Cool News
NBC Wanted Letterman Too!!
David Letterman on NBC? His show airing Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8 p.m.??
Turns out ABC wasn’t the only network that wanted to lure Dave away from CBS.
The New York Times reports this week that NBC Entertainment president Jeff Zucker approached Worldwide Pants chief Rob Burnett last summer about giving the “Late Show” host those four hours of prime time every week.
“Dave had a good laugh over it,” says Burnett.
Zap2it.com has a nifty summary of the Times story here.
The New York Times reports this week that NBC Entertainment president Jeff Zucker approached Worldwide Pants chief Rob Burnett last summer about giving the “Late Show” host those four hours of prime time every week.
“Dave had a good laugh over it,” says Burnett.
Zap2it.com has a nifty summary of the Times story here.
Zap2it.com has a nifty summary of the Times story here.
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Wow, I never get a chance to watch letterman anymore. That would have been interesting. (First?)
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Still, that's just sad. There is no prime-time audience for Letterman, only the hope that his replacement would be a weaker competitor for bloated Leno. Conan O'Brien should be given more respect in these matters.
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But then, what would I have to look forward to on the talkbacks?
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It would have started out great but peetered off. As good as Dave is there are too many options at that time. People watch movies, or sports or O'Reily at that hour as well. The reason late night TV works is that the options are more limited (at least they were, with digital cable there is usually something on) and people like to see something familiar at that hour. Just wouldn't have worked.
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He was hilarious. How I miss the young Dave who would do crazy stunts. Now this moody, old man on CBS has to go...
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Jun 12, 2002 7:56:56 PM CDT
So anybody who doesn't mindlessly follow what the government
by smeg for brains
That is the kind of sick logic that is killing this country, or rather letting it be eaten alive. REAL Americans will look for what is wrong with America and try to fix it. If you think there is absolutely nothing wrong with America then you are a lost cause.
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I know it seems like a broken record but for the fans who watched that show NBC Dave remains the Best. It was exciting just to hear the opening music on the show. It felt late-night and always seemed like they were getting away with something the NBC brass had no clue about. The show had a natural energy and intimacy that the Ed Sullivan theatre just doesn't have. Plus he always had an eclectic array of guests, not just some toe-head plugging their latest dumb movie. There'd always be regular ppl he'd put on the show or talk to over the phone, something he still does to good effect with Rupert the deli guy and a few others. I wish someone would run the old shows again like E! or A&E tried to do some years back. If they can run repeats of that piece of driftwood suckup Carson Daly, they could at least give the old Letterman show another shot. Fat chance it'll happen though. Nothing in late-night has rivalled those years since.
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Is he the same guy who single handidly make TV interesting after Carson? Nope. He changed. Remodeled himself for a much bigger audience. No more college kids and prisoners for Dave, now he had everyone who had to get up in the morning and wrapped up the night in bed watching Carson and trying to make it through Leno before falling to sleep.
But, Dave is Dave. You can see sparks of "old Dave" in his act, the easygoing, "we just stopped caring" attitude. It pokes up from time to time, usually during the times he and paul go back and forth. When he's at his most relaxed, he is the King.
See, Leno had him shook up for a while. But then Dave realized that Leno is not funny, Leno's interviews are so pat and so fluffy that they make Barbara Walters look like Ed Bradley. Dave doesn't kiss ass. Leno does. Plus, Leno's show is in the backyard of the big Hollywood celebs, easy access that Dave didn't have.
Then there's the fact that Leno has stolen every single bit Dave has ever created. He even had the balls to steal "Stupid Human Tricks". Dave saw all this and it killed him. Then Rob Burnett finally sat down with him and said, "Dave, people watch you because they grew up with you. Let's stop caring about the ratings and focus on what makes people come here."
Then Dave had his heart problem... and people remembered that they loved him.
Then came 9/11... Dave broke it down for a nation... in the heart of New York, Dave opened the show and the nation was thankful for it. Leno showed up the next night and the nation yawned.
What am I babbling about? Simple. Leno may have the ratings because he has a steadier stream of big time stars and he is completely unoffensive to everyone. But so long as Dave is on at 11:30, Leno will ALWAYS be #2... ask any critic.
That's why NBC wanted Dave. Prime time, he would have had an audience, but whoever said that there was too much competition was right. It wouldn't have worked out in the long run... Dave knew that.
