Don't Watch the Tonight Show- jay leno doesn't deserve it

[Vteckidd]

good article

NBC had a case of buyer's remorse.

Roughly seven months after taking over "The Tonight Show," the new host wasn't living up to expectations. But rather than wait for him to find his footing, NBC offered "The Tonight Show" to another host on its payroll.

David Letterman said no.

It was 1993, and after having been embarrassed by NBC, Letterman famously packed up, moved to CBS and carved out his own place in late-night.

And the fact that Jay Leno refused to follow Letterman's example when presented with the almost exact scenario 17 years later -- 17 years he would have spent toiling in various Knock-Knocks and Giggle Shacks across the country had Letterman not taken the high road -- tells you pretty much all you need to know about the man.

But it's only one of several reasons I won't be watching when he resumes hosting the forever-tainted "Tonight Show" (11:35 p.m. Monday, KVBC-TV, Channel 3). And it's one of several why you shouldn't, either.

If you've ever been screwed over at work, don't watch "The Tonight Show." Conan O'Brien passed up lucrative offers, waited five years and moved, along with his staff, across the country to take over "The Tonight Show," but NBC never really gave it to him. By putting Leno on in prime time, with more fanfare and better guests -- not to mention giving viewers who just wanted to watch any talk show the chance to do that and get a decent night's sleep -- NBC set Conan up to fail from the start.

If you have any business sense whatsoever, don't watch "The Tonight Show." During his last two weeks on the air, Conan stopped being intimidated by "The Tonight Show" and started making captivating television. While Leno's ratings ticked up slightly, Conan's surged. Then there was the "Evita"-style scene with hundreds of Conan fans rallying for hours in the driving rain outside his studio. By contrast, Leno played The Mirage two days earlier, only doing one show instead of his customary two, and the venue had to offer half-price tickets. And NBC still dumped its newly minted folk hero in favor of the weasel with whom only 4 percent of Oprah's audience, some of the most forgiving viewers in the world, sided.

If you've ever been bullied, don't watch "The Tonight Show." Between slamming Conan in the press when he's contractually forbidden to respond and the tacky "Get back to where you once belonged" commercials for Leno, NBC's behavior has bordered on the shameless.

If you've ever actually been fired, don't watch "The Tonight Show." For someone who considers himself a man of the people, Leno's whining about how NBC "fired" him twice has been surprisingly tone deaf. Especially considering he doesn't even need the job, as he boasts of living solely off his stand-up money. Millions of Americans, including Conan, have genuinely lost their jobs over the past two years; Leno had his start time moved forward, then back, by 95 minutes.

If personal responsibility is important to you, don't watch "The Tonight Show." When his manager at the time maneuvered Johnny Carson into retirement, Leno said he was shocked. When his move to prime time put a thousand or more people on other shows out of work, that was all NBC's doing. And when it was announced he'd be replacing Conan, that was the fault of the network. Or the affiliates. Or Conan. Honestly, Leno cries "Not me!" more than those kids in "Family Circus."

If you care about honor, don't watch "The Tonight Show." When "Joey" -- NBC's previous modern benchmark for disastrous programming -- tanked, Matt LeBlanc didn't shove Steve Carell aside and take over "The Office." Just as Conan didn't try to steal his old "Late Night" job from Jimmy Fallon. They just went away. That's what grown-ups do.

If you enjoy originality, don't watch "The Tonight Show." "Jaywalking"? Stolen from Howard Stern. "Headlines"? That's Letterman's "Small Town News." Leno's "Don't Try This at Home"? You might remember it as Letterman's "Stupid Human Tricks." Even the "Green Car Challenge," the Jar Jar Binks of late-night bits, is a watered-down version of "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car," a recurring segment on Britain's "Top Gear," of which Leno is an admitted fan.

If you've ever taken a risk, don't watch "The Tonight Show." Sure, some of Conan's bits struck out, but that tends to happen when you swing for the fences. Leno, meanwhile, has been content slapping out singles for years, and you just know he'd still be making fun of Monica Lewinsky and O.J. if he thought he could get away with it.

