Jay Leno returning to Tonight Show, Conan gets the boot.

[mav451]

Lol shit really? I didn't see that.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Yeah, except Conan pretty much did get that offer and didn't take it. Maybe you haven't been keeping up with things, but Conan was offered the 12:05 time slot and refused, partly because he didn't want to bump Jimmy Fallon.

Yeah, QueBert should really shut the fuck up. Nevermind that basically everybody in the business is trashing Jay (and its not just for this, there's a lot of pent-up hostility towards him, including stand-up comics), and that Conan is refusing to take this shit, not because it will hurt his bank account but because he doesn't want them to ruin The Tonight Show and isn't willing to just go back which would bump Fallon and possibly Carson Daly. But yeah, clearly, Conan is the dick here.

Also, I'm surprised no one has pointed out, this is the Packers/Favre/Rodgers situation all over again.

 

[Dari]

Aren't they both from Boston? Just settle it with a street fight.

 

[Q]

Now, I am a fan of both Jay and Conan. Everyone is saying Leno is 'actually an asshole' in real life. I don't know him, and neither do any of you, so you should not make accusations like that. I think he seems like a nice guy after watching him for years on TV and seeing him on Jay Leno's Garage. I think it's a bit unfair to put all of the blame on him. He didn't want to leave the Tonight Show, but rather NBC wanted Conan to take over it. Jay did what anyone would have done in the same situation, taken another job to keep doing what he loves. He was forced out by NBC. His ratings (and Tonight Show's) have suffered, so this is probably when Jay told NBC "See? That's what you get for shoving me out". He deserved to keep the Tonight Show, as in my opinion, it's rightfully his show. Conan just unfortunately got caught up in this mess. Yes, there was a 5 year notice, and because of this, I do see where all the drama is coming from. I think 5 years ago, NBC told Jay you either leave now, or we'll give you a few more years before we shove you out.

I feel bad for both Jay and Conan, and I hope something works out for them both. I hope Conan goes to Fox and takes the top spot battle. I hope Jay return to Tonight Show, apologizes for all the mayhem, and continue on.

 

[Q]

you do know that "open letter" was satire by someone else right?

I don't think anybody else got that. (no sarcasm)

 

[mav451]

I don't think anybody else got that. (no sarcasm)

Yeah I edited my post to remove that haha. Even still, you would think if Leno were implying that his hands were tied - he would have said something to that effect already. He hasn't.

 

[evident]

leno, while his standup at the beginning is pretty funny, completely sucks compared to conan and his sketches and interviews! how many times can you deal with that totally flamboyant gay guy, jaywalking, or jay's head imposed on someone doing some dumb dance. nbc is making a bad move for the long term future, especially when leno's older crowd starts dying off.

 

[QueBert]

leno, while his standup at the beginning is pretty funny, completely sucks compared to conan and his sketches and interviews! how many times can you deal with that totally flamboyant gay guy, jaywalking, or jay's head imposed on someone doing some dumb dance. nbc is making a bad move for the long term future, especially when leno's older crowd starts dying off.

Yeah, NBC should keep Conan around, because it's not like his teenage fans will realize he's not funny when they grow up... Older people don't like Conan, so Conan would be a much worse long term move for the network. I don't particularly find Leno as funny as I use to, but shit he's light years ahead of Conan. I don't see how anyone above the age of 16 can laugh at Conan. A masturbating bear? really? Random, retarded, childlish shit is all Conan can do. NBC should drop them both and start fresh with somebody modern and funny. Charlie Murphy would make an awesome host. I'm just glad Conan's unfunny ass is getting 86'ed.

 

[IAteYourMother]

Kimmel is one of the least funny dudes on TV, love how Leno doesn't give a shit though. They had to know having Jimmy on would be nothing but him throwing shit at Leno to try and make him look like the bad guy here.

Are you kidding? That was pure comedy gold, you can see Leno just like squirming there in the spotlight on TV. The way Kimmel's just blinking I'm pretty sure this wasn't planned either and he just lambasted Leno for the dirtbag that he is. Leno just plays this image of being the good guy and all, but he's really just vicious behind the scenes. I love that you're trying to defend him, it's hilarious.

