‘Tonight Show’ Mess: Leno’s Class Transcends NBC’s Stupidity
by Jeffrey JenaI first met Jay Leno back in the early 80’s. I had gotten my first television gig as a reporter on WJBK in Detroit working for the local version of PM Magazine. At that time Jay was the hottest comic on the booming comedy club circuit and he was coming to the Comedy Castle. I called his publicist and asked if Jay would be interested in doing an interview with me. He graciously consented and we did a few funny bits and a short interview. My cameraman went nuts with the taping that night, I needed thirty seconds of Jay on stage and he taped almost the entire set. Jay was a little miffed but he never held it against me. A few years later we met again in Hollywood and he invited me over to “the house.” I got to go to Jay’s a few times and got a personal tour of the cars and bikes he was keeping there. Through the years whenever we ran into one another, usually at the Comedy Magic Club in Hermosa Beach when we were working together, he was always quick with a comment to let you know he remembered the last time you had talked.
The recent war of time slots and words between Jay Leno and NBC brings two thoughts to mind. First is that Jay should adopt the old hook of Rodney Dangerfield because he isn’t getting any respect. Second it reminds me of one of the most brilliant and simplest things ever written about show business. One of my favorite books about show business is “Adventures in the Screen Trade” by the great screenwriter William Goldman. Perhaps the most significant insight he gives about show business and especially those who try to run things is that, “Nobody knows anything.”
This has never been a more perfect example of this than in the recent actions by the geniuses running NBC Television. Starting about two years ago the top brass at the peacock network made a decision that the smug hipness of Conan O’Brien was more important than the steady high ratings and common man touch of Jay Leno. Jay’s real sin was that he was getting older. His shock of black Elvis-like hair had gone salt and pepper and then gray. He wasn’t the young hip motorcycle guy with a beef, he was a late middle aged guy who told great jokes and had great numbers. Not good enough!
They announced that Jay would give up The Tonight Show to Conan at the end of his contract. In a moment of lucid thought somebody realized that Jay might not like riding off into the sunset in his mid-fifties. He could go to another network. So another genius made up some goofy Tonight Show/non-Tonight Show for the 10 P.M. slot and offered it to Jay. It sank like a stone in the ratings. Jay’s fault? I don’t think so.
So now the rumors are flying and Jay is taking verbal jabs at NBC. His recent monologues are vintage Leno and show what a master of the art of stand-up he is. A long time ago when I was hanging with Jay one night he was asked by another comic why he worked so much. Why with The Tonight Show and other money he was making would he jet up to Vegas and do a weekend at Caesar’s? I remember Jay saying something like you only have so much time on top so you have to make the money while you can. He has done that.
I think Jay is past caring if NBC keeps him or not. He has always said he is a comic first and that his ability to do stand-up is the base of everything he does. I think he’ll always find a gig; he’s still at the top of his game. Years ago he begged NBC for a shot on late night TV, now they should be begging him to stay. Personally, I’d like to see him after American Idol on Fox.
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80 Comments
I don't watch late night talk shows. I decided to try them out once. Jay Leno was the only one who didn't immediately annoy me.
I liked the earlier show time! Can we please have another high quality talk show on at that time? A politically neutral or conservative one? Where the host is thrilled to be there? And they do different things every show?
Swore off network tv mostly. But in the sewage business Jay Leno imho is proverbial cream that rises to the top. He gets paid well to take the back stabs but still.
The peacock is nothing but a pigeon. What's new? They can't even do football w/o hacking all over themselves. (not speaking of Michaels either…he past immortal after the 80 Olympics)
I like the idea of Jay after American Idol. I hope they run with it.
I liked his earlier showtime too, but the low ratings of "The Jay Leno Show" will guarantee that no television network will ever try this again.
Not a fan of late night. Last time I really enjoyed it, Carson was still on. Leno has always seemed like a decent guy, I liked him better years ago when he did do a lot of stand up, but if he is getting shafted, I hope he goes to Fox, too. That will fix em.
