Late Show With David Letterman - General Discussion

[woodscommaelle]

Yay for Harry's friend. That had to have made his day. Maybe his year? Probably made his life at such a young age.

Edited May 21, 2015 by woodscommaelle

[Arcey]

Shoot! They went long and my DVR cut off at 1 hr. 3 min. Damn! How can i watch the last 20 minutes now?

[Kromm]

Shoot! They went long and my DVR cut off at 1 hr. 3 min. Damn! How can i watch the last 20 minutes now?

Any of the many online sources that will have the episode by this time tomorrow?

 

CBS.com ALREADY has it up: http://www.cbs.com/shows/late_show/video/

[jjj]

I'm sure those 17 minutes will become as famous as the missing 18 minutes in the Watergate tapes.  And will be much more available in many places by tomorrow.

 

Speaking of Watergate, the first President was Gerald Ford, and "our long national nightmare is over" was his inaugural remark when he was sworn in as President while Richard Nixon rode off in a helicopter.  Then it looked like all the living presidents said the same thing -- and those were very special words that they had lived through, especially Jimmy Carter. 

 

Random thoughts in the early, early morning -- I noticed Jay Thomas and Sharon Eis in the closing montage -- so glad they are in that remarkable series of memories.  I know I will find many more treasures tomorrow, and someone will list all the face and people in that montage. 

 

Did you all laugh more than you cried?  I sure did.  And what a treasure to end with:  Harry on the ski slope, the day after Dave told us about the DVD of Harry on the ski slope at a young age (four?  I think Dave said on the penultimate show).  What a loving, funny finale. 

[Kromm]

That final montage, in all its glory:

 

http://youtu.be/yrVjOUIoo6Q

[nowandlater]

I'm kind of curious of Foo Fighters actually played the whole song live or just the first bit of it prior to transitioning into the montage. I feel like it would've been hard as hell to get that montage to line up so perfectly with a song being played live.

 

 

I kept stopping in the middle of the montage and rewinding to the beginning. Thank god for DVRs.

 

As for whether they played live, it seemed like they were prolonging the song at the end to match it up perfectly.

 

I'm so glad they did it like that, though.

 

As much as I like the Foo Fighters, we've seen them play that song a million times. It was great to show them play then go to a freakin' great montage.

 

(The only downside was that Letterman's goodbye from his desk was his actual goodbye.)

 

I also liked how they emphasized the morning show clips.

[Grommet]

A quick random thought: I was glad to see Tony Randall in the dead guys portion of the montage. He was a good friend of the show.

[HelenBaby]

Yay for Harry's friend. That had to have made his day. Maybe his year? Probably made his life at such a young age.

What is so great about that is while Tommy probably knows him as Harry's dad and maybe that he's sort of famous, the enormity of that moment won't sink in until he's a middle aged man.

[SingerIslander]

Did you all laugh more than you cried?  I sure did.  And what a treasure to end with:  Harry on the ski slope, the day after Dave told us about the DVD of Harry on the ski slope at a young age (four?  I think Dave said on the penultimate show).  What a loving, funny finale. 

 

Yes, I had my Kleenex handy and I did use it, especially when he first came out for the monologue and when he talked about what the audience, Paul and the band, and his family, have all meant to him.  He had said that if the show was weepy then something had gone horribly wrong, and with that in mind, I think he set the right tone from the start to the end.

 

I think that Top 10 list may very well be my personal favorite of all the ones he did over the years, and while the jokes landed well and were delivered by greats whom I was happy to see again, I was thrilled that Peyton Manning showed up (knowing how much he means to Dave, and how he's said publicly he won't do any other late night talk show other than Dave, though maybe that will change now), and how it looked like Dave said something personal to most of them as he thanked them, from complimenting JLD on Veep to telling Bill Murray he'd seen him on TV last night, and was Bill ok?  My first thought was that he meant the MSNBC interview, where Bill Murray talked about the emotion of it all.  I loved that personal moment between them.  I'm also glad to see that Alec Baldwin was smiling and genuinely happy to be there.  I didn't have a great feeling after his last visit with Letterman but all seems right now.  