If your attention span is longer than a drunken Snooki's, don't watch "The Tonight Show." Between all the feel-good patriotism of the Olympics and that bowing-down-to-Letterman Super Bowl spot, NBC is counting on viewers to have put the whole Conan mess behind them. But if you need a 21st-century rallying cry, forget the Alamo. Remember Conando!

I'm not suggesting you watch Letterman. Or Jimmy Kimmel. Or even George Lopez.

You could catch up on your DVR list. Talk to your significant other. Read a book, if you're desperate.

Just, for the love of all that's good and decent in the world, don't watch "The Tonight Show."

Christopher Lawrence's Life on the Couch column appears on Sundays. E-mail him at [email protected].

[stillaneon]

I agree.

[Ziptied]

Meh, I like Jay. Good guy and I'm happy to be able to call him a friend. With that said, I rarely watch "The Tonight Show".

[HypnoToad]

ive been a fan of conan for years,i was really mad to see how NBC treated him. I hope fox picked up conan to do a latenight show for them,i think he be a good fit for that network.

[nreggie454]

It sucks because I like Leno because of his passion for cars, but his comedy has gotten stale. I thought Conan was the perfect replacement and should have kept his spot.

[EG_Ryder]

Leno is pretty funny but no where near as funny as Conan. It was a real shame to see how NBC just threw him away like that, but he will eventually make his come back

[MINI]

CONAN ON FOX?















I love that idea!!!

[punkr6]

I never thought the dude was that funny anyway...

[roxie911]

I never really liked Conan, so...I don't really care.

I'll stick with Craig Ferguson.

[Vteckidd]

Conan is hysterical. He's way funnier than jay always has been

[DVSRX-7]

I will always stay a Leno fan.

[Vteckidd]

I never really liked Conan, so...I don't really care.

I'll stick with Craig Ferguson.

Considering we are talking about the tonight show which with conan aired an hour earlier than Craig ferguson kind of a dumb comparison. You could watch conan THEN Craig

But Craig is really funny and I always though he was up close to conan when they went head to head. Conan had funnier skits for sure, craigs on air monologues were different and really good.

Jimmy Fallon does have his moments too

[David88vert]

This is stupid. Let me explain why.

First - Leno was #1 monthly for 12 years. Replace him with Conan, and NBC lost out to Letterman for the first time in - 12 years.

Second - Not everyone thinks that Conan was all that funny. To me, he seemed like a whiner.

Third - Leno returns, and guess what - The Tonight Show is once again #1 in the ratings.

Fourth - This is a business. NBC wants someone that will make them money. Leno brings in more advertising dollars - as more people want to watch him. It's not like they have guns pointed at their heads.

Fifth - Why on earth would Leno say no to going back to his show? He was nice enough not to leave the network and compete against them. Andhe definitely did not whine like Conan.

With Conan, the Tonight Show sank to "3.3 million viewers, about two million fewer than Jay Leno's average as host" - the lowest level ever. "By the week ending August 7, repeats of The Late Show were also beating O'Brien." Leno's primetime show was not even on the air yet, so you can blame him. Bottom line - Conan drove the Tonight Show into the ground.

Currently, after 3 days of Leno being back on the air - "The “Tonight” margin over “Late Show” in fast-national adult 18-49 rating is 50 percent"

Fact: Leno draws in the audiences, Conan loses them.

[roxie911]

Considering we are talking about the tonight show which with conan aired an hour earlier than Craig ferguson kind of a dumb comparison. You could watch conan THEN Craig

But Craig is really funny and I always though he was up close to conan when they went head to head. Conan had funnier skits for sure, craigs on air monologues were different and really good.

Jimmy Fallon does have his moments too

Nope. As I stated before...I don't find Conan funny at all. I'll pass.