The ratings are in Middle America, not the Left Coast or the Arrogant Elitist Northeast. The television execs have no clue what Americans prefer. Obviously, because of their progressive ideology, they know what's best for all of us and they, alone, have all the answers; they are so, so wrong.
With an alarm clock that goes off at 5:20 a.m. every day, the earlier time slot worked fine for us. We didn't like starting a drama at 10 and then falling asleep before it finished. With Leno's 10 p.m. slot, we caught the monologue every night and then usually found it interesting enough to watch it all. Castle was the only show opposite Jay that would make us switch channels. We gave up on ALL "reality" shows except Idol years ago.
I'd like the idea of Leno instead of American Idol. That kind of crap is why I am glad to be single again. Wife part deux (or is that duh?) had that trash on all the time.
Agreed, Leno has more class than the netexecs. I suppose the execs might be excused for wanting to try new arrangements, but it has certainly proven a loser.
I liked Conan at 1:30, for some occasionally funny hijinks. But he is too silly for 11:30, and his uber-liberal antics have now lost me along with a lot of Jay's audience. Let Leno have the whole time back, and let Conan decide if he wants his old time or wants to try his luck elsewhere. I don't think he'll take much of Leno's audience anywhere, if he ends up running opposite him.
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Gone are the days of a class act like Johnny Carson. When Mr. Carson retired he did just that. He retired without the drama or indecisiveness we see today with Leno.
What a douchebag….
A bit off topic….but William Goldman's insights hold true for all of business. There is more truth than fiction in the daily Dilbert.
Conan spends too much time during his interviews mugging for the camera and stepping all over what the guest is saying in an effort to say something clever or witty. his interviews are unwatchable to me. however, his filmed bits can be hilarious. he's clearly a funny guy. but he's never been a comfortable interviewer and that has always come across to me. after all these years, he's NOT gotten much better.
Leno is the guy next door. it's hard not to like him because he tries to make everyone like him. i know he's really liberal, but he doesn't shove his viewpoints down your throat and he allows his guests to disagree with him. he's got a good idea of what flyover country considers to be funny.
Letterman is just mean, old, and bitter at this point. his writers are some of the nastiest people in show business.
Kimmel is hard to peg. i don't watch his show very often. he's also a funny guy. he doesn't seem to have any boundaries though, and sometimes his humor is at the expense of others (guests or strangers on hidden cam). I guess he's ok if the guest is interesting. but by himself, i can only stand a couple of minutes of his schtick.
Carson Daly, Jimmy Fallon, etc. are not even in the conversation
What ever he does I hope he sticks it to NBC good.
I'm sorry, but I don't think Leno has been a good host at all. Granted, I doubt anyone could have successfully filled Carson's shoes — the man was amazing — but Leno's monologue is waaaaaayyyyy too long and he has a horrible habit of interrupting his guests to make cheesy, stupid jokes. I've never seen a single Leno interview that flowed smoothly.
And, while the network is definitely to blame for this screw-up, Conan O'Brien is NOT the villain of this affair. I'm not convinced that Leno himself is blameless. It just seems that, when transition time comes, someone gets stabbed in the back whenever Jay's involved.
Craig Ferguson is better than any of them.
In Jay's defense, he did not want to leave the Tonight Show he was pushed out. Johnny was well into his 60's when he hung it up.
Don't think I said anything about Conan being to blame.
I like Craig but sometimes find his "bits" to be a bit derivative. That could be the writers. Also the Prince Charles bit is a little long in the tooth.
Hey the guy is richer then God. He has more unnecessary toys then Elvis did. Yes he is a nice guy but to tell the truth at this time in the country who gives a damn if he does not have a show in his 50's. The man will never want for anything. Am I envious? Damn right I am LOL. I just wish my one Harley was paid off and my house. Just being honest.
Conan will make $28 million for the next 2 years whether he works or not! Some payday!
"He wasn’t the young hip motorcycle guy with a beef, he was a late middle aged guy who told great jokes and had great numbers."
