By Steve Rhodes
I used to be a huge David Letterman fan – long before he had a late night show. Letterman started on network TV with a morning show that was as brilliant as anything that’s ever been on TV; just like his late night show was in its early years, the morning show was as much a parody of morning shows as it was for real. I bailed on Letterman years ago, though, when his late night show became too fratty – and too much like the very thing he once slyly and savagely parodied. You know, he became like Leno.
To wit:
1. Animal psychic segment.
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2. The morning show ran bumpers for segments that never were to come.
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3. One of the coolest parts of the morning show was the news segments by Edwin Newman. You don’t get to see his wit here, but you can get a tiny little whiff of the action.
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4. By 1994, Letterman had become ripe for parody rather than the parodist. Mike Judge brought the clip with him when he made his first Letterman appearance.
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5. Then the parodists – Beavis & Butt-head – went on Letterman to flog their movie.
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6. Likewise, Family Guy took a crack at him.
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7. And then Peter Griffin wound up on the show as well.
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8. And – also with something to sell – Homer Simpson followed suit.
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Comments welcome.
Posted on October 7, 2009