So, if you haven't watched Dave in a while, start up again. He's getting the big name stars back... even Tom Cruise stops by during his promotional train. He's funny again. He's loose again. And he's having fun again.
Dave is Dave again... and Leno can never rip that off. -
Yeah, it ain't the same show. But he's still the greatest. He may come off as smug and such (which is why we love him) but he is geniune and sincere. That stuff after 9/11 was amazing. Talk about a tightrope. It was one of television's finest moments. No one had done anything remotely like it at that time. My friend interned for him and said he really is the cool guy you think he is. Just a little more guarded since the whole Late Night war. But really...he was the guy who campaigned to get his staff health insurance when NBC wouldn't foot the bill in the early days. Imagine some other showbiz king doing that.
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Dave's best humor is too edgy for primetime. Look at his poorly received Academy Awards gig many years back. A primetime show would probably fall into the same bad pattern. Dave is still great right where he is: late night television. He's still the king.
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Dave was best during the Late Night years. Nothing before or since has held a candle to it. Prancing waters, Chris Elliott, the little rock with angels in it, the sky cam, everything. Conan has made it his own now and it's very good, but not like Dave's Late Night. Quirky guests, cutting edge bits. It was an exclusive club that the evil NBC brass hated and wanted to purge. It even felt like a tiny litte nightclub with the jazzy feel to it. In saying that, Dave is still head and shoulders above the rest, especially Leno. Out of Dave, Kilbourne, Conan, and even Stewart, Leno is dead last. His show has such high rating because it is made for the humor impaired. And also because his guests have only to drive 15 minutes from their Malibu homes. I actually don't believe Leno has higher ratings. I talk to people at work, friends, Internet people, etc., and the only people I know that watch him are two 65+ guys who know my dad. Dad is still hip enough to watch Dave. It comes down to this. People watch the Late Show for Dave, and people watch Leno for the guests. I tune into Dave for his show without even knowing who's on. The only time I'll watch Leno is if someone I really like is on. Sidenote. Leno was brilliantly funny as a standup on the old Late Night show, but his sketch comedy skills have always sucked. He had this special on back in the 80's (I have it on Beta someplace), and Dave helped him out by making an apearance on it. The only funny thing on it was Dave. Dave gets killed early on, and Leno says that he remembers that Dave would have wanted the show to go on. He flashbacks to Dave powdering his nose in the dressing room, and Dave says "Jay, if something were to happen to me, please..., STOP THE SHOW IMMEDIATELY! DO NOT LET THE SHOW GO ON!"
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Leno has stolen almost every bit from Dave and renamed it for his own show. He has also stolen the Jay's Sidewalk Alstars from Stern, he has also plagerized bits from Conan, Kilbourn, and even Jackass. That shocked me the most. He had a guy in two arm casts try to get people to help him with his pants and to go to the bathroom. It wasn't even changed, it was almost shocking in the way they didn't even try to hide it or change it. I'm thinking of making a Jay Leno Tonight Show site that lists all his bits and where he got them from. Brush with Stupidity, Stupid Human Tricks, Small Town News, Real Ads, just to name a few. I'm surprised Leno still hasn't started Jay's Top Ten or something of the sort. FEH!
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Is it just me or does it seem nearly every joke Leno makes is either perverted or toilet humor? Leno looks like he trys to flirt with the female guests and it feels like your uncle coming on to your girlfriend....very wrong. If I want to see a talk show host flirting, give me Kilborn, at least he gets it right. If you want rehashed jokes, keep your Leno, I'll take Dave. At least the Oprah Journal is a funny idea.
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Almost forgot. WHERE IS A NETWORK TALKSHOW WITH JON STEWART??? I mean come on! How great is the Daily Show? Stewart is head and shoulders above all newcomers and deserves a place on one of the big three. I would have taken him any day over Carson Daly. Hopefully Daly's run will end soon when his teenage demographic grows old enough to know he sucks.
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Did anyone catch when they filled Subway with dudes dressed like Spiderman? And then they ran out of Spiderman, so they moved to Superman, Dracula and Cowboy? That was so funny I nearly pissed myself.
P.S. Why are so many geeks rapid republicans? I don't get the politics of this sight, I think you guys should stick to making fun of Freddie Prince Jr instead...
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