As a UK citizen, I had never had the misfortune to see an episode of this 'talk show' as it was on digital and I haven't upgraded yet. However, for reasons I won't go into it is now part of my job to watch the show for research purposes. I don't think I can last much longer.<br /><br />It is almost impossible to verbalise how irritating this show is. The 'jokes' are non-existent, with each punchline scuppered with, erm-ah, the-ah timing of David's delivery. Every time the audience laughs I wonder what kind of funny-gas has been pumped into the studio.<br /><br />Things are made worse by the visually stagnant way in which the show is filmed. Nearly the entire show is locked into one mid-shot of David at his desk. Even when he's talking to his house band we are rarely afforded a glance at who he is talking to, with a sinister high-pitched voice off camera underlining every sentence spoken by David: 'Oh! Uh-huh. Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaah.' When I first saw this show I thought I was hearing David's self-congratulatory inner thoughts through the mic he has on his desk. Instead, its a bald guy with sunglasses (is he blind? I'm afraid to ask) who pats David on the back at every opportunity.<br /><br />The smugness of this show is suffocating, especially to new viewers such as myself who haven't witnessed anything to warrant their inflated opinion of themselves. I was hoping against hope that perhaps Letterman's interview technique was second to none, but yet again I was disappointed: they are as vapid and un-illuminating as the rest of the show. At no time are the guests asked anything more searching than what they had for lunch earlier. It may be just a cultural difference, but I prefer the cheekiness of UK talk-show hosts like Johnathan Ross etc. who manage to get under the skin of his guest through humour so that we get to know more about them than another well-rehearsed anecdote.<br /><br />Unfortunately, there seems no way to make it stop. Its my job to keep watching this forever. I am in hell.