Thursday, May 21, 2015
The Final Top 10
Last night, CBS aired the final Late Show with David Letterman...a bittersweet moment for sure as many of us remember fondly the Late Show as well as NBC's Late Night with David Letterman and before that, the short lived, ill-fated David Letterman (morning) show also on NBC. I was a huge fan, less so now...not so much because of his obvious left leaning political bent of late, but because he strayed from the path of comedy for what appeared to be a quote-unquote, message.
When he started in late night back on February 1, 1982, I wrote a review for my college newspaper and admitted my bias, but I also carefully documented what I believed were attributes Letterman possessed which would propel him to stardom...and ultimately what late night television might hold for this weird former TV weatherman from Indiana. I was well aware of Letterman from the stand-up circuit and (even) his brief stint as a regular on the summer replacement series, the Mary Tyler Moore Variety Show earlier that decade.
Letterman's message toward the end, I believe, was that he believed the world was unfair and by golly, he was going to expose those he felt responsible. Many, including Letterman himself, say he was a victim of the internet age and had an inability to "connect with the kids," as Jimmy Fallon and to a lesser extent Jimmy Kimmel have excelled. Even the recently retired Jon Stewart as well as Stephen Colbert (Letterman's replacement scheduled to take over later this year) were able to form a strong bond with the audience which had eluded Letterman. But no, technology never slowed Johnny Carson.
There were also some who believed Letterman became so bitter after losing Carson's Tonight Show to Jay Leno that he went the curmudgeon route as a defense mechanism...again, not so...Letterman remained brilliant for years, even when he was routinely losing in the ratings to the more popular, Leno. No, it appeared Letterman soon became more concerned with pleasing the social and political elite in this country, often the very same people he used to mock in his former NBC (Late Night) show.
Many of Letterman's routines, while closely resembling bits aired earlier on Your Show of Shows with Sid Caesar or the original Tonight Show with Steve Allen, became cult classics. Although oft-times straying from straight comedy to more "message-oriented" humor, many of these routines remained strong through the end. Obviously the most popular was the Top 10 list...a bit that allowed Letterman to simultaneously get laughs AND promote his message. As a tribute...the Top 10 things I noticed about the Letterman finale...
#10...not to worry, Dave, unless Colbert takes his buffoonish O'Reilly character with him, your legacy is secure...
#9...you led off the show with a string a presidents, your "all-star" Top 10 had some big names, your wife and son even appeared, but the "studio audience was devoid of special guests...
#8...I understand being a liberal, you can surround yourself with other like minded (uh, white) folks without incurring media scrutiny (see Jon Stewart), but still...
#7...they say your finale had the "biggest audience for a Late Show" since 1994...what happened between then and now...
#6...the "World's Most Dangerous Band," and their leader Paul Shaffer, although they received a brief mention or two, deserved a much more featured role in the finale...
#5...well, Dave, as Terry Bradshaw might say to Frank Caliendo doing an impression of you, "not funny, Dave, not funny."
#4...very, very happy to see Biff Henderson...
#3...where was Chris Elliott?
#2...really? Foo Fighters? Well, since they cancelled a tour once to appear on your show...
and the #1 thing I noticed about the Letterman finale...
I wasn't on it...bummer...thanks for the laughs Dave...
When he started in late night back on February 1, 1982, I wrote a review for my college newspaper and admitted my bias, but I also carefully documented what I believed were attributes Letterman possessed which would propel him to stardom...and ultimately what late night television might hold for this weird former TV weatherman from Indiana. I was well aware of Letterman from the stand-up circuit and (even) his brief stint as a regular on the summer replacement series, the Mary Tyler Moore Variety Show earlier that decade.
Letterman's message toward the end, I believe, was that he believed the world was unfair and by golly, he was going to expose those he felt responsible. Many, including Letterman himself, say he was a victim of the internet age and had an inability to "connect with the kids," as Jimmy Fallon and to a lesser extent Jimmy Kimmel have excelled. Even the recently retired Jon Stewart as well as Stephen Colbert (Letterman's replacement scheduled to take over later this year) were able to form a strong bond with the audience which had eluded Letterman. But no, technology never slowed Johnny Carson.
There were also some who believed Letterman became so bitter after losing Carson's Tonight Show to Jay Leno that he went the curmudgeon route as a defense mechanism...again, not so...Letterman remained brilliant for years, even when he was routinely losing in the ratings to the more popular, Leno. No, it appeared Letterman soon became more concerned with pleasing the social and political elite in this country, often the very same people he used to mock in his former NBC (Late Night) show.
Many of Letterman's routines, while closely resembling bits aired earlier on Your Show of Shows with Sid Caesar or the original Tonight Show with Steve Allen, became cult classics. Although oft-times straying from straight comedy to more "message-oriented" humor, many of these routines remained strong through the end. Obviously the most popular was the Top 10 list...a bit that allowed Letterman to simultaneously get laughs AND promote his message. As a tribute...the Top 10 things I noticed about the Letterman finale...
#10...not to worry, Dave, unless Colbert takes his buffoonish O'Reilly character with him, your legacy is secure...
#9...you led off the show with a string a presidents, your "all-star" Top 10 had some big names, your wife and son even appeared, but the "studio audience was devoid of special guests...
#8...I understand being a liberal, you can surround yourself with other like minded (uh, white) folks without incurring media scrutiny (see Jon Stewart), but still...
#7...they say your finale had the "biggest audience for a Late Show" since 1994...what happened between then and now...
