Not only did the "Fire David Letterman" crowd completely fail at their attempt to oust the late night host from his desk chair, but they actually helped him.
That makes them the least successful protest effort since 1977's memorable campaign to "Keep Pies Away from Anita Bryant." I believe it had something to do with preventing the spread of diabetes.
Variety reports that Letterman surpassed The Tonight Show in the ratings for the first time in nearly three-and-a-half years while the whole Palin family "Jokegate" debacle was still slowly being scraped off the fan.
The shame (one of many) about David Letterman's tired, ham-fisted grasp at humor this past week regarding the daughters of Sarah Palin is that it's become such a political hot potato. It's gotten to the point where, despite the fact that Dave apologized and Palin accepted, Palin's supporters still want to see the late-night host fired.
Liberals point and say, "See! Conservatives can't take a joke. They're too bitter and uptight after losing the presidential election." Meanwhile, conservatives shout back that liberals are "out of touch with decency and only get offended when liberal women are attacked."
What both sides miss is that Letterman's clunky "knocked up" gag is a problem because it attacks a kid (be she 14 or 18, if you want to split hairs). While Sarah Palin is fair game and any comic or pundit can verbally knock around her "slutty flight attendant look" without fear of reprisal, it's an unwritten law that you don't go after the kids when doing political material.
Though David Letterman officially apologized last night for his controversial Sarah Palin joke, it's not stopping Palin supporters from calling for his dismissal.
It's the latest chapter in a story bearing an uncanny resemblance to herpes. It never goes away, and you're never sure when it's going to pop up again. In an attempt to end the furor, Letterman took a moment during his Monday night broadcast to apologize directly to Palin and her family.
"It's not your fault that (the joke) was misunderstood. It's my fault," Letterman said. "So, I would like to apologize, especially to the two daughters involved, Bristol and Willow, and also to the governor and her family and everybody else who was outraged by the joke."
He added, "I understand, of course, why people are upset. I would be upset myself. I'm sorry about it, and I'll try to do better in the future."
It looks like Sarah Palin got her chance to respond to Dave's inappropriate joke about her daughter. You know, the one he already apologized for. Palin chided that Dave should apologize to all young women around the country rather than just she and her family.
Was it a legitimate mistake on Dave's part and the part of his writers? I believe it was. Is Sarah Palin using this as a political opportunity to get her name even more out there than it is? Yeah, I believe that's the case too.
A more appropriate response from the Alaskan governor would have been to accept the apology and, if she wants to hold a grudge, simply never appear on Dave's show or give it him any further publicity. She's a public figure, and sadly so are her children even if they didn't choose to be. No doubt they will be the targets of inappropriate jokes time to time.
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brienreversed its ratings decline and managed to squeak by with a win over The Late Show with David Letterman this past Wednesday night. Apparently, he even blew Letterman away in the coveted 18-49 demo.
I've never understood the appeal of The Tonight Show, but NBC has pretty much built the ultimate juggernaut of late night talk shows with it that nobody can seem to topple. On the other hand, when Letterman first moved to CBS he dominated the late night ratings for the first few years. With that in mind, I still think Letterman can turn this into a win before his current contract expires in 2012. And even if he doesn't, he deserves to.
Of course, the big elephant in the room is Jay Leno's upcoming 10 PM talk show. With such a lead-in, Dave's show could take an additional hammering in the ratings. Only time will tell.
Yesterday we had a..."discussion" about a joke that David Letterman made earlier this week about Sarah Palin's daughter and New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez. Last night, Letterman addressed the controversy that arose from the joke, and the video is below. As I suspected, he was not talking about the youngest Palin daughter, and he explains the joke and apologizes for it.
The ratings for The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien have been slipping since he took over, which is to be expected. Possibly less expected is that while he's been dipping, Late Show With David Letterman has seen a slow increase. So much so that last night, David Letterman beat Conan O'Brien in the ratings. That should certainly help Letterman's negotiations for that contract extension to 2012. The real question is how will this ratings battle settle down?
Certainly there's no reason for the Tonight Show camp to panic yet. Letterman stomped Leno for awhile early in Leno's run, when Letterman first jumped to CBS. But Leno is a very different comedian and host than O'Brien. Perhaps too different? The concern isn't so much that O'Brien's numbers are dipping, because the curiosity factor was going to inflate his initial numbers anyway, it's that Letterman's are on the rise. That could be defectors from the Leno era making a move. But should O'Brien even want to bring them back, or should his battle be for new viewers that maybe weren't watching Letterman or Leno.
David Letterman made a joke the other night about Sarah Palin's daughter going to a Yankees game and being impregnated by Alex Rodriguez (video below). Now, humor of the joke aside, can you imagine if a conservative host had made a joke about one of President Obama's daughters? What do you think the media's reaction would be? I think the joke is more about Rodriguez and his alleged antics with other women, but it also incorporates Palin's daughter in a rather unfortunate way.
If you recognize Steven Wright's material tonight on his Late Show with David Letterman spot, you either have a good memory, or you bought the re-release of Wright's I Have A Pony that hit shelves Tuesday. Wright will be performing material from the CD, which was originally released 24 years ago.
