# Dick Clark... Can we stop this now? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 1, 2009, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-clark-can-we-stop-this-now/479441 "2009-01-01T04:49:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-clark-can-we-stop-this-now/479441/41 "2009-01-02T00:33:31Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > [For those with strong constitutions](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67VwzRhT6vU) He’s been getting better each year and probably having to work like hell to do so. I thought he was much, much better this year. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-clark-can-we-stop-this-now/479441/42 "2009-01-02T00:47:38Z")
He needs to go to pasture. Three consecutive years of Dick Clark’s Cringe-inducin’ New Year’s Buzzkill can’t be helping their ratings. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-clark-can-we-stop-this-now/479441/43 "2009-01-02T01:04:06Z")
The worst part was the kissing between him and his wife(?). :eek: They switched back to the other people, and I swear I could still hear them sucking face, like somebody screwed up the audio feed. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-clark-can-we-stop-this-now/479441/44 "2009-01-02T01:08:22Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > Did anyone notice something weird with the west coast coverage? I was in a bar with TV’s tuned to CNN and ABC. With a minute left on the ABC countdown, people were cheering and saying “Happy New Year” because the CNN countdown hit midnight! Were there any other channels not in sync? > As regards to Dick, I’ve thought that he’s needed to quit for years. The problem is that Dick has a name recognition and credibility Seacrest has never had and maybe never will. Remember how quickly Seacrest’s afternoon talk show disappeared? Nobody tunes into anything Seacrest does solely for him, which they have done for years for Dick. It’s sad Dick hangs on just for this reason. All the coverage sucked. I didn’t watch CNN, but Fox seemed to have a camera crew that didn’t figure out to focus on the ball at midnight. CBS seemed to be showing a Letterman rerun and didn’t cover New Years at all. We usually watch a local station who covered the party at a hotel and the fireworks - lame but fun - but they were showing Sex and the City reruns this year. My kids were confused at who a lot of the acts were in New York - the Vegas ones they knew at least. Someone should run Guy Lombardo repeats. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-clark-can-we-stop-this-now/479441/45 "2009-01-02T01:44:23Z")
Ahh, ya bunch of pansies. See if you’re still up partying at midnight when you’re an 80-year old stroke survivor. “Oh my god, we’re forced to look at an OLD person on New Year’s Eve! How depressing!” But see, here’s the thing: _you don’t get to determine what America looks at on New Year’s Eve._ Dick Clark gets to determine what America looks at on New Year’s Eve. Why? _Because he’s Dick Clark, that’s why._ Even at 80 years old, Dick Clark still embodies the raw leathery tenacity that earned him the nickname “World’s Oldest Teenager.” Because, lest we forget the signature characteristic of teenagers everywhere: they’re too cool to care what you think. They are reckless and tactless and in your face and they glory in it. And yes, recklessness means different things at different ages. When you’re 15, maybe it’s extreme skateboarding, or petty acts of vandalism, or listening to that rock-and-roll music. When you’re 80, maybe it’s staying up until midnight amid a crowd of screaming people and mega-bass stage amplifiers. You think Clark’s doctor thought that was a great idea? Fuck no! And yet Dick was probably all like, “Screw it! Try and stop me. You just keep my lungs inflated until the end of the night.” You all may be too old to remember the importance of such things; but Dick Clark isn’t that mature yet, squares. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-clark-can-we-stop-this-now/479441/46 "2009-01-02T01:53:38Z")
Ladies and gentlemen, let’s give a warm hand to Dick Clark’s publicist. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-clark-can-we-stop-this-now/479441/47 "2009-01-02T01:56:29Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > Hey, I love the guy as much as you do… but what they are doing to him is just tragic. My question is why? > > I know I can turn the channel… that’s not the point. It’s almost as if ABC thinks its viewers won’t believe the New Year will be official unless Dick Clark is there. > > What happens when the guy dies? Are they going to stuff him and hook him up to some hydrolics to move his limbs? They started doing that years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-clark-can-we-stop-this-now/479441/48 "2009-01-02T02:06:06Z")
I’m proud of him. I hope if I ever have a stroke, I can still host a huge NYE party. Of course, I’m not convinced it was a stroke. I still say it was his core programming malfunctioned and they had to reload him from a flawed disk. That man’s not human. He’s gotta be a robot. A tenacious and charming robot. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-clark-can-we-stop-this-now/479441/49 "2009-01-02T02:07:06Z")
