The BEST episodes of Late Show with David Letterman season 3

#1 - Show #0585

Season 3 - Episode 146 - Aired 5/6/1996

The Late Show begins a week in San Francisco as Mayor Willie Brown interrupts the show throughout the hour by offering Dave the key to the city, a loaf of sourdough bread, and a stick he found in his yard. Also, Paul composes a music video for cable car operator Luis "Guido" Montano, with cameos by Los Lobos, Carly Simon, Hootie & the Blowfish and Celine Dion.

#2 - Show #0572

Season 3 - Episode 133 - Aired 4/10/1996

#3 - Show #0573

Season 3 - Episode 134 - Aired 4/11/1996

The Home Office Competition continues: Added to Wahoo's tank is a pizza, a T-shirt, and a birdhouse, while Grand Rapids adds a garment bag; Dave shows another episode of Alan Kalter's mini-sitcom "Weird Guy in an Elevator"; Luciano Pavarotti and Michael Bolton sing "Nessun Dorma."

#4 - Show #0574

Season 3 - Episode 135 - Aired 4/12/1996

Dave appears on the Times Square Jumbotron demanding presents; Dave and Fred Nigro go to Jersey to help with taxes, during which Dave recruits a citizen to stand in for him during an audit; Dave plugs his mother's recently-published cookbook.

#5 - Show #0575

Season 3 - Episode 136 - Aired 4/22/1996

An audience member assists in the debut of the Slatstar 2000, while Brett Butler presents the Top Ten.

#6 - Show #0576

Season 3 - Episode 137 - Aired 4/23/1996

Mia Farrow reveals that she's addicted to the internet. Carly Simon drops by in mid-interview, and later, both sit in with the CBS Orchestra, with Mia on tambourine and Carly on cowbell.

#7 - Show #0577

Season 3 - Episode 138 - Aired 4/24/1996

Dave holds an impromptu auction, while Marshall Sylver hypnotizes more Late Show staffers.

#8 - Show #0578

Season 3 - Episode 139 - Aired 4/25/1996

Wahoo vs. Grand Rapids, Day 9: Wahoo sends two kids, Jeff and Josh Price, to sit in their glass tank. Grand Rapids loses further ground by sending several non-living items. Also, Alan does various random things throughout the night, including reading his turkey pot pie recipe, speaking in a bad French accent, ripping his shirt open, and holding his breath through a commercial break.

#9 - Show #0579

Season 3 - Episode 140 - Aired 4/26/1996

In honor of the recent Sotheby's Auction that featured items once owned by John F. Kennedy, Biff comes stage on Jackie O's (alleged) riding lawnmower; in a pre-taped segment, Dave interviews CBS job applicants, during which he pressures college sophomore Todd Stevens to sing; Nathan Lane appears to show Todd how it's done; Dave leaves the show to have some coffee with a guy named Kenny.

#10 - Show #0580

Season 3 - Episode 141 - Aired 4/29/1996

Dorothy drops by to promote the cookbook that Dave's been plugging for the last two weeks, and she cooks him his favorite sandwich.

#11 - Show #0581

Season 3 - Episode 142 - Aired 4/30/1996

At the end of the monologue, a guy dressed up as an Olympic runner bolts across the stage, and later he paces around the backdrop. Also, comedian Anthony Clark promotes his new sitcom Boston Common.

#12 - Show #0582

Season 3 - Episode 143 - Aired 5/1/1996

Tonight's "What's On Other Channels" segment includes "Condom Testing," "The Mexican Navy's New Battleship," and "Tommy Lee-Pamela Anderson Video."

#13 - Show #0583

Season 3 - Episode 144 - Aired 5/2/1996

Pat Farmer interrupts the monologue by walking in front of the camera; Marv Albert provides color commentary on tonight's CBS Mailbag; two guys spray each other with fuel at a gas station in Queens.