I like Craig because his shit isn't scripted. That's all from his fucked up little druggie head lol

[DVSRX-7]

Fact: Leno draws in the audiences, Conan loses them.

[Mantooth]

tl;dr

Jay Leno showing up to Supercar Sunday with one of his cars or a borrowed car from a local dealership makes him okay with me.

[Vteckidd]

Leno wasn't forced into retirement he was told conan wanted the tonight show in 5 years. Leno said he would retire , he could have said no and conan would have gone somewhere else.

Leno backdoored conan and got his own timeslot before conan. Imagine if Carson moved to 10 in front of leno doing the EXACT same show.

Leno could have been professional like Carson and retired for a year, two, three or gone to another network. He didn't he didn't want to retire after saying he would ( pulling a Brett favre and did everything to ensure conan failed.

Conan was given 7 months , 7 months with leno in front of him . It was inevitable jays audience could tune in earlier and skip conan, something Carson fans couldn't do.

Leno didn't overtake letterman for 5 years!

Leno tanked at 10 pm too his show was in jeopardy of being cancelled. Conan was going to take time to adjust an recapture an audience but he was doomed to fail because leno was still around.

Leno is getting an artificial bump from being back now, and hehas no competition , imagine of NBC put conan before leno. So it's an apples to oranges comparison at best.

[Vteckidd]

Oh and I watched leno over letterman, my gripe was with how he treated conan and being unprofessional not giving him a chance.

FYI what they offered was moving leno back to his tonight show timeslot, and keeping conan as the tonight show host but he would come on at 1230 . That was their idea. Conan did what leno couldn't do, he walked away. His reason he posted on Twitter was that he wouldn't do that to the tonight show franchise and he wouldn't do that to jimmy Fallon. Pushing Jimmy Fallon back to 130 would have killed his show. So rather than destroy 2 possible franchises (tonight show and his old show late night) he decided to walk away. He would also still be competing against leno who was still in front of him.

He was simply put in a position by a network and leno to not succeed

[Ziptied]

CoCo blow blows.

just sayin'

[roxie911]

Leno wasn't forced into retirement he was told conan wanted the tonight show in 5 years. Leno said he would retire , he could have said no and conan would have gone somewhere else.

Leno backdoored conan and got his own timeslot before conan. Imagine if Carson moved to 10 in front of leno doing the EXACT same show.

Leno could have been professional like Carson and retired for a year, two, three or gone to another network. He didn't he didn't want to retire after saying he would ( pulling a Brett favre and did everything to ensure conan failed.

Conan was given 7 months , 7 months with leno in front of him . It was inevitable jays audience could tune in earlier and skip conan, something Carson fans couldn't do.

So...Leno is obligated to keep an agreement from 5 years ago?? Yeah...riiiight. Things change. People change their mind. Unless it was signed in ink, it doesn't really matter. You can't honestly expect someone to keep his word for that long. The times have changed, and he may have thought it was time then, but he's obviously seeing differently now. It's his career. If he's not ready to quit, then he shouldn't have to. Especially if he still thinks he's up to it.

A lot of people enjoy Leno. It's been that way for awhile. Carson probably retired because he was ready to. Leno may not be ready to. And that's ok. Would you retire from a successful career if you still thought there was a lot left you could do and gain from it? No.

As for switching to another network...some hosts have loyalty to their network. And it's about the money too. If Leno is comfortable at NBC, then he should stay. I wouldn't wanna move somewhere else if I didn't have to.

[Vteckidd]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. If you don't think its funny you can't argue that. I am talking about the specifics around the situation

[Vteckidd]

So...Leno is obligated to keep an agreement from 5 years ago?? Yeah...riiiight. Things change. People change their mind. Unless it was signed in ink, it doesn't really matter. You can't honestly expect someone to keep his word for that long. The times have changed, and he may have thought it was time then, but he's obviously seeing differently now. It's his career. If he's not ready to quit, then he shouldn't have to. Especially if he still thinks he's up to it.

