David Letterman announces his retirement in 2015

[mjzee]

[jlhoots]

He liked Warren Zevon - that's enough for me.

[JSngry]

Excellent!

[sonnymax]

Just announced: Letterman's replacement will be Stephen Colbert!

[danasgoodstuff]

For how long?

[medjuck]

But reportedly it will be Stephen Colbert rather than "Stephan Colbert". Too bad.

[Rooster_Ties]

But reportedly it will be Stephen Colbert rather than "Stephan Colbert". Too bad.

Don't totally disagree, but he's played that character for nearly 10 years now -- and it has to take a hell of a lot of energy to do all the time. And with the new show (1 hour per night, 5 nights a week - not just 4), that means 2.5x as much time to be in that character. As it is now, probably 75% of his 2hrs/week is tightly scripted -- it would be hard to sustain that level of 'density' of tightly-scripted comedy for 75% of 5 hours (or close to 4hrs/week). And on top of that, Colbert's current shtick is almost "David Mamet"-esque in terms of the speed with which comedic bits are served up. HARD to do in an hour-long format show.

I suspect this is Colbert's big chance to escape the amazing but (what must be) tiring character he's inhabited for practically an entire decade.

How many comedians have found the one weird thing that connect them with the public -- think of Gilbert Gottfried's voice (which isn't his natural voice), or any of a dozen other examples -- and then just burned themselves out (and the public along with them) driving that one trick pony into the ground.

This is Stephen's big chance to lean on more of his other talents -- and it would seem this guy has tons. Good for Stephen, good for CBS, and good for us.

[duaneiac]

For a reminder of how funny David Letterman could be, here's his 5th Anniversary of Late Night special

Skip the monolgoue which was never the strongest part of his show. The funny happens with the "new products" bit, the Stupid Pet Tricks, the highlights clips from past shows (including guests Harvey Pekar and Brother Theodore), the "Monkey-Cam", Chris Elliot and Larry "Bud" Melman all the way to the end with the singing of "It's A Late Night World of Love". And sitting in with the band -- Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard and Grover Washington, Jr. (on bari!).

And here's one of the funniest moments I remember from the show -- a monkey named Sandy took an immediate dislike to the host and repeatedly scared the crap out of him.

http://youtu.be/bQfjbYI9sGM

Dave and Zsa Zsa's Fast Food Car Trip

http://youtu.be/3F6ihYOgruY

"We're here at the In 'n Out burger, me and Zsa Zsa. You folks can go ahead and make up your own jokes."

Edited April 11, 2014 by duaneiac

[Rooster_Ties]

From a long, long time ago...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRoaG_AmqrI

[johnblitweiler]

Harvey Pekar shot some welcome blasts of reality into Letterman's show-biz fantasy world.

[paul secor]

Harvey Pekar shot some welcome blasts of reality into Letterman's show-biz fantasy world.

Eventually, Harvey got too "real" for Dave when he started ranking on General Electric. Dave banned him from the show.

[Guy Berger]

I am a little sad that Colbert's CC show is ending, but very happy for him - he deserves the $$$. For him, this is a risk with limited downside.

For CBS, on the other hand... this could be a giant flop.

[mjzee]

Some have pointed out that he didn't have great ratings on CC - he was regularly bested by Adult Swim.

[Shawn]

Part of me doesn't really give a crap because the only time I see late night talk shows is when I watch the interview segments on youtube. Part of me would like to have seen a different choice than "another middle-aged white guy" (what about a female late night talk show host...c'mon). But there is also a part of me that thinks Colbert is pretty damn amusing (when he's in character, not sure about out of character) and I'll be curious to see how it pans out.

[jlhoots]

He liked Warren Zevon - that's enough for me.

Oh - & Darlene Love too.

[GregK]

well, better than Fallon. That guy is someone I just don't "get" at all. More irritating than funny.

[Guy Berger]

Some have pointed out that he didn't have great ratings on CC - he was regularly bested by Adult Swim.

Didn't AS get better ratings than... Letterman? (And pretty much everyone except Leno/Fallon.)

Personally I'm less interested in these stupid "late night wars" and much more interested in who Comedy Central picks for the "blowhard parody" slot to replace Colbert. Limbaugh and O'Reilly would be excellent candidates.

[duaneiac]

Happy 67th birthday to David Letterman.

Another clip from the "good old days".

http://youtu.be/EMP18ekAnFQ

[duaneiac]

Harvey Pekar shot some welcome blasts of reality into Letterman's show-biz fantasy world.

Eventually, Harvey got too "real" for Dave when he started ranking on General Electric. Dave banned him from the show.

I always thought Harvey Pekar was a bit of an ass. It's not like Letterman held GE in any high regard.

http://youtu.be/ECz945gq33s

http://youtu.be/JMfmOuCy8aI

[BFrank]

Pekar WAS a great jazz fan, though! Something that didn't come out in his Letterman appearances.

Harvey Pekar archives - Austin Chronicle

[ejp626]

Some have pointed out that he didn't have great ratings on CC - he was regularly bested by Adult Swim.

Didn't AS get better ratings than... Letterman? (And pretty much everyone except Leno/Fallon.)

Personally I'm less interested in these stupid "late night wars" and much more interested in who Comedy Central picks for the "blowhard parody" slot to replace Colbert. Limbaugh and O'Reilly would be excellent candidates.

I really think Colbert Report will go away after Colbert departs, though he might be allowed to do a few special events here and there, particularly around election time. My guess is that John Oliver gets some show crafted around his persona.

[xybert]

I love what i've seen of Pekar's appearances on Letterman. It's just beautiful humanity from so many different angles.

[Guy Berger]

Some have pointed out that he didn't have great ratings on CC - he was regularly bested by Adult Swim.

Didn't AS get better ratings than... Letterman? (And pretty much everyone except Leno/Fallon.)

Personally I'm less interested in these stupid "late night wars" and much more interested in who Comedy Central picks for the "blowhard parody" slot to replace Colbert. Limbaugh and O'Reilly would be excellent candidates.

I really think Colbert Report will go away after Colbert departs, though he might be allowed to do a few special events here and there, particularly around election time. My guess is that John Oliver gets some show crafted around his persona.

Actually, John Oliver DOES have a show coming out soon (has it already started?) - a weekly "news" show on HBO.

And I think you are probably right; I was being facetious.

[JSngry]

It's still not really sunken into me yet that this guy is 68 years old...deep down, I guess I always though he had just lost some hair.

No matter, best 32(?) years of my tv-watching life.

[paul secor]

Just my opinion, but I found the guy a smarmy mediocrity. Plus he stole some of his early bits from Steve Allen, who was much funnier and a true innovator.

As you can tell, I won't miss him.