Heeere's Dave--Bearded and Pro-Writer

David Letterman returned to hosting Late Show, as described in some detail by the New York Times' Jacques Steinberg and Bill Carter, with a bushy white beard ("Ladies and gentlemen, General Lee," quipped guest Robin Williams) and more than a smidgen of pro-writer sentiment. He entered through a line of leggy chorines who were holding the familiar "Writers Guild of America On Strike" placards and was further introduced with the following amiably sarcastic barb from Hillary Clinton:

Dave has been off the air for eight long weeks due to the writers' strike. Tonight he's back. Oh well. All good things come to an end.

Devoting a fair amount of attention to the strike, the host opined, "Without writers and without caffeine, I'd have virtually no personality whatsoever," and brought on ten writers (including some from still-struck shows like Jon Stewart's) to do the Top 10 list with a row of mostly farcical demands. One more earnest moment came from Letterman head writer Bill Scheft, who instructed the Hollywood company powers to "stick a crowbar in your wallets and start bargaining in good faith with the writers."

The media and the blogosphere, along with the regular audiences who have stayed away from the interim, re-run chart shows in numbers that gave the companies some pause, have now turned to awaiting what Mike Huckabee will say regarding the strike as he guests on Jay Leno's show.