Alec Baldwin is here tonight to promote the film about Howard Hughes, "The Aviator." Dave says what a strange and complex man Howard Hughes was. Paul adds that it was Howard Hughes who invented the padded bra. That doesn't sound strange or complex to me at all.

Dave's been watching the Jeopardy for months now and is amazed at what Ken Jennings has accomplished, thought things seem to be a little . . . fishy. Dave doesn't want to say the word "FIXED" but I think that's what he was angling at. We see a clip to support his claim. We see Alec pose the answer, something about "an underground container for sewage." Ken Jennings responded, "Who is Willie Nelson." Alex barks, "Right!"
I think Dave has a point.

We poke our head into Rupert's to see how he is doing. Any holiday specials? "Not yet," says Rupert. Dave wonders, "Waiting till the middle of February?"

Dave receives a note: He says with a mix of sadness and anger, "I just received a cold, hard abrasive slap in the face." The big boss of the bosses of WOIO-TV in Cleveland refuses to allow nude newswoman Sharon Reed to appear on the Late Show. More on this to come.

Every year, something goes wrong. Tonight was the 72nd annual lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree and once again, catastrophe. Seconds after the lighting, a huge rat scurries across and knocks the tree over. Oh, the humanity.

Back to Rupert's and we find him with Emily of Short Hills, New Jersey. Emily does voice over work on commercials. Anything we would be familiar with? She does a quick 'read' from memory for an Easy Bake Oven commercial. Very good! Sign her up!
What is tonight's game at Tuesday's with Rupert? It's the Million-Dollar Holiday Sweepstakes Extravaganza! And what are we playing for? Alan announces, "Dave, it's a million-dollar holiday sweepstakes extravaganza in Rupert Jee's Hello Deli!" How do we play? Emily has 30 seconds to fill up a basket of everything she can get her hands on in the Hello Deli. Quick! What would you go for first?
Emily makes her way around the deli, finishing off with a case of the Red Bull. Total value and retail price? Rupert checks out his losses and says, "Ohhhh, about 60 bucks."
And that is how we play "Million-Dollar Holiday Sweepstakes Extravaganza."

Dave is still a bit ticked about this Sharon Reed thing. It seems she can appear nude on a local newscast but she can't appear fully clothed on our show. Does it make sense? Dave receives this note: a General Manager at WOIO in Cleveland says the station's parent company, Raycom, in Alabama will not allow Sharon Reed on our show. Dave adds, "And we're also told we can't mention 'Raycom.'"

TOP TEN: Thoughts That Cross Your Mind When Going 190 Miles Per Hour
- Last week at the Homestead/Miami Speedway, Kurt Busch and the #97 Sharpie/Irwin Ford team clinched the 2004 NASCAR championship. And here to present tonight's top ten list, 2004 NASCAR champ Kurt Busch.
#6. "Uh oh, that wasn't Powerade --- that was Pennzoil."
#5. "Damn, that Jeff Gordon is handsome."
#1. "Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!"

ALEC BALDWIN: He's in "The Aviator." It opens December 17th. Alec was nominated for an Academy Award in his role in "The Cooler," losing to Tim Robbins. He says the weird thing about being nominated for an Academy Award is that now people expect it to keep happening. In a thick New York accent, Alec says, "I'll be walking down the street and a doorman will say, 'Hey, Baldwin, what's your next project? What you got coming out next?'" Alec says I can say anything, like "I'm starring in the Captain Kangaroo story" and they'll come back with, "I smell an Oscar, Alec. I smell an Oscar!"
I like when Alec Baldwin is a guest because he has a daughter the same age as my twins, now 9 years old. Hoping to spend some quality time with his daughter, he'll suggest, "Honey, let me buy you a new coat." She'll then go into the little daughter whine, "Nooooooooo! Nooooooooo! I wanna go to the toy store! I don't want a coat!" And then the change is overnight. Days later they're in the clothes store and his daughter is now flicking back her hair, very Beverly Hills-ish, knowing all the styles, all the name brands. I know the feeling. It's about then you yourself start whining, "Let's go to the toy store. Let's buy some dolls." But it's too late. They're not so little anymore.

The other day I was working with Dominique on her math homework. We started talking about college. I asked, "What do you want to study in college? Do you want to study math?" Dominique puts her pencil down and says, "No, in college I'm gonna parrrrrrrrrrrrty!" Just like a Beastie Boy. I have no idea where that came from. I kindly told her, "Yes. That's what we all do in college. But you're not supposed to admit it to your parents."

"The Aviator" - in theaters December 17th. It's on my list of movies I would see if I actually went to movies.

ACT 5: "And now it's time for the Late Show Employee of the Week. For screwing up the 12th floor copy machine, spilling toner everywhere and then walking away like nothing happened . . . . Mike McIntee, you're the Late Show Employee of the Week!
This has been the Late Show Employee of the Week. Tell your friends."

