Jump to content

Talk:David Letterman

Page contents not supported in other languages.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 50.177.91.141 (talk) at 00:10, 2 April 2015 (→‎Gap in teeth? Technical term?: new section). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Changing terms - talk show > variety show?

I think "talk show" *as it is used today* requires the bulk of a show to consist of dialogue between host and guest, possibly even extending to audience participation. The fact that a large proportion of Letterman is the monologue already calls into question this categorizations applicability. Add to this the frequency of musical/standup acts, the increasing prevalence of productions (skits) that while original, and sometimes unscripted, are nonetheless hardly talk show material, and what you have is variety programming. So why don't we update the terms?

Furthermore, while it might be infinitely more commonplace to hear "that talk show" when referring to Letterman and similarly formatted shows, that doesn't mean it's wrong to use more precise terminology in something like an encyclopedia article. I'm just starting a petition up. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.190.123.8 (talk) 00:45, 3 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Our article on the Late Show calls it a talk show. All other shows of this genre are also called talk shows. Dbrodbeck (talk) 01:00, 3 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

You're writing "There's no problem because of some other articles", and I'm hearing "This problem is not confined only to this article". Let's let other users chime in now! - 24.190.123.8 (talk) 05:36, 3 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Yes let's. I figure though if most of our articles do this it also may be the right thing. Thanks for taking this to talk. Dbrodbeck (talk) 05:41, 3 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Talk show is an industry classification (used in ratings, awards, etc), as well as almost universal usage - two good reasons to leave it alone! Perhaps more important, the core of this show (and most of the others) is talk; so the definition says a lot more than the vague 'variety' which probably covers a huge range of programming. Changing would be neither useful nor desireable. The risk of confusion or misunderstanding is negligible. Heenan73 (talk) 13:10, 26 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]

What about Letterman's on-show political activism?

Letterman lost a lot of fans, and viewers, in the lead up to and following the 2008 election season. How can this be left out of any thorough description of the man and his career? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.32.108.21 (talk) 15:57, 24 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

First you would need a source. Second, you should look at the policy about undue weight WP:UNDUE. Dbrodbeck (talk) 16:07, 24 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]
After the intern scandals, he seems to have gone politically "holy", can't find TV critic who mentions this. It seems that he does his own pre-show warm-ups, since there is usually an insider joke with camera facing the referenced audience member. A LexisNexis search might provide the answers. Also on Michael Parkinson's show, both Cher & Jennifer Lopez remarked that he is not an unpleasant _______, as compared to Letterman (no one has posted a clip from these episodes on youtube yet).Xb2u7Zjzc32 (talk) 08:43, 9 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Ed Sullivan

The article states that "Ed Sullivan taped his show, 1948-1971". Videotape was not available in broadcast quality until Ampex produced 2" quad format in 1956. There must be a good way to re-cast the sentence. Rainbow-five (talk) 19:38, 27 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Broadcast or presented perhaps? Oh and good catch. Dbrodbeck (talk) 19:51, 27 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Controversy

I can't help but notice that many of the subsections under "controversies" aren't controversies at all: his reaction to the writer's strike, Carson, and his death threat aren't controversial in the slightest. Thoughts? Inanygivenhole (talk) 15:08, 22 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

In Seinfeld's Web series "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee," Letterman refers to his son having a "stepfather." Has Letterman's wife divorced him and remarried? If so, the divorce should be recorded in the sidebar under "Spouse." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.255.204.250 (talk) 08:11, 19 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Lutheran?

Can't help but notice that Note #128 is a pretty weak source for citing Letterman as a Lutheran. I'm not sure he's ever spoken much about his religious beliefs. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 107.211.246.207 (talk) 18:08, 2 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Gap in teeth? Technical term?

In the entry for Jay Leno, it mentions the technical term for his pronounced jaw: mandibular prognathism. I know that there's a technical dental term for the gap between Letterman's front teeth. Can someone provide that term here (in Talk)? Should it be added somewhere in the Main Article page? 50.177.91.141 (talk) 00:10, 2 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:David_Letterman&oldid=654565433"