It's Thanksgiving and once again Dave is escorted out on stage by our lovely Late Show models dressed as Pilgrims. Such a nice way to start, or end . . . . or spend the holiday.
And we continue another Thanksgiving tradition. President Bush pardoned a pair of turkeys this week. Dave asks for the lights to be turned up. He scans the audience and points out a nice couple sitting up front. He asks them to stand up. He then says, "You two, you are free to go!" The happy young couple do not wait for Dave to reconsider and quickly scurry out of the theater without looking back.

Dave reads from a sheet. DOH!!!! I'm doing this Wahoo from home and I left my pie sheet at work. Hmmm, should I drive back into the city and pick it up on my day off? No.

Dave starts reading pies off a list.
Boston Cream
Pumpkin
Pecan
Hickory Nut
Cherry
Shepherds Pie
Shepard Smith
Blueberry
Chuck Berry
Halle Berry
Apple
Dutch Apple
Fiona Apple

We enjoyed a nice Thanksgiving meal at the Late Show when we should have been rehearsing. We see a montage of the delight.
We see Stephanie and Joanna
Paul Shaffer and his children Victoria and Will.
Hey, there's Huff
There's Biff loading up the punch with vodka.
Alan Kalter is helping serve the turkey . . . camera widens to reveal his without pants. And all that remains is a lone turkey leg . . . which if fought over by the two Carolina Panther cheerleaders.
And there's Dave in a Pilgrim's outfit serving the fine meal. It's ten-year-old footage. And the camera widens to reveal Late Show staffers are watching the ten-year-old footage on a monitor.

Yesterday, President Bush pardoned two turkeys from the chopping block. Watching the proceedings, we decided to do something called, "The Presidential Yam Counter." We count the number of times he says "Yams."
In the short speech, the President says "Yams" 7 times; marshmallow once. yam

Hey, it's time for the Thanksgiving Parade Chyron Quiz.
- (a part of a balloon being filled) "This year:
A) balloon inflation started at 8:00 PM
B) Macy's technician had to contend with bad weather
C) The Garfield balloon was anatomically correct

- (SpongeBob handler smoking a cigarette) "A good title for this scene is:
A) "Taking a Break"
B) "A Quick Smoke"
C) "SpongeBob BlackLung"

- (fat balloon-worker leaning over railing) "Here we see:
A) balloons inflated with helium
B) balloons inflated with hot air
C) A worker inflated with pie

- (SpongeBob handlers doing warmup) "These balloon handlers are:
A) warming up
B) doing calisthenics
C) practicing avoiding puddles of urine

Dave then reads some of the past pies mom has baked. Pumpkin is the overall favorite. I laughed when Dave mention Rhubarb. Paul piped, "That's the one I got." And I believe he was right. Dave ran through a pie list and couldn't come up with the year. Paul offered Rhubarb and was right. Off the top of my head, I believe it was 1997. Paul is still proud.

Dave starts to introduce the next bit of fun but becomes stuck trying to think of a certain town in New Jersey. My attention was elsewhere for that moment but became alarmed when I saw Dave groping for this piece of information. "What does he want? What is he looking for?" I was confused and alarmed, not knowing why he needed the name of a Jersey town as I don't remember ever seeing the need for such. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 towns and cities are offered from crew and audience, but Dave waves them all off, none being the town he is thinking of. Finally, "Paramus" comes to him. He then continues talking about the boys back in Paramus working on this next bit of technology we're about to observe. I sighed a sigh of relief when I realized he was just playing. It wasn't anything I forgot to offer on the blue card.

We hope this is another tradition. Last Christmas we had an egg nog cam, filling the front of one of the cameras with egg nog. Now for Thanksgiving, we're trying the gravy cam. You may not know this but this technology was developed in a town in New Jersey . . . Paramus, I believe. Dave Dorsett pours gravy into a funnel which leads the gravy into a specially created well in front of the camera lens. We cut to the camera's POV and slowly gravy slowly rising and rising, diminishing the view of Dave and the set. Behind the gravy, we hear Dave throw to commercial.