 

I also had alot of sympathy for all those staffers and crew members who are packing up their desks and offices today, if they haven't already done so.  NYC had alot of TV shows and talk shows, but I'm not sure how easy it'll be for them to find new jobs.  I'll send a positive thought their way and hope for good things for each of them. 

[whatsatool]

Dylan's song title reminded me of a Sinatra song.

[teddysmom]

I made it without crying until the Foo Fighters started. They're my favorite band too, and knowing what they mean to Dave just makes it all the more bittersweet. 

 

The kids montage, my absolute favorite.  I was hoping all month he'd get around to showing those clips, and the "you are not you are not you are not funny" is just the best. I remember the night it first aired, and I laughed as hard this morning watching it as I did the first time. 

 

Also, upholstery farm where you buy turkeys. 

 

May 20, 2015.  Mark it on your calendars.  The last night the cool guy was on tv.  We'll never be the same. 

[ketchuplover]

Muchas gracias seniore Letterman

[nowandlater]

These are some random, stupid thoughts.

 

--I wonder if anybody will be retained by Stephen Colbert. I mean, somebody must have value to continue on? Even the lowly people. Or the building people.

 

--Norm Macdonald doesn't get why Foo Fighters was the last band. Geez, and I thought he was a die-hard Letterman fan.

 

--I really enjoyed Intern Todd over the last few years (year?). I hope he lands on his feet, or doing something on TV.

 

--I don't get why Letterman was particularly impressed that Peyton Manning was there. I mean, he seemed totally blown away by his appearance (especially compared to the other celebrities). It's pretty established that Peyton really likes Dave and Dave really likes Peyton, so why would it be such a big deal that he'd come to pay tribute?

 

--I was around Harry's age when I discovered Letterman, which is a long time ago since I'm 37. I'm trying to process how he's processing how big a deal his dad is. But then again, Harry's already been to the White House and seen the president honor his dad.

 

--Barbara Gaines tweeted about putting that montage together. It still blows me away how much stuff they were able to pack in, and how representative of the show(s) it was.

 

--I wonder what happened to Jimmy Carter.

Edited May 21, 2015 by nowandlater

[carrier76]

I have been wondering this for awhile, and maybe one of you guys can answer this question for me. What is the deal with Dave dashing across the stage before his monologue every show? Is there some meaning behind that or just some weird thing he does because he's Dave?

[stonehaven]

I always wondered that and why he bounces off that pole by Paul..Must be a hidden hello to someone...

[SingerIslander]

I'd read that Jimmy Carter had to cancel whatever international trip he was on because he was very ill, so I suspect that that's the main reason why we didn't see him included in the presidential montage of Our Long National Nightmare Is Over.  On a different note, I have to say that George W. Bush is a great sport to be doing this, considering the jokes Dave has made at his expense, even recently. 

 

As for Peyton Manning, I think Dave's reaction reflected the fact that (1) he flew in to NYC to do this, while 7 out of 10 of those who did the Top 10 List were already in the area--I would guess Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Jim Carrey made special trips east for this, along with Peyton, (2) he really isn't a comedian, though he was a great SNL host, IMO, and yet he was willing to give this bit a try and perhaps embarrass himself in the process, and (3) perhaps more so with Peyton than with the others, he's a personal hero to Dave as an athlete who made the Indianapolis Colts contenders on an annual basis.  I would think all 10 of those who presented hold a special place in Dave's heart, but Peyton probably is in a different category because he is a sports hero with one heck of a comeback story.  Just a guess on my part. 

[alynch]

--I wonder if anybody will be retained by Stephen Colbert. I mean, somebody must have value to continue on? Even the lowly people. Or the building people.

 

I've heard that some of the below the line people (stagehands, security, etc.), who are CBS employees rather than Worldwide Pants, will be staying on.