A lot of people enjoy Leno. It's been that way for awhile. Carson probably retired because he was ready to. Leno may not be ready to. And that's ok. Would you retire from a successful career if you still thought there was a lot left you could do and gain from it? No.

As for switching to another network...some hosts have loyalty to their network. And it's about the money too. If Leno is comfortable at NBC, then he should stay. I wouldn't wanna move somewhere else if I didn't have to.

I guess you don't care for honesty or integrity. Leno signed his retirement papers otherwise he could have backed out.

When you give your word an host a show for 17 years, then don't honor that agreement and do everything to ensure your successor fails yeah you're a douchebag.

[David88vert]

Leno wasn't forced into retirement he was told conan wanted the tonight show in 5 years. Leno said he would retire , he could have said no and conan would have gone somewhere else.

Leno backdoored conan and got his own timeslot before conan. Imagine if Carson moved to 10 in front of leno doing the EXACT same show.

Leno could have been professional like Carson and retired for a year, two, three or gone to another network. He didn't he didn't want to retire after saying he would ( pulling a Brett favre and did everything to ensure conan failed.

Conan was given 7 months , 7 months with leno in front of him . It was inevitable jays audience could tune in earlier and skip conan, something Carson fans couldn't do.

Leno didn't overtake letterman for 5 years!

Leno tanked at 10 pm too his show was in jeopardy of being cancelled. Conan was going to take time to adjust an recapture an audience but he was doomed to fail because leno was still around.

Leno is getting an artificial bump from being back now, and hehas no competition , imagine of NBC put conan before leno. So it's an apples to oranges comparison at best.

Fact: Under Conan, the Tonight Show had its lowest ratings ever BEFORE Jay Leno's 10pm show went on air.
Fact: Jay Leno's took over the show from Carson in May 1992.
Fact: Leno overtook Letterman in July 1995.
Fact: 3 years is less than 5 years.
Fact: Conan took over on June 1st, and by August 7, repeats of The Late Show were beating O'Brien.
Fact: The Jay Leno Show started September 14, 2009.
Fact: September comes after August.
Fact: The Jay Leno Show aired from September 14, 2009 to February 9, 2010 - which is less than 5 months.
How did Jay run Conan into the ground for 7 months again?

[roxie911]

I guess you don't care for honesty or integrity. Leno signed his retirement papers otherwise he could have backed out.

When you give your word an host a show for 17 years, then don't honor that agreement and do everything to ensure your successor fails yeah you're a douchebag.

It's business. Since when does "honesty" and "integrity" get you far in business?? Almost never.

The only reason Leno even agreed to retire 5 years ago was because NBC said he probably wouldn't have the ratings that he had then. As I stated before, things change. Leno kept the ratings and thus stayed with the show. It's a smart BUSINESS move on his part.

[Jason..]

It's business. Since when does "honesty" and "integrity" get you far in business?? Almost never.

The only reason Leno even agreed to retire 5 years ago was because NBC said he probably wouldn't have the ratings that he had then. As I stated before, things change. Leno kept the ratings and thus stayed with the show. It's a smart BUSINESS move on his part.

Imiss you

[Vteckidd]

Honesty and integrity is all you have shows how little you know. Try that at your next job and let me know how it turns out

[Vteckidd]

Fact: Under Conan, the Tonight Show had its lowest ratings ever BEFORE Jay Leno's 10pm show went on air.
Fact: Jay Leno's took over the show from Carson in May 1992.
Fact: Leno overtook Letterman in July 1995.
Fact: 3 years is less than 5 years.
Fact: Conan took over on June 1st, and by August 7, repeats of The Late Show were beating O'Brien.
Fact: The Jay Leno Show started September 14, 2009.
Fact: September comes after August.
Fact: The Jay Leno Show aired from September 14, 2009 to February 9, 2010 - which is less than 5 months.
How did Jay run Conan into the ground for 7 months again?

Ok I was wrong about the 5 year part , I knew it wasn't until leno had Hugh grant on to discuss the devine brown situation that's when he first best letterman.


