A bushy beard and a kick line - that's how Letterman made his comeback to the late night air. His monologue was brisk and punchy, although not what I expected from a group of writers who had been out of work for 2 months. Funny yes, but I was sort of hoping for scathing, for smart digs at the producers. Haven't there been lots of things they've been wanting to say about the strike? While they have had the fortune to work on a show that made a deal, the rest of the writers in the guild have not and are still on strike. It is incumbent upon these writers to make the others' voices heard too and not just relax back into a job. Benefit of the doubt: maybe they will in coming days and didn't want to bite the hand that rehired them so quickly.
As for Leno, he started to tell a classic bar joke and then stopped. "We don't know how it ends because there's a writers strike on!" I feel for Leno, I do. He's torn: he's a member of the WGA too yet he didn't want to see so many people out of work - people that he feels responsible for. I'm down with that. What I'm not down with is that Huckabee dude who crossed the picket line and then claimed to believe the writers had made a deal for all the shows. Uh, no. What does that say about a potential president?
I fervently hope the AMPTP had "end strike" on their list of New Year's resolutions.
Your Hollywood connection,
Leigh