OK, OK. Hold on. It was Monday morning. The copier needed a new batch of toner. The last time I changed it I got yelled at by the fix-it guy, accusing me of not shaking the new toner cartridge before putting it in. There was something else wrong with the machine at the time. It had nothing to do with my not shaking the toner enough. I 'yessed' him, even though I knew I shook it enough. I just wanted it fixed. So Monday morning the toner needed changing again. I was called in to do the procedure. I got a new toner cartridge and shook it up. I was about to put it in the copier but I wanted everyone to see that I was shaking it, so I shook it some more. Who knew that there was a little latch on the end of the toner cartridge that, when pressed, dispenses the toner. Apparently, my finger hit the latch and as I shook the toner, a good amount came flying out. I ended up looking like Al Jolson. And that's how I won the Late Show Employee of the Week.

KEN JENNINGS: The Jeopardy champion won a record 74 consecutive games and earned over $2.5 million. This is the most ever by a game show contestant. He played for 15 weeks worth of games, defeating 148 players along the way. His first game: June 2nd.He lost earlier tonight, missing the final "Jeopardy" question.
The category: Business and Industry.
"Most of this firm's 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only 4 months a year." Ken wrote, "What is Fed-Ex?" Buzz. The correct answer/question: "What is H&R Block?" Dang! I knew that one!
At the end of the segment, we Dave conducted his own "Late Show Jeopardy" game.
1. "It's the tastiest breakfast meat."
Ken: "What is Sausage?" BUZZ. Bacon. We were looking for bacon.
2. "Her prison nickname is 'Good Thing.'"
Ken: "Who is Martha Stewart?" DING
3. "It's the least successful Donald Trump enterprise."
Ken: "What is the Trump Home Combover Set." BUZZ --- but I liked the effort! Answer/Question: "What is Donald Trump's hair."
4. "He's America's most popular late night talk show host."
Ken: "Who is David Letterman?" BUZZ. We were looking for Jay Leno.

And that was our show for Tuesday, November 30, 2004. Wahoo EXTRA!

Hey! I forgot to mention that November 25th, was the 8th Anniversary of the very first Wahoo Gazette. It appeared on November 25, 1996. How did I get this gig? Way back in the mid 1990's I ran the weekly Late Show football pool and on the back of the football sheet I would print out the results and add my opinions of how staffers were doing with their picks. Much was tongue-in-cheek and filled with sarcasm, but staffers did not mind just as long as they were mentioned. At the same time, Walter and Jay were putting together this Late Show website thing (check it out at www.cbs.com/lateshow) and asked if I would like to write a behind-the-scenes look at the show. Not knowing what I was getting myself into, I readily agreed. The Wahoo started as a twice a week edition, maybe a half page each, and has since expanded to 5 days a week with each issue about 5 pages long. (I need an agent. Any available?)

Here is a reprint of my very first Wahoo Gazette:

"Monday, November 25, 1996 - Tonight is the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony in New York City's Rockefeller Center. So if you like pushing, shoving, and pickpockets while listening to 'Silent Night,' that's the place to be.
Mailboy Bob Borden is scheduled to appear LIVE on tonight's show and is in his dressing room at this very moment running his lines. Bob is wearing a navy blue terry-cloth robe, white towel around his neck, open back slippers, and is sipping from a green coffee mug.
Can you believe we have a grown man on our staff who calls himself, 'Corky'?
Some plans by Late Show staff members for the Thanksgiving holiday . . .
1. Nancy Agostini - work
2. Zoran Zgonc - work
3. Chris Schukei - work. . . . more tomorrow."

It's "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" on CBS Wednesday night. You won't want to miss it. Hear for yourself, "Herbie" or "Hermey."
I know, I know. There's isn't an argument. It's Hermey. But like I've said many times before, you can see the dentist elf referred to as "Herbie" in enough places to make it an interesting topic of discussion. Well, maybe after 5 years it isn't so interesting anymore.

I gave a quick search for my first mention of the Herbie/Hermey discussion. I found this from December 13, 1999.

"RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER UPDATE: The elf who wants to be a dentist. Is it Herbie or is it Hermie? I went to my source who said it's a question she's wanted to know for years. She thinks they use both on the show. A Wahoo reader says she watched Rudolph with the closed caption and it read 'Hermie.' The drug store, CVS, is selling Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer dolls from the show and in a big advertisement in my local paper they had 'Herbie.' The questions continue. I have a Rudolph book at home I will check tonight. My theory: It's 'Hermie' but since Rudolph has that big covering on his nose at the beginning of the show, it sounds like he's saying 'Herbie.'

Looking for something to do this weekend? Check out Darlene Love at the Apollo Theater in her concert, "Love at the Apollo for Christmas." Also appearing will be Steve Van Zandt, Ben E. King, Cissy Houston, and our very own Paul Shaffer!
And if you can't make the show, be sure to watch Darlene on the Late Show December 23rd. You'll be glad you did.