Word: daves
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...parlayed that slight into a lucrative new contract at CBS and his own 11:30 p.m. show to compete with Jay Leno. The crowds that jammed his studio audience gave him standing ovations every night; his Top 10 lists became a national obsession. The ratings soared, surpassing Leno's. Dave was a winner, and America loved...
...Letterman's victory: how he outsmarted the network suits and became the most sought-after personality in television. The movie, even more than the book, pokes fun at the ineptitude of the NBC executives who let Letterman get away and ends with CBS's triumphal press conference welcoming Dave to the network. There's a postscript acknowledging that the ratings have since turned around, but the movie's take seems dated. After all, those NBC executives may be weasels, but who has the last laugh...
...gives a good picture, in broad strokes, of how the TV business runs: badly, most of the time. NBC's executives, surprised by Carson's retirement and egged on by Leno's aggressive manager, Helen Kushnick (Kathy Bates), promised the job to Jay without comprehending how it would upset Dave. Letterman, who felt he was entitled to the Tonight post but was unwilling to fight for it, hired a new agent, Michael Ovitz (Treat Williams), who orchestrated the bidding war that had NBC, at the last minute, desperately trying to win back Letterman with a promise of the Tonight...
Letterman still has the funnier show by far, but his nightly psychodrama is getting harder to watch. The Oscar experience obviously continues to sting; Dave keeps obsessing about it in his jokes. The Top 10 lists are spilling over from self-parody into self-loathing. "Top 10 Insults for Dave Letterman," went a recent one. ("Letterman, let's face it--you put the 'suck' in success.") Clearly, Dave needs a lift, but The Late Shift isn't going...
...finale production number revealed more second-hand material. Significant plagiarism of Sam & Dave's "Hold On, I'm Coming" and Kool and the Gang's "Celebration" blemished the score, previously marked only by a humorous reference to Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto. The orchestra seemed weary as well, though its strong rhythm section pushed onwards...