Letter Man Must Put "Top Ten" To Bed

[toetoe]

I just heard Letter Man's Top Ten Cheney Shooting Excuses, and it was criminally unfunny as usual. The greater problem, however, is that when it wasn't defaming people, it was scraping the very bottom of the taste barrel. I hear it infrequently enough to not judge it in knee-jerk fashion, like the poor coves in the audience, who have to guffaw fast and hard, before the next number arrives. I'm sure there must be people finding fault with borderline or trumped-up offenses against taste -- committed by such as Rush Limbaugh, Larry Krueger, Danish newspapers, among others -- that laugh right along with this trash. Letter Man's cynicism, seemingly saying, "Don't look at me! I'm distancing myself from this!" is not a good enough excuse. It's just so dishonest, or disingenuous, maybe. The fact the lemmings laugh at it in droves is no proof of its value. If anything, it's the opposite.
:ThmbDown: :ThmbDown:

[chickenhead]

doth protests too much -- what is it with you and the top 10? How did this get to be your pet peeve?

Did you used to run the local chapter "Ima Letter-Man" fan club back in the good old days, and now feel scammed, disappointed, hoodwinked and bamboozled by his hanging on?

Everybody loves Raymond or whatever, I could care less, but Dave still has some good will reserves from "before" in my book...he gets a pass.

[toetoe]

Chick,

No sarcasm here, it's big of you to give him a pass. But you're agreeing he's tasteless and unfunny, which was my point. And by concentrating on the one bit, I was kinda giving him a pass for the other unfunny, murderously cynical stuff. I'm also not trying to tar him forever based on his "comedy," as maybe you meant to do to me with the "... you and L-M's Top Ten ..." comment. I just want to point out the sorry state of things, and I hope to describe it without resorting to the text. I'm just lazy, I think. Maybe someone can find it and post it. :) :ThmbUp:

[chickenhead]

I was just trying to divine whether you have any special ill-will towards Dave, or whether you just tend to use him as your example of our societies overall lack of taste and discrimination. Sounds like the latter.

[JustRalph]

I hear his top ten list a couple of times a week on the local radio station. It hasn't been funny for years...............

[toetoe]

CH,

That's a fair charge; but just on its merits, saving the damning of the messenger for later, is his show tasteless and unfunny? Maybe the ignorant masses already know it, and maybe they are there to wallow in cynicism. What do you think? If you say it's too trivial to matter, I will vehemently disagree while respecting the view.

[chickenhead]

That's what I was getting at, that it really does matter to you...and I think that's interesting.

No I don't think Dave is funny anymore, yes I think he can be tasteless...but he is a drop in the ocean. You also have a thing with Santana, which I agree that album was not very good, but again a drop in the ocean. I don't worry too much about these things, if you do I respect that, I was just trying to get into your head a bit to understand WHY these guys in particular are the ones you choose to talk about. The only thing in common I can think of is that at one time they were good, fresh, had something to offer? I was wondering if that bugged you more than say the more obvious choices, who never had any talent to begin with.

My answer as to why people still show up and cheer for Dave, is because he's a known entity and they're comfortable with him...they like HIM, what he says is secondary at this point.

[andicap]

i agree Letterman is passe -- anyone who knows anything watches the Colbert Report, (pronounced Col-BARE re-POR) , but there was one funny joke on the Chaney top 10.

2) “Until Democrats approve Medicare reform, we have to make some tough choices for the elderly."

[Ron]

If you don't like something, don't watch it, what's the problem?

[NoDayJob]

:D Who's Letterman???????????? What's the Top 10??????????? :D

[toetoe]

Ron and Chick,

Okay, here I go caring again, but which is sorrier, the state of people with no expectations whatever of their hero, thereby disemboweling him , or maybe castrating him, artistically, or the idea that if you don't like something, just get over it? That's kinda like "America, love it or leave it." Actually, I DON'T like LM, but it's pretty cool of me to still care, just as one who really loves America stays and tries to improve things, with the first step being recognizing something is terribly amiss.
I'm sure I'll be worn down very soon, and I'll gently advise boardmates: "Gulfstream ripped you off? You got Stronached again? Gee, rough deal, but just move on and play Tampa Bay Downs."
"Pinnacle screwed you? Aw, heck. Well, just move over to Youbet. What's the big deal?"
You like the war? Don't like the war? Fine, but keep it to yourself. If you don't express yourself in a certain way, you're just trippin." :)

[chickenhead]

I think I understand toe, and I say keep on keeping on...somebody has to. I just don't have the energy...I don't like being riled up all the time. If that makes me overly cynical so be it.
I know some people that drive themselves crazy being unhappy about things that they have no control over, we all try to do our part to influence things, but sometimes people really do go crazy.
That just isn't my personality, but even if it were I would question whether that sort of attention is really the fruitful kind, rather than say focusing on providing really good alternatives for everyone to check out. Seems like that would make them happier rather than just drive them crazy, and be more productive to boot. I don't know you at all, so I'm not saying anything about you in particular, just generalities about some people I know.

[Steve 'StatMan']

Would we end up with double segments of "Will It Float?" The ladies are goregous, hula hoop and grinder girl amazing, but no longer are "Wow, I've never seen anything like that before type aact, but this silly idea was been done at least 200 more times than it should have lasted. Gee Dave, ask Regis if they ruined Millionaire by running it too often, and apply that to "Will It Float?". Give this segement a Meat Tray from Rupert's Hello Deli as a nice parting gift.