It took me about half-a-second to conclude, "gee, that's right in line with the rising age of the American late night TV viewing demographic."
Let me run the fraking network.
Jay is the host I hate the least …
I like Jay's current show. I never stay up as late as his old show, but I like going to sleep with light fare vs. the heavy late dramas usually offered by the various networks.
And I'm likely ignorant, but I don't understand the issue about 'lead in' to the nightly news. Don't people watch the shows – whether comedy, drama, or local news – that they enjoy most? Isn't it the responsibility of the local news stations themselves to produce a show worth watching? If not, can't we blame Leno's (or any other show's) low ratings on the programming that's on before it?
I preferred Letterman to Leno,
until Dave went 'full retard'.
Jay turned me off when he started on 'Tonight' by spending his first week
dragging out some stupid joke about Dan Quayle,
but he has developed equal opportunity snarkiness over the years .
I used to watch Jay Leno until nbc became obamabroadcastingcompany. I boycott nbc (except The Office, I just can't stop watching that one). If Jay goes to FOX, I'll start watching him again.
No, I know you didn't. That's kind of a theme going around, though so I guess I had it on the brain. Didn't mean to put words in your mouth.
Well, that was written by someone with much experience, methinks…
I'm not loving any of the talk show hosts anymore. I haven't seen Ferguson and Fallon, and I've heard great things about the former. As far as Fallon is concerned, I just have a hard time picturing him as a decent host of this particular format. He's too giggly, which is actually a problem I have with Leno.
I think Amy Poehler (if she dropped her ill informed political commentary) would make a great late night host. She can definitely play with the big boys. It's doubtful anyone has ever thought of that casting, but there it is. I think she'd be great.
Yeah, but I love seeing him dressed up like Prince Charles with the big ears and the Bubba teeth. I don't know, I guess I just don't like Prince Charles (he's a real git) and like it when he gets made fun of.
Otherwise, Craig is all over the place and so sometimes funny, sometimes not.
Johnny Carson and his late show was one of those mysteries the other kids, who either could, or would, stay up late to watch, talked about the next day. Once I had the opportunity to stay up and see it for myself, I wasn't overly impressed, but I did laugh at times. I do remember seeing some great comics, and music artists, over the years when I did catch the show. Never really plugged in, but I've watched Jay, Dave, Conan, and that Scotsman. For a while, Nightline and Ted Koppel had me staying up late. The bits and pieces I've seen in more recent years reminds me of standing in line at the grocery and flipping through tabloids while waiting for my turn at the checker. All in all, I would rather read, or just hit the hay and wake early to watch dawn outside of my window.
I find it odd that your warm and fuzzy Leno anecdote is about how you asked the guy why he works so much and his answer was "money". Not saying that's a bad answer, but it hardly supports your point about Leno's transcendental classiness.
Another thing that doesn't support your point? The way he's handled this Tonight Show hand-off.
I get that NBC bullied him to pick a retirement date. But if they guy never meant to retire and was only bowing to unfair network pressure way back when he agreed to this in 2004, he ought to have complained loudly about it . Instead, he quietly let everyone sign contracts, pass up lucrative offers, and generally rearrange their lives and careers around the assumption that he was leaving the late night playing field when he probably knew better. And even if he didn't, he could own up to his portion of the responsibility for agreeing to one thing, then changing his mind.
Instead, he's doing monologues about how NBC sucks and how they "canceled" him and stabbed him in the back when NBC is bending over backward to give him back the time slot he agreed to leave.
Leno should go — ABC, FOX, Vegas — he'd do well and probably be happy anywhere. The Tonight Show has a new owner now.
What a pinhead you are Baba Booey! Mr. Jena has a personal history with Mr. Leno and he has a right to write about it in context to what seems to be happening at NBC re showing no respect to a proven money-maker. Get a clue, otherwise we might all think even qualified professional writers have to clear their ideas with you first. On top of that your choice of words was insulting to anyone with a brain. Surely you are now embarrassed by your insulting choice of words. You should delete your comment all by yourself. Come on even a 5-year-old should be able to do that.