#14 - Show #0584

Season 3 - Episode 145 - Aired 5/3/1996

The Home Office Contest is over: Wahoo is now the official home office of the Top Ten List, decimating Grand Rapids from the get-go. Also, Everclear performs "Heartspark Dollarsign."

#15 - Show #0571

Season 3 - Episode 132 - Aired 4/9/1996

Dave begins a new contest: The town that sends the most valuable gifts will be the new Top Ten Home Office. Two huge glass tanks are displayed onstage, each for the two towns in competition. Tonight, Wahoo, Nebraska (the challenger) sends enchiladas, while Grand Rapids (the incumbent) sends a fax from the Governor of Michigan. Not a good start for Grand Rapids. Also, the outside cam visits Sullivan's Bar & Grill next door, and their bartender comes in the theater to pose for a Polaroid picture.

#16 - Show #0586

Season 3 - Episode 147 - Aired 5/7/1996

Frisco, Day 2: Dave gives a bouquet to a 95-year-old lady in the audience; Dave and football great Joe Montana tour the city, where they end up getting "friendly" in Alcatraz; Dave checks on the theater in NYC, and finds Clint Eastwood imitating Dave at his desk.

#17 - Show #0587

Season 3 - Episode 148 - Aired 5/8/1996

Frisco, Day 3: Sheila E. and Pete Escovido sit in; Dave shows off the 49ers shower curtain he has in the dressing room; Dave orders Rupert to harass people on the street; Dave invites a shaggy-looking guy in the audience (a professor at Stanford, no less) to take a shower during the show.

#18 - Show #0588

Season 3 - Episode 149 - Aired 5/9/1996

From San Francisco: Three audience members receive free hams and souvenir cue cards; Joe Satriani sits in; Dave tells the seals at Fisherman's Wharf to shut up; the San Francisco Giants present the Top Ten; basketballs and melons are rolled down Fillburn Street, the steepest in the city.

#19 - Show #0589

Season 3 - Episode 150 - Aired 5/10/1996

Frisco, Day 5: The Alcatraz mock-up in the backdrop is subject to a jailbreak; Dave hangs out with a local hippie, thus introducing the world (not to mention fleeting fame) to one Manny Papp; Dave loses a blue card, and then finds it inside a crab at Fisherman's Wharf; Manny meets his hero, John Popper of Blues Traveler.

#20 - Show #0590

Season 3 - Episode 151 - Aired 5/13/1996

Dave quizzes the audience on his week in San Francisco, during which Gene Siskel runs onstage looking for Roger Ebert. Later in the show, he gives up on his search, then relaunches his film review program as "Siskel and DeForest." Also, Natalie Merchant sings "Jealousy."

#21 - Show #0591

Season 3 - Episode 152 - Aired 5/14/1996

Manny the Hippie gives his first live remote from San Francisco, as Dave asks him to give periodic reviews on current movies. Tonight, he reviews Twister, which he personally didn't care for.

#22 - Show #0592

Season 3 - Episode 153 - Aired 5/15/1996

Junior Brown sits in, and Dave tries on his very unique hat. Also, a guy dressed up as Ronald McDonald gives Dave the Top Ten, and later he is found lying dead in the street.

#23 - Show #0593

Season 3 - Episode 154 - Aired 5/16/1996

During Mailbag, Tony sits in for Dave while Dave sits in for Alan saying "letter number two," which leads into a question about lawn care; comedian Harry Hill tells jokes about Cher, The A-Team, and his grandmother's funeral; Spin Doctors perform "She Used to Be Mine."

#24 - Show #0594

Season 3 - Episode 155 - Aired 5/17/1996

For no apparent reason, Dave orders Tony to take a taxi; Manny the Hippie presents the Top Ten; a dentist checks out a weird whistling noise coming out of Dave's mouth when he speaks.

#25 - Show #0595

Season 3 - Episode 156 - Aired 5/20/1996

Two audience guys go outside to monitor the temperature, and given their meteorological expertise, are ordered to stand next to a giant thermometer.