Goodbye, David Letterman

[tower912]

Thanks, Dave.   I was a huge fan of yours in college.   The velcro, the alka-selzer, the snark.   You were must see TV when I was a young man.    And you aged well.   You have continued to be the voice in the background whenever I find myself doing reports during your time slot.   You haven't lost a step.  Yes, you made mistakes in your personal life.   Yes, you never had the ratings that Jay had.    Yes, there are people who don't like you.   (There always is.)   Well, from a fan who has been watching you since the autumn of 1984, thank you and good luck. 

[ChicosBailBonds]

He lost plenty of steps.  Should have got out years ago. 

[warriorchick]

He lost plenty of steps.  Should have got out years ago. 

Agreed.  Used to love Dave; at some point he turned into an angry old man.

[Jay Bee]

Watched him in the 80's. Shocking he's been around all these years. Someone must have been watching.

[real chili 83]

He wa good on Johnny Carson.

[brandx]

Thanks, Dave.   I was a huge fan of yours in college.   The velcro, the alka-selzer, the snark.   You were must see TV when I was a young man.    And you aged well.   You have continued to be the voice in the background whenever I find myself doing reports during your time slot.   You haven't lost a step.  Yes, you made mistakes in your personal life.   Yes, you never had the ratings that Jay had.    Yes, there are people who don't like you.   (There always is.)   Well, from a fan who has been watching you since the autumn of 1984, thank you and good luck. 

I agree completely, Tower.

[MU82]

I pretty much "lost touch" with Dave when I started watching Jon Stewart (and then Stewart/Colbert).

I actually have been watching Letterman again the last week or so just to see what he's doing leading up to his finale. He's definitely no longer "hip," but there is something comforting in his corny (for lack of better word) brand of humor.

He was a real original and, like others, I really loved watching him in the 1980s.

[keefe]

Letterman: Droll, irreverent cynic with an absurd yet hilarious off-beat take on post-industrial American society

Leno: Pandering, fawning, obsequious Uriah Heep who throws batting practice

[NYWarrior]

Eddie Vedder performs for Dave on Monday night

[GGGG]

I pretty much "lost touch" with Dave when I started watching Jon Stewart (and then Stewart/Colbert).

I actually have been watching Letterman again the last week or so just to see what he's doing leading up to his finale. He's definitely no longer "hip," but there is something comforting in his corny (for lack of better word) brand of humor.

He was a real original and, like others, I really loved watching him in the 1980s.

Yeah that's pretty much where I am with him as well.

He lost plenty of steps.  Should have got out years ago. 

Eh, like sports stars, they should get out when they want.  Their job isn't simply to leave fans satisfied with their exit.

[🏀]

I've been watching the last episodes and they've been okay.

I used to beg to stay up late enough to at least see the Top 10 List every night from 3rd grade on, and used to love Letterman. Conan, Colbert and college really started to pull me away from him.

Looking forward to the last couple airings this week, but Conan's NBC exit week is really tough to beat.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

I've been a long time fan.  I've had the pleasure to see him live three (3) times including his second to last show on NBC.  I wanted to work one more in before retirement but couldn't work in the schedule.

One of the reasons he's retiring is that he said he's "finally happy".  He says without his "anger" he doesn't have that edginess to do the show anymore.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

He lost plenty of steps.  Should have got out years ago. 

You probably thought Leno was funny. 

[Goose]

Turned anti Dave over past few years but have enjoyed looking back on his career on YouTube the last couple of weeks. He was a very talented guy and kept me entertained for many years. No doubt that he changed comedy and late night TV and hate to admit it but going to miss him.

[patso]

Leno was very funny before he became a talk show host. Every bit of edge he had evaporated.

[Chicago_inferiority_complexes]

I have to give grudging respect to Letterman. He's been very self-deprecating in these interviews, in a way that comes across as sincere. As talented as he may or may not be, he realizes that he was 'just' a show host, and a guy with many, many flaws (like most of us).

We'll see how the new guys do. I enjoy some of the viral clips, but they are absolutely never translating into me turning on the show and getting advertising views. They want to appeal to younger people, but younger(-ish) people like me don't watch TV.