#6...the "World's Most Dangerous Band," and their leader Paul Shaffer, although they received a brief mention or two, deserved a much more featured role in the finale...
#5...well, Dave, as Terry Bradshaw might say to Frank Caliendo doing an impression of you, "not funny, Dave, not funny."
#4...very, very happy to see Biff Henderson...
#3...where was Chris Elliott?
#2...really? Foo Fighters? Well, since they cancelled a tour once to appear on your show...
and the #1 thing I noticed about the Letterman finale...
I wasn't on it...bummer...thanks for the laughs Dave...
Thursday, May 14, 2015
This conspiracy is, well, less vast...
The big news this week is Deflategate, the Clintonesque scandal involving underinflated footballs used by the New England Patriots in last year's AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts. The sports media has quickly taken sides, the majority calling it another skirting of the rules and embarrassment to the game with a vocal minority quickly rising to the defense of the Patriots and much maligned Quarterback Tom Brady and Head Coach Bill Belichick. The sides are predictable much like those of both the pro and anti-Clinton contingencies.
This certainly isn't the first time the Patriots have gained an advantage from defiance of "loose rules" or even an out-and-out violation of actual rules of the game. A "loose rule" actually propelled the Patriots to their first Super Bowl victory, Super Bowl XXXVI on February 3, 2002...the infamous "Tuck" rule allowed the Patriots to beat the Oakland Raiders in that season's AFC Divisional Game when Raiders' cornerback Charles Woodson sacked Brady, causing him to fumble. The fumble was recovered by Raiders' linebacker Greg Biekert; however, officials reviewed the play and changed the call to an incomplete pass, thus surely changing the game's outcome.
The Patriots had already been engaging in ignorance of or (even) defiance of rules as early as 2000, more specifically the Spygate controversy, whereby they would videotape (steal) other teams' signals giving their own players clear advantages during games. Although documented cases of these infractions date back more than several years, the Patriots weren't actually caught until the 2007 season and penalized prior to the 2008 season (fine and loss of draft choice). It is further noted the Patriots last won a Super Bowl in 2005, a possible motive for their involvement in the current controversy and subsequent victory in Super Bowl XLIX earlier this year.
The parallels between "Deflategate" and (your choice of) Clinton controversy are striking. Both are clearly scandalous and contain aspects of cover-up. Both involve a basic lack of respect for others and a slap in the face of tradition. Although "Deflategate" didn't involve violation of the law, even if the Patriots broke the law, it feels as if the media would give them a pass anyway. If nothing else, the media has been able to easily change the narrative (much like any Clinton scandal). For instance, the clear engagement in systematic cheating (playing with underinflated footballs) has been altered through media manipulation to "11 of 12 footballs measured in the second half of the Patriots-Colts AFC Championship game were underinflated."
We went from a clear pattern of cheating (Tuckgate, Spygate, Deflategate) to "11 or 12 footballs in the second half of one game"...much the same as Monicagate, Benghazi, or something as nefarious as "selling nuclear secrets to the Chinese," becoming simply "the GOP attacking the good work of the Clinton Foundation." No one but the media (and kudos to the sports media) could minimize a pattern of bad behavior, even lawlessness, and turn it into a simple annoyance. Still, if I'm Brady, I go ahead and delete all those texts and phone calls...
This certainly isn't the first time the Patriots have gained an advantage from defiance of "loose rules" or even an out-and-out violation of actual rules of the game. A "loose rule" actually propelled the Patriots to their first Super Bowl victory, Super Bowl XXXVI on February 3, 2002...the infamous "Tuck" rule allowed the Patriots to beat the Oakland Raiders in that season's AFC Divisional Game when Raiders' cornerback Charles Woodson sacked Brady, causing him to fumble. The fumble was recovered by Raiders' linebacker Greg Biekert; however, officials reviewed the play and changed the call to an incomplete pass, thus surely changing the game's outcome.
The Patriots had already been engaging in ignorance of or (even) defiance of rules as early as 2000, more specifically the Spygate controversy, whereby they would videotape (steal) other teams' signals giving their own players clear advantages during games. Although documented cases of these infractions date back more than several years, the Patriots weren't actually caught until the 2007 season and penalized prior to the 2008 season (fine and loss of draft choice). It is further noted the Patriots last won a Super Bowl in 2005, a possible motive for their involvement in the current controversy and subsequent victory in Super Bowl XLIX earlier this year.
The parallels between "Deflategate" and (your choice of) Clinton controversy are striking. Both are clearly scandalous and contain aspects of cover-up. Both involve a basic lack of respect for others and a slap in the face of tradition. Although "Deflategate" didn't involve violation of the law, even if the Patriots broke the law, it feels as if the media would give them a pass anyway. If nothing else, the media has been able to easily change the narrative (much like any Clinton scandal). For instance, the clear engagement in systematic cheating (playing with underinflated footballs) has been altered through media manipulation to "11 of 12 footballs measured in the second half of the Patriots-Colts AFC Championship game were underinflated."
We went from a clear pattern of cheating (Tuckgate, Spygate, Deflategate) to "11 or 12 footballs in the second half of one game"...much the same as Monicagate, Benghazi, or something as nefarious as "selling nuclear secrets to the Chinese," becoming simply "the GOP attacking the good work of the Clinton Foundation." No one but the media (and kudos to the sports media) could minimize a pattern of bad behavior, even lawlessness, and turn it into a simple annoyance. Still, if I'm Brady, I go ahead and delete all those texts and phone calls...
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