[Gigi43]

It seems a lot of us here watched Dave when we were Harry/Tommys age, but it's entirely possible this Tommy kid and some of their friends don't get what a cool moment he got. Tragically younger generations when he's older and tells the story may not grasp how big the show was, how much hype was around Who Will Be There, what Dave mean to people, etc. I think it's funny though this Tommy might have Aunts/Uncles/Cousins who probably think he's the man today and in his head, Harry's Dad just said Hi to him at work.

I was expecting Alec Baldwin to be there. Before the show got underway when I was there a Welcome to Show video, that I assume is always played, came on the screens (where the audience sees the skits) and its done by Alec. I don't remember everything but I know he advised "pity claps are acceptable."

[grooveshinney]

Here are some #thanks Dave tweets:

 

http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/letterman-finale-barack-obama-1201502074/

[HelenBaby]

President Carter was in the "nightmare" video. They did the preznits in order and he was after Ford, then GHWB, BC, GWB and BHO.

[Irlandesa]

As for whether they played live, it seemed like they were prolonging the song at the end to match it up perfectly.

Yep.  Extending it wasn't the most impressive part of the timing for me.  I imagine that's relatively easy to do.  But what impressed me is that they managed to incorporate a pause exactly when Farrah came up for her "wow."  That's awfully precise.

 

It was a really nice show. I like how low key it was.  I'm such a TV fan that my favorite part ended up being the fact that JLD and Seinfeld were on stage again together. 

[LJonEarth]

These are some random, stupid thoughts.

--Norm Macdonald doesn't get why Foo Fighters was the last band. Geez, and I thought he was a die-hard Letterman fan.

I had the same thoughts because I follow Norm on Twitter. I thought it would be unnecessarily rude to respond about it though. He later tweeted that Dave went to bat for him with Les, but Les won. I think more of Norm's love for Dave may be personal and away from the show. He said later this week he'd be Tweeting his personal stories about their relationship.

[kib]

I'm kind of curious of Foo Fighters actually played the whole song live or just the first bit of it prior to transitioning into the montage. I feel like it would've been hard as hell to get that montage to line up so perfectly with a song being played live.

Excellent question.  It could have gone either way.  The band starts the song and at a natural break in the music, the soundtrack on the montage tape takes over on what we hear over the air while the band continues to play for the studio audience, albeit perhaps a bit out of sync. For that matter, the band could have also lip synced for the audience after the natural break. On the other hand, Foo Fighters are first rate musicians and with rehearsal and a "click track" from the montage they well could have nailed it from the get go.

 

My first guess was what we saw and heard at home was mostly pre recorded after the initial few bars of music at the top of the piece.  The tell was I believe we never saw the band after the the montage got underway but having had another look at the tape I'm not so sure.  I've seen orchestras do 'live to projection' film soundtracks and the results can be remarkable so it's hard to think given the caliber of talent associated with the Late Show they wouldn't be able perform the magic.  However they pulled it off, it was an amazing effort and turned out stunningly. 

[teddysmom]

It seems a lot of us here watched Dave when we were Harry/Tommys age, but it's entirely possible this Tommy kid and some of their friends don't get what a cool moment he got. Tragically younger generations when he's older and tells the story may not grasp how big the show was, how much hype was around Who Will Be There, what Dave mean to people, etc. I think it's funny though this Tommy might have Aunts/Uncles/Cousins who probably think he's the man today and in his head, Harry's Dad just said Hi to him at work.

 

Jimmy Kimmel mentioned this Tuesday night, that younger people should watch Dave's last show to get a slight understanding of what Dave meant to more than one generation.  I was late 20s or so when Late Night premiered, I remember watching it at a local bar with a bunch of friends, and every night after that, at 12:30 pm the bartender would turn on Dave.  The juke box was playing but Dave was on the tv.  

 

I also thought it was sweet of Conan last night to tell everyone to record his show at 11:35 but to go watch Dave.  Then he and Patton Oswalt spent two segments discussing Dave's influence on comedy,and Patton even broke up with a girlfriend because she didn't get Dave. 

