David Letterman Retiring...about time

[Hans Tucker]

Good to see another person has the same view I have...David Letterman is not funny and the reason for the audience laughing at every lame joke... I also believe that Wil Anderson is not funny....is he retiring soon....please say yes.

http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/why-we-wont-miss-david-letterman-hint-he-aint-that-funny/story-fn948wjf-1227363208475

[ZeroID]

I don't even bother to watch any of them, better things to do with my time. In fact we watch very little TV at all these days. Getting uncapped VDSL Broadband installed today so we can pick and choose what WE want to see. The TV has just become a large HiRes PC monitor basically.

Why bother ... :shrug:

[hobbit]

Sorry but I must respectfully disagree. I have always love loved the lateshow and used to watch it all the time when it was on 9

[glend]

It's a Yank thing, their ideas of humour and entrrtainment are very different to the rest of the English speaking world. Take irony for example, it goes right over their heads. Letterman worked the standard talk show format started by Johnny Carson but like all of them, they become entrenched habitual watching by Americans who laugh at the formula jokes churned out by the joke writers. He stayed on far too long and should have left at least ten years ago but was obviously adicted to the money and the power of fame. In the land of the shallow he was good enough to survive.

[Kunama]

Can't say I ever found the time to watch Letterman or any other talk shows.
Life is too short to watch TV. (except for F1 1980s to 2000)

[mental4astro]

The Lateshow has only had three hosts in its close to 50 year history. It started with Groucho Marx, then Johnny Carson (an avid amateur astronomer too who due to his work in promoting amateur astronomy has an asteroid named after him!), and now David Letterman.

Letterman whether you like him or not, and The Lateshow, has become an institution. Maybe he was there for too long, maybe not. I went through a phase of watching his program for a time. I also remember as a little boy, Carson hosting the show, and me stealing minutes from my bedtime to watch a little of it to see what famous guests he would have on his show.

Groucho's orgininal layout of the show really hasn't changed much over the years. Technology has increased the capacity to gain information and share it, but the ideas are the same. And it works. It is not totally brainless, far from it. And it gives relief from the maddening 'info ads' that are a substitute for real TV.

Letterman has not been free from scandal. And I'm glad he hasn't been! Makes him more human this way. He had to eat to serious humble pie for his indiscretions. And in a time when falling from grace as a public figure is instant and fatal, Letterman is still standing.

That's my take on Letterman and The Lateshow. I wonder if the baton is to be passed on and to whom?

Alex.

[koputai]

Hooray for Hans! I totally agree re. Will Anderson. He isn't funny, and has
never been funny. Everything he says is so contrived and obvious, he has
no spontaneity or wit whatsoever.

Lucky for me I watch bugger all TV, as Matt says, life is too short to
watch TV (well, more than an hour or two a week).

Cheers,
Jason.

[LewisM]

Letterman, Leno, Anderson, Ellen DeGenerate, Oompah Oprah, Dr.Dill, Sally-Jesse, Dunnowho, Steve Vizard, Ray Martin - who cares?

They get paid so much money to do so little. Like sports players.

Why we can't channel that money into more serious needs, like saving the planet, getting OFF this planet and so on. Nope, we'd rather entertain ourselves with worthless, pointless "celebrities".

I just don't get the celebrity BS. Sorry, they are just a person, just like you or I. Why pay them a guzzillion dollars just to show their face or play a sport...

We are a vicarious, lazy generation with totally aimless ambitions.

Rant for the day over

[Ric]

I thought he had already retired a few years ago. :shrug:

[FlashDrive]

Couldn't have been said better....:thumbsup:

As far as I'm concerned...on my 0 to 10 ' I don't give a TOSS Meter ' ...these would rate 0.... period.

I think they call it ' canned laughter ' ... frankly, it's plain crap...

' Praise the Lord ' :prey: ... it's all over...!!

Col.....:D

[astroron]

Agree,but how could you all miss out this guy "Jimmy Fallon"?
Tonight live ABC TV.
He is god awful,False laughter and absolute woeful jokes.
He just makes me cringe.
Cheers:thumbsup:

[LewisM]

Yep, him too, and Conan O'Brian (just as bad)

I'd rather clean my garage at night than sit down and watch that "entertainment". Hey, I HAVE cleaned my garage at night...

[beren]

Not a fan of Lettermans but watched the show occasionally .....always remember an interview he did with Annie Lennox where he made a comment about one of her band members which led to a very uncomfortable dialogue between the two :lol:

I do like Jon Stewart {John Oliver} and Craig Ferguson .

[rustigsmed]

Letterman should've retired atleast 10 years ago. Jimmy Fallon really struggles for a new presenter, Conan does it better most of that lot but Craig Ferguson is easily the best.

[SkyWatch]

We saw a few minutes of Letterman last night, before my wife (who had never seen him before) said "Let's turn it off, this is not funny."
However, in that time he did comment that Stephen Hawking had calculated that over the 40? years and 6000 or so shows there was 8 minutes of stuff that was humorous enough to make you laugh.
I think he thought he was joking... ;)

[DavidU]

Hahaha :lol:

[xelasnave]

These old men who hog the stage preventing a younger human opportunity are tradgic folk.
I could not believe John Laws is still working.
What's the deal they don't need money but they obviously need something...a higher self esteem perhaps that allows them to move out of the way.
I saw Lettermans show as no more than promotion of his guests main business..their latest project movie or song.

[xelasnave]

They should be made to polish their cars rather than contract the job.
That way they would never be out of their garage.
I suspect it's the fault of their wives trying to hold off the day they will be left alone with them at home.

[04Stefan07]

Yeah I don't finder Letterman funny at all. He has lame jokes and don't really like how he interviews guests.

Way too many of these shows. The best one by far and who I think is funny is the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. When you get some time check out his interview with Robin Williams, hilarious!

[barx1963]

I am going to buck the trend here! I actually quite enjoyed his humour, thought it was self deprecating and it was never trying be any more than a bit of fun. But then I am a big fan of lame jokes (just ask my work colleagues!!)
And any show that has Thomas "Bones" Malone in the band cannot be all bad.

Malcolm

[AG Hybrid]

I enjoyed the late show. I'll miss David to be honest. I am really really excited with the new host Stephen Colbert though.