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1. Anonymous says:

   February 1, 2005 at 3:44 pm

   Thanks guys. I’m glad I knew in advance that they were Carson’s jokes, because some of them were rather dated. Even so it was a relief from the usual hack rehashing of the same old jokes Letterman seems to tell night after night (squirrel and his nuts, hookers in Times Square, cab drivers and their turbans; he even has done the same lame Lance Armstrong bit with a fat guy in bicycle pants EVERY NIGHT FOR A WEEK each time Lance wins the Tour de France). He used to be a genius but he hasn’t done anything new in 20 years. Too bad he couldn’t have hired Carson to actually write his whole monologue and chuck the stuff that’s repeats. His studio audience likes the familiarity, but the rest of us see why his ratings have been declining.
   Dave, you used to be wonderful. What happened?

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2. Brian McKim & Traci Skene says:

   February 1, 2005 at 5:04 pm

   Anonymous writes:
   …Even so it was a relief from the usual hack rehashing of the same old jokes Letterman seems to tell night after night…

   We reply:

   Although we’ll never know, we have a theory that many of those “same old jokes Letterman seems to tell night after night” may have actually been, at least in the past few months or years, Johnny’s jokes! However, if they weren’t, we’re not prepared to dismiss them as “hack rehashing” or old, or tired. Carson relied on standard, templated jokes night after night for 30 years. In his hands, it was regarded as “comforting,” or “masterful” or “familiar.” Only rarely would anyone use any negatives. What did the crowd scream when Johnny began a monologue sentence with “It was so hot today…”? Did they hiss? Scream out “Hack!” or swear they’d never watch the show again? No. Young and old, black and white, male and female yelled back, “How cold was it?” at the top of their lungs and giggled like a bunch of schoolgirls.

   Would you like the host of your 11:30 PM ET (10:30 Central) network talk show to do a monologue that explores the horror in the Darfur region of the Sudan? Or maybe reel off a rant about the human rights record of China? Or maybe explore racism? If you would, you’ve totally missed the point of the whole exercise that is a late night network television talk show.

   Anonymous also wrote:

   His studio audience likes the familiarity, but the rest of us see why his ratings have been declining.
   Dave, you used to be wonderful. What happened?

   We reply:

   His studio audience is very similar in makeup to the folks watching at home. (Ever checked out the declared hometowns of the folks who participate in Know Your Cuts of Meat?) It is quite natural that the producers of the show might want to appeal to a wide range of people…that is where the ratings are.

   As for his ratings declining, Letterman is still behind Leno in key demos, but both shows’ numbers are up over the past two years and Leno’s lead isn’t what it usta be. In some recent instances, Letterman beats Leno (or ties him) on certain nights of the week (probably due to strong lead-in show ratings.)

   Those jokes that cover the same territory week after week are there for a reason– continuity. Running gags, familiarity, a certain degree of predictability–all contribute to viewer loyalty, a feeling of being “in” on a gag. Letterman (and his writers) know exactly what they’re doing. He’s not hosting Politically Incorrect or Nightline.

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3. Anonymous says:

   February 1, 2005 at 5:21 pm

   Okay. But in my in-expert opinion, there’s a difference between “It was so cold that…” with a different punchline each time, and almost the same joke with THE SAME PUNCHLINE repeated ten or fifteen times over the course of a year.

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4. Clifford Fewel says:

   March 14, 2005 at 12:27 am

   I’ll answer the really difficult question: A monologue comprises jokes. Jokes constitute a monologue. Ergo, and in sum, “Letterman’s opening monologue was comprised entirely of jokes” is correct. So would be “composed”. Thank you very much. I’m here all life.

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