortunately, not many do)

The music director Paul Shaffer plays a major part in the show, and functions as Lettermans sidekick with his funny, and some times not very well thought comments(and yes, i agree, he sometimes looks as a parody in his flamboyant suits) Their relationship is extremely established, and their chemistry is also fabulous, so it`s unthinkable to imagine anyone else as the music director. So, if you wan`t to watch a very special and imaginative talk show with a touch of pure genius, "The late show" is the right vehicle. And if you haven`t become a regular viewer yet, you better hurry up, because it`s hard to say for how long David will keep going. By all means, im not a prophet, but i will guarantee you that David Letterman is too unique to be replaced. Watch the show regularly, and you will understand what i mean.

If you would have asked me three months ago if I thought that The Late Show with David Letterman was a good show, I would have told you to change the channel to one of the other Late Night shows. But now I have changed my tune, The Late Show with David Letterman is better than ever, and is easily funnier and more entertaining than his competition, and if you have been tuning in to watch the the other Late Night shows (Politically Incorrect - The Tonight Show), then i challenge you, to give Dave a chance and see how much better and funnier he is than those other guys.

Paul Shaffer is on the right key, and Mr. Letterman is definitely still and will always be "King of Late Night". And yes Paul and Dave are a couple of "them guys".