Tonight, David Letterman celebrates his 25th anniversary on television (CBS, 11:35 p.m.)
I've always been a Letterman fan more than a Jay Leno one. It's not meant as a knock at Leno; I just find his stuff to be too pedestrian. Letterman is much more of a risk-taker, which is probably why late-night fans are more divided as to whether they love him or hate him.
But the fact is, Letterman has provided some of the most memorable moments of the last quarter-century on both "Late Night" and "The Late Show." Almost anyone who watches late night TV can point out their favorite or most memorable Letterman moment - Andy Kauffman vs. Jerry Lawler, the post 9/11 show, the various Cher appearances, etc. - whereas the only notable Leno moment I can think of is the famous interview with Hugh Grant after the latter's arrest some years ago.
Without Letterman expanding the concept of what you could do on late night TV, you don't get Conan O'Brien.
Finally, what I like most about Letterman is his class. For some reason, some people don't like Letterman because they think he's a jerk, when it's the opposite that's true. When ABC was set to cancel "Nightline" because of low ratings, Letterman came out in defense of the show even though it was his direct competition. When every other comedian was using Marv Albert's private life as a punchline, Letterman didn't at all, and continued to have his friend as a guest on the show.
By the way, Letterman's inaugural guest on both shows, the always-entertaining Bill Murray, is his guest tonight.
Here's hoping for 25 more great years, Dave.
THURSDAY'S BEST BETS: Lots and lots of new stuff, all across the dial. A full slate of NBC comedies and a new "ER." ABC counters with new installments of "Ugly Betty," "Grey's Anatomy" and "Men in Trees." The CW gives us a new "Smallville" and "Supernatural." Fox is also completely new. CBS is running a "CSI" rerun at 8 p.m., but gives a new one at 9 p.m., followed by a new "Shark" at 10 p.m.
Also new tonight is the debut of Sarah Silverman's new show, "The Sarah Silverman Program" on Comedy Central at 10:30 p.m. Described as a rather absurdist take on sitcoms, the show has gotten mixed buzz, but decide for yourselves.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Better 'Late' Than Never
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
I never said Leno wasn't nice or generous, and in fact, most things I've heard about him as a person are positive.
As I've posted many times here, everyone has their own taste. A lot of people don't get Letterman's humor, more's the pity to them.
I've never thought The Tonight Show was able to match The Late Show in the general energy it produces, and I'd like someone to point out one memorable moment Leno has produced that has matched Letterman's stuff.
Again, not knocking Leno, who is certainly fine and does well enough, but it doesn't match the stuff done by Letterman.
I love Letterman. I love Leno. I love Conan.
That being said, did anyone catch The Sarah Silverman Project? I missed it, but wanted to know if it is worth watching next week.
I 'get' Letterman way more often than I get Leno. Letterman's humor comes natural when you can tell that Leno has to often stretch out his humor in an attempt to elicit at least a groan.
I wish I had discovered Craig Ferguson much sooner, which I feel is funnier even than Conan now. He has such a delivery style that is more in tune to listening to a real comedian rather than a talk show host... and his monologue is an average of 15 minutes nightly as opposed to all the others that wrap up in half of that.
Loving one late night show doesn't make it mutually exclusive for loving another one. For me, it's usually the guest that decides which, if any, I'll watch.
I love Letterman. I like Leno. If you like one and don't like the other, that's why God created remote controls.
Pjianek, I didn't see Sarah Silverman's show, but it should be repeated a ton of times this weekend on Comedy Central, so you should be able to find it at some point.
I caught Sarah's show the other night. What a bomb, IMHO. Catty white girl slinging ethnic and social insults just doesn't cut it in my humor book. I had seen & liked her stand-up comedy special, and wanted to like the TV show as well, but it just wasn't put together the same way.
That's my .02
Kelly, I ended up not catching Silverman's show, so I can't say anything about its relative merits. But I've never really been a fan of her standup stuff, for some of the same reasons you mention.
Post a Comment