I was wrong about 7 monthS instead of 5.

Obrien was given 3 months tops to go it on his own, then leno came on. I stand by the rest of my statement. Leno was wrong and should have walked away.

[roxie911]

Honesty and integrity is all you have shows how little you know. Try that at your next job and let me know how it turns out

A job and a career are two different things, hun. I'm sorry, but if I have a successful career going and someone holds me to something I said 5 years ago...pfft! Fuck that. That's just playing stupid on the other person's part. If I have something good going, then I'm gonna wanna keep it that way. Obviously it wasn't working out with Conan anyway...the rating showed that. People preferred Leno over Conan. Getting rid of Conan was the smart BUSINESS move by NBC.

...and I miss you too, Jason LOL

[Vteckidd]

Oh and NBC has a pattern of this, they did the same to letterman when Carson retired

[roxie911]

BUSINESS. Ratings, once again, show Leno over Letterman.

Although, that one I agree was wrong, but it worked out for everyone in the long run.

[Vteckidd]

A job and a career are two different things, hun. I'm sorry, but if I have a successful career going and someone holds me to something I said 5 years ago...pfft! Fuck that. That's just playing stupid on the other person's part. If I have something good going, then I'm gonna wanna keep it that way. Obviously it wasn't working out with Conan anyway...the rating showed that. People preferred Leno over Conan. Getting rid of Conan was the smart BUSINESS move by NBC.

...and I miss you too, Jason LOL

This is obviously over your head. Reread and try to comprehend what we are saying.

Yes if you give your word you should stick to it
leno took 3 years to get ratings up past letterman conan wasn't given anywhere near the same opportunity
leno didn't leave gracefully and let conan develop he hung around
he went back on his word and contractual agreement wh h is why NBC paid conan 40 million dollars
people obviously didn't prefer leno as his show tanked too to the point LOCAL affiliates didn't want to even air his show as it was draggging down local newscast ratings
give leno a few weeks and see where he is

fact is conan had 3 months before they split his audience and had leno on earlier. Leno then, and now, was never put in the same position so saying he's better is false based on ratings and he was very unprofessional.

Most people agree look at the celebs on conans side

your reasoning is stupid at best at least David is articulating facts. You're sitting there saying "omg like he made an agreement 5 years ago, like it doesn't matter, honesty and integrity WTF is that"

lol



I knew there was a reason why I didn't argue with 18 year olds

[Vteckidd]

BUSINESS. Ratings, once again, show Leno over Letterman.

Although, that one I agree was wrong, but it worked out for everyone in the long run.

U were what 2 years old when letterman and leno fought over Carson?

Letterman had "conans" show and leno was the dorito commercial guy. It was obvious letterman should have gotten Carson show, but leno took it and was unprofessional then same as now. It's ironic he did the same thing to his successor

[David88vert]

U were what 2 years old when letterman and leno fought over Carson?

Letterman had "conans" show and leno was the dorito commercial guy. It was obvious letterman should have gotten Carson show, but leno took it and was unprofessional then same as now. It's ironic he did the same thing to his successor

Leno was Carson's guest host for 5 years prior to takeover.
NBC looked at moving Carson to 10pm back then.

Conan was give a show with higher ratings than Letterman. In 2 months, it had lower ratings.
Evidently, the ratings were bad enough that it affected advertiser revenue enough to warrant paying Conan 40 million to leave. That's pretty bad in my book.

Questin: How was the audience split by Leno if he was off the air by 11pm? Do you believe that his old audience that watched him all of those years, just suddenly decided to go to bead earlier? That does not make logical sense.

Suddenly, Leno is back on and NBC is back in front of Letterman. That audience must have woken up from their nap.

[roxie911]

This is obviously over your head. Reread and try to comprehend what we are saying.

