Many younger viewers don't realize it, but the current CBS version of David Letterman is not the REAL David Letterman! The Late Show is nice and Letterman still has remnants of his funny persona left, but the REAL David Letterman is when he was NBC's LATE NIGHT WITH David LETTERMAN from 1982 to 1993.
LNWDL was cutting edge and in reality is a huge reason that talk shows of the modern era do some of the crazy, interesting, fun things that they can do. Personally, I'm glad that Dave never got the Johnny Carson show because I felt that show was too uppity for him. Better than it go to that overrated, boring Jay Leno. I never could get into that show after Carson left. Carson had a perfect blend of wisdom, class, and humor that made that show work. Leno was dullness personified! But even in the waning years of Carson, LNWDL was a great-follow up to the more dignified, classy Carson show. While Carson had big movie stars, past and present, and up-and-coming comedians, Dave had more of B-listers (and sometimes C and D listers!) as his guests. But they rarely disappointed.
Dave would have these off-the-wall skits with Larry "Bud" Melman, Chris Elliott, with regular assists from Dave's hip right-hand man, bandleader Paul Schaeffer, who stayed with Dave when he went over to CBS. Then his "B-list" guests would include the likes of Andy Kaufman, Sandra Bernhard, Teri Garr, Richard Simmons, all of whom were in on the joke during the no-holds-barred interviews, in which Dave (nor his guests) would pull any punches. And when Dave did have A-listers, like Cher or Madonna or some other big name, he and/or his audience would more often than not antagonize them, mainly as a way of bringing them down to the level of his show, which to me is a good thing! Dave for an eternity tried to get Oprah on his NBC show, but ironically she never appeared until CBS. Safer, milder atmosphere! And even Cher and Madonna seem to have buried the hatchet and regularly appear on his CBS show.
In retrospect, I think a lot of people see the genius of Dave when he was on NBC. Back then, Dave was fresh, young, energetic, enthusiastic, sarcastic, and witty. He still holds those last 2 qualities, but he's much more laid back and picks his spots more. On NBC, he was uninhibited and we're all the better for it! Whether or not Dave or Carson is the best is debatable, but they are #1 and #2. Leno, Conan, Ferguson, Fallon, Kimmel, and the up-and-coming Colbert (who is to take over Dave's CBS show) are all competing for a distant 3rd!
LNWDL was cutting edge and in reality is a huge reason that talk shows of the modern era do some of the crazy, interesting, fun things that they can do. Personally, I'm glad that Dave never got the Johnny Carson show because I felt that show was too uppity for him. Better than it go to that overrated, boring Jay Leno. I never could get into that show after Carson left. Carson had a perfect blend of wisdom, class, and humor that made that show work. Leno was dullness personified! But even in the waning years of Carson, LNWDL was a great-follow up to the more dignified, classy Carson show. While Carson had big movie stars, past and present, and up-and-coming comedians, Dave had more of B-listers (and sometimes C and D listers!) as his guests. But they rarely disappointed.
Dave would have these off-the-wall skits with Larry "Bud" Melman, Chris Elliott, with regular assists from Dave's hip right-hand man, bandleader Paul Schaeffer, who stayed with Dave when he went over to CBS. Then his "B-list" guests would include the likes of Andy Kaufman, Sandra Bernhard, Teri Garr, Richard Simmons, all of whom were in on the joke during the no-holds-barred interviews, in which Dave (nor his guests) would pull any punches. And when Dave did have A-listers, like Cher or Madonna or some other big name, he and/or his audience would more often than not antagonize them, mainly as a way of bringing them down to the level of his show, which to me is a good thing! Dave for an eternity tried to get Oprah on his NBC show, but ironically she never appeared until CBS. Safer, milder atmosphere! And even Cher and Madonna seem to have buried the hatchet and regularly appear on his CBS show.
In retrospect, I think a lot of people see the genius of Dave when he was on NBC. Back then, Dave was fresh, young, energetic, enthusiastic, sarcastic, and witty. He still holds those last 2 qualities, but he's much more laid back and picks his spots more. On NBC, he was uninhibited and we're all the better for it! Whether or not Dave or Carson is the best is debatable, but they are #1 and #2. Leno, Conan, Ferguson, Fallon, Kimmel, and the up-and-coming Colbert (who is to take over Dave's CBS show) are all competing for a distant 3rd!