Jennifer got me to thinking. With a preface and then quoting the exchange in full, here's what occurred.
I posted a comment, "Letterman has absolutely been on fire in these final weeks of the show. Makes it all the more poignant how good he is and how much he'll be missed."
Jennifer responded, "I'm sad about the end of Dave's reign. Fallon isn't a bad guy but he certainly isn't running an interview show. After this and Craig, the complete absence of women on this platform, I am done."
Wow, did that ever get me thinking!
I miss Craig Fergusen. He was different from all the others in late night. And he went out with a bang, on his own terms.
Suddenly we are in a moment of note in Pop Culture. Late night has been underoing a change, one that began with Leno's first retirement (what a phrase, eh? "first retirement") and the Conan fiasco. Conan found a new home, and in doing so displaced George Lopez. The hope then was that the one-twopunchof Conan then Lopez would bring a strong and youthful audienece, sustaining the audience and bringing about commercial success. But by two years into the experiment saw Lopez Tonight with ratings too low to justify continuation of the show or its production costs.
Leno came back and once again NBC showed him the exit door. Fallon moved to 11:30 and Seth Meyers took over the later slot.
In 2012 ABC swapped the time slots of Nightline and Jimmy Kimmel, effectively entering the 11:35 PM race for younger viewers and a wider audience. It became a three way network battle of similar shows, plus Conan on cable.
Letterman brought a certain gravitas and wisdom to late night TV. At 68 he is mucholder than the Jimmys, Colbert, Conan, and teh recent arrival Corden. And in the final month of programs he's never been stronger and more at ease. None of the others, except perhaps Jon Stewart, even approach Letterman's level when it comes to dignity or strength of character.
Here's what I posted on Facebook in reply to Jennifer's "I'm done" statement: