Today I made an executive decision and gave the podcast an oh-so-creative name: "The TV Squad Podcast." This was after we recorded it on Tuesday, so I still refer to it by its old APB name. If you have any suggestions, let me know at tvsquad [at] gmail [dot] com.
In this episode, Late Show writer Bill Scheft joins me, Danny Gallagher and Kona Gallagher to talk about his new book Everything Hurts. Of course, there's lots of good behind-the-scenes info about what it was like to work at The Late Show, especially on how the events of the past month affected the staff and the show's writing, including the monologue.
He also tells some funny stories about being canned from Sports Illustrated (and spawns a new catchphrase), feeding lines to the guy who played Mike Singletary and more. It's 45 minutes of fun.
After the interview, Kona, Danny and I give our picks of the week. Run time is 1:03:02.
I don't mean the endlessly publicized sex scandal or the Sarah Palin controversy. I don't mean the ham-fisted and unfunny political commentary -- or even the strange tales of stalkers around every corner. I mean what happened to the guy from the mid-late 1980s who seemed so above and beyond any such tired showbiz cliches?
When Letterman followed Carson during the Golden Age of NBC late night TV, his show was admittedly quirky. But it was one of the best examples of post-modern comedy in the medium's history. Late Night with David Letterman not only mocked TV entertainment while being a part of it, but the show made fun of the very idea that people get paid to gab or act silly in front of millions of people.
There are very few recurring television moments that instantly grab my undivided attention: seeing an undead Billy Mays still pitching Oxy-Clean, Twilight Zone episodes that pwn Nazis, late night Skinemax.
Now you can add Don Rickles to that list. He's become a staple of late night during the early Tonight Show because he's engaging, colorful and damn funny. Every time he stops in at Letterman's Late Show, I have to stop what I'm doing and watch and that includes running a pregnant friend to the hospital, although it does ruin some of the comedy for me. All that screaming.
He's also great at roasts, not because he's a great insult comic but because he can be just as down to Earth and genuine with the people he's skewering. His best roast is one that never made it to television: a roast of Get Smart's Don Adams at the Playboy Mansion.
You knew that after a weekend of blackmail scandal news and tabloid stories, David Letterman wasn't going to open his show on Monday just telling jokes about Chicago losing the Olympics. In fact, he started off the proceedings with a bang, asking the audience, "Did your weekend just fly by?"
Then he proceeded telling some pretty funny jokes about the scandal; he spent the weekend "raking my hate mail," that it was "chilly outside the house and chilly inside the house," and that the next phase is to go on Oprah and sob. He even acknowledged his odd comedic predicament by trailing off on jokes about Bill Clinton, Mark Sanford and Eliot Spitzer, realizing that he's not in the position to poke fun at those folks.
But then, after the break, he sincerely apologized to his staff for putting them through this mess, and said he had a lot of work to do to repair things with his wife, Regina Lasko. It was at that moment (video below) that I realized that Dave needs to stop talking about this mess... immediately:
It's always great to see Don Rickles on TV. He's rarely out of form, and he has a knack for sailing some great zingers past the censors. Which means his appearance on last night's My Life on the D-Listwas a perfect opportunity, a place where he could be a bit more loose.
We got a taste of that from him, walking around Kathy Griffin's house, but we also got a glimpse of the guy I have heard about from comedians who've met Rickles - the old softie who is ever willing to talk shop with other comics. It was a great moment when Griffin and Rickles talked about how both of their mothers would try to tell them not to pick on people so much, with Griffin's mom providing a bit of the dialogue. Meeting Rickles was on Griffin's mother's "bucket list."
I thought I'd use the occasion to take a look around YouTube to find some of Rickles' best TV appearances. He seems to have been everywhere, from The View to cable.
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."
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.
Appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman is a big deal for most comics. For Brian Kiley, who appears on the show tonight, it's a little strange. Kiley is a writer for Conan O'Brien (both for Late Night and the new Tonight Show), and starting June 1, his boss will be Letterman's direct competitor.
Kiley has done the Letterman three times before, he notes as an emergency replacement for another act that dropped out. And while he says he would never have gone on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, since that show is in the same time slot as Late Night, O'Brien and Letterman have always had a cordial relationship, and no one ever said anything before. That might change now.
"I kind of viewed it as, well, maybe this is my last time on Dave because the Conan people might not be into it," says Kiley. "So I don't know."
All you insomniacs, speed freaks and nightwatchmen (some of you might be all three) might have noticed David Letterman's picking on Mike Singletary. Given Letterman's latest ratings, that's probably not many of you.
Every week, Letterman has interrupted his show to conduct a live via satellite interview with San Francisco 49ers coach Mike Singletary about last Sunday's game. A Singletary impersonator appears in a split screen shot in full 49ers regalia and answers questions with the fluidity and grace of Ralphie May in ice skates.
How did this slice of sports satire get started, and how long will it stick around?
So McCain finally broke down and reappeared on Letterman in lieu of his bugging out of the last one to be interviewed by Katie Couric. He begged forgiveness in as dignified a manner as a Presidential candidate could. Letterman responded by ripping him a new one, deservedly so.
The hypocrisy of skipping out on an interview to supposedly fix the economy but end up on ANOTHER interview show deserves at least a few snide remarks.
But, all feuds must end otherwise the public tires of them. This happened on Letterman last night.
Finally someone shows some love for Lost, which got itself back on track last season. The Directors Guild announced their nominees for this year's awards. Lost nabbed two nominations in the Dramatic Series category, for "The Looking Glass" and "The Brig." The Sopranos picked up two of the three remaining nominations, saving the last one for AMC's excellent freshmen drama, Mad Men.
