Late Show with David Letterman

1993

Original language: English

talk
comedy

The story

David Letterman uses mature humor to appeal to his audience in this weeknight series, which gets its music from a house band led by Paul Shaffer. Among the show's most-famous segments are the Top Ten List and Stupid Pet Tricks, the latter of which subsequently led to an additional recurring segment called Stupid Human Tricks.

What it’s like

Bright studio light on a stage built to look like a cramped, cluttered late-night set, with the Ed Sullivan-era glamour stripped away in favour of tatty cue cards, a desk that looks borrowed, and a camera that cuts quickly between Letterman's deadpan and the audience's reaction shots. The palette is warm and a little overexposed, a glow of beige, cream and studio amber, and the picture has the flat, slightly soft look of 1990s videotape. Sound is the house band's brassy, loose swing under Paul Shaffer's bandleader cues, with applause and laughter rolling in waves between segments. The rhythm is brisk and episodic: a monologue, a bit, a guest, a list, then back again, each piece kept short so nothing lingers long. Tone is irreverent and conversational, with dry, sometimes barbed humour aimed at celebrities, the network and Letterman himself, and the mood is that of a wry, knowing wind-down after the day. Intensity is low: no violence or gore, and the adult material is verbal innuendo and sly edge rather than explicit content. It suits a weeknight comedown, background company while doing chores, or a nostalgic dip into the era. It is for people who enjoy sardonic, sharp-tongued talk and the rhythm of a live studio audience.

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