 

[evident]

Yeah, NBC should keep Conan around, because it's not like his teenage fans will realize he's not funny when they grow up... Older people don't like Conan, so Conan would be a much worse long term move for the network. I don't particularly find Leno as funny as I use to, but shit he's light years ahead of Conan. I don't see how anyone above the age of 16 can laugh at Conan. A masturbating bear? really? Random, retarded, childlish shit is all Conan can do. NBC should drop them both and start fresh with somebody modern and funny. Charlie Murphy would make an awesome host. I'm just glad Conan's unfunny ass is getting 86'ed.

i've grown up watching conan and can honestly say he's still entertaining and fresh. he gets the younger generation.

 

[zinfamous]

I think Quebert should run NBC. He seems to have an identical take on talent, quality writing/programming, and the cultural beat.

It would probably be a push in the end.

 

[QueBert]

Are you kidding? That was pure comedy gold, you can see Leno just like squirming there in the spotlight on TV. The way Kimmel's just blinking I'm pretty sure this wasn't planned either and he just lambasted Leno for the dirtbag that he is. Leno just plays this image of being the good guy and all, but he's really just vicious behind the scenes. I love that you're trying to defend him, it's hilarious.

Yeah, after Kimmel dedicated any entire one of his shows to shitting on Leno. Leno and his entire staff had no idea what was going when they let Kimmel on Jay's show. They couldn't have possible let Kimmel on because of the fact they knew what he would say! Also since Jay's show isn't live, had they not liked the segment they would have simply cut it. If anything Leno & his people wanted Kimmel to do exactly what he did.

 

[IAteYourMother]

I think Quebert should run NBC. He seems to have an identical take on talent, quality writing/programming, and the cultural beat.

It would probably be a push in the end.

If you've read his other posts, especially in the Negro thread, you'll find that it makes so much sense that he loves Jay Leno.

 

[Fritzo]

Howard Stern got in on the act:

http://tv.gawker.com/5448264/howard-stern-despises-jay-leno-gets-a-call-from-conan

 

[NFS4]

NBC Executive Leaps to Leno’s Defense

PASADENA, Calif. — The verbal battle in the late-night wars got louder Thursday as a top NBC executive struck back against on-air attacks on the network’s once and future “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno.

The executive, Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal Sports, said the reason for Mr. Leno’s return to NBC’s late-night roster after a short stint in prime time this season was a simple one: disappointing ratings for Conan O’Brien’s “Tonight Show.”

Referring to the pointed jokes made this week by Mr. O’Brien and David Letterman of CBS, Mr. Ebersol said it was “chicken-hearted and gutless to blame a guy you couldn’t beat in the ratings.”

He added that “what this is really all about is an astounding failure by Conan.” Mr. Ebersol is a veteran at the network, with a longstanding relationship with NBC Universal’s embattled chief executive, Jeff Zucker. Mr. Ebersol also has a deep link to the network’s late-night history, having been a creator of “Saturday Night Live,” and he has been frequently consulted on changes in NBC’s late-night lineup.

Ratings for Mr. O’Brien’s “Tonight Show” have dropped off sharply from what they had been under Mr. Leno. Mr. Leno himself experienced a prominent failure when he moved to prime time with a show in September that struggled so much that NBC’s affiliated stations demanded change.

But the change NBC decided on was to reinstate Mr. Leno at 11:35 each weeknight and nudge Mr. O’Brien back a half hour — an outcome he expressly rejected in a statement he issued earlier this week. (Since then, the two sides have been in intense negotiations to settle Mr. O’Brien’s contract. While no deal was expected Thursday night, one executive who has been connected to the talks said an agreement by Friday was possible.)

Separately, NBC announced on Thursday changes to its 10 p.m. hour to take effect after the Winter Olympics. It will introduce a new comedy reality show from Jerry Seinfeld called “The Marriage Ref” on Thursdays and add a new drama, “Parenthood,” as the 10 p.m. show on Tuesdays.

NBC will also move “Law & Order” to Mondays at 10, starting March 1. A sibling series, “Law & Order: SVU,” will go back to 10 p.m., where it once thrived, now on Wednesdays. The network will keep its “Dateline NBC” newsmagazine on Friday at 10 p.m.

Mr. Ebersol chided Mr. O’Brien for declining to take advice about how to adjust his show to the 11:35 p.m. slot from the style he had used on NBC’s 12:35 a.m. “Late Night” show for 16 years.