Yes if you give your word you should stick to it
leno took 3 years to get ratings up past letterman conan wasn't given anywhere near the same opportunity
leno didn't leave gracefully and let conan develop he hung around
he went back on his word and contractual agreement wh h is why NBC paid conan 40 million dollars
people obviously didn't prefer leno as his show tanked too to the point LOCAL affiliates didn't want to even air his show as it was draggging down local newscast ratings
give leno a few weeks and see where he is

fact is conan had 3 months before they split his audience and had leno on earlier. Leno then, and now, was never put in the same position so saying he's better is false based on ratings and he was very unprofessional.

Most people agree look at the celebs on conans side

your reasoning is stupid at best at least David is articulating facts. You're sitting there saying "omg like he made an agreement 5 years ago, like it doesn't matter, honesty and integrity WTF is that"

lol


I knew there was a reason why I didn't argue with 18 year olds

There you are pulling the age card again. Big surprise. Over my head? Not making facts? Uhmmm...pretty sure I've made some of the the same facts that David has. Just because I'm not listing "FACT" in front of them doesn't mean it's BS.

Bottom Line: It's a fucking BUSINESS. (as david stated before)

To NBC it's all about money and ratings. If Conan isn't pulling in the expected ratings like they were anticipating, they're gonna do something about it. When something isn't working out right...you fix it. Before they switched up the times, Leno had the better ratings (which David also mentioned). Common sense says to put him back.

U were what 2 years old when letterman and leno fought over Carson?

Letterman had "conans" show and leno was the dorito commercial guy. It was obvious letterman should have gotten Carson show, but leno took it and was unprofessional then same as now. It's ironic he did the same thing to his successor

OH LOOK! Another age card pulled. Just because I was young when this all went down DOES NOT mean I don't know what happened.

ONCE AGAIN, as I stated before, I don't necessarily agree with what happened here, but I think it all worked out for the best in the end. Letterman has the reign over CBS and Leno has his show on NBC. Even if Leno pulls more ratings than Letterman (which obviously shows the smart move by NBC in the beginning), Letterman still holds his own over at CBS. Pretty Win-Win if you ask me.

[Doppelgänger]

I'm with CoCo.....I find him much funnier. I respect Jay as a car guy and all, very smart and intersting guy...but I laughed more with Conan. I have not watched The Tonight Show since Jay's been back on because I really don't care to support NBC's decision..nothing against Jay. I will say, whoever came up with the "Jaywalking" skit for Leno should also be shot. Why? Well, I don't mind watching dumb people doing dumb things, but they manage to get people on Jaywaling who are sooooo incredibly stupid it actually insults me..and they're not even doing anything funny or risking injury.

I really they should have knocked off that puffy fagmuffin pole smoking irritating pile of shit aka Jimmy Falon.....he makes me want to kick babies and shoot unicorns and throw baby bunny rabbits in wood chippers. I don't know how that guys has a slot at all.

[Doppelgänger]

Conan was give a show with higher ratings than Letterman. In 2 months, it had lower ratings.
Evidently, the ratings were bad enough that it affected advertiser revenue enough to warrant paying Conan 40 million to leave. That's pretty bad in my book.

Questin: How was the audience split by Leno if he was off the air by 11pm? Do you believe that his old audience that watched him all of those years, just suddenly decided to go to bead earlier? That does not make logical sense.

Suddenly, Leno is back on and NBC is back in front of Letterman. That audience must have woken up from their nap.

I think the audience for Conan and Leno are really different and that one does not appeal to the other as much thus causing the die-hard Leno fans to "get their fill" of him at the earlier slot thus leaving Conan out in the wind. As for ratings... I wouldn't be surprised if there is more to it than "ratings"....though the R-word is a great excuse to move things around. As all this was going on, I've seen more people talkign about Conan that I've ever seen talk about Leno. Maybe it's demographics, but I've seen pro-CoCo propaganda everywhere....and have yet to see a single thing promoting Leno to get is slot back.


Bottom line- Jimmy Falon SUCKS.

[DC2NR]

Conando FTMFW!!!