Sometimes I get a chuckle on an item of the Top Ten List. I was expecting they'd do it, so wasn't shocked or surprised at what they'd come up with on the Chaney shooting incident, although that was before the guy had the minor heart attack (he's 78, so that alone puts him at risk).

I noticed they dwelled on the subject for most of the early part of the show, that itself was pretty disgusting, although I've seen where Chaney normally gets a big kick out of some of the jokes about him, even had Darrell Hammond over from Saturday Night Live to do his impersonations of him, and nearly laughed himself to death.

Though the bit segment where annoucer Alan Coulter(sp?) made his usual "ladies man" for Mrs. Chaney while Mr. Chaney goes to "The Big House" for a long, long time was pretty distasteful. Maybe all those snowballs Letterman threw were a way to distance himself from that one. I know it was supposed to be humourous, but just not a good thing to do, too recent not knowing what would happen to the shooting victim (the segement had Coulter saying Chaney'd shot and killed him, by the way, maybe an OK Letterman Joke after the guy's released from the hospital, but then the heart attack sure changed that outlook).

Admittedly, the show used to be funnier to me when I used to drink at night, but that was the same for all the late night shows. I wish people didn't get their views and news from these shows, though. Light hearted humor for relaxing before going to bed used to be great. Now people, and the shows, are going political and shaping opinions with their comedy, and sometimes it goes too far for the sake of comedy and ratings.

[Steve 'StatMan']

Here is a link for CBS and the archive of Letterman's Top Ten Lists during the CBS run of the show 1993-Present. Of course, the original Top Ten Lists started on Letterman's NBC show in the early 1980's.

http://www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/top_ten/archive/

[Steve 'StatMan']

Feb 13th, 2006:

Top Ten Dick Cheney Excuses


10. "Heart palpitation caused trigger finger to spasm"

9. "Wanted to get the Iraq mess off the front page"

8. "Not enough Jim Beam"

7. "Trying to stop the spread of bird flu"

6. "I love to shoot people"

5. "Guy was making cracks about my lesbian daughter"

4. "I thought the guy was trying to go 'gay cowboy' on me"

3. "Excuse? I hit him, didn't I?"

2. "Until Democrats approve medicare reform, we have to make some tough choices for the elderly"

1. "Made a bet with Gretzky's wife"

[toetoe]

Thanks, Steve. " ... funnier when I drank a lot." :lol: I've whined about Jay Leno for this, but it's the Bob Hope topical style, already dead, now being warmed over and over. The Scottish guy, Craig Ferguson, tries different stuff, and he's too new to be totally chewed up and spat out. :ThmbUp:

Chickenhead's point is very insightful. In my case, I saw myself pegged to a *T* while watching Wayne Dyer on PBS. He said that some people are all dressed up and ready to be offended (*paraphrase alert*). This Letter Man thing is a more general case, but Dr. Wayne hit me right on the nailhead with that. Plenty of things are out there to be offended about. Another attribute peculiar to humans, offendability. I also have an unreasonable fear of that orange-haired announcer guy and of Paul Schaeffer(sp.?) on DLM's show. They terrify me.

[chickenhead]

I also have an unreasonable fear of that orange-haired announcer guy and of Paul Schaeffer(sp.?) on DLM's show. They terrify me.

Now there is something we can agree about, especially the orange haired guy. For some reason I imagine he has like super-human strength, and he seems kind of evil. If he and I were stuck on an elevator I might just attack him, preemptive like.

[toetoe]

God, that's very good! The Green Goblin, or some villain off of "Smallville." I was thinking he was like a guy in the classifieds in the back of a porn mag, but Marvel Comics is better. :ThmbUp:

[Ron]

Ron and Chick,

Okay, here I go caring again, but which is sorrier, the state of people with no expectations whatever of their hero, thereby disemboweling him , or maybe castrating him, artistically, or the idea that if you don't like something, just get over it? That's kinda like "America, love it or leave it." Actually, I DON'T like LM, but it's pretty cool of me to still care, just as one who really loves America stays and tries to improve things, with the first step being recognizing something is terribly amiss.
I'm sure I'll be worn down very soon, and I'll gently advise boardmates: "Gulfstream ripped you off? You got Stronached again? Gee, rough deal, but just move on and play Tampa Bay Downs."
"Pinnacle screwed you? Aw, heck. Well, just move over to Youbet. What's the big deal?"
You like the war? Don't like the war? Fine, but keep it to yourself. If you don't express yourself in a certain way, you're just trippin." :)

While I agree with your thoughts on paid services and war...this is humor. Humor, like music, doesn't have to appeal to everyone.

[toetoe]

I think I'm just hung up on my opinion that rampant, virulent cynicism and tastelessness are worse than naughty words or anything else anyone could say. It's been a good fat -chew. :ThmbUp:

p.s. Gesundheit. :D

[Steve 'StatMan']

I think I'm just hung up on my opinion that rampant, virulent cynicism and tastelessness are worse than naughty words or anything else anyone could say. It's been a good fat -chew. :ThmbUp: :D

I agree!

I'm sure Chaney would rather he'd shot is own self than a friend. If he'd shot himself in the foot (and not had a heart attack himself) he could share in the laugh about it. But he can't share in the laugh, because this isn't a funny situation to the principals, and that's why 3+ days of the nose-rubbing is getting old and disturbing.

(I'd have said 'old and ugly', but that's like saying 'insert your Chaney jokes here!") ;)