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Letterman or Leno

which do you prefer (August 2003)

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CA
cat
What about Nightline?

Sorry.

They are tediously predictable and the only thing that sets them apart is the guests, all of whom try desperately (and often painfully) hard to say something funny, usually with dreadfully unamusing consequences.
NW
nwtv2003
I have never really sat down and watched a full edition of Letterman, I have watched Leno several times and he is very good, but I prefer things like Headlines and 99c Shopping Store Spree, which I find funny, but I am not an avid viewer of the show, but he is good.

Though for me I much prefer Conan O' Brien, he is much funnier and he seems to get away with much more than Leno does, he always seems to make anything funny. But it's a shame he's only on CNBC three times a week, and one of the editions has the monologue cut off it.
DC
dcomp11
What channels do Letterman and Leno air on in the UK?
NW
nwtv2003
dcomp11 posted:
What channels do Letterman and Leno air on in the UK?


Letterman is on ITV2, at night time for some reason.
Leno is on FTN and CNBC, FTN show him everyday at 10.00pm and 1.40am, CNBC show Leno weekends at 8.00pm and Sundays at 9.30pm, but that edition as I have said is editied.
RU
russnet Founding member
[quote="DJGM"]Both shows are primarily intended for American audiences, but both are distributed worlwide.

As for timeslot, they both go out at about 11:30pm, right after the main evening news bulletin on either network. When Dave was on NBC between 1982 and 1993 00:30, his show was
on broadcast at about 00:30, right after the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. [quote]

11:35 to be exact. The show use to go out at 11.30 but NBC executives pushed the show to 11:35 to allow for extra news or for the more cynical, more advertising. It also pushed former Tonight Show host, Johnny Carson. He felt that if the show was pushed 5 minutes, what would happen if it was pushed 15 or even 30 minutes to allow a cheaper but profitable syndicated programme to step in.

Next came who would take over from Carson when he left in May of 1992 (he announced his decision to leave one year earlier) Would it be Letterman who presented Late Night (in which Conan O'Brien took over) in which he thought he would take over the show or regular stand in host for the Tonight Show, Leno.

In the end, Leno got the job and I recommend the book, The Late Shift by Bill Carter which looks at the whole Late Night affair with who would take over The Tonight Show.

What people may not realise is that both Letterman and Leno were good friends on the comedy circuit in the 70's and Leno would regularly appear on the Letterman show in the 80's. I've got a really funny NTSC video of them in action together.
:-(
A former member
russnet posted:

In the end, Leno got the job and I recommend the book, The Late Shift by Bill Carter which looks at the whole Late Night affair with who would take over The Tonight Show.


There's also a pretty good HBO movie of the book:

http://us.imdb.com/Title?0116835

It was on TV last year, appropriately late at night and is essential viewing for fans of either show. Kathy Bates played the ruthless Helen Kushnick (Leno's manager) very well.

Gareth
RO
roo
I would have to say neither.
I've watched both and have failed to laugh at all.
Saw Letterman the other night, and was just so flat. And even the audience sounded uncomfertable with some forced sounding laughter...and some disappointed expressions when he didnt get the response he wanted.
CO
Corin
DJGM posted:
As for timeslot, they both go out at about 11:30pm, right after the main evening news bulletin on either network.


No, the main and only network evening news is at 18:30h on CBS and NBC (and ABC).

The program at 23:00h, preceeding the The Late Show on CBS and the Tonight Show on NBC, is the late local news program produced by the local station (hence the slogan in the ancient past "film at 11" on the local news program at 6).

Quote:
When Dave was on NBC between 1982 and 1993 00:30, his show was on broadcast at about 00:30, right after the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.


And his slot has been replaced on NBC with "Later with Conan O'Bryan".

Quote:
"The Late Show With David Letterman" is usually taped "as live" at about 17:30, and then shown six hours later.


And if you remember when it was on NBC, they always used to joke about the local station WNBC-TV's Live at Five being broadcast in an adjacent studio.

Quote:
I'd imagine it's a similar situation for the "Tonight Show with Jay Leno".


From what I understand, they start taping at 22:00h EST/EDST, 18:00h PST/PDST.

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