Why Stephen Colbert Is the Perfect David Letterman Replacemen

Tim Goodman, writing for The Hollywood Reporter:

NBC, take note. This is what an orderly transfer of power looks like.

If ever there was a no-brainer for such an important slot at the network -- and despite what you might think about the late night talk show environment, it’s still a marquee gig when judged from within -- then hiring Colbert was it. He has a built in following which will likely grow when he drops his faux right wing persona that was the cornerstone of his time on The Colbert Report. He is insatiable about pop culture, politics, music -- pretty much anything in the zeitgeist. And he has the ideal mind for taking in those information streams, weeding out what’s important and then commenting on them.

Later on, Goodman writes:

Yes, fans of Colbert “in character” will miss his show, but the truth is that the format, despite being an excellent vehicle that launched Colbert to stardom, was far too limiting for Colbert’s talent. He’s absolutely going to blossom with this new freedom. From his time on Strangers With Candy to The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, he’s shown his comedic talent in various forms with an improve performer’s fluidity. Those are traits that will make him instantly watchable doing his own taped (and live) skits on The Late Show, plus they will serve him well behind the desk doing interviews.

Having interviewed Colbert at length before, I can only imagine that in some ways The Colbert Report was a golden-handcuffs type situation for him. This opportunity to take over for Letterman and branch out in a new direction should truly inspire him. An inspired Colbert? Gold.

And if you have any worries that CBS will somehow “tame” Colbert, fear not. Or, put another way -- give the network more credit. It’s not going to hire him and then shackle him. That’s just bad business and CBS is already the best run broadcast network in existence -- it knows what it is doing. There’s no need to shape Colbert. There’s no need to break him in. He will not be awkward or mistake prone. He’s a pro. He’s going to invigorate CBS’s late night presence. And he’s going to validate, right out of the gate, the network’s smart and swift decision to hire him.

I could not agree more.

Colbert to Succeed Letterman on ‘Late Show’

Dave Itzkoff, writing for the New York Times:

“Simply being a guest on David Letterman’s show has been a highlight of my career,” Mr. Colbert said in a statement. “I never dreamed that I would follow in his footsteps, though everyone in late night follows Dave’s lead.”

He added: “I’m thrilled and grateful that CBS chose me. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go grind a gap in my front teeth.”

I couldn't be happier.

The Irreplaceable David Letterman

I'm often asked why I love Letterman by non-fans. They either don't get his humor, don't appreciate it, or liked Leno instead (uhg).

Joshua Rothman has written an excellent piece about David Letterman which aptly sums up my reasons for loving him. On his interview style:

Perhaps because it never leaves the real world behind, Letterman’s show isn’t always inventive enough to be truly side-splittingly funny. The upside, though, is that the show is often surprisingly real. Letterman is the best interviewer on late-night TV, for example, because he seems not to believe in the idea of celebrity (his own or anyone else’s). When he interviews famous people he doesn’t respect, he’s openly judgmental and censorious (he refused, for example, to talk to Paris Hilton about anything other than her time in prison); by the same token, when he interviews people he admires, like Tina Fey, his respect is palpable. (“Our first guest is an exceptionally talented and funny woman,” he said, introducing Fey, with great seriousness, earlier this year. “You can’t overstate this.”) Sometimes he lapses into respectful silence. On the other hand, when he’s angry, annoyed, impatient, or exasperated, he can’t hide it. Today’s comedy is fascinated by awkwardness, and comedians like Zach Galifianakis and Ricky Gervais excel at creating elaborate spectacles of squirm, but the awkwardness is almost always staged, and therefore toothless. Letterman’s interviews with Lindsay Lohan, Madonna, and Bill O’Reilly are actually awkward, because Letterman’s real personality is engaged. His sense of decency prevents him from keeping it light. Faced with Lindsey Lohan, he can’t bring himself to talk about “Scary Movie 5”—only about rehab. Faced with Bill O’Reilly, he can’t feign respect, or put on the airs of a serious political commentator; he can only be honest, telling O’Reilly, “I have no idea what I’m talking about, but I don’t think you do, either.”

Go read the whole thing.

Jimmy Fallon's Top 10 List: Why Letterman's Retiring

After hearing the news of David Letterman's retirement, Jimmy pays tribute with a Top 10 list of his own.

Keith Olbermann on David Letterman Announcing His Retirement.

David Letterman announced his retirement Thursday. Keith honors the man behind The Late Show and remembers a particularly interesting time on the show when Keith filled in for guest John McCain. Watch "Olbermann" weeknights on ESPN2 at 11pm ET. Get More Olbermann: Follow http://twitter.com/KeithOlbermann

David Letterman Announces His Retirement

David Letterman announces that he will retire from the "Late Show" in 2015. (Full version)

I've always been a Letterman guy, rather than Leno. I've watched Dave my whole life. It will be sad to see him go.

Threes: The Rips-offs and Making of the Game

Threes is a hugely popular and successful iOS game that was created by Asher Vollmer, Greg Wohlwend and Jimmy Hinson.

Several weeks after their success on the App Store, several clones/rip-offs began to surface on the web, Android store, and on the App Store. First there was 1024, and then the massivley popular 2048 came out. 2048 has been so popular that many more people know it exists and have played it who've never heard of Threes. Crappy journalists have begun writing articles about the "overnight" success of 2048 and how the creator managed to create it in "just 42 days". They fail to mention that he only did so after playing Threes and copying its look, feel, and playstyle.

The creators of Threes have now posted a wonderful piece outlining all of this and releasing the entirely of their email chain between themselves over the year in which Threes was created.

It’s been a weird and awesome couple of months. Our expectations for our tiny game were well, fairly tiny. Basically, we hoped it’d do better than Puzzlejuice. It did. By a lot. It’s still hard to address the world’s response with something beyond a wide-eyed daze but essentially we couldn’t be more thrilled. Duh.

But there’s another side of that daze that we wish to talk about. The rip-offs.

Go check it out.

Goshawk Flies Through Tiny Spaces in Slo-Mo.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b010y5wm Chris Packham puts a northern goshawk through its paces in the lab.

This clip, from the BBC Two:

Chris Packham puts a northern goshawk through its paces in the lab.

Thanks to Jason Kottke who shared this on Kottke.org.