Just heard on Letterman that next week, 12-16 February, 2007 that they will have a second week of vent acts...just in case anyone was interested.

Take care,

Patrick

Ooh, thanks Patrick.

Any line on the guests???

Mon Feb 12 - Kevin Johnson with Clyde & Matilda
Tue Feb 13 - Dan Horn & Orson
Wed Feb 14 - Otto & George.
Thu Feb 15 - Jim Barber & Seville
Fri Feb 16 - Brad Cummings with Rex

David Letterman's mom must be thrilled!

According to David, in all the years he's done his show, the last time he did a week of vent acts (a few months back) she actually called in to tell him how much she enjoyed his show. The remarkable thing is that she had "never" calle din to pay him a compliment on h9is show before...

... or at least that is the way I seem to recall he told it.

Thanks Servante, will be watching...

Ken

My pleasure, Ken.

Otto and George? I supposed they have a clean version of the act since it is usually XXX-rated. I doubt that Letterman would appreciate George calling his female audience members "wh**es." Should be interesting, at least.

Bob

I thought that Kevin Johnson did a terrific job, quite frankly better than he did on "America's Got Talent." I suspect that's because Letterman's people create a performing atmosphere that brings out the best in their guests. Not so AGT.

Really looking forward to the rest of the week's line-up.

Bob

BTW, if you missed it, you can go the Late Show Website and watch here:

http://www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/

Did not enjoy Otto & George. I'm no prude, but I think that their appearance demonstrated that when you take away the filth, the misogyny, and the racism from their act, there's very little left.

Bob

That Otto thing was a good example of a comedian with a puppet ... bad maipulation and lip control ...oh and the jokes were not funny ....... at all..... no character ......nothing .... that was not a ventriloquist so sad.

Different strokes for different folks I guess. I would say that Otto and George is my favorite Vent act out there... he doesn't do the usual same old same old vent formula that everybody (including myself) does. In regards to him being technically bad - he presents it in a way and the audience accepts it in a way that the badness doesn't matter and, in fact, inhances the whole 'act'.
Despite his lack of technical skill, I would go as far as to say that he is technically better than most people that go around calling themselves vents are. THe difference being with Otto, the badness doesn't affect the 'quality' of his performance.
Offensive? yes (that's an understatement), but in an age when political correctness rules with an iron fist - offensive is refreshing.
I thought that Otto's act without his 'usual charm'(namely extreme obsenity) lost something - but it's still cool to see him get at least some mainstream attention. Plus, he's the only 'letterman vent' that stated the truth of the matter that the whole thing is 'mocking the profession'. Dave isn't having Vents on to promote the art - he's doing it to make fun of the 'freaks' that practise it.
Long live O&G!!!
just my opinion
damien666

But it IS promoting the art. And I think you are wrong when you say that is the reason for doing it. Do you know the full story? If so I'd be interested to hear because I don't. I sort of do but I would love to hear the proper story about why The Late Show decided to do vent week in the first place.

I suspect that vent week may have returned because the first week went over so well. Dave isn't having having vents on to promote the art....well, maybe. But he is having vents on because it has proved to be good Television. This is The late show we are talking about not community TV.

D

Any opinions on last night's Barber and Seville?

I thought it was a little loose and uncertain and I thought that the gimmick was about all he had...though I also thought that the little business at the end with the hands could have been developed into something.

Maybe he was nervous but it seemed like he was wingin' it.
Seemed like he could use a writer.
Lip control wasn't great, I thought, and it seemed he hid behind his mic a lot.

Am I being too harsh?

I enjoyed Barber and Seville, if only for the fact that the main segment was 'different'.

As for the finish, yes it could probably be developed (and probably is) but it was kind of a snappy finish.

Otto and George? Sorry, not my English 'cup of tea', I'm afraid.

All power to DL's elbow - whatever his reason, ventriloquism is getting great exposure.

Best wishes,

Dave

If you only looked back at the origin of the idea of vent week, I think you would be right. The initial intent was mockery. However, once the performers in the first week started knocking the audience dead, the tone changed. I would further point out that right from the outset, with Willie Tyler and Lester, Dave and Paul's remarks were nothing but laudatory with not a hint of disparagement.

Now they're doing a second week, and during Sweeps Week, when shows' ratings determine the fees that advertisers pay. I think that Letterman has put the vents and the art in a great light. Millions of Americans who would never have given vent a second thought have seen snippets of some of our best performers. This can only help every one of us.

Regarding Barber and Seville, I think he was a bit nervous. He left out a line he uses as the dummy ("I'm going to translate.") and the intro to the act. Time constraints, perhaps. The talking hand bit is actually a full routine he has been doing for many years, dating back to his college tour days. The water glass bit is only a small part of it. I suppose he wanted to do a little bit as "himself."

Finally, regarding Otto and George, I would say that he is the one mocking ventriloquism. As I noted above, his usual act is obscene [I don't care], misogynistic, and racist [I hate it]. It's one thing to buck political correctness; it's another to be vicious instead of funny. I think he's from the Andrew Dice Clay school of comedy.

Bob

Missed the last night of Letterman. Who was the Vent and how was it?

Friday night featured Brad Cummings & Rex and was, to my mind, the strongest act and a nice button for the week. Was it just me or was there a weird vibe to this vent week compare to the first one?

Unfortunately, the link on Letterman's stie that is suppose to play the Cummings & Rex clip (Feb. 16ht show) doesn't seem to work. Instead it seems to play a series of commercials.

Has anyone had any luck playing this clip?

If so, perhaps I have the wrong link.

I'm trying to view it via the following link:
http://www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/

I also try to go directly to the clip at: http://www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/vi......38.phtml


I still end up getting a bunch of commercials when I hit the play button.

If you have had success viewing this link, or know of another link to few it, please advise.

Many thanks.

Jonathan

I had the same problem. It played a few commercials and then nothing. Since two of us had this problem, suspect the problem is on their end. I was thinking the site may not be Mac friendly. Is that what you are using?

Bob