Letterman’s First Top 10 After Return From Writers’ Strike

Although the Writers Guild of America’s strike continues, late night talk shows returned earlier this week without writers, with one exception. David Letterman’s production company made a separate agreement with the union, so the Late Show With David Letterman (as well as the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, also produced by David Letterman) was able to retain its original writing staff.

One of the first orders of business was David Letterman’s first Top 10 List after his return, Top 10 Demands of the Striking Writers, delivered by actual WGA writers:

10.“Complimentary tote bag with next insulting contract offer” — Tim Carvell, from The Daily Show
9. “No rollbacks in health benefits, so I can treat the hypothermia I caught on the picket lines” — Laura Krafft, from The Colbert Report
8. “Full salary and benefits for my imaginary writing partner, Lester” — Melissa Salmons, writer for daytime TV
7. “Members of the AMPTP must explain what the hell AMPTP stands for” — Warren Leight, writer for Law & Order: Criminal Intent
6. “No disciplinary action taken against any writer caught having inappropriate relationship with a copier” — Jay Katsir, from The Colbert Report
5. “I’d like a date with a woman” — Steve Bodow, from The Daily Show
4. “Hazard pay for breaking up fights on The View” — from writer and director Nora Ephron
3. “I’m no accountant, but instead of us getting 4 cents for a $20 DVD, how about we get $20 for a 4-cent DVD?” — Gina Johnfrido of Law & Order
2. “I don’t have a joke. I just want to remind everyone that we’re on strike, so none of us are responsible for this lame list” — Chris Albers from Conan O’Brien’s Late Night
1. “Producers must immediately remove their heads from their asses.” — author Alan Zwiebel

Hats off to David Letterman for doing it right.

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Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday! I’ve been even lazier than usual over the holidays about updating the site, so I hope that today’s update will set me on course to do so more regularly. I’ll start off with some “best of 2007” links that I’ve been amassing. Also, if you have a hankering for more year-ending recaps, reviews, and lists, check out fimoculous.com’s 2007 List Of Lists that I mentioned earlier.