David Letterman is gone...thank goodness!

Frankly, listening to all the radio and TV, including sports broadcasters, pay homage to Letterman even going so far as to call him the best ever in the late night show genre has me laughing. Granted there's the millenials who weren't raised with Carson, but for those of us that were, we know better.

Letterman will never trump Carson, IMO.

Letterman's dry humor crossed the line into cynical far too often for my taste. The was never the case with Johnny Carson.

Add in the Letterman era had far more latitude than in earlier days as well. All in all, given a choice between watching old Carson shows on DVDs or Letterman live? I'd take the DVDs every time. A good comparison would be the old Kraft roasts hosted by Martin compared with the garbage of today...ok, that's harsh, Letterman isn't that bad..LOL. Still, no lost sleep with his departure....

a reply to: nwtrucker

I never cared for him much either. Conan and John Oliver crack me up!

Stephen Colbert is a bit to Clintonesque for my taste.

a reply to: nwtrucker

I liked Dave and am sad to see him go

a reply to: nwtrucker

And there were those who said that Carson was a poor replacement for Carr, who was a poor replacement for Allen. Letterman managed to stay on the air for, what, 33 years? That, in and of itself is something worth admiring. Carson, BTW, fell 3 years shy of that mark.

a reply to: Ultralight

Stephen Colbert is a bit to Clintonesque for my taste.

What does being Clintonesque entail?
And would it be his character he played that was so or him off camera?

a reply to: Ultralight

Oh, Carson spread his political jokes to whoever was in power. Letterman was a bit more biased.

Heck, I preferred Leno and even he wasn't in the same league with Carson. Both of them would bow deeply to Carson in the day.

Sigh, I guess I'm just old...

lol good for you people that care! glad you are happy! Im sure letterman is happy as well! its a win win.




For the of us that are not television sycophants... well... good for you! letterman is gone!!!

a reply to: Hefficide

Hmm. longevity isn't really an issue, in my mind. Both quit when they decided to. I'd go as far as saying both Leno and Letterman to some degree owe the opportunity to Carson.

I remember Carson hosting the Academy awards after retiring from the Tonight Show. I wonder if Letterman gets some of the those now?

a reply to: Hefficide

Oh, by the way, No one said Carson was a poor replacement for either once they got to know him. As a matter of fact, I can't recall anyone saying Carson wasn't better than both when he retired. That includes Letterman and Leno....

a reply to: nwtrucker

Letterman had a hosting gig once - and something went horribly wrong I believe. He jokes about it from time to time. Actually if you do a bit of research you will see that Carson got a LOT of heat for the first few seasons of his hosting The Tonight Show.

I do agree that both Letterman and Leno would praise Johnny - as they both got their "in" on late night by serving as guest hosts for his show.

Johnny Carson was the man. Letterman was an arrogant, mean-spirited a-hole.

Letterman used to be my favorite because of my sarcastic nature, but I'm guessing within the last decade his humor seemed to take the turn onto the road of old-man bitterness, and it's turned me off from liking him.

a reply to: Sremmos80

Off camera and not in character. Wait and see who his first few guests will be. And notice how many are Clintonesque themselves.

a reply to: Hefficide

I loved Dave with Mrs. Marve on his daytime show for the first couple years.

a reply to: nwtrucker

They both retired when the networks decided they wanted to. Carson was the exception.

My fave late-night show of all time... The Midnight Special with Wolfman Jack!

a reply to: Ultralight

I met Wolfman Jack once in a restaurant way back when. Nice guy.

Letterman? Not a fan. I found him snobbish and too left wing political.

+1 on slapmonkey. Letterman lasted a few years past his heyday. started funny, ended bitter.

good commentary on same
nypost.com...

Sure, Carson was the man...but Dave had his own accomplishments too. Just because he's no Carson is not a reason to hate on him. Leno wasn't exactly a shoe filler either.

a reply to: Gazrok

I guess the reasoning I had was those that placed him as the best ever. Granted, I didn't like him, but I'd agree he wasn't bad. I enjoyed a lot of the 'top tens'.

I suppose rather than 'thank goodness' it should have been 'no big deal'. No hate on him, just no love....assuming there's a distinction.....