Just had the chance to watch this - have to say I loved it. Admittedly these are two of my favorite public people in my lifetime, so I am an easy audience. I have actually not just day-dreamed but outlined in written forms the questions I would ask Obama if in some fantasy world I ever interviewed him (I actually met him once, at a private fund raiser in a fancy Bay Area home and had a short conversation, but did not get to use any of my hart hitting questions). I don’t think this was the setting for challenging questions about the Obama Administration, partly because since he really can’t say anything to specifically critical of the current POTUS right now, it would be a bit like asking him to fight with one hand tied behind his back. Also partly because he does have a book coming out soon, and I am sure he is not supposed to say too much in public that is targeted for the book.
But I thought it was a remarkable conversation, especially about race. The closing minutes, when Obama asked Dave an apparently sentimental, superficial question, was for me the highlight of the hour - the story Dave told, and the look on his face and tone in his voice, was amazing. Obama had joked that he really wanted to interview Dave, and in the end in the hour we learn a lot more about Dave, and white men of his generation, than we do about 44. Which leads me to my main criticism, which is doing this in front of a live audience - would much have preferred a quiet, intimate setting. On Sat, Jan 13, 2018 at 9:58 AM Kevin M. <[email protected]> wrote: > Having watched it, I think I'd rather see the full unedited walk across > the bridge with Letterman and Lewis. There was nothing really wrong with > the Obama interview, but there was also nothing special or remarkable about > it. Obama admitted during his WTF interview with Maron that he doesn't get > nervous during interviews, that he can hold his own (and that he can > probably prop up even the worst interviewer). Obviously given the current > negative political climate, seeing and hearing Obama is a breath of fresh > air to people, and if that's what you need/want to get you through the day, > more power to you. But -- not that it would ever happen -- should I ever > get to interview any POTUS, even one I like and admire, there are serious > and hard questions that need to be asked of every commander in chief. Dave > lobbed softballs. Contrast that with Lewis, where they talked frankly about > the current President, the setbacks involving not just race but the nation > as a whole -- that to me was the Letterman I'd like to see in long-form > interviewing. Letterman and Obama telling stories about their families is > very sweet, but at the core of an extended length interview, there should > be some meat on the proverbial bone, you know? > > On Fri, Jan 12, 2018 at 6:49 PM, Darren Glass <[email protected]> wrote: > >> I’m surprised there hasnt been more discussion of this today. >> >> I enjoyed it a great deal. Dave wasn’t at the top of his game, but I >> found parts of it moving, parts of it quite funny, and I learned a few >> things. It wasn’t hugely groundbreaking, but it was nice to see both >> Letterman and Obama on my tv once again. >> >> dg >> >> >> >> >> On Jan 10, 2018, at 7:18 PM, Joe Hass <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> Netflix has posted a clip from the Obama episode, which is embedded in >> this Deadline article. >> >> >> http://deadline.com/2018/01/david-lettermans-netflix-series-first-look-barack-obama-dad-moves-prince-1202240144/ >> >> Someone on this board mentioned a while back about a verbal crutch that >> Dave leaned on in his later years: repeating a guest's answer back as if to >> buy time for his brain to come up with something. He does it twice in this >> clip alone. And it's one thing when you've got a Paul who can cover a >> little bit and not make it so obvious, but even Obama inadvertently catches >> him on it the second time. >> >> And it hit me after watching it that Dave (70-year-old Dave) is >> attempting to host a single-guest interview show for a full hour. Yes, this >> ain't rocket science or brain surgery. And Dave has done really well in the >> drips and drops we've seen him in since 2015. But I have to admit that >> there's a part of me that is hesitant now that this may not turn out as >> well as I'd hoped. >> >> On Jan 5, 2018 12:29, "'Bob Jersey' via TVorNotTV" < >> [email protected]> wrote: >> >>> >>> Joe Hass, Aug 8th 2017: >>>> >>>> Dave's coming back on Netflix. Six episodes in 2018. >>>> >>>> >>>> https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/08/arts/television/david-letterman-netflix-new-series.html?_r=0 >>>> >>> >>> His first guest will be some guy named Obama... the remaining ones are >>> all named in this Variety >>> <http://variety.com/2018/tv/news/david-letterman-netflix-series-barack-obama-1202654327/> >>> (link) piece. >>> >>> B >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "TVorNotTV" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to [email protected]. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "TVorNotTV" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "TVorNotTV" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> > > > > -- > Kevin M. (RPCV) > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- Sent from Gmail Mobile -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
