I haven’t had a lot to say about Jay Leno and Conan O’Brian’s recent Tonight Show kerfuffle. Andy posted this on his blog:
I’m sure a lot of people watch this and snicker about how much of a hypocrite Jay is, but I can’t agree with that. My take on this is that Jay did exactly what he said he would do here. When the day came, he handed the keys to the Tonight Show to Conan and went on his way to a new show.
Now, the reality is that after he did that, Conan started getting his ass kicked on a nightly basis by a serial sexual predator and verbal abuser of teenage daughters of politicians. After quite literally generations of Johnny and Jay keeping the Tonight Show #1, in less than a year Conan was #2 and dropping.
For Jay to come back to the show after that is not hypocrisy. It’s reaction to reality. I’m not trying to defend Jay here, but in the world of network television, ratings have consequences.
Now, my own personal expectation when Conan was announced as the heir to Jay Leno was that it was a mistake. Conan is simply too bizarre to be the host of the Tonight Show. I’m sure he has his fans, but every time I’ve watched him I’ve had to shake my head and say “man, what the heck are you thinking?” I never expected his style of “humor” to be successful in that format. He’s too quirky and too self-referential. He doesn’t sell in Peoria.
The only blame I can assign here is to the network mental giants who put Conan into that job in the first place. It was doomed to failure from the start and it amazes me how completely wrong people who make millions of dollars a year to make programming choices can be on a regular basis. Conan’s failure was inevitable. And for Jay to decide at age 60 that he’s still got some game left is no different than Brett Favre doing the same thing at 39. And 40. And 41. Conan had to go. Jay was simply the best option to try to revive the franchise.
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Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackIf I’m not mistaken (and I very well could be) Leno was not re-installed as The Tonight Show host until Conan refused to do it 30 minutes later than his current time slot (e.g. after a 30 mintue Jay Leno Show). Leno asked to be released from his contract and move on, but NBC refused. As I see it, Leno didn’t have many options…
That’s what the public stories are, there are all sorts of rumors about gamesmanship from all parties behind the scenes.
I’m just not willing to make Jay the bad guy in all this.
Cosmic, I didn’t mean to imply hypocrisy. Just a poor decision that seemed like a good idea at the time. Just in case you missed my reply…
“Oh yeah Cosmic, I don’t think there is anything sinister in this deal. Leno could no more manipulate the “after the news” ratings to fall than he could the prime time ratings to increase.
I’m getting at how certain Leno (and I’m assuming NBC) was that Conan was “the man” to continue the streak.
Now, if Leno doesn’t get them back up…definitely gonna be some head-scratching.”
Hey Cosmic, I went back and read the short post I wrote. I can see how it could be interpreted as a judgment of hypocrisy. I’ve gotta learn how to express myself better. Sigh.
During the Conan negotiations years earlier he was wanting to have an earlier show rather than being on late late night. As part of that negotiation he was being given the Tonight Show in a number of years.
Leno isn’t anything like Carson had been, but he has always been better than Letterman.
When it was talked about Conan getting the Tonight Show, after having seen him on his later show, I was wondering what are they thinking? O’Brian is not funny, he might appeal to young kids, as his humor is infantile, but I had a feeling that he would mark the end of the Tonight Show.
I don’t think that Leno was all that sold on giving up the Tonight Show, but he was being given another show at an earlier time. I think that was the key for him being willing to go along with this.
I honestly never understood how Conan was a host of any show, other than some never watched cable channel. I guess there were watchers though, probably more because “nothing else was on” over the viewers really liking him. Maybe you have to be exhausted and falling asleep to appreciate Conan.
It was a dumb move by the network executives, and they are paying for their blunder. Unfortunately, so will Leno, as he is made out to be the bad guy in this, when it was the network that screwed up all those years ago.
I think Goat is probably right. Jay’s comments about Conan were more about loyalty to NBC than his own private opinion, in my private opinion.
And Jay probably did want an earlier show, but that format doesn’t work before people get ready for bed.
I’m in Conan’s camp. I don’t think the failing of the Tonight Show had as much to do with Conan’s humor as it did with a suck-ass lead-in show from Jay. And I will tell you that most folks in my demographic are fonder of Conan than Jay. The thing is, we’re also much more likely to watch the show online or in some way that doesn’t bolster numbers for Conan.
Oh well. Craig Ferguson’s funnier than all of ‘em anyway.
Cullen, that’s interesting. My demographic is 50 years old. White. Boring. And can barely make it through the local weather at 10:15.
So, I have seen maybe 4 late night shows in the last 4 years. But, I did notice the young man that lives with us here (19 years…not our son) watching Conan’s last Tonight Show program on the internet at about 2:00 in the afternoon after his college classes.
Hmmmm…I guess that wouldn’t show up on the Nielsen ratings. Good food to chew on Cullen.
Andy, that’s one part of what I meant in my initial post on the Leno/O’Brian affair when I said that to me it’s a lot like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Technology is changing everything about the way entertainment is created and consumed. A massive centralized talent collection and product distribution model is doomed in my opinion. And sooner than people think.
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