Hey Jay, if you can read this , dump NBC after the nonsense they put you through to get the Tonight Show and Carson playing his games to get David instead of you. They you get the gig and NBC pulls this Conan BS on you. Jay for crying out loud you're from Boston, don't take this crap from these Hollywood finocchio's, you have enough F-you money now, tell them to pound sand you know where. Get over to FOX and do a late night show and invite conservatives as guest, all writers, comics, actors, directors, muscians you will be the biggest thing on TV if you pack your show with conservatives like Palin, levin. Look at the ratings of your show the night Rush was on.
Don't waste your time with losers from the liberal pop culture, grab the bull by his nuts and raise hell Jay, you're from Boston, tear the place up. Have fun with it and go against the liberal peer pressure and give them all the Italian salute.
You're show will be bigger then Carson if you play it right. You bring on the talent from the old days and I mean who ever is left alive, the people from our generation and the new young conservative talent. You don't want angry liberals with a chip on their shoulder pissing and moaning. Get conservatives out there, set your show up as a little Jack Parr, Carson and Leno mix it up it is a home run Jay and OWN late night from all the no talent liberals.
On the subject of class, Jay's jokes were not so veiled threats to NBC and Conan's were fun loving and goofy…and he has much more to lose.
Yes, because "smug hipness" is a descriptive so often used to denote the GOOD GUY in a story…
I could never understand why they would cancel him when he was #1 for years over Letterman. But then I don't get the big bucks at the networks
I think Jay would be far better at Fox or ABC. NBC is a joke these days.
Jay IS NOT being shown disrespect. In fact he is being shown so much respect that NBC has killed it's formerly powerful 10pm (easter) timeslot by puting in one more talk show to replace the FORMERLY famous 10pm (eastern) slot that used to be filled with smart drama's, now it's, an "improv" talk show. EVERY EFFING NIGHT!
You know who is being treated with a lack of respect? Conan. I'm not saying conan is better, but Jay didn't face the internal conflicts that Conan does. Dave ran away like a crying baby, and everyone saw it as dave running away like a crying baby. If NBC had actually stood next to conan he would be almost as big as jay, (Not as big, Jay just has a general likeability to him)
NBC killed one of their big draws with the stupidity of putting Jay at 10pm. The intellectual and engaging drama's that made up the whole weeks 10pm slot. (not to mention them leveraging the L&O offshoots to a ridiculous level.)
Hell they are even killing the 8-10 slots on thursday for their also famous commedy lineup. CBS has Monday for comedy, NBC has thursday, and NBC is destroying their BEST property's for no good reason.
I always like your DIY spirit, Jack. But Leno's not going to go conservative…since he isn't one.
No, I know you didn't. That's kind of a theme going around, though so I guess I had it on the brain. Didn't mean to put words in your mouth.
When it comes to entertainment – film, TV – one of our family catchphrases has been popping up a lot lately – "Who thought this was a good idea?" How far this is a Leno vs Conan vs Letterman vs The Guy With The Accent, I don't know. I don't watch late night. "Late" and "Night" are things I associate with "Sleep". But NBC's programming strategy has been the mess – cable stations have grabbed the "reality" concept (in Hollywood "reality" is a concept) and outdone the networks, and you can only wring so much out of a graying Law and Order franchise. Moving a late night show to 10 PM was their concept of "new", and then there's the money:-as much as they paid Leno, it was probably seen as a bargain compared to five nights of scripted programming.
When Hollywood fails, it's usually because there has been a significant disconnect between what they decide we want (or ought) to see and what we actually want to see – a failure of insight and imagination. The audience didn't want Leno – they wanted Leno at 11:30 PM. Moving him to 10 PM made his program just one more 10 PM program nobody wanted to watch. Who thought this was a good idea?
Bingo!……………the progressives will ride their ignorant arrogance into oblivion. Fox network is killing them and the fools can't understand why.
equally surprising is your ability to type with your head up your ass….
