Posted
5:01 PM
by Gene
Why we should NEVER trust the conventional wisdom:
Dave's "dark" period -- his stint on NBC and his first year or two on CBS --isn't quite as dark as it's cracked up to be. If you watch Late Night reruns on the Trio cable network, you'll find Dave peddling a pretty mild brand of antiestablishment comedy. (The show seemed naughtier because it ran after Johnny Carson's Tonight Show
, the sine qua non
of establishment television.)...[His CBS] show -- because of his heart surgery, his age, his new baby, whatever -- has become a syrupy facsimile of Leno's. Guests trot on to plug their latest projects. Mild comedy follows the monologue.
Worse, he has to get really sick to spike his ratings. It's taken TEN YEARS for SOMEONE to write an article like THIS?