OK, I know this is a little weird. I just watched Leno in real time and am now watching Dave. So consider the context of what follows. … (One semi-rude joke included)

Dave starts with a coup of sorts. Leno had Mike Huckabee. Dave has Hillary Clinton doing a taped intro noting Dave's long absence. "Oh, well," she says, "all good things come to an end." Her makeup looks terrible, by the way.

After the credits, we get a chorus line with WGA picket signs. And Dave still has a strike beard. Later says that he looks "like a cattle-drive cook" and "a missing hiker." I like the reference to the chorus line as the "Eugene V. Debs."

Talks about what he's learned during the hiatus. Notes his show is the only one on the air with union writers. Well, until Ferguson comes on. More strike jokes, and bad-writing jokes.

Dave's at the desk. Says he hasn't been off this long since his heart attack. (The beard is really bothering me. If I wanted to see a beard that gray, I would grow my own.) Talks about being home with his son, Harry. Thanks the Writers Guild for making a deal. Mentions the guest list. Much audience excitement re Robin Williams. And promises a piece about things they would have done if the writers had not come back. "Without writers and without caffeine I have virtually no personality whatsoever," Dave says.

Questions from the audience about the strike — setup for jokes. One asks about picketers outside. Dave says they're just people who hate the show. Woman asks what the terms were that let the writers come back. Dave introduces his "personal attorney" to explain. Attorney runs without explanation.

Dave's got his big laugh on 11. Good to hear. But he has also been scribbling during this whole bit and seems less than attentive. Of course, the jokes aren't really worth much attention. One punchline is cut off so writer Bill Scheft can point out the strike is still going on outside Dave's world. I remember Scheft back when he was a sportswriter-turned-comedian, not long after he had graduated to getting paid money for gigs instead of just getting comped meals. But I digress. Nice shot at producers' greed.

After a break, Dave talks about the beard. Now says people think he looks like Kenny Rogers. Promises to have someone come in and shave him on the air.

Top 10 List: Demands of the Striking Writers, read by 10 striking writers, among them Nora Ephron and Alan Zweibel. Number one demand: Producers must immediately remove their heads from their asses.

Robin Williams. Starts with long riff on Dave's beard, and eventually gets to Walter Brennan in "Brokeback Mountain."

After a break, Dave tries to have something closer to a conversation. Robin dials it down but is still tossing jokes. Clip from his Iraq trip. Overall fair, not great, but Williams hits a really nasty Britney joke right before the next break.

Dave sets up the bit about things they would have done if the writers hadn't come back. Brings back Hal Gurnee and a gimmick from the '88 strike. Not funny, though. After another break, "Know Your Staff." Long chat with an associate producer. Includes baby pictures.

You know, Letterman feels like the show with writers on strike — angrier about the strike, more aimless and time-filling in this segment — while Leno looked like business as usual.

Musical guest: Lupe Fiasco with Matthew Santos. And it's very late, since I kept forgetting to fast-forward through the commercials. So I'm going to save the music act for contemplation another time. And Kimmel/Conan/Craig for the morning.

Here's the official word from the Writers Guild as posted on the WGAW Web site:

The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) have issued the following statement regarding Contract 2007 negotiations:
“The Writers Guild has reached a binding independent agreement today with Worldwide Pants that will allow Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson to return to the air with their full writing staffs. This is a comprehensive agreement that addresses the issues important to writers, particularly New Media. Worldwide Pants has accepted the very same proposals that the Guild was prepared to present to the media conglomerates when they walked out of negotiations on December 7.

It’s time for NBC-Universal to step up to the plate and negotiate a company-wide deal that will put Jay Leno, who has supported our cause from the beginning, back on the air with his writers.”

For more on the deal, see Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Daily.

The anticipated return of David Letterman to the airwaves with his writers appears to be running into some kind of trouble. Here's the statement from the Writers Guild Web site:

Representatives from Worldwide Pants [Letterman's production company] and the Writers Guild of America, West and the Writers Guild of America, East met today. A lively exchange of information took place. The WGAW and WGAE will not comment further.

Nikki Finke adds a statement from Worldwide's Rob Burnett:

"We had a substantive discussion today with the WGA and look forward to continuing these talks next week."

If only for last night's "Top 10 Signs Your Newspaper Is In Trouble"":

10. Covers all the news that happens within one block of the office.

9. Today's exclusive: "Nixon Dead!"

8. Reporter sent to jail for refusing to divulge a source … Oh, and he also killed a dude.

7. All horoscopes: "Now would be a good time to get out of the newspaper business."

6. Paper's motto: "Suck it!"

5. Every "hot gossip" item is about Jack Klugman.

4. Managing editor and the guy who wheels around breakfast? Same guy.

3. Under "weather," it just reads "yes."

2. Instead of "Garfield," has a comic strip called "Garfunkel."

1. You endorsed Dennis Kucinich.

His Top 10 list for Dave, from tonight's show, after the jump …

"Things I Learned from ‘American Idol’"
10. The camera adds ten pounds to your mohawk.
9. Work hard and make sacrifices, you can finish in 7th place.
8. It’s very important to “Keep it real, dawg.”
7. I should have gone for the immunity idol – oh wait, that’s “Survivor.”
6. On-camera Simon is a bit nasty, but off-camera, he’s a total jerk.
5. Voting for yourself 100 times an hour causes some wicked carpal tunnel.
4. When you forget the words, just do this.
(Sanjaya belts out a riff like“Ohhhhhhhh”)

3. Honestly, I thought I was auditioning for “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?”
2. Nothing.
1. America loves performers with bad hair – right, Dave?