Good very candid interview with Letterman as his show wraps up

[JRHawk2003]

Pretty brutally honest about his own show. Doesn't spin things.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/03/a...-33-years-in-late-night-television.html?_r=0#

 

[LuteHawk]

Johnny Carson and Jay Leno could deliver a stand-up
opening monologue which got laughs. They were the
gold standard for topical humor on politics, Hollywood
celebrities, and other issues of the day.

David Letterman was never in their league and he knew
it. He was content with grade school humor and pet
tricks.

 

[JRHawk2003]

I always felt that the show lost its edge when he went to CBS. I was a big fan back in the day when he had guests like Brother Theodore or Crispin Glover being all weird. Letterman's mistake in my mind was trying to be too much like the Tonight show, when there already was a tonight show.

I always felt that Leno did better because the Tonight Show had a brand and America loves the bland.

 

[TJ8869]

Johnny Carson and Jay Leno could deliver a stand-up
opening monologue which got laughs. They were the
gold standard for topical humor on politics, Hollywood
celebrities, and other issues of the day.

David Letterman was never in their league and he knew
it. He was content with grade school humor and pet
tricks.

Mentioning Leno in the same sentence with Carson is pure blasphemy. Johnny was the gold standard.

 

[TJ8869]

I always felt that the show lost its edge when he went to CBS. I was a big fan back in the day when he had guests like Brother Theodore or Crispin Glover being all weird. Letterman's mistake in my mind was trying to be too much like the Tonight show, when there already was a tonight show.

I always felt that Leno did better because the Tonight Show had a brand and America loves the bland.

This. Letterman made a name for himself poking fun at the establishment on NBC. When he moved to CBS he became part of that establishment.