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David Letterman: A Life on Television

dcalley

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dcalley

dcalley

 

Celebrating the late night host's more than three decades in the business, featuring clips of interviews, trademark show segments and stunts, and important moments shared with audiences; Ray Romano hosts.

Tonight 9:30-11:00 ET on CBS. There will be clips from NBC! Posting while the show is on is fine, unless we hear otherwise from a mod.

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dcalley

dcalley

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One of the reasons I'm watching this live is that I am not sure it will be available online. Who knows what conditions NBC put on its clips.

 

Oh god, I'd forgotten about Pat and Kenny read Oprah transcripts.

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dcalley

dcalley

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It was lovely to see Dave's mom again.

 

It's good that NBC allowed us some Carson Tonight Show clips as well.

 

Man, Dave was pissed at McCain. I loved it.

 

I could watch several more hours of this.

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kib

kib

I don't know how in the world you could fit it in, but by god I wish they could run Dave's post 9/11 desk chat. Defining moment from TV boy to national treasure.

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dcalley

dcalley

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(edited)

Please let them show some women in this favorite guests segment.

 

ETA Of course, Julia Roberts. Playing with a dog backstage!

Edited by dcalley
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kib

kib

Glad they got part of the 9/11 thing in. Great to see some of the old bumper photos in (IIRC, Edd Hall was responsible for those) Also noticed legendary CBS producer Susan Z was involved with the project.

Pretty cool show...

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alynch

alynch

(edited)

I chuckled when I saw that they cropped Olbermann out when showing the McCain cancellation clips.

 

Vinnie Favale, who produced this special, was on Howard Stern earlier today promoting it. He mentioned that this whole thing was put together in two weeks, and it kind of shows. There was no throughline whatsoever, no attempt at encapsulating his career, aside from the closing montage, which was incredibly well done. It was mostly just a random assemblage of clips, which were nice to see.

 

NBC must have been charging something steep for their clips though, because they were few and far between.

Edited by alynch
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ebk57

ebk57

They did pack in the clips, and for that, I'm grateful.  However, there are soooooo many clips, they could do this every night this week and not repeat one!

 

Thoroughly enjoyed the show.  I just want more.

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dcalley

dcalley

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Wow, showing the first show after September 11 and then the montage of old footage and photos made the ending quite sad. At least they put in some goofy talk from Dave at the very end.

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stonehaven

stonehaven

Loved it but it all went by so fast...I know they wanted to show all the musical guests but they could have shown more of Paul and the band..plus, I noticed the lack of Americana in the music montage but I gather they wanted to appear hip and "arty"..I didn't see any Foo Fighters or Regis...which makes me wonder...

Also, nice brief mention of the whole "Fire Dave" craze..and of course, no mention of his sex scandal..which I am grateful for....and they couldf have showed Zsa Zsa and Dave's trip through drive through...and they could have shown.....and what about...

Yeah, 90 minutes is too dan short...I just hope a lot of those  clips stay on You Tube....CBS better not remove broadcasting history...

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biakbiak

biakbiak

.I didn't see any Foo Fighters or Regis

There was a small clip of Regis and numerous mentions and the Foo Fighters were shown in two clips but they were "backing" Pat Benatar and Neil Young.

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alynch

alynch

(edited)

There was a small clip of Regis and numerous mentions and the Foo Fighters were shown in two clips but they were "backing" Pat Benatar and Neil Young.

 

Actually Joan Jett & Tony Joe White.

Edited by alynch
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biakbiak

biakbiak

Actual Joan Jett & Tony Joe White.

This is the last time I let my boyfriend overrule me! He is better about music but I thought it was Joan and didn't think it was Neil Young but the hat obscured the face!

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HelenBaby

HelenBaby

I'm glad they didn't show anything about the "sex scandal" because while it was compelling television Dave was very clearly humiliated by the whole thing and it's hard enough to make a marriage work without all of that being dragged up again.