TV Affiliates generally believe that most of the audience regards 11pm local news as giving the "same information" in terms of what they immediately want to know (weather, sports scores, the big local story) and as such ratings reflect that people tend to "stay on" the newscast of whichever network the show they were just watching was on. This is why the affiliates were terrified of a talk show at 10pm to begin with – they prefer scripted drama or even sitcoms, stuff with a plot that you have to watch to the very end – and since the ratings are bearing it out they're in open mutiny.
Do you think 'Smug hipness" is an unfair discription of Conan's style? I actually sometimes enjoy his show. I just think it plays to a younger and smaller demographic than Leno's. The numbers agree.
I am saying the execs pted to that "coolness" over Leno's success- a bad way to run a business.
Please read the excellent book on the Leno/Letterman batle for the Tonight Show " I believe the title is "The Late Shift" or "Night Shift" also made into a MFTV movie
The same could be said of Saturday night live at one point long ago,.. We'd re-enact the scenes at school the following day of Belushi and Steve Martin and Akroyd, but all good things come to an end and late night TV, the Tonight Show etc,.. have passed their prime and are now in their twilight years. I don't see any real point in continuing any of them no matter who is the host. You'll never see another I love lucy either and that's the way it goes. The networks need to generate renewed interest and in order for them to do that they need new content, plain and simple.
Jay Leno doesn't have a sincere bone in his body. That is what is so noticeable in his interview style.
Howard Stern has talked at length about what a phony back-stabbing two-face he is.
All of these shows have been reduced to boring, canned, derivative commercials for movie or TV shows.. Bring him in…hey buddy, good to see ya…blah, blah, blah…you've got a clip..thanks Pal.
I'm just watching until the night that one of them finally has Obama on and actually fellates in front of an audience.
I'm waiting until the night that one of them finally has Obama on and actually fellates in front of an audience.
"there has been a significant disconnect between what they decide we want (or ought) to see and what we actually want to see"
Exactly. I'd rather watch live footage of the Super Hadron Collider tunnel or Hubble Telescope spinning around in circles or a Marine eating MRE's in a bunker in Afghanistan than all of this nonsense put together. Even if NOTHING was going on with any of them.. TV is beyond absurd and has been for a long time and cable, despite its success over networks has very little to brag about.. A decent dinosaur program here or there with an asteroid impact and then hours and hours of ghost chasing morons and Nostradamus bumpkins. If you want to capture my attention then take a few grad students out to Utah and dig up some rocks and talk about the geology or get a chef and make an omelet or have Bob Ross paint a nice and simple landscape. Don't try and hype me with hyperbolic nonsense and politically overinflated spin or drama in either direction because I just won't buy it..
It is hard not to like Jay. What is not to like about a guy who can deliver a jab without being nasty. Can finesse without being the slightest bit sleazy. Works hard. Seems like an actual person that is unchanged by wealth or status. In or out of Hollywood – the world could use a few more Jays.
Go ahead NBCl
mess with the working class, they have to go to work,
mess with the poor, they have to get food and lottery tickets.
mess with the well to do, they have broad sholders.
But mess with the funny guys,
well its your turn NBC for a turn IN the barrel.
"Do you think 'Smug hipness" is an unfair discription of Conan's style?"
Yes. "Smug" better describes Letterman, who's "bit" has always been "talk shows are dopey, I'm really too clever to be doing this, you're too clever to be watching this, so let's mess around and spend the studio's money on random wackiness." And it works for him. Conan's schtick is more about playing it "straight" amid general strangeness – definately "hip," but I'd stop short of "smug."
If *anyone* deserves an earlier/more prominent timeslot it's Craig Ferguson.
I agree. I like Conan a lot. But Conan's schtick is much more a 12:30 than an 11:30 schtick.
I agree that Mr. Leno seems to be getting short-shrifted (as is also, it looks like, Mr. O'Brien) and that NBC is dumb. I disagree that Mr. Leno is still, or ever has been, funny.