[Grommet]

The pause for Farrah's spaced-out "wow" was superb.

 

I hung around for the first few minutes of James Corden's show and he did a nice job.  The bit with Sting was funny, and reminded me that Corden really can sing.

[teddysmom]

I hung around for the first few minutes of James Corden's show and he did a nice job.  The bit with Sting was funny, and reminded me that Corden really can sing.

 

I haven't watched much of James Corden's show but what I've seen, I've liked. He's doing a good job. Did you see the bit he did with Jennifer Hudson, driving around LA? 

[Calvada]

I remember when Dave's NBC show ended, it went a few minutes long too, so I was prepared with another hour programmed on the DVR.  Then on the local news before the show, they did a story about Dave and said then that it was approximately 1 hr and 20 min. 

 

I thought it was a great finale.  So funny in parts, and you could really tell how their production staff was like a family. 

 

I think Colbert will keep on the technical folks - lighting, cameras, etc., - but the production staff people are out.  I wonder if Worldwide Pants continues on, and whether Dave will find jobs for some of the people.  I'm assuming some are retiring - Biff for example. 

[teddysmom]

I think Colbert will keep on the technical folks - lighting, cameras, etc., - but the production staff people are out.  I wonder if Worldwide Pants continues on, and whether Dave will find jobs for some of the people.  I'm assuming some are retiring - Biff for example.

 

I know Brian Stack, who was a writer on Conan, and did such memorable characters as Drunk Dumbledore, is moving back to NYC to work on Colbert's show.  He'll be a great addition to Colbert's writing staff.

[alynch]

The more I think about, the more impressed I am that they were able to get the Bushes (especially W.) to do that opening bit.

[jjj]

President Carter was in the "nightmare" video. They did the preznits in order and he was after Ford, then GHWB, BC, GWB and BHO.

Thank you!  I had posted afterward that the phrase special meaning to Carter, then read here he had not been on!  Thought I was seeing things...

 

I suspect the POTUS clips were filmed well in advance, except Obama; as Barbara Gaines said in her Tweet, they have been working on the finale since last December. 

Edited May 21, 2015 by jjj

[Tunia]

"Pie.  My favorite food is pie."

 

Goodbye, dear Dave.  Thanks for all the fun.

[Grommet]

Agreed, alynch. That's a lot of POTUS, and Dave has been pretty brutal to Shrub.

 

I hope the staff got a big severance package so they can take some time before job-hunting.  I'm sure the last 6 months has been really stressful for them.  I liked the behind-the-scenes video because it showed how many people work there.  Lots.

[Fisher King]

I know Brian Stack, who was a writer on Conan, and did such memorable characters as Drunk Dumbledore, is moving back to NYC to work on Colbert's show.  He'll be a great addition to Colbert's writing staff.

 

He is fantastic! I remember him showing up many times as a ghost beside Conan's desk and would sing various inappropriate songs. So wrong yet so funny.

[teddysmom]

He is fantastic! I remember him showing up many times as a ghost beside Conan's desk and would sing various inappropriate songs. So wrong yet so funny.

 

He was the college roommate of a former co worker/friend of mine.  I've also chatted with Elizabeth Laime about him, she does the Totally Laime podcasts, and she said Brian Stack is a gift from God to comedy and the world, and I wholeheartedly agree.  I've never heard anyone say anything but great things about him. I think he and Colbert will be a great team.  He was at Second City for a while.  Check this out - it's Brian and his wife Miriam.  It is hilarious. 

 

http://splitsider.com/2015/03/watch-brian-stack-and-miriam-tolan-try-some-role-play-at-second-city/

[Arcey]

 

Shoot! They went long and my DVR cut off at 1 hr. 3 min. Damn! How can i watch the last 20 minutes now?

