What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.

Final Letterman shows (1 Viewer)

17seconds

root of all aliai
How is there not a topic on this yet?

David Letterman is my favorite late night host of all time. I used to tape his NBC shows back in the 80s when I was in high school and watch them the next morning before school, every day.

Haven't watched much late night TV at all the last 20 years but I've been DVRing all of the shows the last 2 weeks.

Man, it's been great. Norm Macdonald last night was just tremendous. Good routine and he choked up at the end talking about Dave. Check it out if you haven't seen it: http://thebiglead.com/2015/05/16/norm-macdonalds-final-appearance-on-letterman-ended-on-a-heartfelt-poignant-note/

 
Pretty good clip.

Letterman is pretty famous for HATING sentimentality and it's crazy that even that didn't get him and Norm is one of the most insensitive/unsentimental comedians there is as well. Great to watch. Thanks for posting.

 
Been tivo-Ing for the past 2 weeks as well. Nice walk down memory lane. Grew up with him on his Late Night NBC show when I was in college.

Enjoying all these final shows

 
My pet peeve about this show was that the band started out as the best in the business with Steve Jordan on drums and they were a four-piece rock/funky band. Kicked ###. Then they transformed over time into a schmaltzy, broadway cheese fest. And Paul's last segment was nice hearing him talk about the great musical acts over the years, but then that "on Broadway" music video was just cheesy garbage. THAT was what he thought would be a good send off? Ugh.

 
Howard Stern's appearance was awful IMO.
He looked terrible, acted terrible.
He and Rickles we're funny enough but it didn't leave any room for Rickles to change from his cut-you-down schtick into the sentimental guy that we know he really is. It would've been a great moment for Rickles to put Letterman in his place amongst the all time greats. A shame we never got that moment. The show just kind of ended.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Tonight I watched the 90 minute special CBS aired two Mondays ago. During the opening they showed a scene from "Dave and Steve's Gay Vacation" which was from the show where I was in the audience.

 
I'm hoping for one last "Know Your Current Events" with Mr. Carney and Vicki.

So, I want one last guest appearance to be from Stephanie Birkitt.

 
What are the odds this is a leno/Conan situation and Colbert fails and Letterman comes back?

Also I'm still surprised so many people seemingly watch these shows. I've never seen the appeal

 
What are the odds this is a leno/Conan situation and Colbert fails and Letterman comes back?

Also I'm still surprised so many people seemingly watch these shows. I've never seen the appeal
I'd probably watch them if they were on earlier but I'm not staying up to 11:30 or DVRing them. Just not worth it to me.

 
What are the odds this is a leno/Conan situation and Colbert fails and Letterman comes back?

Also I'm still surprised so many people seemingly watch these shows. I've never seen the appeal
Zero. This is dave's decision. Leno was pushed out.

 
What are the odds this is a leno/Conan situation and Colbert fails and Letterman comes back?

Also I'm still surprised so many people seemingly watch these shows. I've never seen the appeal
Besides TiVo-Ing these past few weeks of letterman's last shows, I don't watch much late night tv these days either. It's for the kids and insomniacs I guess.

 
Norm might have a few cocktails before hitting the stage.
That's Norm these days, for better or for worse. He can tell a story for twenty minutes on end and be really entertaining, or he can look like a doddering drunk. I personally am along for the ride.

 
Encyclopedia Brown said:
The last interview with Julia Roberts was quite emotional. They seem such disparate personalities, but they have an obvious connection.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96vpSAaOXXc
Great clip!

eta I grew up with "JC Superstar", and for 30 years Johnny Carson defined a genre that nobody could match--until Letterman. While I haven't watched nearly as much as I used to there's no doubt he brought it to another level.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
17seconds said:
How is there not a topic on this yet?

David Letterman is my favorite late night host of all time. I used to tape his NBC shows back in the 80s when I was in high school and watch them the next morning before school, every day.

Haven't watched much late night TV at all the last 20 years but I've been DVRing all of the shows the last 2 weeks.

Man, it's been great. Norm Macdonald last night was just tremendous. Good routine and he choked up at the end talking about Dave. Check it out if you haven't seen it: http://thebiglead.com/2015/05/16/norm-macdonalds-final-appearance-on-letterman-ended-on-a-heartfelt-poignant-note/
That was a great Norm clip, typical hilarious Norm, and genuine emotion and affection at the end.

 
Dave had a similar reaction with ray ramano, kind of a "thanks, but get it together man, I'm not that big of a deal"

 
Letterman was awesome in his NBC days, but he lost a little something when he moved over to CBS. Plus, I just don't watch those late night shows anymore. Definitely a legend though. Nobody was better than Carson, but Letterman was the best thing since.

 
I never watched regularly but if I was going to watch a late show Letterman was my first choice. I'll miss him when he's gone.

 
Norm rules.