On the comedy side, 30 Rock nabbed two nominations, with Desperate Housewives and Entourage picking up one each. And the critical love for ABC's incredibly charming Pushing Daisies continues as it snatches the final spot. But one category in which the Directors think very differently than anyone else is in Reality Programs. Not only is the kitschy Who Wants to be a Superhero? nominated, but is joined by Shooting Sizemore and Pros vs. Joes. The full list, including commercials, documentaries and mini-series after the jump.
As the strike lingers on and the Writers Guild of American (WGA) and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) seem no closer to bridging their philosophical and monetary gap, the WGA is set to try a new tactic. According to Variety, the WGA is going to make a "legal demand" today for individual members of the AMPTP to schedule bargaining meetings with the WGA. However, at this point it isn't clear if the companies are legally obligated to do so, and if not, will they?
Looks like the late-night talk shows may be coming back sooner rather than later, and this regardless of what happens with the strike. Variety admits that nothing official has been said and no one will comment one way or another, but insiders are saying the time may be nearing. Carson returned after two months of the '88 writers strike. With ratings taking a nosedive, January 7 has been pegged as a possible return date for the NBC hosts (Leno and O'Brien), with the others starting the same time or soon thereafter.
They initially shut down production in deference to their writers and stayed dark to help the writers maintain some leverage in negotiations, even going so far as to pay non-writing staffers out of their own pockets. But, when reruns of Spike TVs MANswers are beating your reruns, and your ratings are half what they were (as is the case with the NBC pair), it's time to rethink everything.
With Daughtry, fronted by American Idol alumnus Chris Daughtry, and former Idol winner Carrie Underwood each taking home three trophies at this year's American Music Awards (AMAs), it's clear that the music landscape continues to be shaped by the dominant FOX reality competition. Daughtry, who didn't win his season of AI but has gone on to more commercial success than any of his season's compatriots thus far, picked up awards for favorite pop-rock album, breakthrough album and adult contemporary artist for his band's self-titled debut Daughtry. While Daughtry acknowledged the show's role in his success, as reported on AOL.com, he insists "the show didn't make me who I am. It just gave me a chance to show everybody else who I am."
Underwood, meanwhile, continued her award show success with trophies for favorite female country artist, country album (for Some Hearts) and the T-Mobile text-in award. For the first time in its 35 year history, winners this year were chosen by online voting. With the AMAs being essentially a "popularity contest" it should come as no surprise that two of the most popular artists ever on one of televisions most popular television shows ever would have a good showing.
When Johnny Carson died, his former bandleader Doc Severinsen (along with producer Peter Lassally) came on The Late Show With David Letterman to talk about Johnny and their years on The Tonight Show with him. And Severinsen and his band played Johnny's favorite song, "Here's That Rainy Day," a song I had never heard before but is absolutely beautiful. The video is now up at Letterman's page at cbs.com and it's well worth a look. And yes, that is Tommy Newsom playing the sax and Ed Shaughnessy on drums.
Today I made an executive decision and gave the podcast an oh-so-creative name: "The TV Squad Podcast." This was after we recorded it on Tuesday, so I still refer to it by its old APB name. If you have any suggestions, let me know at tvsquad [at] gmail [dot] com.
What happened to David Letterman?
It's always great to see Don Rickles on TV. He's rarely out of form, and he has a knack for sailing some great zingers past the censors. Which means his appearance on last night's 
Though David Letterman officially apologized last night for his controversial Sarah Palin joke, it's not stopping Palin supporters from calling for his dismissal.
If you recognize 
Appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman is a big deal for most comics. For Brian Kiley, who appears on the show tonight, it's a little strange. Kiley is a writer for Conan O'Brien (both for Late Night and the new Tonight Show), and starting June 1, his boss will be Letterman's direct competitor. 
All you insomniacs, speed freaks and nightwatchmen (some of you might be all three) might have noticed David Letterman's picking on Mike Singletary. Given Letterman's latest ratings, that's probably not many of you. 
So McCain finally broke down and reappeared on Letterman in lieu of his bugging out of the last one to be interviewed by Katie Couric. He begged forgiveness in as dignified a manner as a Presidential candidate could. Letterman responded by ripping him a new one, deservedly so.
Finally someone shows some love for 
As the strike lingers on and the Writers Guild of American (WGA) and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) seem no closer to bridging their philosophical and monetary gap, the WGA is set to try a new tactic. 
Looks like the late-night talk shows may be coming back sooner rather than later, and this regardless of what happens with the strike. 
With Daughtry, fronted by American Idol alumnus Chris Daughtry, and former Idol winner Carrie Underwood each taking home three trophies at this year's American Music Awards (AMAs), it's clear that the music landscape continues to be shaped by the dominant FOX reality competition. Daughtry, who didn't win his season of AI but has gone on to more commercial success than any of his season's compatriots thus far, picked up awards for favorite pop-rock album, breakthrough album and adult contemporary artist for his band's self-titled debut Daughtry. While Daughtry acknowledged the show's role in his success, as 
When Johnny Carson died, his former bandleader Doc Severinsen (along with producer Peter Lassally) came on The Late Show With David Letterman to talk about Johnny and their years on The Tonight Show with him. And Severinsen and his band played Johnny's favorite song, "Here's That Rainy Day," a song I had never heard before but is absolutely beautiful. The video is now up at 
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