Letterman followed by Ferguson--peak of late night comedy

I agree that Craig Ferguson gave off a misfit (iconoclastic?) sort of vibe, as if he was the lucky contest winner who got to host a late night show. That's not to say I didn't think he belonged on late night, but I thought that he brought something unique and unusual to the table (I'll always remember when he was interviewing Fiona Apple some years back and he said the word "part" but with his accent, she asked if he said "pot" and thus goofiness ensued:-).

I don't see them as "shills of the left." Riffing on the important social and political issues of the day has always been a large part of late night monologues, from Carson on and even farther back. And if you've got a topic so ripe for satire as tRump, it would be comedy suicide to ignore it in order to not hurt the sensitivities of tRump supporters. All the late night hosts may indeed be liberals, but that I think is simply the way it is, much like all of talk-radio is dominated by radical Republicans: conservative comics do not appeal to many people (cuz they're not funny) and liberal people do not listen to talk radio (even if there were liberal talk-radio shows blasting on 50,000 megawatt stations all across the country). But this is a political discussion, and I will not discuss it further here than to say it's better to "own the cons" on TV than to "own the libs" on radio!

I'd say the Letterman/Ferguson one-two punch was a good one....and yes, probably the last bastion of good late night talk shows, before it all went really bad. However, they (and their shows) were not both in their primes when they were back to back.

Those of you lucky enough to remember Dave back when he was on later (after Carson) at 12:30....remember a completely different David Letterman. He catered to college kids staying up late. He wasn't NEARLY as political....and when he was, it was even-handed to both sides. When Dave was on at 12:30, he was less polished, more subversive, more daring and more creative. He'd do everything from man-on-the-street bits....to throwing various items (like watermelons) off the roof of their building. The city of NY became a huge player in his comedy and bits. Instead of suits every night...he wore khakis and a baseball hat. Dave was loose, irreverent and fun. And he'd have a lot of subversive and unique guests on....like Sandra Bernhard, an early and less-known Howard Stern, Warren Zevon, etc...). Dave lost a lot of his edge when he moved to the 11:30 timeslot....and eventually he turned into a liberal, hateful db....who had a lot of hate in his heart for conservatives. I still liked Dave (primarily for how great he was during my college years)....but he turned into kind of a dick...albeit still a talented one.

Ferguson would not have flourished in the earlier timeslot. He was good at being that hidden gem in the late timeslot that you just kinda discovered (rather than the glossy, corporatized 11:30 guys who get all the commercials and advertising). He was more like the way early Dave used to be. Subversive, naughty, a rascal who liked to push the envelope and see what he could get away with....sometimes just to crack HIMSELF up!

Back in the day, you never really knew what political "side" the hosts (like Johnny, Jay, Dave) leaned toward. Their humor wasn't hateful or mean-spirited....it was even-handed on both sides, rather than a biased agenda. These days....guys like Colbert and Seth Myers are SOOO far to the left, they don't even pretend to hide their bias, their hate and their cherry-picked agenda. Effng jerks. I can't stand either of those weasels (and I'm an Independent, BTW).