David Letterman

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David Letterman

Postby Enzo » Fri May 22, 2015 1:21 am

I watched his last couple of shows, and now he has gone. After 33 years and 6000+ shows.

Humor has always been important in my life. As a former radio personality, as a writer, and just walking through life, a laugh is more important to me than most things. When I was a kid, I watched all the Steve Allen shows I could. I lived in the basement of our house, next to the family room, and when I was supposed to go down to bed, I'd throw a blanket over me and the Tv set and turn the sound as low as it would go and be heard. And I'd watch Steve late at night. I owe a lot of my sense of humor to him. Letterman came along later, but his humor is very much in the same vein. A lot of observational humor, and self awareness of oddities of the language, and an appreciation for the absurd. When Dave did his trampoline jump into a panel of Velcro, or was lowered into a vat of water wearing a suit of Alka Seltzer fizzing medicine, that is exactly the sort of stunt Allen used to pull. They would drop Allen into a vat of gelatin. They lifted him out, covered with Jello goo, and he stuck out his arms and ad-libbed a monster walk around the studio.

Steve Allen liked to play with the language, and just liked the sound of certain things. One day he discovered a auto grease product called MARFAK. Well Dave just thought MARFAK sounded funny. So did I. SO I went down to the local Texaco station and talked them out of an almost empty can of MARFAK axle grease. It went proudly on my bookshelf in my room. Of course my mom could never understand. To her it was a can of grease, but to me it was the vaunted MARFAK.

Steve and Dave have been big influences on me. Allen passed away long ago, and now Dave is off the screen. I'll miss him.
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Re: David Letterman

Postby Lance » Fri May 22, 2015 1:55 am

When he first came on, way back then, I enjoyed him a lot. But over time, I began to appreciate him less and less. Haven't watched him regularly in decades, just the occasional show when there was a particular guest of interest on.

I did watch one show from late last week and this past Monday. And we have the last two still on the DVR. The main thing the couple of shows I watched recently did was to reinforce my notion that giving up the show was the right choice.

To each their own I guess. I just didn't trip my trigger.
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Re: David Letterman

Postby Arneb » Sat May 23, 2015 11:09 am

Lance wrote:To each their own I guess. I just didn't trip my trigger.

Very. I watched him first a few years ago, and I found him totally unfunny. I watched a few of his shows only because Craig Ferguson referred to him as "his boss", and I asked myself, could this be even better? My nawer was no, so I kept to 12:30 (on Youtube...).
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Re: David Letterman

Postby Enzo » Sat May 23, 2015 5:44 pm

Humor is a matter of taste for sure. I can't watch Craig Ferguson, something about he is always shouting, a delivery thing. Letterman was fairly dry and a lot of self parody.
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Re: David Letterman

Postby Lance » Sat May 23, 2015 6:29 pm

I really enjoyed his Top 10 lists early on but then they just got stupid. I guess when you do over 6,000 of anything they can't all be winners.
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Re: David Letterman

Postby Мастер » Sat May 23, 2015 8:06 pm

I liked his show in the 1980s. I can't really say that I've seen it since.
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Re: David Letterman

Postby tubeswell » Sun May 24, 2015 11:36 am

So he's not dead? Just irrelevant.
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Re: David Letterman

Postby Arneb » Sun May 24, 2015 1:17 pm

He announced his retirement a few months ago and gave his farewell show last week. If that is a meaure of relevance, he had A list celebrities on his sofa until shortly before the end, including a certain killer drone-wielding Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
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Re: David Letterman

Postby Heid the Ba » Sun May 24, 2015 1:25 pm

Enzo wrote:Humor is a matter of taste for sure. I can't watch Craig Ferguson, something about he is always shouting, a delivery thing. Letterman was fairly dry and a lot of self parody.

You should have seen his standup when he was called Bing Hitler if you think he is shouty now.
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Re: David Letterman

Postby Arneb » Mon May 25, 2015 9:04 pm

Heid the Ba' wrote:
Enzo wrote:Humor is a matter of taste for sure. I can't watch Craig Ferguson, something about he is always shouting, a delivery thing. Letterman was fairly dry and a lot of self parody.

You should have seen his standup when he was called Bing Hitler if you think he is shouty now.

And don't tune into his successor who is SHOUTING AT THE TOP OF HIS VOICE. ALL. THE. FUCKING.TIME. And of course, he did a segmentwith Justin Bieber, which is just unforgiveable.