Warner Brothers released this "Deluxe Anniversary Edition," which also includes his first HBO special, A Steven Wright Special (coincidentally, produced by Peter Lassally from Johnny Carson's Tonight Show), as part of its 50th Anniversary celebration.
Wright's material was always off the wall, unlike anything anyone had heard when he first did Carson's Tonight Show in 1982. Some have worked in the same field of quick-fire absurdism that Wright cleared (like Mitch Hedberg and Demetri Martin), but Wright's comedy was never rooted in a particular time, place, or even galaxy, really. Which is why I Have A Pony still sounds fresh today.
Coming as no surprise to anybody, the final performance of Jay Leno on The Tonight Show absolutely slaughtered the ratings of the rerun of The Late Show with David Letterman. Given the enormity of the event, it's a good thing Dave just decided to hang it up and show a rerun that night in the first place.
I've made no secret of the fact that I've always preferred Letterman to Leno, but even I can see how Leno's laid-back, straight-forward presentation style seems more palatable with mainstream America than Dave's snark and wit. But then, I've never had anything resembling mainstream tastes.
Jay now moves to 10 P.M. and Conan takes his place as Letterman's direct competitor. Leno's style does suit the more family-friendly hour he's been placed at. Starting Monday we'll learn whether it was the man or the name-brand built by Leno and those before him that kept people watching The Tonight Show.
I would have posted this earlier today, but I couldn't read Prince's handwriting on the big sheet of paper he gave to Jay Leno last night. I thought it was just a goodbye wish, but now I see from TMZ that it was actually a dig at David Letterman.
It says "Jay is the best. Even Paul Shaffer knows it." Billy Crystal looks amused.
I don't ask this question because I've watched David Letterman a lot more and think he's better than Leno (though I have and I do). This isn't about quality, it's about what exactly we're saying goodbye to.
When Johnny Carson left The Tonight Show in 1992, it was major news because ... well, jeez, he was Johnny Carson. He had hosted the show for 30 years and we probably weren't going to see him on television again (and we didn't, except for an appearance on Letterman's show).
When Letterman left Late Night, it was a big thing that he was saying goodbye because he was not only leaving the network, he was moving to another time slot to compete head to head with Jay. When Conan leftLate Night earlier this year, it was a big deal because he was moving across the country to another location, and he was taking over the most iconic late night talk show in history.
Ricky Gervais was on The Late Show with David Letterman on Friday and told a story about writing a letter to President Obama. Was it about the Iraq War or the economy or the environment? No, actually it was about something equally serious that has been troubling him. (Video also here.)
There is a romantic notion of how a comedian gets on a program like the Late Show with David Letterman. A talent scout walks into a crowded comedy club where a hot new talent is killing and puts them on that week. Fame and fortune ensue, and a legend is born.
The reality is, not surprisingly, much different. When comedian Joe Wong makes his network television debut tonight, it will be a five-minute appearance nearly four years in the making, stretching back to when Late Show talent coordinator and audience warm-up comic Eddie Brill first saw Wong in Boston in 2005, according to Wong. Brill thought he was funny, which put him on the radar. Wong sent in a DVD now and then, and Brill gave him feedback.
"Off and on I've been watching him do what he's been doing I guess for about three years," says Brill. "Then I started getting serious about him trying to put a set together for me that I could work on for Letterman. And I guess that's over a year ago."
Yup, it looks like Dave and Jay still aren't on speaking terms.
Who knows who is less interested in burying the hatchet? Publicly, it has always seemed that Jay would like to be friends with Dave again more than Dave wants to, though that might just be how Jay wants to frame it (it helps Jay's cause that Dave hardly ever gives interviews and is quiet on this subject in particular).
Now Jay tells GQ that he sent Dave a letter when Dave had his heart surgery several years ago, but was bummed when Dave didn't respond.
Not only did the "Fire David Letterman" crowd completely fail at their attempt to oust the late night host from his desk chair, but they actually helped him. 
The shame (one of many) about David Letterman's tired, ham-fisted grasp at humor this past week regarding the daughters of Sarah Palin is that it's become such a political hot potato. It's gotten to the point where, despite the fact that Dave apologized and Palin accepted, Palin's supporters 
Though David Letterman officially apologized last night for his controversial Sarah Palin joke, it's not stopping Palin supporters from calling for his dismissal.
It looks like Sarah Palin 
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien 
The ratings for The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien have been slipping since he took over, which is to be expected. Possibly less expected is that while he's been dipping, Late Show With David Letterman has seen a slow increase. So much so that last night, 
If you recognize 
Coming as no surprise to anybody, the final performance of Jay Leno on The Tonight Show absolutely 
I don't ask this question because I've watched David Letterman a lot more and think he's better than Leno (though I have and I do). This isn't about quality, it's about what exactly we're saying goodbye to.
There is a romantic notion of how a comedian gets on a program like the 
Yup, it looks like Dave and Jay still aren't on speaking terms.
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