DAVE'S MOM: Live via satellite from Indiana. Hey, it's new opening for mom! The camera flies through an animated town and goes right up to the door of a house and we enter. The policeman in me . . . (you ever have that?) . . . the policeman in me says, "Oh, great. Now everyone knows where she lives."
How's the weather in Indiana? The lovely Dorothy says, "26 degrees but it feels like 9 degrees with the wind chill." Behind mom is a lovely display of flowers. Dave comments on the beautiful arrangement, asking "Where did they come from?" She says, "You had them delivered to me yesterday." A proud Dave smiles, then asks, "The other kids . . . . did they send you anything?" Her silence answers the question.
And this Thanksgiving was no different from all the other Thanksgivings. Dave points out that mom likes to drive along the interstate picking up hitchhikers and bringing them back to the house for a hot meal. "Isn't that right, mom?" Dorothy smiles, and after a pause says, "Oh, David." It's not an official visit to mom's until you get an "Oh, David."

It's time to Guess the Pies. Every year, mom bakes two pies for Thanksgiving. It is up to Dave to guess the two pies mom has baked. Dave goes into a deep trance, concentrating on the telepathic message his mom is sending him. Dave predicts: The first pie is . . . . pumpkin. YES! Pumpkin it is! The Late Show staff eagerly check the Late Show Thanksgiving Pie Pool to see who has Pumpkin Pie as the first pie. Dave again goes into a trance in order to predict the 2nd pie. Dave guesses, "Apple." Dorothy is always absolutely perfect during "Guess the Pies" because she hesitates ever so slightly before saying whether Dave's guess is right or not. Is it apple? . . . . . . . No, it is not apple. One Late Show staffer's dream of winning the pool is dashed. Dave guesses again. "Is it cherry?" . . . . . . . . no, it is not cherry. "Raspberry?" . . . . No, not raspberry. Hickory Nut? . . . . No, not hickory nut. Is it Blueberry? . . . YES! It is blueberry! Fanfare from Paul.
And another tradition at mom's house . . . what's in the fridge? Just a can of Red Bull and 2 Slim Jims.
And what is mom doing after dinner? She doesn't say, but mentions the bakery probably wants their pies back.
And that was mom. Always a nice visit.

Congratulations to Production Accountant Joe DeGeorge for having "Pumpkin" and "Blueberry" in the 4th Annual Late Show Thanksgiving Pie Pool. He and his lovely wife Tara, along with their beautiful son Joseph, will share in the "100 Units" they've won. And congratulations to Alan Page.

TOP TEN: Things I, Dave, Am Thankful For
#10. I don't play for the Jets.
#9. Living in a country where anyone can grow up to be President even if they shouldn't.
#7. People with nothing better to do on Thanksgiving than to sit in audience of third-rate talk show.
#6. Oprah
Oprah photo lowers. Countdown to Oprah: Day 7. She will be here one week from tonight. It promises to be a full-packed show. So much so, I hope she doesn't get bumped.

MEGAN MULLALLY: She enters leading the Pocono Mountain East High School Marching Band. Check out their website for the last second announcement of their being invited to the Late Show. This is the final season of the long-running "Will & Grace" - Thursdays at 8:30.

Biff Henderson has something for Thanksgiving: We see Biff by Paul's piano. He is dressed as Dracula.
Biff: "Thanksgiving commemorates the bountiful feast the pilgrims and their Native American friends shared in 1621 While there were tough times in Plymouth, Massachusetts, the first Thanksgiving was a time for the pilgrims to reflect on all the gifts waiting for them in the New World."
Dave is pleased with the lovely sentiment, but wonders why Biff is dressed like a Pilgrim.
Biff: "It's the only thing we had lying around and all the costume stores are closed cause it's Thanksgiving, dumbass. . . . . . . . selfish bastard. Making up work just because you don't have any friends who want to eat with you. Hope they rip your heart out again, old man." Biff exits.

