TVSquad

As much as I love Dave, I think he's an acquired taste. He can be grumpy and hard to watch for a lot of viewers, whereas Leno, as unfunny as he is, is a lot more friendly a presence. Also, Letterman's conceptual bits probably go over the head of a lot of people (and I don't mean that in a bad way. I think they go over the head of some of the people in the band and the studio audience, too. As long as Dave likes it, it doesn't matter who gets it and who doesn't), and the fact that bits like "Will It Float" get repeated over and over probably turns people off.

I truly don't think that Letterman will ever be number one in the ratings. Well, maybe when Conan starts, because you can't get more "conceptual" than the masturbating bear.

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I think it's just likability. I always thought Dave was much funnier, but at some point I realized he's just unpleasant as a person and, whether it's true or not, I had no desire to end my night with his sour puss.

Leno's not really funny, but I'm going to sleep anyway, I'll take a couple stupid laughs and call it a night.

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I honestly don't watch either. I watch Jon Stewart then I watch Conan. Conan is hilarious. Better than both of those two guys combined.

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I always watch Dave's monologue because it's 1000% better than Jay's. Jay is, as noted here, not funny. Dave is very individual in his humor and I really like that. He's not "cookie cutter" in his comedy. But, after the monologue, I watch whoever has the guest(s) I want to see. Jay fawns over his guests way too much. Again, Dave is a little "outside the box" in some of his interviews, but I welcome that in most cases. Dave has improved a great deal in being more friendly since his heart surgery and the birth of his son, Harry, two years ago. I find him to be a kinder, gentler Dave. If I only had Jay to watch, I'd turn the TV off; or at least to another channel. I won't miss Jay when he's gone and I'm not real wild about Conan. We'll have to wait and see how he developes (or not) when he takes over the Tonight Show.

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I have to admit I used to be a huge Dave fan. Whenever people brought up the Letterman vs. Leno debate, I was the most staunch Letterman supporter. I still watched the 'Daily Show' and Conan (and to this day, I do) but I wouldn't watch Leno... until January 2000.

And frankly, I don't really know what happened. Letterman just became sort of unpleasant, annoying and patronizing. At that time, I started to tune in to Leno and, despite the fact that I found some segments utterly boring, I still enjoyed it a lot more than Letterman. In the last five years, I've given Letterman about a hundred chances to redeem himself and - trust me - I really wanted to be able to go back to watching his show, but somehow he always ended up short. It's hard to describe but, as far as I am concerned, his show tends to be pathetically boring whereas Leno tends to be pathetically lame, with a few exceptions. And those exceptions make all the difference. It's just way less annoying to watch Leno these days. I just to think Dave was pretty funny but now he's mostly irritating. Whereas Leno is mostly harmless but it's still the easy-listening of comedy. Hell, it beats Saturday Night Live.

And for laugh-out-loud funny, I still have Conan.

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I have been divorced for a while now and have just begun to date again. I will not go out with a woman who prefers Leno to Letterman. A sense of humor is a must but someone whose sense of humor finds Leno funny is a red flag. This is the person who forwards almost every email containing a joke no matter what the quality of the joke is. People who watch Letterman will surely delete a joke sent via email that is not of an elevated calibre. That's the difference. People who know what is truly funny will choose Letterman. It is like some people will only drink vintage wine and then others will drink wine from a box. Of course Leno has more watchers, because more people drink wine from a box.
If you saw Letterman on 1/6/1998 with the spoof on The Titanic, that was me.

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Letterman is snobby. Can't stand him.

I like Leno. I think he's funny. Yes, he tends to be a bit lowbrow. Yes he has goofy sketches. But at least he doesn't take himself too seriously, as Letterman does.

Letterman was funny, years ago. He was hip and cool then. Sometimes I think people think he is funny because he is supposed to be funny, and if you don't get it, you're not with it.

And I'd never date a guy who prefers Letterman to Leno.

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Plus, it's not all about humor...what about class?
Do you see how Dave welcomes an actress onto his show?
There is the buildup, then she walks out to huge applause, he greets her half way, kisses her hand, whispers some sweet something in her ear, escorts her to the Throne next to his desk and then says the most remarkable wonderful things about her. What a classy guy! A true gentleman! He is over the top but what does the American masses know? Wine in a box! Laughing at headlines from small town newspapers. The man on the street (give credit to Steverino)embarrassing some poor fool. Advertisers on Letterman will get my buck sooner than those who pay for mass appeal since I do not play television roulette when David is on. Plus, Paul Shaffer as a side kick with the CBS Orchestra, Whoa!

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Dear Julia,

I have a bottle of Puligny Montrachet chilled, a bottle of Krug Rose too (some women like bubbles)and some pate and cavier ready to go. Some of these are an acquired taste you know. If I were you, I would stick with Leno, wine from a box and cheddar cheese from a aerosol can.

Next time I am flying to NYC over Nebraska I will wave to you.

Not yours truly,
Richard

P.S. Did you ever stop to think that you do not know what you are missing?

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Neither show is funny. Leno's funniest bit is actually Jay-Walking. It's funny in a sad way because it highlights the stupidity of the American public. C'mon how can you show a school teacher a picture of GWB and have them not know who he is?

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Dave and Conan are a great night of TV. Leno just... he just.. ugh. Too horrible and hard to watch. Get rid of that damn Kevin and maybe we'll talk.

I record Headlines though. That's the only thing I record.

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Oprah, Uma, Oprah, Uma
anybody got any gum?

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Richard,

It scares me how your posts reflect the sterotype of a Letterman fan.

You assume because I don't agree with you, I have a character flaw.

You didn't even bother to click on my name to see that:

1. I live in Pennsyvania.
2. I suffer from migraines. No wine regardless of the container. It has been over 20 years since I've had wine, so the comment is completely lost on me.


As far as what I'm missing? Looks like nothing much!

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I prefer Jay because he uses humor to make fun of himself and Dave uses his humor to make fun of other people. I am so tired of the joke, joke, joke, monologues that I quit both. I favor Craig Ferguson over all of them.

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