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re: Letterman Final Show Thread
Posted on 5/21/15 at 9:03 am to Byron Bojangles III
Posted on 5/21/15 at 9:03 am to Byron Bojangles III
Listening to the radio folks talk about Letterman, someone saying that his legacy was in giving a boost to so many comedians.
I think that his biggest legacy is that, while Carson perfected the late night talk show, Letterman is the one who proliferated the genre. There are now two late night talk shows that were started, from scratch, by Letterman (and they've continued and will continue without him). Add to that the Late Late Show, which Letterman's production company started and ran for twenty years. Letterman showed that someone other than Carson could have a successful late night talk show, which paved the way for Arsenio and Kimmel and the rest.
I think that his biggest legacy is that, while Carson perfected the late night talk show, Letterman is the one who proliferated the genre. There are now two late night talk shows that were started, from scratch, by Letterman (and they've continued and will continue without him). Add to that the Late Late Show, which Letterman's production company started and ran for twenty years. Letterman showed that someone other than Carson could have a successful late night talk show, which paved the way for Arsenio and Kimmel and the rest.
1
Posted on 5/21/15 at 9:44 am to Fewer Kilometers
After Losing To Jay Leno, David Letterman Lost His Soul
quote:
It is not hard to trace the long, sad, bitter fall of David Letterman. In early 1992, Letterman lost “The Tonight Show” to Jay leno. Letterman believed Johnny’s chair was rightfully his (it was), that he was Carson’s heir apparent (he was), and that he had more to offer than Leno (he did).
quote:
Letterman hadn’t lost his edge. On the contrary, he was more caustic than ever (more on that below). What he had lost was his cutting edge. After Leno won the ratings game, the air went out of Letterman’s ambition. He was beat, seemingly tired of trying and losing, and forevermore seemed satisfied to rest on his role as The Guy Who Was Cheated Out Of The Tonight Show. His audience was what it was — enough to make him fabulously wealthy, and suddenly he seemed satisfied with coasting on the legend.
quote:
I haven’t changed. There isn’t a comedian from my youth I don’t still revere, including the left-wing George Carlin. Cosby, Seinfeld, Robin Williams, Dennis Miller, Pryor, the first five years of “Saturday Night Live” — still love all of it.
I didn't leave David Letterman, David Letterman left me.
Posted on 5/21/15 at 9:54 am to FairhopeTider
What a shite article.
Posted on 5/21/15 at 10:16 am to Fewer Kilometers
I think its pretty on point. The Dave we saw in the 80's & 90's isn't the Dave who said goodbye last night.
Dave should've had The Tonight Show. That's for sure.
Dave should've had The Tonight Show. That's for sure.
Posted on 5/21/15 at 10:44 am to FairhopeTider
quote:
I think its pretty on point. The Dave we saw in the 80's & 90's isn't the Dave who said goodbye last night.
Dave should've had The Tonight Show. That's for sure.
I agree with your statements.
The political shite that this guy adds...
quote:
Once Letterman figured this out, he blamed us — he turned on us, his fans, at least those of us who weren’t urban, left-wing hipsters.
After raging himself out against NBC; after raging himself out against Leno; sometime after his 2000 heart attack (that told him he was no longer a young man and running out of time), Letterman blamed America’s Heartland for his failed dream.
... is useless conjecture.
Posted on 5/21/15 at 11:31 am to FairhopeTider
Leno was safe and bland and not controversial, just like Johnny's old fart demographic wanted. That's why he won the ratings war. Dave was always funnier.
Some dumb bitch on CNN was saying that his "greatest moment" was admitting on-air that he'd cheated. That was actually the final nail in his coffin. He could never really be funny again after that, though he'd lost a lot prior to that point.
Some dumb bitch on CNN was saying that his "greatest moment" was admitting on-air that he'd cheated. That was actually the final nail in his coffin. He could never really be funny again after that, though he'd lost a lot prior to that point.
Posted on 5/21/15 at 12:07 pm to FairhopeTider
quote:
The Dave we saw in the 80's & 90's isn't the Dave who said goodbye last night.
You don't say.
I would hope that none of us are the same person we were 30 years ago.
Posted on 5/21/15 at 12:29 pm to FairhopeTider
quote:
I think its pretty on point. The Dave we saw in the 80's & 90's isn't the Dave who said goodbye last night.
Dave should've had The Tonight Show. That's for sure.
Agreed.
Bill Carter once said on Bill Simmons' podcast that losing that battle for the Tonight Show and then going on to lose the ratings battle the first few years pretty much killed the "old" Letterman, the guy from the 80s and early 90s that everyone in comedy idolized.
He also mentioned something I never really knew about Letterman that hurt his chances to get the Tonight Show and hurt him at CBS -- he didn't have that great of a work ethic. He never did much lead-in or promotional work for other shows, and he never wanted to do the CBS up-fronts or interact with sponsors. Also, he only tapes 4 days a week, taping Friday's show on that Monday, which meant that the material for the Friday show had to be canned and couldn't be too time-sensitive.
Posted on 5/21/15 at 12:48 pm to Tigerdew
Dave's favorite song is Everlong supposedly.
Posted on 5/21/15 at 12:52 pm to AlaTiger
quote:
Where was Teri Garr? I didn't even see her mentioned in any of the clips. She was one of his best guests.
Posted on 5/21/15 at 1:06 pm to Feral
quote:
Bill Carter once said on Bill Simmons' podcast that losing that battle for the Tonight Show and then going on to lose the ratings battle the first few years pretty much killed the "old" Letterman, the guy from the 80s and early 90s that everyone in comedy idolized.
