Are there no men left...in England?

Shakespeare's Sister has an entry about how most modern TV talk shows are so strictly formatted they don't allow for a genuine character like Peter O'Toole to be shown at their best. She illustrates this with a link to his recent appearance on The Daily Show.

I thought that appearance was reasonably satisfactory-given the constraints of the format. But like SS I'm an O'Toole fan, and I'd be glad to lie at his feet just listening to him telling stories for hours.

She contrasts it with his appearance on the David Letterman show the night before (again, the clip is available) and she's right, he was better and funnier. Because he was allowed more time and in general, she's right, most shows just aren't willing to take that time any more.

I've watched the DVD releases of some of Dick Cavett's old shows recently, and there's just no shows like them any more. Ninety minutes, sometimes with just one guest, or in the case of a Katherine Hepburn, two 90-minute episodes with one guest.

You got something approaching actual conversation, and maybe even got a glimpse of what these "living legends" were like as people. The closest we've had to it recently was Bob Costas' version of Later. His show wasn't as long, but like Cavett's, the atmosphere was relaxed and lent itself to thoughtfulness over zany comedy antics.

By the way, Letterman has always been good for O'Toole-I still remember a story he told about Richard Harris several years ago there. It may surprise you to learn that it involved drinking. Ask me about it sometime.