Seriously, he’s starting to look like the combined efforts of Madame Toussaud and Disney’s animatronics shop. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-clark-can-we-stop-this-now/479441/50 "2009-01-02T02:11:24Z")
> [@Terrifel](#): > > Even at 80 years old, Dick Clark still embodies the raw leathery tenacity that earned him the nickname “World’s Oldest Teenager.” “Raw and leathery” is a good choice of terms but probably not in the way you intended. Lately he really sounds and moves like an 80-year-old. That’s fine, except he looks to be in his early 50’s, and his face only moves below the upper lip. I have no problem with seniors rocking it as long as they don’t have eerily ageless plastic faces. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-clark-can-we-stop-this-now/479441/51 "2009-01-02T02:24:04Z")
Dick Clark has never been “raw and leathery”. He’s always had smooth-skinned, boyish looks, which is why he’s frequently been called the world’s oldest teenager. ---
**Author:** ![Klif](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Klif](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Klif)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-clark-can-we-stop-this-now/479441/52 "2009-01-02T02:37:10Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > I noticed Dick Clark said something like “One more time” just before the ball dropped. Was he letting us know that he won’t be around to ring in 2010? I heard the same – at least five times! – and interpreted it more as “This is my final time”. No? ---
**Author:** ![BigBertha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-clark-can-we-stop-this-now/479441/53 "2009-01-02T03:24:02Z")
Eventually he will retire. Whats wrong with Ryan Seacrest? He does a fine job. All the position requires is counting down, yes? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-clark-can-we-stop-this-now/479441/54 "2009-01-02T04:17:14Z")
> [@Tamara+](#): > > Eventually he will retire. Whats wrong with Ryan Seacrest? He does a fine job. All the position requires is counting down, yes? He’s more overexposed than an all-white photograph. Otherwise, nothing, really. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-clark-can-we-stop-this-now/479441/55 "2009-01-02T05:58:35Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Yeah, I thought of that, too, but I figured you could read it the other way if you wanted to. By the way, I wonder if ABC’s ratings have improved in recent years simply due to the ‘morbid curiosity’ factor of what ol’ Dick is gonna look like _this_ year… But if he meant that this would be his final year of hosting the ball drop, don’t you think he’d have said something along the lines of “one last time?” “One more time” still seems to me that he’s saying something along the lines of “Let’s do this again.” ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-clark-can-we-stop-this-now/479441/56 "2009-01-02T06:09:06Z")
Missed the edit window: And going back and watching the video, Ryan Seacrest actually kicked it off to Clark by saying, “Dick, are you ready to do it one more time for me?” So DC said “One more time” in an obvious reply to Seacrest. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-clark-can-we-stop-this-now/479441/57 "2009-01-02T06:30:52Z")
Aww, I thought he did good. I hope he keeps at it as long as he can because I like that there’s a real face to the problems he’s been exposed to and not allowing himself to be stigmatized by it. Hang in there Dick! All my New Year’s Eves belong to you. ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-clark-can-we-stop-this-now/479441/58 "2009-01-02T06:39:28Z")
Did he say pandemonium? He used to every year. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-clark-can-we-stop-this-now/479441/59 "2009-01-02T07:10:51Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > Aww, I thought he did good. No question about that. Despite my obvious discomfort with seeing him host, which I don’t believe stems from discomfort around similarly or more severely impaired people (both my grandfathers had worse strokes and I never felt uncomfortable around them after it happened), it really looked like he wanted to be there and was having as much fun as the rest of them. I guess being the cynical fellow that I am, I just couldn’t help wondering if the suits at ABC were using him as a ratings ploy. ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-clark-can-we-stop-this-now/479441/60 "2009-01-02T12:57:13Z")
Dick Clark’s hosting was very touching to me. I was moved by his obvious effort to make it through and I was rooting for him. I’m glad he’s still around to do the countdown. I thought the suck-face with wife was sweet. My problem was with Kelly Whatever’s use of the word “awesome” as a response to each and every comment the interviewees made. “I’m from Texas.” “Awesome.” I’m engaged." “Awesome.” I’m cold." “Awesome.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-clark-can-we-stop-this-now/479441.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-clark-can-we-stop-this-now/479441.md?page=4)