I don't think Letterman cared about the ratings battle. He was openly annoyed by all of that kind of stupid BS in the entertainment industry. That's what made Dave so great: he was the champion of the loners and freaks. He made the uncool smart asses the cool kids. I think losing the Tonight Show wounded him deeply, he had earned it based on quality, but I don't think the second part bothered him at all. Ratings are for the people who crave popularity, and Letterman never was going to be one of the popular kids. His whole identity was based on being the underdog.
quote:
He also mentioned something I never really knew about Letterman that hurt his chances to get the Tonight Show and hurt him at CBS -- he didn't have that great of a work ethic. He never did much lead-in or promotional work for other shows, and he never wanted to do the CBS up-fronts or interact with sponsors. Also, he only tapes 4 days a week, taping Friday's show on that Monday, which meant that the material for the Friday show had to be canned and couldn't be too time-sensitive.
Case in point. Letterman hated the bullshite. He held celebrity culture in open contempt. That's what made him great. He wasn't going to be your monkey.
He did lose his edge in the last decade, but that was more about being successful than not getting ratings. He got too comfortable and too established, and he knew that CBS had his back. He needed to be the smart arse in the back of the class, not the star pupil. It changed the dynamic of the show.
Posted on 5/21/15 at 1:32 pm to Baloo
read something earlier that pretty much summed it up, Leno won the ratings, but Letterman won the legacy.
I never really watched Letterman but did grow up on guys you could say his style paved the way for.....Conan, Stewart, etc.
I never really watched Letterman but did grow up on guys you could say his style paved the way for.....Conan, Stewart, etc.
Posted on 5/21/15 at 1:45 pm to fatboydave
quote:
What happened to Mujibur ans Sirijul?
They moved their deli a long time ago, and he started going to Rupert's deli instead.
quote:
In 2003, when K&L's Rock America closed due to an increase in rent, Letterman told the duo he would miss them, and he gave them each a dozen roses and a new vacuum cleaner as "parting gifts.
This post was edited on 5/21/15 at 1:47 pm
Posted on 5/21/15 at 2:13 pm to Dandy Lion
quote:
quote: Where was Teri Garr? I didn't even see her mentioned in any of the clips. She was one of his best guests.
Just a still in the final montage; I was surprised.
Posted on 5/21/15 at 2:40 pm to Baloo
Letterman did some of his best stuff on CBS and was still doing great shows in the late 90s and early 00s, so it's a bit disingenuous to say that he lost it after the Tonight Show debacle. The simple truth is that no one, after a long period of time still has "it"; in the last decade or so it became pretty apparent that Dave had grown complacent and tired, maybe holding on due to loyalty to his staff. It's a miracle that he was as funny as he was, for as long as he was while never being a corporate lap dog like Leno and Fallon.
This post was edited on 5/21/15 at 2:45 pm
Posted on 5/21/15 at 2:47 pm to Fewer Kilometers
Made fun of Bush and his beliefs for 8 years with mean personal attacks and humor that was completely dismissive of anything the man believed as moronic. Now you may not have liked a few things but Letterman blasted him for every literal step he took.
Now President Obama = second coming, jokes are always harmless fun ie "Obama pardoned the Thanksgiving Turkey and boy was his transportation bill a turkey" (cue uproarious laughter) but had to poke some fun at him to maintain façade of fairness - "oh come on he picks on everyone" - untrue.
Michelle Obama = Letterman's New American Dream Woman.
Apologist for and Useful Idiot of the left which uses entertaining people, books, movies and tv shows to undermine a societies conviction that its core beliefs are correct. Obviously in the case of USA very effective.
Thought he was funny until he became political. Now I think he's an unfunny tool. When Johnny Carson retired I was sad - he truly kept it fair. Letterman ? Good riddance.
Now President Obama = second coming, jokes are always harmless fun ie "Obama pardoned the Thanksgiving Turkey and boy was his transportation bill a turkey" (cue uproarious laughter) but had to poke some fun at him to maintain façade of fairness - "oh come on he picks on everyone" - untrue.
Michelle Obama = Letterman's New American Dream Woman.
Apologist for and Useful Idiot of the left which uses entertaining people, books, movies and tv shows to undermine a societies conviction that its core beliefs are correct. Obviously in the case of USA very effective.
Thought he was funny until he became political. Now I think he's an unfunny tool. When Johnny Carson retired I was sad - he truly kept it fair. Letterman ? Good riddance.
Posted on 5/21/15 at 2:53 pm to Wiseman of the East
The adults are talking.
Posted on 5/21/15 at 3:16 pm to Wiseman of the East
Not that comedians have any duty to be "balanced" but do the people who spout these lines ever think Bush II was just an easier target that provided them with loads of material? Bush was dumb, Clinton was a whore monger, the jokes wrote themselves.
Obama for his many faults doesn't seem to really provide much in the way of comedic material. You want them to just attack for the sake of attacking?
Obama for his many faults doesn't seem to really provide much in the way of comedic material. You want them to just attack for the sake of attacking?
Posted on 5/21/15 at 3:20 pm to BilJ
quote:
Not that comedians have any duty to be "balanced"
You're right about that, but you do it at the risk of alienating 1/2 the audience.
quote:
Obama for his many faults doesn't seem to really provide much in the way of comedic material. You want them to just attack for the sake of attacking?
Take the blinders off, bro! I'm still looking for states 51-58.
Posted on 5/21/15 at 3:24 pm to Oenophile Brah
Blinders? I'm not an Obama fan at all.
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