planktonrules Review of Late Night with David Letterman

Late Night with David Letterman (1982–1993)

Best talk show ever,...for the first seasons only

[11 March 2006]

I will freely admit that this show owed a lot of its silliness to its predecessors--especially Steve Allen's TONIGHT SHOW--who was the first to do many of the things Letterman later did (such as the jello vat). But, despite this, it was a relatively fresh and very funny show---complete with lots of funny things above and beyond the celebrity interviews. Who can forget "Monkey Cam"--a chimp on roller skates zipping around the skit on ramps? Or Chris Elliot's "MAN UNDER THE STAIRS" or "THE FUGITIVE GUY"? Or Dave walking around the city and meeting "Mr. Eggroll" and his wife "Mrs. Eggroll" and then stopping for PIZZADONUTS?! Or the wonderful Christmas presents created by his staff--I especially loved the "rabid dog shave cream dispenser" and the "Joe Theisman pencil sharpener"--complete with his broken leg as the crank! But, after a while, he just looked pretty grumpy and did self-parody. It was like he was "phoning in the episodes" and the banter between him and the horribly unfunny Paul Shaffer was just becoming tedious. And for me, as Letterman's interest waned, so did mine. Stick to the first few seasons.