He said he had met personally with the host three weeks before he stepped behind the “Tonight” desk for the first time to urge him to take steps to expand the appeal he had built up in his “Late Night” years, saying that NBC hosts beginning with Johnny Carson had recognized the importance of making the show appealing first and foremost to cities in the central time zone like Chicago and Des Moines.

Mr. O’Brien’s camp, while steering clear of commenting on Mr. Ebersol’s criticism, confirmed the executive had met with the star and discussed potential changes in the show.

They have previously defended the performance of the show, saying seven months was not a fair shot for Mr. O’Brien to hone his comedic voice at the earlier hour especially in the face of reduced audiences for Mr. Leno’s 10 p.m. show and the late local newscasts that followed it.

Mr. Ebersol labeled that a “specious argument,” saying that for much of the last five years, Mr. Leno had much lower lead-in audiences than Mr. Letterman got at CBS and yet he always won in the ratings.

“I like Conan enormously personally,” Mr. Ebersol said. “He was just stubborn about not being willing to broaden the appeal of his show.”

Mr. Ebersol’s comments came after increasing assaults on Mr. Zucker and Mr. Leno across the late-night shows. Mr. O’Brien on Wednesday began turning to more pointed jokes about Mr. Leno in his monologue, though the most ferocious attacks came from a seeming bystander, Mr. Letterman.

Mr. O’Brien joked that young people should be inspired to believe that they can “do anything you want in life — unless Jay Leno wants to do it, too.”

Mr. Leno had his own fun during his monologue on Thursday, saying: “With all the controversy going on here at NBC, actually, ‘The Tonight Show’ with Conan O’Brien’s ratings have gone up. So you’re welcome.”

Mr. Ebersol said Mr. Leno had not pushed for any of the changes, not the original decision to guarantee Mr. O’Brien the show five years in advance, nor the plan to put Mr. Leno in prime time.

“Jeff and I are big boys,” Mr. Ebersol said, referring to Mr. Zucker. “When we do something big in the public forum and it doesn’t succeed, we know we’ll be the butt of criticism. But you don’t personally attack someone who hasn’t done anything.” In this case, he added, “we bet on the wrong guy.”

Mr. Leno dominated the late-night ratings since the mid-1990s, rarely losing even a night to Mr. Letterman. But NBC faced a dilemma in 2004 when Mr. O’Brien, at the time one of the hottest stars in television, had offers to jump to a different network. To prevent that — because Mr. Zucker and others concluded Mr. O’Brien represented NBC’s future in late night — Mr. O’Brien was offered “The Tonight Show” after a five-year wait.

The recent proposed shift to a later time slot has resulted in a surge of sympathy for Mr. O’Brien, stirring what is playing out as a growing youth revolt among the late-night audiences.

Mr. O’Brien’s fans among the younger segments of the late-night audience have rallied to his defense, forming support groups on the Internet and planning rallies outside his studio at Universal City in Los Angeles. And his ratings seem to be growing.

While overnight household ratings showed Mr. Letterman still ahead on Wednesday, Mr. O’Brien is seeing his best numbers there in months. Mr. Letterman had a 3.5 rating Wednesday night in those preliminary numbers, while Mr. O’Brien grew to a 3.0, well up from a recent average of about a 2.2.

More telling were early demographic numbers from the country’s top 24 cities: there, among viewers ages 18 to 49 — the central age group for most late-night advertisers — Mr. O’Brien seems to be thriving. He climbed to a 1.8 in that group Wednesday, well above the 1.0 he had recently been scoring.

But if Mr. O’Brien was soaring, Mr. Letterman was roaring Wednesday night, unleashing a torrent of biting commentary about NBC, and digging into his apparent lingering bitterness about how it threw him over for Mr. Leno in the early 1990s.

In his monologue, Mr. Letterman dealt slams on Mr. Leno’s grabbing for every host job imaginable, including one joke that had Mr. Leno climbing out of Merv Griffin’s grave. Mr. Letterman also made several references to an incident from that period when Mr. Leno had secretly listened in on an NBC executive meeting from a closet.