We'd rather watch reruns of the infinitely quicker, better written and funnier Phineas and Ferb (the greatest TV show since Rocky and Bullwinkle) than listen to vacuous celebrities, bad bands and political monologues that insult and belittle half the viewing audience.
I own access to dozens of channels, a DVR and the internet: the marginally funny Leno, the hateful and bitter Letterman and the also-rans O'brien, Ferguson and whatshisnose can all take a flying leap off a short pier for all I care.
Conan seems to me to be just as genuine and considerate of a gentleman as you think Leno is. I wouldn't describe Conan as smug. I would describe his comedy as satirical. As an individual I think he has plenty of class.
Conan is not a malicious person who holds grudges. You can tell that it actually bothers him to get into REAL dirt, but he doesn't really have a choice. He has to talk about it.
Lol. That wasn't insulting and belittling at all.
Conan O'Brien never even got an opportunity to make "Tonight" his own. He was still following Jay Leno. Jay should have renewed his contracted if he wanted to be on the air still.
Conan's been the class act through this whole thing. I really hope the rumors about him and FOX are true, as the execs at FOX seem to really like him and admire his talent.
Jay is a decent guy who needs to get out of the NBC-Universal snakepit.
Actually, there's a fairly easy answer to NBC's pending disaster; let Jay have the 10pm slot through the end of this season. In the fall, have all the affiliates move their network news to 10pm, and put Jay on at 10:35pm. The affiliates get more ad revenues, NBC gets to save on programming and, more importantly, save face. Problems solved.
Of course, since NBC is inherently evil, I'm actually enjoying watching them implode.
This crap is a bit revisionist. 1: Conan was the successor picked in 2004!! 2: The Jay Leno show is crap. Its 90% jokes filled with advertisements ("Hey you hear about this new promo at wendys… blah blah… punchline") 3: Conan is only failing cause Jay is stealing his guests at 10:00 leaving Conan with same quality of guests he had at 12:30. 4: Conan is and always was funnier than Leno. In fact Leno was never funny, ever. His 10pm show was a joke and insult to Conan, who has remained classy and supportive of Jay even though He never should have been. He should of protested that dumbass move, but instead he said on his Late Night that he was proud and happy to still be following Jay Leno and said that Leno was always great to him and He credits Jay with his success. Jay is unclassy from not retiring when he should have.
Why should Conan O'Brien have to pay for Jay Leno's poor performance at 10 p.m.
Forget Jay, O'Brien is the one getting jerked around here.
Sure, Leno is a nice guy but business is business. If the ratings are low the show should be cancelled. Period.
The way Leno has been ragging continuously on Obama and his screw-ups (plus the obligatory shot at Biden), I am surprised this didn't happen sooner. Leno is the only late night comedy guy I will watch. I…HATE Fallon, and Ferguson is OK, plus Conana has his moments, but Leno is usually pretty steady in his comedic routine. I wont even acknowledge Bucktooth the Boy Wonder…
Left unsaid is what NBC would do with a half-hour Leno show. Would it just be his monologue, Headlines and Jaywalking style comedy bits and few if any guests? Would the A-list guests want to go on Conan where they'd be on later than they would with Letterman, and would the studios sending them out on plug-a-thons accept that arrangement. Conan's show has suffered the most by poor guest bookings, mostly because the better prospects went to Leno's show and the more prominent time slot.
NBC still has a mess on its hands and has trashed their golden Tonight Show brand for nothing. If push comes to shove, Conan will probably get booted and that's a shame. He's funnier and more inventive and the only one of the late-night crowd who can actually interview someone. He should never have been moved out of New York (he shows his barely-veiled displeasure with LA nearly every night). FOX would do well to build him a theater in New York and put him back where he belongs.
Leno is the safe, if comedically inferior choice. He recycles joke concepts as much as Letterman who grew increasingly lazy as he descended into leftism (not a coincidence). Leno failed in prime time because there was no great innovation in the format to justify watching him then. People expected something new and bigger and found it was the same show on an uncomfortable looking set, the band looks like it's a quarter-mile away, with lame advertiser-sponsored gimmicks like the "green car challenge" which didn't impress anyone.
