David Letterman's Top Ten

The Top Ten List is such an iconic thing to comedy, and late night TV. But now that Dave is no longer on air, neither are his top ten lists.

Most of the time they were really stupid, but through that silliness we could all see something funny, and that's what made these lists so special. Dave Letterman and his writers have created something that has gone down in history, and something that future and current comedians and writers can look back on.

 

Many people in the TV and comedy business have said that they used to write top ten lists to practice their joke writing. One of whom is Dan Schneider, the creator of Nickelodeon's Drake & Josh, iCarly, Kenan & Kel, etc. He said in a interview once that when he was younger and had become interested in comedy that he used to write out top ten lists and fax them to Letterman's show. He also said thought that none of them were ever used, but it's still good to practice with.

Since so many writers always say that you need to practice our writing skills every day (like my creative writing lecturer. he wouldn't shut up about it), and so many comedians and comical writers seem to always suggest doing top ten lists, I though I would give it a go. One of those who've suggested it is Joe Toplyn, maybe you've heard of him? He's a comedy writer who actually has a book about writing for Late Night shows and preparing a packet for the NBC Late Night Writers Workshop (which I can never do because I'm a million miles away from New York -_- ). If you're interested in finding out more about his work you can check out his twitter for more info. He says that writing every day and practicing with these lists is important.

So, here we go. A few of my own original Top Ten Lists.

Top Ten - Offensive Family Feud Topics:

10. Name a celebrity with no talent starting with a 'K'
9. Name something you see a lot of in Hooters.
8. Fill in the blank: 'A woman should not judge a man by his _______'
7. We asked 100 men: Why are women so annoying?
6. Tell me a word that rhymes with 'Duck'
5.Name a person that the world would be better off without.
4. Tell me something that is terrible besides marriage.
3. Give me sign that you are eating too much.
2. Tell me one word to describe your boss.
1. Give me another name for 'mother-in-law'

Just saying, not all of them are so great. But if something is funny, then that's awesome!!

Top Ten - Unknown SNL Sketches:

10. Sarah Palin's Diary.
9. Invention Convention.
8. The Relationship.
7. 101 Flamingos.
6. Dead Men Are Dead.
5. CSI: Oklahoma.
4. Unusual Crafts with Betty Baths.
3. Nature Calls.
2. Tools.
1. Meets the Jones!

If any of these are in any way similar to any of Letterman's top ten lists, please let me know via email or the comment section below. I haven't seen or heard that many top ten lists, so just letting you know there may be an overlap. But hopefully not.

I hope you at least one thing funny, if not, well, I tried. I thought they were alright. They're just practice ones anyway, so if I didn't put them on here they'd just be doing nothing in my notebook. So may as well put them on here.

I really hope you enjoyed them!

Until Next Time...
Morgan ^^