“They’re just striking out at Jay,” Mr. Ebersol said. “It seems like professional jealousy.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/15/business/media/15conan.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

 

[Ns1]

leno, while his standup at the beginning is pretty funny, completely sucks compared to conan and his sketches and interviews! how many times can you deal with that totally flamboyant gay guy, jaywalking, or jay's head imposed on someone doing some dumb dance. nbc is making a bad move for the long term future, especially when leno's older crowd starts dying off.

How many times can you do that stupid ass puppet bullshit and then cut the strings?

How many times can you do "in the year three thousaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand"

How many times can you run retarded ass chuck norris clips?

 

[NFS4]

How many times can you do that stupid ass puppet bullshit and then cut the strings?

How many times can you do "in the year three thousaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand"

How many times can you run retarded ass chuck norris clips?

Hey!! Conan singlehandily brought Chuck Norris back to fame a few years ago.

 

[LegendKiller]

How many times can you do that stupid ass puppet bullshit and then cut the strings?

How many times can you do "in the year three thousaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand"

How many times can you run retarded ass chuck norris clips?

Quite a few times since I still find it funny.

The fun thing about Conan is that he's perfectly willing to rip on himself and do more crazy things. It's akin to Chris Farley. Conan doesn't take himself as seriously, thus, he's able to come off as more genuine and funny. I personally think he's like Letterman used to be, who was somewhat more like Carson.

Leno, on the other hand, is merely just a sedate comedian with mediocre jokes and guests.

 

[KeithTalent]

How many times can you do that stupid ass puppet bullshit and then cut the strings?

How many times can you do "in the year three thousaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand"

How many times can you run retarded ass chuck norris clips?

Fail. Conan is funnier than Jay by about three thousand leagues! What the hell does Jay do that is funny? Nothing, that's what.

KT

 

[LegendKiller]

Yeah, NBC should keep Conan around, because it's not like his teenage fans will realize he's not funny when they grow up... Older people don't like Conan, so Conan would be a much worse long term move for the network. I don't particularly find Leno as funny as I use to, but shit he's light years ahead of Conan. I don't see how anyone above the age of 16 can laugh at Conan. A masturbating bear? really? Random, retarded, childlish shit is all Conan can do. NBC should drop them both and start fresh with somebody modern and funny. Charlie Murphy would make an awesome host. I'm just glad Conan's unfunny ass is getting 86'ed.

Somebody modern and funny? Conan is #1 in ratings with the "modern" crowd. That's what this whole frakas is about. Conan gets better ratings in the key demographics. However, those same demographics won't turn on the tube to NBC early enough to watch the news, killing affiliate stations. Furthermore, the demographic in Jay's show, the older people, won't keep the news on after they've seen him.

Overall, the balancing factor for Conan is that, while his ratings aren't as good as Letterman right now, he gets the crowd that are more lucritive with the advertisers.

It's funny that you're looking for modern, yet not a single "modern" form of media (FB, Twitter, or others) will you find a majority of people rooting for Jay. Even on here you see more Conan than Leno.

Get over yourself.

 

[aircooled]

I'm 40 and I'd rather watch Conan. My DVR captures Conan every night and only Leno when I see a guest I want to watch and manually record it. I'd rather watch Jimmy Fallon than Leno.

 

[LegendKiller]

Fail. Conan is funnier than Jay by about three thousand leagues! What the hell does Jay do that is funny? Nothing, that's what.

KT

Exactly, he just sits there with a pathetic monolouge for a few minutes, then talks to guests, rapping off a few lame jokes. That is it. He's got nothing else.

At least Conan moves around and has fun. Heck the Nintendo thing was hilarious.

 

[oznerol]

I would rather (and do) watch re-runs of the Office and Seinfeld than any of these talk shows. I really hope Conan doesn't go to Fox and disrupt their late-night sitcoms.

 

[QueBert]

Fail. Conan is funnier than Jay by about three thousand leagues! What the hell does Jay do that is funny? Nothing, that's what.

KT

Huge fail, Kevin Eubanks Jay's band leader is funnier than Conan. Hell kick Jay the curb and let Kevin host the show. He admits to smoking weed, he admits to watching porn and has pretty good timing with his off the head comments. Conan is one of the least funny people I've ever seen. He's only a step above Elen in the hilarity factor. And Ellen isn't funny.

Better idea yet, shit can both of them and give the 11:35 slot to Aisha Tyler. She's more funny then either and is beautiful to boot.

 

[Kaido]

All of this makes me glad I go to bed early