Letterman's impact on comedy was as big as anyones. His shows in the 80s were must see at the time. He was vicious but acknowledged talent.

 
Dentist said:
What are the odds this is a leno/Conan situation and Colbert fails and Letterman comes back?

Also I'm still surprised so many people seemingly watch these shows. I've never seen the appeal
Colbert is a genius. He will be great.

 
the late night years on NBC were definitely the best. he lost a little off his fastball after he moved to CBS but everyone knew it was bound to happen. that's what happens when you move from 12:30 to 11:30p. he couldn't take a lot of his best comic bits with him because NBC wouldn't let him.

i will say that the Late Night years were some of the most exciting, fun and surprising years in TV ever.

 
the late night years on NBC were definitely the best. he lost a little off his fastball after he moved to CBS but everyone knew it was bound to happen. that's what happens when you move from 12:30 to 11:30p. he couldn't take a lot of his best comic bits with him because NBC wouldn't let him.
What couldn't he take with him?

 
17seconds said:
How is there not a topic on this yet?

David Letterman is my favorite late night host of all time. I used to tape his NBC shows back in the 80s when I was in high school and watch them the next morning before school, every day.

Haven't watched much late night TV at all the last 20 years but I've been DVRing all of the shows the last 2 weeks.

Man, it's been great. Norm Macdonald last night was just tremendous. Good routine and he choked up at the end talking about Dave. Check it out if you haven't seen it: http://thebiglead.com/2015/05/16/norm-macdonalds-final-appearance-on-letterman-ended-on-a-heartfelt-poignant-note/
Subjective of course, but the first 5 miuntes were almost unwatchable.

 
I always liked Letterman, even in the old Carson days I preferred staying up late and watching letterman.

The last few years, ten years even, got kind of weird. He kind of became a grouchy old man. Fell back on the same bits too much, got WAY too politically angry and nasty, drug in all kinds of personal baggage on the show. I found him funny because he was original, a bit of a rule breaker, didn't take himself very seriously. As he got older he got crankier and just wasn't as funny, kind of sad.

I've seen some clips from these last couple of weeks, i would probably enjoy it but I tuned out years ago.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
the late night years on NBC were definitely the best. he lost a little off his fastball after he moved to CBS but everyone knew it was bound to happen. that's what happens when you move from 12:30 to 11:30p. he couldn't take a lot of his best comic bits with him because NBC wouldn't let him.

i will say that the Late Night years were some of the most exciting, fun and surprising years in TV ever.
seemed to me like the more significant before/after moment was his heart attack. he dropped a lot of his bite when he came back from that.

 
I remember fondly back in the 80's when he didn't have anything set up (apparently), he let Anton Fig do at least a 5 minute drum solo not once, not twice, but three nights in a row.

 
I always liked Letterman, even in the old Carson days I preferred staying up late and watching letterman.

The last few years, ten years even, got kind of weird. He kind of became a grouchy old man. Fell back on the same bits too much, got WAY too politically angry and nasty, drug in all kinds of personal baggage on the show. I found him funny because he was original, a bit of a rule breaker, didn't take himself very seriously. As he got older he got crankier and just wasn't as funny, kind of sad.

I've seen some clips from these last couple of weeks, i would probably enjoy it but I tuned out years ago.
I like cranky old Dave, in part because I'm old and cranky myself but mostly because it's such a contrast with the obsequiousness of the current generation of hosts. Fallon wouldn't know an edge if he fell off of it.

 
He's too pervy and creepy. And his band leader sidekick is always too eager to kiss his butt.

The new generation of hosts is far better.

 
He's too pervy and creepy. And his band leader sidekick is always too eager to kiss his butt.

The new generation of hosts is far better.
The new guys are basically just doing celebrity worship. You don't really get to know the guests, you just get to watch them be gushed over by the host. Dave had a good BS detector, going on his show would be a scary endeavor.

 
There was a period in High School where I watched Letterman every night. He was either brilliant or painful to watch, never middle of the road. Although I liked Conan a lot more, Dave's show influenced the ones I liked most, Conan, Ferguson, & the tall goofy guy from Minnesota. They all seemed to bask in the awkwardness. I haven't really touched any of the late shows since the Conan mess.

I did watch the clip of Norm, I just can't say no to that click. His timing seemed way off, and I think I've heard every one of those jokes told better a few times except the picture phone bit, I don't think I've heard him do that. Norm has always seemed awkward to me as a stand-up comic in front of a studio audience. I would have much preferred a sit down chat between him and Dave. But the good news is that I was inspired to listen to a compilation clip this morning of Norm MacDonald's call ins to the Dennis Miller radio show, which is hilarious.

Fallon - I'm actually okay with. I can appreciate that he does things differently than Dave. The lack of cynicism was a nice contrast to what Dave always brought, and I think if Fallon had tried to emulate Dave, he would have fallen flat.

 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top