The Importance of Being Dave

Image credit: David Letterman and Julia Roberts: Barbara Nitki

FOOLED YA, ROBERTS Letterman eggs on Julia

But never let it be said that Letterman has lost his edge. After a few nights spent gauging the reaction to a spate of ''New York getting back to normal'' jokes (''Today, Mayor Giuliani said it was okay to give each other the finger''), Letterman has only recently begun to have a go at Osama bin Laden (whom he's referred to variously as ''a little weasel'' and ''a boob'').

Letterman -- who once told EW that he's an avid BBC and NPR news broadcast listener -- has recently courted serious chat with news-oriented guests ranging from Sen. Hillary Clinton to former U.N. ambassador Richard Holbrooke. Introducing ''New York Times'' bioterrorism reporter Judith Miller on Oct. 17, Letterman prankishly subverted sales of her newly published tome ''Germs'' by saying brightly, ''The book itself is actually contaminated!''

Frequent ''Late Show'' guest Julia Roberts says she felt an ''immediate rapport'' with the host when she first appeared on his show in 1989 and that now audiences ''think of us as this pair, a comedy team that they like, and I just enjoy being with him, talking to him. He's a really interesting valuable person.'' One whose value has only increased: ''I can't imagine what it's like to be in his position,'' she says. ''To be so attached to a city that's going through such an incredible time, and come back on television and address that in some way. That takes an enormous amount of strength.... I think he became more part of a group [with his audience] -- people took to him that way because he made us feel like we're all in it together.''

Yes, Letterman is back. And while all still isn't right with the world, it's a better place for having Dave around in it, just to see his proudly balding pate, his perennially peeved fish-eye stare, and his dangling double-breasted suit -- the whole Dave package, flickering across our screens. This triumph is good for Letterman's business: His first week back post-attack produced his highest ratings in all key demographics since Feb. 21 of last year (the week he returned from his much-publicized heart surgery). David Poltrack, CBS TV's exec VP of research and planning (translation: Heap-Big-Numbers Cruncher), says ''Late Show'' for the first three weeks [after Sept. 17] was up a whopping 23 percent among the hallowed 18–34 demo.

As Paul Shaffer might say, even the nutty kids' rock bands like him. Art Alexakis, lead singer for Everclear, who are frequent guests on Letterman and who can count the host as a fan, notes, ''I think David has combined the best aspects of fringe humor with mainstream entertainment. He's a pain in your ass if he wants to be. He can be your best friend if he wants to be, too, but if he wants to screw with you, then you're in for it. The only other guy I can think of that comes close to that is Bill Maher. I like Jay Leno too -- he's just a really nice guy. But David Letterman, since this tragedy, he's kind of embodied where people are at, being able to laugh at ourselves while at the same time being defiant and having an edge. I think these days an edge is pretty important to self-preservation both mentally and physically.'' And though ratings-wise, Dave's still being creamed by Jay Leno, his street-cred quotient is off the charts. ''That's the unique nature of Letterman,'' says Poltrack. ''As he ages, he doesn't lose his connection with the young audience, and most recently we've seen that connection grow even stronger.''

But to go from the quotidian to the metaphysical: Letterman's return was also good for our collective soul -- and, one imagines, for his as well. (We're imagining that because, man of consistently cranky mystery that he is, Letterman hasn't given a formal interview anywhere for the past four years and he's not about to start now.) In addition to reinstating the opening credits and music, the host has also of late found time for jumpy comedian Emo Phillips (making his first Letterman appearance in 15 years, yet still as loopy as a cowboy's lariat) and for zookeeper Jack Hanna's jumpy animals (these spots are Dave's implicit homage to his role model, Johnny Carson, who could always wring laughs from his audience by looking frightened by the advances of a wayward kinkajou).

But at this point, Letterman has conquered the showbiz version of what the lit crit Harold Bloom calls ''the anxiety of influence'' -- the pressure an artist or entertainer feels to emulate and then transcend the style and achievements of his idol (in this case, King Carson). These days, Letterman is his own man, with his own legacy. Again, Rob Burnett: ''I can tell you as a guy who's done everything from writing to executive producing, there is really only one guy who is in charge of the Letterman show, and it is Dave.... I'm 39, and I think a lot of people around that age, who are running television shows and making commercials, were influenced by Dave. His tone is pervasive.'' Burnett says, post Sept. 11, some stars, such as Drew Barrymore and Heather Graham, have canceled appearances, and the ''Late Show'' staff won't be going out to L.A. for the Nov. 4 Emmys: ''Dave hasn't gone to the Emmy [ceremony] for years, [but he'd usually] go to California and we'd throw a big staff party. But we've decided it's not a time to celebrate. We'll forgo that, and we're not going to have a party in New York -- we're just not quite in that mood just yet.''

Thank goodness Letterman is still in the mood to put his show on the air, though: A lot of the rest of us are in the mood for that. Give Julia the last word: ''He makes it all so simple, so natural, you forget how vital and really important what he does is for all of us.''

(Additional reporting by Bruce Fretts, Caroline Kepnes, Lynette Rice, and Dan Snierson)