ACT 5: It's time for "This Date in Thanksgiving History"
On this date in 1988, Americans celebrated Thanksgiving with their families.
On this date in 1981, Americans celebrated Thanksgiving with their families.
And on this date in 1977, there was no Thanksgiving because of a yam workers strike.
This has been "This Date in Thanksgiving History." Tell your friends.

JOHN MAYER TRIO: From their new CD, "Try!", the John Mayer Trio performed "Who Did You Think I Was?" Mmm, good blues rock and roll. I'll have to listen to more.

And that was our show for Thanksgiving, November 24, 2005. Wahoo EXTRA!

Hey, I know nobody here wants to do it but I think you should take a moment to watch today's Tony Mendez show. It includes my girls, Danielle ("That's not Barney") and Dominique ("He's creepy.") And then there's Tony . . . but don't let that stop you.

I'm off to my parents for Thanksgiving weekend. My girls have suitcases in hand. I gotta go. But before I go, take a look at what's being written about TV blogs written by actual staffers of the show. It's the latest thing!

Blogs plug TV shows
By Rogert Catlin
The Hartford Courant
November 24, 2005
Eager to promote their shows and build a community among fans, networks are turning to the tool of pundits, gadflies and self-styled pamphleteers -- the web log.
Some shows have long had links on network Web sites giving lengthy episode descriptions and plugging the next one. Web pages for some reality shows came with a running commentary from a current or past contestant.
But now networks are piling on the blogs even for scripted shows. Many are written in the voice of a character -- usually not the main figure but an especially popular or quirky sidekick. Executive producers for other shows drop the charade of writing in character and merely use their own names.
Together, they present a network's united blogging front for a show, rather than cede control to do-it-yourself, sometimes obsessive fan bloggers.
"Blogs are a great way to bring millions of viewers who enjoy our programming into the creative process," CBS Entertainment President Nancy Tellem said in announcing more than a half-dozen blogs on, or coming to, CBS.com.
One is posted from Barney, the womanizing cad played by Neil Patrick Harris on the comedy How I Met Your Mother. Though the former Doogie Howser, M.D. who portrays Barney is pictured, the postings come entirely from the sitcom's writers.
Example: "Halloween is just around the corner and you know what that means: slutty costumes all across the city -- it's like Christmas in October"
Humor, too, is the object of the blog by Dwight Schrute, the nerdy assistant to the regional manager played by Rainn Wilson on NBC's The Office, whose missives could easily be a subplot of the deadpan comedy, but aren't.
A recent Schrute posting involved an unfortunate though mundane workplace incident perfect for his character.
"I was running late to work," he writes, "and made myself a quick sandwich as I was leaving. I FORGOT TO PUT ANYTHING ON THE BREAD!!! Imagine my surprise when I unwrapped from wax paper a sandwich made only of two pieces of bread with a little mayonnaise on it. I had to borrow (BORROW!) a piece of lettuce from Kevin and a soy hot dog from Kelly.
"I then supplemented my non-sandwich with some marinara sauce (from an unlabeled Tupperware container) and salt and pepper and many separate strings from a big string of string cheese which I had left in the fridge from the previous week.
"BOTTOM LINE: It was a delicious sandwich.
"LIFE LESSON: You CAN make lemonade when life hands you lemons and you CAN make a delicious sandwich from nothing but friends and food and string cheese.
Daytime TV has even gotten into the act with new blogs from both sides of split personality Jessica (and Tess) Buchanan from ABC's One Life To Live.
Actress Pauley Perette's blog for the CBS drama NCIS isn't in the character of Abby Sciuto, but as herself. She tells about what goes on during the long hours on the set -- they sing a lot, apparently, all different songs at the same time. "No one even notices," she writes in one posting, "because it's constant."
In every instance, the blog is never meant to stand alone as entertainment but to support a show. The networks can be certain fans will not give up their favorite shows for the blog.
The Hartford Courant is a Tribune Co. newspaper.