Andy Rose writes…
I agree with the video on Letterman's new show, although I think the guy who made it is mislabeling what he calls "edits." But there's a whole other reason I've stopped watching the show: I don't particularly enjoy Friendly Dave. Letterman's interviews were always at their best when Dave was engaged, but a bit annoyed by or confused by the guest. The only friendly interviews I liked were the ones where the guest knew how to needle Dave, and he could play off of it. Julia Roberts being the best example.
This show's entire premise is that Dave only interviews people he likes, and it brings out a sycophancy in Dave that's just not enjoyable.
I understand that but I have another way of looking at it. I think David Letterman has outgrown being annoyed or confused on television. I bought his pissed-offedness (that should be a real word) when he was younger and on at 12:30. When he became one of the most successful and honored television performers ever, it started to sound to me like…well, like Donald Trump pretending he can relate to the problems of coal miners.
There was a point on his CBS show when Dave for some reason was doing a lot of jokes about the body odor of New York cab drivers and I thought, "Is that really a concern in your life, Dave?" I mean, even if a guy who owns a fleet of cars and has limos at his disposal does take the occasional cab ride, is that something he really cares about? I think one of the main reasons for his ratings decline is that much of America doesn't want to listen to a fabulously-rich, successful guy talk about how rough his life is.
I'm not saying his feelings weren't genuine. Jay Leno, I'm told, still drops in at McDonald's for a burger…but he cut all the jokes out of his act about eating at McDonald's because he could hear audiences thinking, "You can afford to eat somewhere better." George Carlin, when asked to perform some of his earlier monologues, would tell people, "That's not my act these days. My act is about who I am now and I'm not the same guy I was when I was thirty."
Seems to me David Letterman has realized that. Maybe it's expressly why he grew the beard: To make clear that he was moving into a new stage of his career as elder statesman. Either that or he's hoping to audition for any productions of Miracle on 34th Street that occur.