I posted this in a panic last night, when I couldn't find a place to watch it or record it. I did go to cbs.com immediately, and was flummoxed by their site, which made it seem like you had to sign up for something in order to watch any videos, so I came here and vented. I don't know why I "believed" my DirecTV guide, that it would be over in 1 hr 3 min. -- I'm usually more skeptical and pro-active. But alas, I didn't do my due diligence, and missed out. I didn't start watching my taped show until about midnight PST, which I like to do so I can ff through all commercials. This time, that didn't work so well, and by the time it cut off while I was watching, it was about 1:07 a.m. already, and I could only catch the beginning of the Corden show, which was actually pretty good (he did a great Top 10 List and said he's going to carry on the tradition). That made me realize how long Letterman's show actually went, and how much I missed, and I guess I kind of panicked. Sorry for the dumb question. I did watch it just now and it was quite something.

 

Re Carter appearing in that POTUS montage, I looked again, and I definitely don't see him. It goes from Ford to GHWB, Clinton, GWB, Obama -- no Carter as far as I could see. Where are people seeing Carter in there?

 

 

[Lnmop]

Thanks for 1/3 of a century, Dave. May there be many more pie-filled years in your future.

[jjj]

Well, I might have only *thought* I saw Carter, as I was busy pushing "record" buttons for the first few seconds. 

[opus]

Random musings:

 

-We know the Foos don't have an ego problem, as evidenced by their 10 seconds of camera time.

 

- I could complain about the lack of Regis in the top 10 for say, Julia Looie, but since she had the line of the night I'll have to let it go

 

- Don't be too sad this weekend. Remember, Dave will be living it up at the Indy 500.

 

-Last night was supposed to be a celebration. As he referenced at the end ("Save it for my funeral") next time David Letterman tributes are major news is going to be a lot more depressing.

Edited May 21, 2015 by GaryE

[Arcey]

 

Last night was supposed to be a celebration.

It truly was celebratory. I guess they accomplished something that wasn't easy to do, with all the tears and sadness. More smiles and laughs than tears, not a bad formula. It was really joyful and wonderful. I was a little sorry that Dave's goodbye was so low key and from his desk, at least the part we saw. But so what, really. It was fabulous! I don't know how everyone is so good at noticing specific faces from the ending montage. It mostly went by too fast for me.

[dcalley]

(The only downside was that Letterman's goodbye from his desk was his actual goodbye.)

 Yes, that got me. I wasn't ready! I wanted to see him again!

 

[Norm] said later this week he'd be Tweeting his personal stories about their relationship.

 That proved to be very interesting for SNL's 40th, so please share when he does, especially if someone puts it into a readable form again!

 

I hung around for the first few minutes of James Corden's show and he did a nice job.  The bit with Sting was funny, and reminded me that Corden really can sing.

I muted a lot of the show but caught his words about Dave at the beginning, his "Top Ten Things We'll Miss About David Letterman" list, and him throwing watermelons off the roof at the end.

 

I remember when Dave's NBC show ended, it went a few minutes long too, so I was prepared with another hour programmed on the DVR.  Then on the local news before the show, they did a story about Dave and said then that it was approximately 1 hr and 20 min.

Yes, my local news said it was 20 minutes long and even got the name of the show right!

 

- I could complain about the lack of Regis in the top 10 for say, Julia Looie, but since she had the line of the night I'll have to let it go

She did have the line of the night and I love her. I'd rather have lost Barbara Walters for Regis. Or Jim Carrey.

[FoundTime]

Some of my faves/memories over the years:
• As previously noted, “the Foo Fighters, fighting foo.” I can never hear the name of the band without adding “fighting foo.”
• He hasn’t done it in years that I can remember, but in introducing somebody plugging a movie, “…opening in selected theaters – and I hope to God your theater has been selected.”
• The way during the monologue he would button just the inside button of his suit jacket – when I do that, I call it “the David Letterman close.”
• The “Is This Anything?” bit
 

Last night’s show:
• Harry seemed more excited about the shout-out to his friend than anything else, heh
• Seeing Gilda Radner in the final montage – I had forgotten about her appearances. (She died in 1989, that’s how long I’ve been watching.)
• I remember the Farrah moment, I was in a hotel in Chicago visiting a friend who was there on business.
 