I was always told you Brits were stiff-upper-lip well-behaved, understated, restrained people. Whatever became of you?
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Re: David Letterman

Postby Heid the Ba » Mon May 25, 2015 9:38 pm

You are confusing Brits with Scots. Craig Ferguson and I were born a few miles, and six months, apart.
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Re: David Letterman

Postby Arneb » Mon May 25, 2015 10:06 pm

Ach! And I thought you'd take the bait and start yelling at me. :twisted:

So, in your detached non-compatriot opinion, is James Corden a typical and/or a good example of an English comedian?
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Re: David Letterman

Postby Enzo » Tue May 26, 2015 3:58 am

I watched a little of Corden and found him a bit too giggly and silly for my taste. I hope ther is more substance there than I saw.
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Re: David Letterman

Postby Heid the Ba » Tue May 26, 2015 8:44 am

Ah, I didn't get the connection as I didn't know Corden had taken over from Ferguson. I find James Corden odd, in that he can be very funny but only when someone else is in charge. If it is his project then it becomes very self indulgent very quickly. He can't distinguish between him having a good time and him amusing other people, so without outside control it very quickly becomes him enjoying himself which may or may not be funny for everyone else. He is also a surprisingly good dramatic actor.
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Re: David Letterman

Postby Lance » Tue May 26, 2015 11:47 am

I don't watch any of the late night shows anymore, but Conan O'Brien is pretty funny.
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Re: David Letterman

Postby Lianachan » Tue May 26, 2015 4:10 pm

James Corden is as funny as a kick in the nuts. To be clear, I mean a kick in one's own nuts.
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Re: David Letterman

Postby Мастер » Tue May 26, 2015 7:24 pm

Lance wrote:I don't watch any of the late night shows anymore, but Conan O'Brien is pretty funny.


They're playing his TBS show in Asia these days.
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Re: David Letterman

Postby Arneb » Tue May 26, 2015 7:51 pm

The one show I'll really miss will be Jon Stewarts' Daily Show. Even if the Earth globe in the opener turns the wrong way (as Neil de Grasse Tyson once remarked). I also really liked Colbert in the Report. I somehow can't imagine him having bland starlets plugging their latest film/album/nothing at all except they are Paris Hilton, smiling, making inane comments and making a good show of it. Colbert, out of his persona? Colbert, genuine? I don't think so.
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Re: David Letterman

Postby Мастер » Tue May 26, 2015 8:14 pm

Arneb wrote:The one show I'll really miss will be Jon Stewarts' Daily Show. Even if the Earth globe in the opener turns the wrong way (as Neil de Grasse Tyson once remarked).


Is it making a statement of some sort?

Arneb wrote:I also really liked Colbert in the Report. I somehow can't imagine him having bland starlets plugging their latest film/album/nothing at all except they are Paris Hilton, smiling, making inane comments and making a good show of it. Colbert, out of his persona? Colbert, genuine? I don't think so.


He didn't do too well running for president.
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Re: David Letterman

Postby Lance » Tue May 26, 2015 11:03 pm

Isn't Colbert replacing Letterman?
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Re: David Letterman

Postby wring » Wed May 27, 2015 12:11 am

yep, he is. I appreciated Letterman, fell out of watching him regularly, but I concur, that I will very much miss Jon and the Daily show.
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Re: David Letterman

Postby Arneb » Wed May 27, 2015 5:15 am

Lance wrote:Isn't Colbert replacing Letterman?


Yes, that's why I wrote i can't imagine him outside of his Report persona.
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Re: David Letterman

Postby Enzo » Wed May 27, 2015 5:43 am

I think COlbert will do fine. He is smart and quick. he has done movies not as the COlbert character, and is currently featured in some humorous commercials for pistachios. I don't see him doing any slapstick, but i also don't see him just fawning over starlets.


I too will miss Jon Stewart. Fox News hates him, and it is easy to see why. he skewers the right by simply putting up clips of the self contradictory things they say in public. One of my favorite bits he did in the past was using clips of statements, they put together a "debate" between George Bush the candidate, and George Bush the President. Of the time Glenn Beck was on Fox and someone ha equated Obama with Hitler, and Beck says he thinks using Hitler is not fair adn shouldn't be done, so of course that triggers Stewart to put together a string of many times Beck had equated all manner of left politicians with Hitler.
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Re: David Letterman

Postby Мастер » Wed May 27, 2015 5:53 am

So did he apologise for insulting Hitler?
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Re: David Letterman

Postby Enzo » Wed May 27, 2015 10:59 pm

Glenn Beck apologize to anyone? Not likely.
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