And speaking of the dear departed Late Show News ... I just found the 1997 list of THE 80 GREATEST LATE-NIGHT EPISODES OF ALL TIME (by Aaron Barnhart, Don Giller, Tom Heald, Herbert Gambill, Damone, the readers of LATE SHOW NEWS and positively no one from Nick at Nite's TV Land).
The full thing can be found at http://icriticus.com/lsn-archive/lsn-070897.text I just thought I'd note what made our -- YOUR -- list of the best Daves... Oh Gee ... it's 5 that TIME considers the worst. === * Dave/NBC: The Crispin Glover show; also, Allie Sheedy, potato chip inspector Myrtle Young, Larry "Bud" Melman, James the Drifter (who asked Dave to buy him a car), and no Top Ten. Arguably one of the most talked-about moments in all of television came at the end of a very scattered, and very funny, edition of "Late Night." A wigged-out Glover, wearing uncomely attire and enormous platform shoes, stepped onstage and began whining like a lunatic. Typical exchange: DL: For a time you lived in Hollywood? You lived on Hollywood Boulevard? CG: *In* Hollywood Boulevard? DL: *On* Hollywood Boulevard. CG: No. DL: Had an apartment overlooking Hollywood Boulevard? A big high building you lived in. A big tower on Hollywood Boulevard? CG: No, no. DL: All right. Then we'll just drop that and go on to something else. The panel lasted only a couple of minutes, but to Letterman it must've seemed an eternity. Finally, Glover, growing more nervous by the second, stood up, weakly flexed a bicep, then made his famous declaration: "These are mine ... I can kick!" And with that, he swung around and -- nearly kicked Dave in the head. The host vanished, the show went to a commercial, and when play resumed, Crispin was gone. "He came very close to denting my head with those giant shoes," Dave said. The next night's episode opened with Paul waking Dave from a bad dream; only it wasn't a dream, said Paul, Glover really did try to kick him. "What a jerk," said Letterman. Glover later apologized. (7/28/87) * Dave/NBC: Pro wrestlers Andy Kaufman and Jerry Lawlor fight on-air. This happened 15 years ago, so its popularity owes, much like the Glover incident, to word-of-mouth as much as anything. It started with Andy's provocative taunts, which led to Lawlor knocking Kaufman to the floor with a blow to the head. After a commercial break, Kaufman screamed obscenities at Lawlor and finished his tirade by throwing a cup of coffee on the enraged wrestler, who chased Kaufman out of the studio. A bewildered host remarked, "I'm not sure about any of those words, but you can be darned sure that FCC regulations prohibit throwing coffee." (7/28/82) * Dave/CBS: The most-remembered show from Letterman's two happy seasons atop the late-night heap was his 48th birthday program, when a luscious Drew Barrymore jumped on Dave's desk, did a bump and grind and then -- HEL-lo! -- flashed the host. You can say that was just a late-night moment, but as any viewer will tell you, the moment lasted all night long. (4/12/95) * Dave/CBS: Madonna (3/31/94) [The one Time hated] * Dave/NBC: Cher barely defrosts, calls Dave what Shirley Maclaine called him. (5/22/86) * Dave/CBS: Farrah Fawcett, in an interview several of you already decided was a classic. (Really? James Caan anyone? Jennifer Tilly? Sharon Stone?) (6/6/97) * Dave/NBC: Shirley MacLaine. (10/4/88) * Dave/NBC: sends Nastassja Kinski away in tears. " Kinski's hair was done in a bizarre bun-like manner that Letterman described as "an owl perched on her head." Letterman sent the show to commercial once by saying, "We'll be right back with the rinse and set." Kinski also was completed loopy and somewhat oblivious to Letterman's mocking, not unlike Farrah Fawcett in her recent appearance. But the clincher for this episode being an all-timer was John Candy's appearance (later in the show). When Letterman introduced him, Candy walked out with his short hair moussed up on end." (Rick Kapwin) (12/29/82) * Dave/NBC: First guest appearance of pot-stirring Harvey Pekar. The encounter -- and several subsequent ones he would make on the show -- are immortalized in the pages of Pekar's "American Splendor" comic. (Oct. 1986) Entire contents remain Copyright 1997 by Aaron Barnhart. All rights reserved. === --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ TV or Not TV .... Smart (TV) People on Ice! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
