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Letterman's Back, but ...
First off: Happy New Year!
Wouldn't it have been really interesting to see which of the late-night hosts would shine most without their writers. It's been reported that Letterman at one time early in his career sincerely believed Leno was the funniest comedian he'd seen. While neither is in their prime now, it would have been a kick to see who could hold our interest most while not having the support of their writers.
Still, it'll be interesting to see what Leno, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert can do while holding the shows together without writers and in many cases without top guests since many of them won't cross the picket lines. Of course, like Letterman, the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson will have writers, so we won't get to see what he would have done either.
Here's a link to some Late Show videos on our Online Video Guide in case you want to get a head start on tonight.
What do you think? Will the hosts without writers make for an fascinating experiment or will we just end up watching endless lame intereviews?
David
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Jan 2, 2008 11:49 AM
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Hi David, good to see you. Hope your holidays were fun-filled.
I can't stay up late enough to watch those shows, it's way past my bedtime. It would have been interesting to see them go on without the writers though.
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Jan 2, 2008 11:57 AM
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You know Ellen's doing quite well, and I think it will be interesting to see how the others do.
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Jan 2, 2008 12:46 PM
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I watch all of them occasionally and none of them regularly. I definitely would have tuned in to see them go without writers. I think it might have been more like the old days of Allen or Carson doing it that way.
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Jan 2, 2008 12:47 PM
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I can't stay up late enough to catch these shows, but I think they will be fine. If they drop the monologue and just interview people and have musical guests, it should be pretty smooth. However, they loose the ability to make fun of current events at the usual level. I'm really beginning to wonder if the WGA strike is just a Republican plot to get Stewart and Colbert off their backs during primary season.
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Jan 2, 2008 2:35 PM
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Happy New Year, David! I'm with Cindy, I watch all of them occasionally and none of them regularly. I am curious to see Letterman's opening monologue tonight, though, and I'm curious to see how the other other guys do without writers. I think Leno might be particularly interesting to watch.
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Jan 2, 2008 2:37 PM
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Hi David,
Happy New Year!!
The only late-night talk shows I watch regularly are The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. I'll watch Letterman tonight because of Robin Williams, but he and Leno have to have a guest on whom I really want to see in order to watch either one of them. I like them well enough, but it's too hard to fit them into my schedule.
As Lacey pointed out, Ellen is doing quite well on her own. Even though she doesn't get the A-list stars she did before the strike, she has the personality and talent to put on an entertaining show.
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Jan 2, 2008 2:50 PM
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I'm really beginning to wonder if the WGA strike is just a Republican plot to get Stewart and Colbert off their backs during primary season.
 
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Jan 2, 2008 3:44 PM
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Ann Marie That's really funny, and appeals to the tiny conspiracy theorist in my head!
LaceyI'd forgotten about Ellen. I'm usually here when she's on. I should TiVo an episode or two to see how that's going.
Marci I'm with you. Can't stay up like I used to for Letterman, though I will try to catch his monologue tonight. As for the Daily Show and Colbert, I think they'll be ok. Their guests are frequently politicos or academics or other people who aren't even on the traditional lists.
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Jan 2, 2008 4:01 PM
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David - I think you're right about Stewart and Colbert. Because of their talent and the type of show they do, I'm sure they'll be fine.
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Jan 2, 2008 4:25 PM
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Well to be perfectly honest David, my mom adores her so she has everything set for Ellen.
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Jan 2, 2008 5:21 PM
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I'm being very quiet...Jay seems like Jay...really funny...hmmm...
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Jan 3, 2008 12:02 AM
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I think that Colbert and Stewart will be perfectly fine.
Stewart has always relied on getting laughs by breaking off of the script and taking his own tangents. Colbert cut his teeth at Second City and is renowned for his improv talents.
I can't wait to have them back on the air...however, I will miss the various correspondents and the pre-taped segements.
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Jan 3, 2008 9:33 AM
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Well, I didn't get to see much of Leno, who seemed ok. His comments about never doing the show in Branson were actually more biting that I expected.
Letterman was, well, eccentric and goofy in his own way. Definitely looked like he'd stolen a few snacks from his son while letting that mountain-man thing attach itself to his face.
Still, it was good to have him back and enjoyed Biff Henderson's question about "When are the writers coming back," before walking off laughing and shaking his head when DL replied that they were back ...
Did not make to the others. Did anyone else?
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Jan 3, 2008 11:18 AM
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I don't know. I think seasoned TV hosts with experience could do very well without writers. On the other hand, they could be very funny just stumbling over themselves. This could be a blessing in disguise.
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Jan 3, 2008 12:00 PM
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