Althouse weighs in on the retirement of David Letterman.
Some might argue that Letterman got tired and retired several years ago but just didn't leave. I recently saw him and thought: (1) This is really bad and (2) He was much better when he first got the show.
That's an occupational hazard. Comedians can have an expiration date. The Bob Hope, Milton Berle, and Sid Caesar humor that was fresh at one point later resembles an old uncle telling "knock-knock" jokes at a Thanksgiving dinner. Johnny Carson only had a mild version of the problem because Carson's genius was in making The Tonight Show less about himself and more about his guests. The water cooler talk in the Carson era was "Did you see so-and-so on The Tonight Show?" far more than "Did you see Johnny Carson?"
Letterman's replacement might keep that in mind.
2 comments:
This is how I see Jimmy Fallon. I watch clips of the show on Hulu. If I'm interested in the guest, I watch the clip of that person's interview. That's it. It's not Fallon's genius at all. It's the guests and technology that helps me we'd or the nonsense.
Neo,
I've just seen a little of Jimmy Fallon but will check him out. I think the genius of a Carson (or Fallon) may be in their ability to get out of the way.
Thanks for the tip.
Michael
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