They showed Paul Newman in the balloon chair, but I wish they'd shown him standing up in the audience and asking where are the damn cats. That was funny right there, I don't care who you are.

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StatMom

StatMom

Wow, showing the first show after September 11 and then the montage of old footage and photos made the ending quite sad. At least they put in some goofy talk from Dave at the very end.

I agree; I didn't mind having the post-9/11 stuff (ugh... Giuliani!), but why have it right at the end? You'd think they would have wanted to end the special on an up note, but maybe they were going for the This Is Important Stuff theme.

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Art Vandelay

Art Vandelay

I guess I'm alone, but I was disappointed by the special. It seemed like all the clips we've seen the last couple weeks slapped together. The Jack Hannah montage on the show the other day was better. I guess I was expecting more from the title than just random clips, I was hoping for more of a story but oh well.

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Tunia

Tunia

Loved that they included one of my favorite moments, Rod Blagojevich saying to Dave "I've wanted to come on your show in the worst way.", and Dave instantly, without hesitation, replying "Well, you're here in the worst way."  I will miss this brilliant Dave!

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Happy Belly

Happy Belly

That was a very fast 90 minutes! Enjoyed it so much, but of course I would have loved to see my a few of my favorites, including "How many ______________________ can you fit in a _____________" which never failed to make my stomach hurt from laughing or Dave and Zsa Zsa's roadtrip. We'll miss you Dave

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Joimiaroxeu

Joimiaroxeu

I was hoping there'd be more Eddie Vedder since for a while Dave really had a thing for Pearl Jam's song, "Black". He's the main reason I bought the CD.

 

It was great tribute. I actually got teary-eyed a few times. Letterman represents a huge chunk of show biz history and his departure will close a huge door.

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kib

kib

That was a very fast 90 minutes! Enjoyed it so much, but of course I would have loved to see my a few of my favorites, including "How many ______________________ can you fit in a _____________" which never failed to make my stomach hurt from laughing or Dave and Zsa Zsa's roadtrip. We'll miss you Daveclip was 

Thankfully the show ran How many Easter Bunnies can fit in a H&R Block last week.  The wonderful part about that clip was it was early on in the show's run when the greater NYC metroplex wasn't altogether wise about getting pranked by Dave.  As Dave pointed out, "H" was a good sport, but "R" was a hot head. 

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opus

opus

I guess I'm alone, but I was disappointed by the special. It seemed like all the clips we've seen the last couple weeks slapped together. The Jack Hannah montage on the show the other day was better. I guess I was expecting more from the title than just random clips, I was hoping for more of a story but oh well.

Yeah, thanks Les. This obviously wasn't a long term project.

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Arcey

Arcey

I loved it and had a big smile on my face the whole time. Wish there was more.

 

Is Stephen coming on right after Dave leaves, or is there a break in between? If the latter, what will be in that time slot in the mean time?

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Happy Belly

Happy Belly

Thank you Kib for letting me know about the Easter bunnies. I am a bit behind watching recently aired Dave so I will be looking forward to seeing this. I think what used to crack me up were the costumes that followed once they ran out of Spiderman, etc. So bizarre but so damn funny.

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jjj

jjj

(edited)

I loved it and had a big smile on my face the whole time.

 

I think I sat there for the entire show with my mouth open in a smile, and afraid to look away for a second!  It was captivating, and the only problem is that there was not enough!

Colbert starts in September. Before that is CBS prime time reruns

Oh, yuck, almost four months of reruns of try-out shows?  Even if they did one night a week of "best-of" Dave's interviews, that would keep the viewership tuned into the time slot.  But anyone looking for a talk show at 11:30 may have a new loyalty by September if CBS just abandons 11:30. 

Edited by jjj
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kib

kib

I think I sat there for the entire show with my mouth open in a smile, and afraid to look away for a second!  It was captivating, and the only problem is that there was not enough!