Thanks, Dave, for everything. You are sui generis.

[dcalley]

• Seeing Gilda Radner in the final montage – I had forgotten about her appearances.

And she had special connections with Paul, Bill Murray, Martin Short, Steve Martin--am I forgetting anyone?

Edited May 21, 2015 by dcalley

[LJonEarth]

I kind of expected to hear more from Paul. Although I've never understood what his role on the show was supposed to be versus what I perceived it to be.

I always thought of him of a sidekick of near equal importance. Although I only have vague memories of Johnny and Ed's dynamic.

Edited May 22, 2015 by LJonEarth

[nowandlater]

Here is what the inside of the Ed Sullivan theater looks like today: https://instagram.com/p/29EteaDEwi/

 

Here is what the outside looks like: http://nypost.com/2015/05/21/cbs-throws-david-letterman-set-into-dumpster/

 

http://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/david-lettermans-late-show-set-in-dumpsters-hours-after-final-episode-2015215

 

 

Somebody counted all the different moments from the finale montage: 562

 

http://screengrabber.deadspin.com/foo-fighters-backed-letterman-closing-montage-is-mindbl-1706008694

 

And ranking the Top 10 list jokes.

http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/jokes-from-david-lettermans-final-top-10-list-ranked-1705961620

[SingerIslander]

The dismantling of the theater and the sets is mighty hard to look at.  Wow.

 

Someone had asked why Dave reacted so enthusiastically to Peyton Manning.  There's a paragraph at the bottom of this article written by Peyton which may answer the question.

 

http://mmqb.si.com/2015/05/21/nfl-peyton-manning-david-letterman-top-10-list-late-show-finale-cbs/

[nowandlater]

Someone had asked why Dave reacted so enthusiastically to Peyton Manning.  There's a paragraph at the bottom of this article written by Peyton which may answer the question.

 

http://mmqb.si.com/2015/05/21/nfl-peyton-manning-david-letterman-top-10-list-late-show-finale-cbs/

 

Holy shit. That article blew me away.

[ebk57]

The dismantling of the theater and the sets is mighty hard to look at.  Wow.

 

Someone had asked why Dave reacted so enthusiastically to Peyton Manning.  There's a paragraph at the bottom of this article written by Peyton which may answer the question.

 

http://mmqb.si.com/2015/05/21/nfl-peyton-manning-david-letterman-top-10-list-late-show-finale-cbs/

 

Thanks for posting that.  I've never been much of a Peyton fan (I'm from Baltimore, and The Colts...you know...), but that was really sweet and heartfelt.

[opus]

 

 

I hung around for the first few minutes of James Corden's show and he did a nice job.  The bit with Sting was funny, and reminded me that Corden really can sing.

Last night he got to say- "It's a thrill to follow David Lettermans' last show".

Tonight he's reduced to - "It's a thrill to follow a rerun of The Mentalist".

Edited May 21, 2015 by GaryE

[jjj]

But I hope Corden is not really going to take over Dave's bits -- Top Ten and throwing things from buildings -- because it was not the Top Ten that we tuned in for, it was Dave doing the Top Ten. 

 

Wow, those pictures of the theater today!  I'm surprised someone did not decide to store the entire bridge backdrop, but it sounds like the George Washington segment has been preserved for posterity.  And someone who had been in the theater for the last show managed to snag a piece of the bridge outside this morning.  "It's all junk now" said one of the workers, as the broke things apart and snapped the backdrop with their feet. 

 

I'd love to see pictures from the afterparty if any get posted. 

[kib]

The dismantling of the theater and the sets is mighty hard to look at.  Wow.

Amen.  While I'd like to believe they could have raised some money for Dave's foundation by auctioning off the bric a brac, it's safe to assume it was probably not worth the time and effort especially considering they all need to be out of their offices by tomorrow.

That said, I sure would have loved to get a piece of history to put up on the bookshelf...