It's interesting to watch NBC make another series of missteps in their Tonight Show succession plans. I believe the current decisions are at least partially a reaction to what happened when Leno replaced Carson. One of my favorite movies is the "The Late Shift" which chronicled the battle between Jay, Dave, and NBC to replace Carson. There are similar elements at play here. Pushing the established host to leave before he was ready to; a young "hipper" guy feeling ready that he is ready to make the move up, and the network trying to have it both ways rather than making a tough decision. Instead of making the tough decision themselves everything falls apart and ultimately the tough decision will be made for them making NBC a further laughingstock of a network.
I love Phineas and Ferb! I tape it for my kids so I can watch all the episodes. That cartoon has so many great jokes for kids and adults and I don't have to worry about content I don't want to see.
Class? Pffft. The classy move would've been to retire and go do stand-up.
I have to say, Conan is the one who comes off as the class act, as he's the one who will be the loser in all this yet he will probably stay since he wouldn't risk his staff and employees their jobs unless they can go with him.
Jay was the one who was looking to retire and then changed his mind, undercut Conan by making NBC book him all the bigger guests, and is now willing to risk the jobs of others because he still wants to put on a show.
Leno may be a nice guy to your face, but he's cutthroat when he has something to lose.
If Jay Leno stays with NBC, I think he should demand his full hour back (11:35-12:35) where he was so successful. Conan has proven he is unable to draw in the viewers in that time slot. But he got quite decent numbers from 12:35-1:35am. I personally never watch Conan because he's too goofy, silly, doesn't interview properly, acting goofy with guests. His show just doesn't cut it for me.
Jay does so well with a full hour; his monologue, his funny skits that vary each night, funny folks on such as Ross Matthews, Dan, the singer with funny sons, he keeps his show new & lively. The guests that are interviewed are usually excellent. I even appreciate Jay brings on varryring guests with different political commentary. Overall, Jay puts on a good show each night, Conan appeals to younger folks, Letterman is politically a leftist, which eliminates more than 1/2 the country as viewers, and Letterman is often mean-spirited in his monologues. If Jay stays at NBC, he should demand his full hour from 11:35-12:35.
Agree! My kids turned me on to Phineas and Ferb. Intelligent humor, great music, very enjoyable, and nothing offensive or low brow that I have ever seen.
"Master of the art of stand-up"? Are we watching the same Jay Leno? Tired Clinton jokes? Corporate shill? That Jay Leno? You're wrong about his stand-up skills, and you're wrong that Leno was forced out because he was getting older. If that were the case, NBC wouldn't have gone to Leno to anchor primetime.
The issue is class. Leno should know when to say when, realize he had a good run, admit it's not working and step aside to preserve the integrity of The Tonight Show under Conan O'Brien. Then, if O'Brien sinks or swims, it will be his credit or his detriment and blame won't be pinned on Leno.
No possible good can come out of Leno resuming his duties on The Tonight Show, no matter from what point of view you look at it (corporate, entertainment, advertiser, fan, consumer, performer), and no matter how you feel about Leno or O'Brien. Think about it.
The Tonight Show was finished the day Johnny signed off…..NONE of the above will ever bring that show to what it was …….There is one exception who brings original material as well as entertainment Craig Ferguson. It's a shame that CBS just yanks the bitter pill Letterman off and put Ferguson on @ 11:35.
hands down the dumbest thing i have ever read
What, you think the celebrities aren't vacuous, the music is top notch and the political commentary is even handed? Oh, wait. You think Letterman is a moral, upstanding example for your kids. Must be it.
Conan O'Brien was a writer for the Simpsons in the early days and did outstanding work when the Simpsons was new and genuinely funny and not coasting on their reputation.
Then again, that's what the real problem with both Leno and Letterman is: they are coasting. They walk out every night and expect the audience to break into gales of laughter just because they show up.
Jack Benny could do that. Leno and Letterman, no.
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