Oh, yuck, almost four months of reruns of try-out shows?  Even if they did one night a week of "best-of" Dave's interviews, that would keep the viewership tuned into the time slot.  But anyone looking for a talk show at 11:30 may have a new loyalty by September if CBS just abandons 11:30. 

I'd love to see a run of "best-of" but after CBS didn't offer Dave the courtesy of an opinion of who took over, as well as retaining the "Late Late" slot as a CBS produced product, I think it's safe to say WorldWide Pants and CBS don't have much of a business relationship anymore these days.

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nowandlater

nowandlater

(edited)

I'd love to see a run of "best-of" but after CBS didn't offer Dave the courtesy of an opinion of who took over, as well as retaining the "Late Late" slot as a CBS produced product, I think it's safe to say WorldWide Pants and CBS don't have much of a business relationship anymore these days.

 

Now the not consulting Dave thing is a problem, especially since CBS' entertainment chairman Nina Tassler said shortly after they picked Colbert that:

 

http://www.ew.com/article/2014/04/10/cbs-interview-colbert-letterman

 

Anything you would care to add?

Tassler: It’s exciting to be a part of a landmark decision here at CBS. We’re grateful for Dave’s graciousness. He was a part of this decision. We’re extremely thankful to him.

 

Now, as for Letterman/World Wide Pants retaining control over the 12:30 slot, I just think that's a recipe for disaster.

 

CBS/Les Moonves wants to retain control of that timeslot. Having say over 12:30 was a perk of Dave's job. But Dave's gone now. And CBS wouldn't want Dave's people (and not Dave) controlling that timeslot.

Edited by nowandlater
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jjj

jjj

Dave was pretty clear in the NYT article that he was not consulted on his replacement.  I assume the Tassler quote refers to Dave's "graciousness" about retiring.  I would hope he was part of his decision to retire.  I have always had the sense this was his timeline and decision. 

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kib

kib

(edited)

Now the not consulting Dave thing is a problem, especially since CBS' entertainment chairman Nina Tassler said shortly after they picked Colbert that:

 

http://www.ew.com/article/2014/04/10/cbs-interview-colbert-letterman

 

 

Now, as for Letterman/World Wide Pants retaining control over the 12:30 slot, I just think that's a recipe for disaster.

 

CBS/Les Moonves wants to retain control of that timeslot. Having say over 12:30 was a perk of Dave's job. But Dave's gone now. And CBS wouldn't want Dave's people (and not Dave) controlling that timeslot.

Understood.

As they say "It's just business" and WWP & CBS will no longer be conducting business in a few days, so why would there be any expectation that Dave would offer a 'best of' package to a company he's no longer doing business with?

No harm, no foul except for awhile we're going to thrust back to the days when CBS was running Krazy Kat cartoons, color bars or whatever it was that they aired at 11:35 prior to Letterman.  The only person who's going to get burned badly is the stout kid from the UK who is tying up the transmitter at 12:35.

Edited by kib
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kib

kib

(edited)

It was actually stuff like this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimetime_After_Primetime

 

Thanks for the reminder. Who could forget promos from guys like CBS staff announcer Hal Simms cooing the words Silk Stalkings...

 

BTW - That whole "Crimetime After Primetime" didn't necessarily get clearance across the entire network.  There were more than a few affiliates still running bars & tone, cartoons and infomercials.  IIRC, there were a few stations that had to be persuaded to run Letterman when he came onboard.

Edited by kib
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opus

opus

Thanks for the reminder. Who could forget promos from guys like CBS staff announcer Hal Simms cooing the words Silk Stalkings...

 

BTW - That whole "Crimetime After Primetime" didn't necessarily get clearance across the entire network.  There were more than a few affiliates still running bars & tone, cartoons and infomercials.  IIRC, there were a few stations that had to be persuaded to run Letterman when he came onboard.

It amuses me that when one of those shows gets remembered, it's inevitably Silk Stalkings.

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