Dave signed off with class and no tears last Wednesday (as only he would), and with his final bow came the true end of an era- 33 years on late night television (longer than anyone else's reign) is nothing to shake your head at. And his influence was immeasurable on the comedy landscape, especially on other comedians of a certain generation- Jon Stewart, Jimmy Kimmel, Norm MacDonald and Conan O'Brien all paid heartfelt (even teary-eyed) tributes to the legend, and Stephen Colbert will be taking over The Late Show starting in September. But the truth is, you can't really take up the mantle of someone else in order to leave the kind of legacy left by giants like Johnny Carson in his day, and now David Letterman in his. The truth is Dave created his own style and his own legacy, and the reason he can't really be replaced is because he was inimitable. His kind of cranky, moody, weird and distinctive humor and conversation over the years seemed sprung less by his personal role models than by his own personality quirks. True TV giants are unique in what they bring to the table, and in that sense there really won't be another Letterman on late night again. Hopefully there will be someone some day who doesn't just take the reigns of an existing show and plays celebrity games with it, but reinvents the format within their own, unique comedic flavor. I don't have a lot of hope for that- my fear is that the last, edgy innovator has left the scene and nothing but sycophantic suckups (Fallon, Corden) remain.
Dave's last Top 10 List:
Letterman HIghlights Montage to the Foo Fighters:
