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TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO Returns March 1!! But What of Triumph The Insult Comic Dog and Preparation H Raymond??
Who maintains the rights to PimpBot, Preparation H Raymond, The Masturbating Bear and Triumph The Insult Comic Dog??
While the NBC severance agreement finalized Thursday allows Conan O'Brien to start a new show in September, O'Brien apparently will not be permitted to take with him the characters he and his staff created at NBC.
The press release issued by O'Brien and NBC makes no mention of intellectual property:
STATEMENT FROM NBC AND CONAN O’BRIEN:
NBC and Conan O’Brien have reached a resolution of the issues surrounding O’Brien’s contract to host “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.”
Under terms of an agreement that was signed earlier today, NBC and O’Brien will settle their contractual obligations and the network will release O’Brien from his contract, freeing him to pursue other opportunities after September 1, 2010.
O’Brien will make his final appearance as host of “The Tonight Show” on January 22.
The press release announcing Jay Leno’s return to "Tonight" makes no mention of O’Brien at all:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NBC ANNOUNCES THAT JAY LENO WILL RETURN TO HOST ‘THE TONIGHT SHOW’ FROM 11:35 P.M.-12:35 A.M. (ET) BEGINNING MARCH 1 WHILE ‘LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON’ CONTINUES AT 12:35 A.M. (ET)
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - January 21, 2010 - NBC confirmed today that popular late-night host Jay Leno will return to host “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” from 11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. (ET) beginning March 1, 2010 and that “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” will continue to be broadcast from 12:35-1:35 a.m. (ET). The announcements were made by Jeff Gaspin, Chairman, NBC Universal Television Entertainment.
“We’re pleased that Jay is returning to host the franchise that he helmed brilliantly and successfully for many years,” said Gaspin. “He is an enormous talent, a consummate professional and one of the hardest-working performers on television.”
Leno previously hosted “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” from May 1992-May 2009. The program will continue to showcase many of the features that made Leno America’s late-night leader for more than a dozen years.
“The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” is from Big Dog Productions in association with Universal Media Studios. Debbie Vickers is the executive producer.
“Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” made its broadcast debut on March 2, 2009 with “Saturday Night Live” alum Fallon as the host of the comedy-talk show. The program serves as a platform for comedy, music and A-list talent out of NBC’s Rockefeller Center Studio 6B. Fallon is joined by his house band -- the critically acclaimed, Grammy-winning hip-hop band The Roots. Earlier, Fallon launched his “Late Night” video blog (or “vlog”), giving viewers behind-the-scenes access to his preparation for the show’s official launch at www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com.
Fallon joined the cast of “Saturday Night Live” in 1998 and quickly became an audience favorite for his impressions of actors and musicians as well as for creating many memorable recurring characters. In 2000, he became co-anchor of the segment “Weekend Update” alongside Tina Fey. Fallon also appeared in the Emmy Award-winning miniseries “Band of Brothers,” and his feature films include “Almost Famous,” “Taxi” and “Fever Pitch.”
Lorne Michaels, Emmy Award-winning creator of “Saturday Night Live,” is “Late Night’s” executive producer. Michael Shoemaker, also an Emmy Award winner, is the producer, bringing over 20 years of experience at “Saturday Night Live.” Gavin Purcell, from G4’s critically praised “Attack of the Show,” serves as co-producer. “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” is a production of Universal Media Studios in association with Broadway Video Entertainment.
Some NBC-owned concepts we're likely never to see again, shoved asisde to make room for Headlines and Jaywalking:
Gustavo, The Smug European
The Fun Hole Guy
Cloppy The Depressed and Suicidal Horse
Andy's Sister
Triumph The Insult Comic Dog
The Masturbating Bear
PimpBot 5000
In The Year 2000
Preparation H Raymond
The Horny Manatee
No Reason To Live Guy
FedEx Pope
Vomiting Kermit
Twitter Tracker
Quackers
The Walker Texas Ranger Lever
Slip Nuts
Joe's
If They Mated
The Interrupter
Coked Up Werewolf
Conan O'Brien Hates My Homeland
Hanging Out With Jordan Schlansky
Jerry Butters
Coanado
New Coins and Stamps
The World's Fattest Menorah
The Evil Puppy
Late Night Sausage Party
Polly The NBC Peacock
Does NBC own the "Clutch Cargo" moving lips concept as well, I wonder. Will he get to keep the awkward close-ups of LaBamba?
Conan's guests on the final night will be Will Ferrell, Tom Hanks and Neil Young.
I am – Hercules!!
Follow Herc on Twitter!!
CHEAPEST LOST EVER!!
$16.99 Season One!!
$16.99 Season Two!!
$19.99 Season Four!!
$19.99 Season Five!!
In 12 Days!!
NBC and Conan O’Brien have reached a resolution of the issues surrounding O’Brien’s contract to host “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.”
Under terms of an agreement that was signed earlier today, NBC and O’Brien will settle their contractual obligations and the network will release O’Brien from his contract, freeing him to pursue other opportunities after September 1, 2010.
O’Brien will make his final appearance as host of “The Tonight Show” on January 22.
NBC ANNOUNCES THAT JAY LENO WILL RETURN TO HOST ‘THE TONIGHT SHOW’ FROM 11:35 P.M.-12:35 A.M. (ET) BEGINNING MARCH 1 WHILE ‘LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON’ CONTINUES AT 12:35 A.M. (ET)
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - January 21, 2010 - NBC confirmed today that popular late-night host Jay Leno will return to host “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” from 11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. (ET) beginning March 1, 2010 and that “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” will continue to be broadcast from 12:35-1:35 a.m. (ET). The announcements were made by Jeff Gaspin, Chairman, NBC Universal Television Entertainment.
“We’re pleased that Jay is returning to host the franchise that he helmed brilliantly and successfully for many years,” said Gaspin. “He is an enormous talent, a consummate professional and one of the hardest-working performers on television.”
Leno previously hosted “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” from May 1992-May 2009. The program will continue to showcase many of the features that made Leno America’s late-night leader for more than a dozen years.
“The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” is from Big Dog Productions in association with Universal Media Studios. Debbie Vickers is the executive producer.
“Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” made its broadcast debut on March 2, 2009 with “Saturday Night Live” alum Fallon as the host of the comedy-talk show. The program serves as a platform for comedy, music and A-list talent out of NBC’s Rockefeller Center Studio 6B. Fallon is joined by his house band -- the critically acclaimed, Grammy-winning hip-hop band The Roots. Earlier, Fallon launched his “Late Night” video blog (or “vlog”), giving viewers behind-the-scenes access to his preparation for the show’s official launch at www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com.
Fallon joined the cast of “Saturday Night Live” in 1998 and quickly became an audience favorite for his impressions of actors and musicians as well as for creating many memorable recurring characters. In 2000, he became co-anchor of the segment “Weekend Update” alongside Tina Fey. Fallon also appeared in the Emmy Award-winning miniseries “Band of Brothers,” and his feature films include “Almost Famous,” “Taxi” and “Fever Pitch.”
Lorne Michaels, Emmy Award-winning creator of “Saturday Night Live,” is “Late Night’s” executive producer. Michael Shoemaker, also an Emmy Award winner, is the producer, bringing over 20 years of experience at “Saturday Night Live.” Gavin Purcell, from G4’s critically praised “Attack of the Show,” serves as co-producer. “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” is a production of Universal Media Studios in association with Broadway Video Entertainment.
CHEAPEST LOST EVER!!
$16.99 Season One!!
$16.99 Season Two!!
$19.99 Season Four!!
$19.99 Season Five!!
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Jimmy Fallon is the new tonight show host? hahahaha....NBC only thinks of the now. they're not looking around the corner at the disaster lying in wait.
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Hacky comedy since 1991!
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Going after that coveted 50 to death demo. It didn't matter if Conan was tying or slightly beating Letterman in the 18-49 demo for seven months. Those people don't buy things. The 50 to death crowd - they buy things. Because they're retired and bored. And Hulu and DVR's are just an overrated passing fad - Nielsen ratings. That's how you know people watch shows. Can't wait for another hilarious Jaywalking!
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thats my ghostbusters quote for the day...
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ass. Conan has been a reliable source of entertainment for me for almost the past 20 years. When Leno fails, I hope he triples his price when NBC comes crawling back to him.
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ass. Conan has been a reliable source of entertainment for me for almost the past 20 years. When Leno fails, I hope he triples his price when NBC comes crawling back to him.
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Another TB and invariably the pro-Coco crowd will pretend to know more about the situation and backroom dealings than Leno/NBC/Coco. Leno explained the situation clearly earlier this week on his show. We can agree that NBC pushed Leno out. We can agree that NBC, not Leno, wanted Coco out. So how is this situation Leno's fault? Anyways, like the First poster said, All these chimps are gonna make money out of this....
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In fact he was #1 for 15 years... Granted he failed at 10 PM...
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Let's get this right, are you people saying that Leno put a gun to Stuttering John for him to be hired away? I am just wondering because that is the only way that Leno gets hate for that affair...
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Seriously!?!? The guy was in it for less than 20 seconds and every time I come to that scene it pulls me out of the series. Worst casting ever.
We probably won't see In The Year 2000 again, either. -
Leno was #2 to Letterman until the infamous Hugh Grant episode.
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Was never better than when Mr. T was on.
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http://alturl.com/imeo
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Faked responses of people that are either too nervous to answer or faking stupid to get on TV. Worse than The Real World in providing NOT REAL responses.
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... well, not Stamos anymore but these were always fun interviews :)
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He signed a contract years ago that meant his days were numbered. No one put a gun to his head. He decided he didn't want to quit after all and screwed Conan.
Letterman is the big winner. A portion of Jay's audience is never watching his show ever again because he's an asshole. -
Leno's career is done. He's not been funny in decades, but the one thing he had going for him was a bland, likeable persona that played well to people who thought Letterman was "too weird." Now that Leno's been exposed as the first rate selfish douchebag that he is on all the major news channels, who will even want to tune back in? It's like giving the Tonight Show to OJ Simpson or Dick Cheney!
It's not like NBC can just press the Reset button and the numbers will go back to what they used to be. When Leno is back at 11:35, the ratings will be WORSE than they were with Conan. They may rebound overtime with a stronger lead in from 10:00 into the local news, but if NBC thinks they can just restore the status quo they need to forget it. -
paid to work or something to the effect was brought up on another Conan/Leno talkback. This concept is hilarious. Leno will be working, but when almost his entire show consists of showing Youtube clips, canned interviews, and celebrities driving electronic cars around, he's the TV equivalent of the Wal-Mart greeter.
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Jay was never concerned with being funny or cutting edge...he was concerned with ratings numbers. I think he believes that validates his talent somehow. He played the whole situation to get the 11:35 slot back. NBC calculated that losing Jay to another network would cost them more in the short run than letting Conan go. In the long run they have broken the Tonight Show beyond repair.
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I loved that character :( screw you LENO! HACK, YOU 60 YEAR OLD TOOL.
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The Late Shift 2 started today also...
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Seriously... pull up his Wikipedia and, under "personal life" click the link to "mandibular prognathism," the condition that gives Leno his huge chin/underbite, and you get this gem:
"Traits such as these that were common to royal families are believed to have been passed on and exaggerated over time through royal intermarriage which caused acute inbreeding." -
I've watched some of his old bits (which are basically his new bits) and the only funny part was the lisp and the high voice. A poor mans Jerry Seinfeld.
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The universe must be kept in balance. Man, I hope Comic comes out tonight.
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Arsenio, Kevin Smith, the news guy on the gas station tv, and other wash ups.
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Pre 92 is pretty awesome. Post eh..
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She was the character that first grabbed me on 'Late Night'.
Thank goodness the 'Guy Who's Awfully Proud of His Bulletproof Legs' isn't on that list! I look forward to his triumphant return. *snif* TRIUMPH NOOOOO
I'm really glad that NBC keeps this stable of IP for later use because if they hadn't kept Letterman's stuff, for example, we would have never gotten that awesome 'Regulator Guy' miniseries with Sam Worthington and Mariel Hemingway. -
They mention Band of Brothers and Almost Famous first because they're so much more impressive than those movies in which he appeared in more than 3 scenes. While his appearance in Band of Brothers is jarring, at least it's brief and doesn't require much acting. Seeing him does take me out of it for a second. Thankfully, I'm drawn right back in when Winters' replies to Fallon's line about them being surrounded, with: "We're paratroopers, we're supposed to be surrounded".
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I'd get a bunch of people together to go to Leno's first taping. Once inside, when Big Jaw starts his monologue, we boo him out of the building.
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Maybe making one story instead of posting two within 20 minutes of each other? Or simply "Updating" Merrick's with Herc's?
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Boycotting it at this point won't mean much.
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Letterman has gotten some of his old edge back, thanks to this mess, and I hope he keeps running with those attacks on Leno. The best he's been in years.
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...this happened. NBC has absolutely NO foresight.
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There it is.
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I really don't watch either of these guys, but I do sympathize with Conan.
That being said, it's funny - if all these people who are "up in arms" had watched Conan while he was tanking against Letterman, this might have gone differently. lol -
once conan is done, so am i with nbc.. i am blocking the network off my cablebox.
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So Leno gets rewarded for being an unfunny failure. Well, I guess all the senile old folks will welcome him back. The Tonight Show has now officially reverted back to a POS, which it was throughout Leno's tenure. I just hope Conan lands on his feet somewhere. He got screwed, not only by those douchebags at NBC who didn't give him nearly enough money for suffering through this AND have now hamstrung him by not allowing him to go elsewhere - but also by Leno, who everyone KNOWS was aiding and abetting this crap big time (he's done it before). A fish always starts to stink from the head, after all.
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is Conan was doing great all summer against Letterman; his ratings only went into the toilet when the ratings for his new lead-in, The Jay Leno Show, collapsed in late September.
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...splitting the audience across two shows, this might have gone differently.
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Jan 21, 2010 2:39:34 PM CST
Gotta love Letterman - he's the big winner in all this mess
by _palmer_eldritch
And rightly so! Only one who's not afraid to speak his mind openly - even Conan is shying back and keeping it at like 30%.
I sure hope Letterman's ratings continue to improve while Leno sinks without swimming. -
Jan 21, 2010 2:40:40 PM CST
Margot_Tenenbaum: Agreed: NBC Fcuked Both Leno and CoCo
by darfurontherocks2
They should have committed to CoCo long term and let Leno go to Fox. Nope, these greedy chimps tried to have it both ways and voila: present situation.
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Mmmmmmmmm
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...an American version of Top Gear on Saturday nights and a Sunday night Super Tonight Show against 60 Minutes. Keep him on the network but out of Conan's way.
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He was doing well until Leno's show tanked, and everything around it into ratings hell along with it.
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because they went after his big jaw and high pitched lisp.
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and then tied him for a month, and then lost to him regularly. He lost over 60% of Jay's audience. I thought that since you were the expert with the constant ratings updates you'd know this. Maybe someone on Stern will tell you the exact ratings...
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Jan 21, 2010 2:46:02 PM CST
Invest some of that $45 mill in Tom Green's internet talk-show.
by royston lodge
Better bet than investing in Lehman Brothers, at least...
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Just don't do it.
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and dragged everything around it into ratings hell along with it. Wish we had an edit button.
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Jan 21, 2010 2:47:41 PM CST
enderandrew, the little boycotts people on this site try
by coughlins laws
to start NEVER WORK!!! The majority of people that like Leno have never even heard of this site...
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Praise Leno! Praise heartburn and diarrhea!
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That clear it up for you Herc? This is how Triumph was able to star in his own show on comedy central, a Viacom/CBS owned network, as well as make appearances on MTV and a few other networks. Seeing how Smigel and Conan are BFF, it's a safe bet that Triumph will be following Conan wherever he goes.
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unless you are a nielsen family. It's preaty easy to boycott NBC though since the Office is terrible now and Football is gone until next fall.
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I haven't seen him for years.
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Jan 21, 2010 2:52:16 PM CST
Advertiser boycotts sure as fuck work and the Olympics are comin
by margot_tenenbaum
I hope Jeff Zucker and Sports-President-for-Life Dick Ebersol know the meaning of karma.
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That was by far the greatest aspect of this whole clusterfuck. It was hilarious and exciting to experience people like Jimmy Kimmel, Rosie O'Donnell & Patton Oswalt talk shit about Leno. Celebrities are inherently self-centered and phony, so it's a rare and delicious treat when they decide to grow some balls and speak candidly about each other. I don't want it to stop. I want to see more bitching, damnit!
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Re: Andy's sister. My intro to Amy P.
The best. -
How local news affiliates' ratings went STRAIGHT INTO THE TOILET after Jay's show at 10 started tanking. Must be Conan's fault there too, somehow...
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What was the title of Triumph's Comedy Central series? Because that's one I need to find and own.
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Jan 21, 2010 2:57:47 PM CST
Someone in the audience should throw a shoe at Leno
by takingscorpioscalls
that would be funny!!!!
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Saturday TV Funhouse were the cartoon bits on SNL with the Ambiguously Gay Duo etc.
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And make it unfunny. That fucking Canadian Tuxedo-clad cunt must be allergic to comedy. He's been working on a cure to the giggles for many moons now
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Is he actually alive, and if so, is he a malfunctioning andoroid whose batteries are running low?
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As has been pointed out, he is a different IP. Kinda like the Daleks in Doctor Who aren't owned by BBC...The Daleks appear in Who, but only because the estate that owns the Dalek IP allows it. Same for Triumph. As for the characters listed, alot of them were retired long ago. Plus Dave Letterman had the same restrictions put on him, so he just renamed them and modified them slightly and kept doing them.
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They had an episode where Triumph was the guest star.
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..is irrelevant now, a thing of the pass who only appeals to those who are ready to kick the bucket and would rather have bland, uninspiring humor before bed time.. That is why Conan was not right for it. hopefully Fox or ABC will give him a show so he can finally do the things that he couldnt do on the tonight show
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You mean Leno? Leno isn't Canadian. Are you confusing him with Jim Carrey, Alan Thicke, or Alex Trebek?
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With Roman Polanski.
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is Canadian?
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Because I made that bastard a pretty good offer! :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q8A3uLRDwQ
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or maybe it was Arnold but whoever it was they were plugging Batman and Robin and Jay said it was one of the best movies he had seen.
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I didn't know Triumph was the star of that show! I thought Smigel had to create Xabu and the Anipals because NBC owned Triumph! I'll have to rewatch the DVDs immediately!
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his ratings did drop off after his first week as host of The Tonight Show...and that's months before Leno's 10 pm shitfest ever aired. That being said, NBC mishandled this whole deal, just like the rest of their network. Silly bastards. Hope that rumor of Conan taking over for Dave is true...wouldn't that be kinda poetic? "CBS, home of late night talk show hosts who've been screwed by NBC & Jay Leno!"
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It's that EVERYMAN denim jeans, shirt and jacket outfit that Jay Leno puts on for every single press conference he does
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Jan 21, 2010 3:15:57 PM CST
I wonder if Andy and Max are also not allowed to talk about this
by paddington
If they're not and I was Letterman's booking agent, those would be the guests on The Late Show on March 1.
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Jan 21, 2010 3:17:20 PM CST
How does Lorne Michaels' Broadyway Video fit into this
by margot_tenenbaum
(They produced Late Night w/ Conan) is the IP in question NBC's or Lorne's or what?
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Its odd how everyone acknowledges the Hugh Grant thing as the reason that Jay took over the #1 spot from Letterman, but no one recognizes the fact that Letterman's major scandles this year, Palin's Daughter and his affairs, are the reason he's in front of Conan. Its not really about the quality of product Conan or Jay were putting out. Its just the fact that Conan hadnt found his scandal yet. In fact now that he's in an actual scandal, he's getting his best ratings ever. Shame the scandal is him getting booted out of his show, else he could ride that momentum to #1 for years to come.
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Everyman circa 1982. Maybe he should wear a red headband too.
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Jesus.
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Cus if that's true I really won't be able to handle this bad news.
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That shows you just how COMPLETELY out of touch Jay Leno really is. He THINKS that's how the Average Joe dresses. Like we're all Brawny paper towel spokesmen or something.
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left? Larry Bud Melman had to use his real name, and the only comedy bits he got to take to CBS were the top ten and viewer mail.
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I remember that.. George Clooney was there to promote BATMAN and ROBIN. And Clooney knew already the piece of shit that movie was so he wasnt really selling it, but the chin monster kept saying "oh i saw the movie, really great, so much fun. lots of funny lines".. Now that i think about it, that movie was up his alley
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That when Leno returns to The Tonight Show, he fails miserably.
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Yeah collectors_edition, that really showed me that Leni either doesn't watch these films that he's helping shill, or he's a complete idiot.
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Now that I know what it means, being Canadian, I am somewhat offended by that term.
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I bet he's like James Spader in Cronenberg's Crash (sad I actually have to put Cronenberg in front of that, thank to that Haggis crap).
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How can you part your lips to speak such unmitigated bullshit without exploding into laughter or spewing vast torrents of black vomit? That Leno-bot is amazing. I question it's lumpy design but the programming is immaculate. Must've been manufactured in Japan
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They came up with that slur. I just quote it at every available opportunity. I live in Houston and I've heard the term Mexican Tuxedo used, if that's less offensive for you. I have beaner buddies, so I choose not to use that variation but you can. Have at, buddy
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why a corporation loves Leno, becasue he is the perfect employee. A yes man, does whatever the network tells him to do and he is so generic that for some reason, old people and some people with no real sense of humor find him appealing.. a total tool
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Jan 21, 2010 3:36:35 PM CST
regardless of how conan was doing before "the jay leno show"
by mrgreentheplant
it's hard to build an audience when every single night of the week you have a show with a 1.8 rating to lead you in. think about that. even if just two nights of the week they had a highly rated drama leading into the news, and then into conan, enough people would have stuck around to see it and become familiar with his comedy style. older audiences love familiarity, and there was no chance to build it with leno dropping the ratings ball every single night.
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Why not show repeats of the Jay Leno Show at 10 and then have new Jay Tonight Show's on at 11:35. I'm sure that would be a smash hit. If Leno had himself as a lead in, he would ask for his 10 pm version to be fired.
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I don't think Henson/Disney is going to let NBC claim they outright OWN that one.
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So little to be found now, thanks to NBC being anal about fans that love the show. But this musical intro to the show is a classic featuring a singing Raymond and a rapping Max.
http://tinyurl.com/y9wz9yo -
GOOD RIDDANCE....Conan was NEVER funny...outside of the "Who put this shit on TV" level of curiosity...Leno, while being an ok, middle of the road don't offend anybody comic was at least watchable...
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Smigel could still get permission from NBC to to use the Triumph character elsewhere. He's done so multiple times.
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There's two main flavors of Conan's humor. On the one hand, all those dumb characters and sketches. On the other hand there's the Conan that we've seen recently and also saw during the writer's strike - the relevant, in the moment, more adult Conan. If losing the rights to those things helps give us more of the adult Conan then that's great.
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44Million pay out..Conan gets 33 Mil, the rest goes to cover 200 employees severance packages...Less than $55,000 per employee.Now..if Conan had just done what his employer asked...swallow his pride and let his show air 30 minutes later..these people would have jobs for the next 5 years. 30 fuckin minutes...thats all they asked. But Conan's pride was more important than the people who helped him get there in the first place. Nice guy that Conan.
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We hardly knew ye.
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Jan 21, 2010 4:18:42 PM CST
"O'Brien will supplement his staff's sum from his own pocket, hi
by margot_tenenbaum
Conan Out Friday; Leno's 'Tonight' Back March 1: http://tiny.cc/nXEiB.
and everyone will get rehired wherever Conan ends up. -
and step aside. Do the right thing? Ethics in the biz? Hosting the tonight show is a job. It is not an award; it is not a royal office with rights of succession; it is not the front seat of the car that someone can cry "shotgun!" The only person it is owed to is whomever the execs at NBC believe will be the most beneficial to the network--particularly shareholders. If they truly believed Conan would be more beneficial, they would have said adios to Leno. If they believed that Alan Thicke would bring in more revenue, he would get it in a heartbeat. The execs at NBC may have made a poor choice, but the only choices they are concerned with are business ones. The only "right" thing in their eyes is in relation to the dollar. Leno knows this. In fact, I am sure Letterman and Conan know it also.
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If his aim was to be funny then he failed every damn night. He is the most boring fuck to ever tell a joke and even the great concepts he stole from other much more talented people fall flat when he presents them. Granted he got ratings, but so does shit like 'American Idol' and 'Dancing with the Douche-bag of Minute', but he's still a complete failure at being funny.
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I love how Letterman says that. BTW, if you like Leno, do all of us a favor and throw yourselves into a pit of spikes.
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can withstand a revolving-door approach to hosting. Businesspeople like to think of markets as hyper-rational, but audiences are not. You still need to build and treasure customer goodwill.
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Conan's taking some of that $32 mil and giving it his staff, fattening the pot. Also, I'm fairly certain he asked his entire staff what they wanted to do. If he acted on his own, than we would have seen widespread outrage and mutiny within his ranks. But NOTHING happened. Nobody from his staff went to the NY Times and said "Conan is a phony and screwing all of us." That shit was in unity. All for one and one for all type shit.
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During the writer's strike, Conan supported his staff out of his own pocket while the show was on hiatus. Now he's gotten them decent severance packages AND he claims to be supplimenting those out of his own massive pay. Sounds like a good boss to me in a business known for being ran by shitheads and tools. That's a hell of a lot more than most people get when they work on a show that gets abruptly canceled.
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Yes, Conan cares about his employees. During the recent contract negotiations with Conan, NBC actually refused to pay Conan's staff a severance package. When they finally struck the deal, Conan got $45 million...and OFFERED to pay his staff out of his own pocket. He could have kept every penny of that $45 mill, but he wanted to take care of his staff. And his staff is getting rehired anyway, so essentially they're getting money for nothing. Now in what warped, backwards universe do you live in, that makes this an uncaring Conan?
And the reason Conan refused to push The Tonight Show back to after midnight is integrity. He cares for the show so much he doesn't want to see it in a compromised timeslot. The Tonight Show has a legacy of airing at 11:30. If you read Conan's letter, he goes into detail about it. It has nothing to do with pride, its about keeping the integrity of the show intact and that means an 11:30 timeslot...it's easy for someone like you to bend over and take it up the ass I supposed. Perfect corporate shill like your pal Leno (who's actually to blame for this, since he's the one agreeing to push Conan back). Do you really think Leno would agree to do a midnight Tonight Show? No one would. -
the 'lead-in' show and the show on after it, let alone when 30 minutes of news separates the two. I mean really, who the fuck watches tv like that? a) Who DOESN'T ALREADY KNOW what's on at what time, on what channel? I mean I could see not knowing in like...the first week of a new fall schedule or something...but generally, unless you have a head injury, you should have a general gist of what shows are on what nights without having to look at your backwards chest tattoos in the bathroom mirror. and b) as far as I can tell, since about 1980 most people have remote controls, and when their show is over, they start flipping channels to find something good. What the fuck is wrong with people?
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Then why was he freaking out that NBC was gonna boot him from the Tonight Show after just eight months?http://is.gd/6LjUd
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Keep the amateurs off TV.
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Remember a few days ago when the story NBC was floating around was that Conan wanted to take a big buyout and shaft the staff when he was really holding out for more severance for them?
Notice that nobody on the show--a show that everybody knew would be canceled in a few days--went out running to reporters to confirm that Conan was a pain in the ass to work for. You know TMZ and all the gossip sites, not to mention mainstream reporters, had to be digging around for employees to confirm the execs portrayal of Conan as a selfish prick out to screw his employees, but NOT ONE STAFF MEMBER SAID A BAD THING ABOUT CONAN WITH NO INCENTIVE NOT TO!
That says a lot. -
and odds are will be employed wherever he goes...in september..so quit trying to make out like conan is the bad guy...conan, a barbarian?.. i can see that..maybe even a destroyer...but not a bad guy
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got compensation and will be employed wherever conan goes...is what i meant
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sandler, tom hanks, will farrell, scorsese, and all the other guests who appeared this week to support conan WILL NEVER BE ON THE TONIGHT SHOW AGAIN....
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And does it for $1 so NBC still has to pay the difference in the buyout.
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But I kinda want to see him as an IRA terrorist asshole on Sons of Anarchy.
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Let democracy reign.
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Those guests will be on the Tonight Show. Leno will take what he can get because guests = ratings, because NBC/Universal will dictate he get the stars of their big shows and movies on there, AND because most of those guests were booked weeks in advance. Leno is nothing if not a careerist. He can put his own pride aside if it means ratings for his show, because with him the ratings are everything.
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is Robert Smigels??? Or not??? *shrugs* Only time well tell who stays and who plays... I hope Conan goes to work quickly, because he shouldn't spend too much time mourning something that will one day just be a blip on the radar of his life and career; truly it will still be a notable blip! NBC=Dumbasses>Jay=Backstabber
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Joel the announcer comes back.
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no i really dont think they will..they will do dave or conan and probably jimmy..but i think its gonna be kinda a dead zone..and yeah there might be the occasional NBC star on there...but adam sandler will not go on the tonight show while jay is hosting to promote his new flick...and tom hanks can do whatever the fuck he wants..hes tom hanks.
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Am I the only who remembers Camel Toe Annie? She debuted in a bit in the 90's where Conan said he was trying out new characters for the show, and Camel Toe Annie was one of them. Basically, the curtain would open, she'd come out wearing tight spandex and sporting some major toe while dancing to her "Camel Toe Annie" theme song being played and sung by the band. She was brought out a few times, and was quite memorable. I can't find clips of her anywhere on the net, though... :(
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there are people fighting over a masturbating bear. THAT AWSOME!!!
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He kept doing the Top Ten list and I think Larry "Bud" Melman simply changed his name to his real name. Not that hard.
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I've lurked on here for years but wanted to chime in. Nowhere does it say he lost the properties. I read somewhere the other day (the source escapes me) right after someone said he would lose his characters that he actually WOULD be able to keep his characters. So Preperation H Raymond and the gang may not be dead after all.
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Conan takes the Sons of Anarchy gig. I think he would kick ass in that role.
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Bring out some Pimpbot 5000 to send them off right. Then Conan needs to get to work creating new characters! You have a lot to make up for Coco, best get to work!
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Triumph was created by Smigel but, under IP law, usually such creations are the property of the employer (in this case NBC). The only reason Smigel was able to use the Triumph character on non-NBC related productions was that NBC gave him permission.
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Add one more to Team Coco!
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Jan 21, 2010 6:25:03 PM CST
From Hollywood it's the Tonight Show with Roman Polanski
by takingscorpioscalls
HAHAHAHAHAHHA thank u Samuel Fuller that made my day. thank you for Big Red One btw, great movie.
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In my fevered, drug-fueled fantasies, Letterman flies into LA for the Friday taping (he gets that day off anyway, right?) and Conan gives him a few moments behind the Tonight Show desk. This isn't my idea, of course, but it is the best fucking thing I've read all week.
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Okay, I know your post came fifth in the Talkback and you're probably long gone, but it made me laugh, so thank you.
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However, for something like The Tonight Show, or The Jay Leno Show, the lead-in show advertises who will be on the show that night. "Up next, Conan's all new with Blah Blah and Whats HisFace". Regular viewers watch regardless, but the casual viewer needs to be enticed. The closer to the start time that reminder comes, the more likely viewers will remain tuned in to the same channel. Unless one has a preference for local news teams, that viewer will watch whatever local news comes on after the program they were just watching. Then watch the show on after, or just turn it off if the guests aren't to their liking.
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have him walk out whacking off to a picture of Jay Leno stealing Howard Stern's bits.
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Maybe I'm from the wrong part of Canada but denim outfits aren't really the rage around here. Wouldn't it be more apropos if it were named after a place where people wear a lot of denim, or at least there was a common misconception that they did? How about "Western Tuxedo" or "Cowboy Tux" or "Texas Tuxedo"? That last one's an alliteration; rolls off the tongue more easily. Either way, not really that offended 'cause it's such a dumb term anyway.
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would be megaton. Letting Letterman sit behind the desk for a few moments would make television history. Come on Coney, make it happen.
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This absolutely sucks what they did to Conan. I've never cared for Leno. Keep on watching Letterman!!!
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Lenos' show tanked, isn't really true. People were going to tune in to see what was up, so Conan'sratings would be good at first.AS much as I hate Leno, Conan really failed as the host of TONIGHT.
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The "Canadian tuxedo" thing, so far as I can tell, is based on the *largely* incorrect image of the Canadian in the McKenzie bros./hoser mould. It's funny, and I can see the Canada of 30 years ago, listening to Rush, wearing such an outfit.
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Jay wanted the Tonight Show and forced Carson out, by leaking a story he was retiring (when he hadn't even decided to).
NBC wanted him to have guest hosts on Friday like Carson and his predecessors did, Jay Refused. He didn't want to share the spotlight with anyone.
Jay stole his newspaper article/ad reading bits from Letterman.
Jay stole his making guests work for plugs, having a chicken pick football games and especially the "Jaywalking" bit from Stern and then Jay defended himself by saying he (Jay) stole it from Steve Allen, not Howard. Of course Allen's "Man on the Street" bits were all scripted material using actors, but somehow that's the as the same as asking stupid people trivia questions and not the same as when Stern asked trivia questions to strippers and homeless people.
Jay took Stuttering John away from Howard without the courtesy of at least asking Howard if he could do it (he had already hired John when he called Howard). Meanwhile Jay freaked out like a baby and when some of his writers & staff were being given better offers elsewhere.
Jay didn't want to leave the Tonight Show, ever! He was willing to drive the show to the ground. This whole mess has revealed Jay to be selfish asshole he always was. The only difference is that now everybody knows it and is publicly saying it, instead of just Howard Stern who has been the vanguard saying of what Jay Leno is really like (but everybody else in Hollywood was afraid to say). He was on Conan's show in 2006 telling him point-blank that Jay would find some way to get the Tonight Show back from him. Well surprise, surprise.... -
Make it happen, Conan.
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The Tonight Show is dead to me, forever.
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I remember him saying I'm already dead, I'm already dead.
Kill 4 Coco!!!! -
after you devoured it, and all thats left is grease and ketchup and mustard stains on the bugers wrapper and french fries box. You will scream "Kill 4 Coco!!!!" and they will know that that burger did not die in vain....
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Artie Lange uncannily predicted the future for Conan!
http://tinyurl.com/yblv9g5 -
We just doubled the posts in Merrick's article! Suck it, Merrick!
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Hmmmm
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Letterman once observed that when Johnny Carson has a guest host, it made people angry, not at Carson for taking so much time off, but at the guest host for not being Johnny. Letterman himself was one of Carson's rotating guest hosts, before he got his own show. Jay Leno was given the Tonight Show by using his position as permanent Carson guest host to argue that he was a better fit for 11:30 than Letterman. But Leno wasn't actually ready for the job. After Carson left, Leno's show was almost exactly like he was still guest-hosting. He stayed in Carson's studio and barely changed the set. It wasn't a new show, it was like Carson's longest vacation yet. Ratings dropped. NBC had second thoughts. Letterman was still running out the clock on his NBC contract and NBC was panicked enough to actually offer Letterman the Tonight Show, on the condition that he couldn't start until Leno's contract ran out. Letterman would have looked like he was taking The Tonight Show away from Jay. Letterman said no and went to CBS. People credit Hugh Grant for making Leno number one, but the reason viewers lured by that stayed was because in meantime Leno had figured his problems. He needed to change the style of The Tonight Show to fit his personality, such as it is. He moved to a new studio with a set layout designed to make him comfortable. Fast forward to the 21st Century. Now Leno is in the position Letterman was, the successful veteran who NBC took for granted until NBC experimented, then panicked and started looking for safety. Conan made the same beginner's mistake as Leno: he built a set that was basically Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien feels not like a continuation of Conan's show but like Conan is guest-hosting for Johnny. That is automatic fail. Unlike how Letterman's show evolved from a uniquely styled 12:30 show at 30 Rock to a uniquely styled 11:30 show on Broadway, Conan's show devolved to an earlier life form. Conan tried to be Johnny. If he'd been given enough time, he would have figured it out. We'll probably still get to see the real Conan 11:30 show emerge, but it won't be on NBC. Jay Leno is doing what Letterman refused to do, accommodating NBC's lack of faith in its own decision and giving them an undo button. Jay acts like he's blameless, but the fact is, the difference between Conan keeping The Tonight Show or not is whether Jay is available to take it back or not. Jay didn't have to make himself available.
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Zat true about NBC offering Letterman the Tonight show during Leno's early run?
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Very good & original observations! Thanks!
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Read The Late Shift by Bill Carter. Great book.
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...Letterman's Late Night followed Leno's Tonight Show. Watch the HBO Late Shift movie or read the book it was based on for more info.
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I hope Leno's ratings go into the toilet, but I doubt that will be the case...
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Like everyone else in these threads the past week or so, I'm familiar with the broad strokes of Late Night Wars 1. I hadn't any clue Letterman could have swiped Tonight from Leno, and am not the least bit surprised that he didn't.
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Because we all know Letterman is a real stand up guy.
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I can't believe people are so worked up over this. One infinitely rich guy versus another infinitely rich guy. Big deal.
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Jan 21, 2010 8:33:58 PM CST
"Some NBC-owned concepts we're likely never to see again"
by burnhollywood
Thank God. Out of that entire list, the only ones that made me laugh many, many years ago when they debuted (and later, wore out their welcome like every other tired-ass gag on the show) were Triumph and Pimpbot.
And Preparation H Raymond? That was the point I stopped watching "Coco's" pile of shit for good. I seriously wanted to whack those stupid fucking ears off of that guy with a cricket bat...thinking thoughts like that wasn't doing me any good, so I moved on. Like a lot of people did when he took over THE TONIGHT SHOW.
You potheads will get over this...you have a really, really short attention span, after all... -
Jan 21, 2010 8:51:41 PM CST
It's a shame we won't get to see of our old favorite bits again
by gayvegetarian
But even if they have to start from scratch, Conan and company would still be more prolific comedy wise than Leno. I bet at the end of the first year whatever net he ends up on, they will have produced more comedy "intellectual property" than Leno. And next time around, you can pretty much guarantee that Conan will have ownership of his characters if not the entire show in his contract. That said, I hope there will be some sort of goodbye montage to all of the best characters/bits. Some of my sentimental faves include Carl Oldie Olson, Cranior, Man on Ice Toilet, Bob Costas play-by-play, Secrets! and Joel Goddard's insane creepiness. Here's a great link for those who want to reminisce:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Late_Night_with_Conan_O'Brien_sketches
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If everybody who is so vocal about their precious coco-bean actually watched his show then Jay Leno would get his ass fired and Conan would still be on Tonight Show!!!
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Except it's certain that none of us are Nielsen families, so it didn't really matter at all. Man, that Nielsen box sure is quite the obligation, come to think of it.
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I actually watched the Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien, right from the beginning.
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will NEVER watch anything with him in it again - hell, i'll never watch 'nbc' again, for that matter. native-american-giving son-of-a-bitch
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also the flatulent weiner, cloppy, etc.
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Who the hell has Nielsen boxes? I mean, seriously. Did they hand them out decades ago and now they're passed down through the generations? Because I'm assuming old people are the only ones with them. I'm Canadian, so I wouldn't be counted anyway, but I watch Conan pretty much every damn night.
His audience is made up of a bunch of younger hobo students with NO TVS, let alone Nielsen boxes. NBC should be paying attention to his following online - youtube, hulu, his own website. I'm sick of hearing "why weren't you watching before" WE WERE, but NBC doesn't care unless you're a "nielsen family", whatever the fuck that even is these days. -
because the neilsen geezers who watched his show would fall asleep out of boredom without turning the TV off
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but I guess a lot of people have them since you see shit like American Idol with 30 million viewers alone on Nielsen. The fuck? You needed a box for this shit? I'm also in Canada brah.
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(like TheWaqman) who keep posting "Where were you when it mattered??" Guess what, chuckleheads? Even if every member of AICN watched Conan and were Nielsen family members, it wouldn't have affected the ratings. Hell, it wouldn't have mattered even if you multiplied that number by 10. I'd say that everyone here who has chimed in for Conan probably watched the show on a regular/semi-regular basis - if not religiously. For the record, fuck the antiquated Nielsen ratings. Fuck them right in the ear!
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isn't helping your case.
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I loved Preparation H Raymond. Maybe that makes me sick, but that damn thing made me laugh every time. He should stop in and pass out some preparation h parting gifts.
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Bam! A little tweek and we're back in business. Those are free Coco, take them. You deserve a break.
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Fox? FX? Comedy Central? Showtime? I'm hoping for FX myself, considering the insanity they have allowed with It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and The League, I could see Conan really going off the deep end. I just can't see it on Fox, too many affiliates with newscasts that could clash with it
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Jan 21, 2010 10:01:08 PM CST
Fluffy The Insulting Cat, Pepto-Bismol Fred, Self Pleasuring Cow
by jamie mcbain
My gift to Conan. Let's see NBC do something about that!!!!
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it's my shtick. Please don't think of me as some frat-bro jersey shore wanker.
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Is that what you're saying? Fucking Conan fans going too far with this shit now.
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As far as I understand it, there are a few (I have no idea how many and I don't care enough to look it up) Nielsen boxes spread around the country. Ok shut up obviously more than 'a few', but you know what I mean. And from what people watch on those boxes, the statistics people apply it to the whole country. But see if only old boring people own Nielsen boxes, they're allowed to screw the rest of the US by watching shit and making the networks think THAT's what people want. Clearly I don't understand it that well..
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Jan 21, 2010 10:22:54 PM CST
Just read the List of Late Night with Conan O'Brien sketches
by mr incredible
What a damn shame he can't take that stuff to his new show. What the hell is NBC going to do with them? Another big "fuck you" from NBC to Conan out the door.
http://tinyurl.com/yaky2ws -
Jan 21, 2010 10:25:38 PM CST
I'm only outnumbered 20 to 1 here. In the real world, you guys
by coughlins laws
are outnumbered 3 to 1. 6 million people watch Leno and only 2 million watch Conan. Just because you've found other internet losers who agree with you, doesn't mean you're in the majority. This is an echo chamber. Only 52.5% of the people voted for Obama, yet this place is about 95% for Obama. This site is NOT reflective of mainstream thought in this country...
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And a selfish jerk.
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Which is not only the people with spendable income, its also the people who will be watching late night TV in the decades to come.
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Nobody is saying we represent the majority, Coughlin; just that we represent people with good taste.
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Then again, maybe you are just another "internet loser" like the rest of us. Nice of you to keep banging your head against the brick wall again.
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It was a joke! She sent off to be considered and got an official notebook to log their viewing habits and answer census-style questions about her household. It was all voluntary and not at all scientific. You could easily claim you were watching TV during times you weren't at home, or write down what you thought you *should* be watching when in fact you were watching something else, like Cinemax soft porn. I assume they've changed their methods since then, but it really made me view the Nielsen ratings with a lot of suspicion.
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Seriously, in that make-up Reubens reminds me of every old person I've ever had to look at in a coffin at every funeral I've been to.
Shiver. Shudder. Horrible memories... -
They are meant to verify that the boxes are accurate by randomly selecting non-nielsen viewers to keep a record for a week at a time.
And, yes, they still use them. Got one last year. -
No reference to Leno at all tonight?
Boycott NBC's Olympics coverage and end that swine Dick Ebersol's sad career. -
it's becoming therapeutic now
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I think it's just implied that Leno was the peacock's asshole.
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I filled out a two-week Nielsen diary soon after I graduated university. They paid me a dollar. Is it really that rare to be recuited for this sort of thing?
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Since Fox prime ends an hour early, you're talking about an hour and a half gap from prime to start of a 11:30 show, where as NBC and CBS have a 30 minute gap. There are some Fox affiliates that have 10pm news and some that have 11pm news, so you're bound to snag some of them by going early. Theres also multi-year syndication deals in each market to contend with. I just can't see them bridging an hour and a half gap to go head to head w/ Leno & Letterman. Kimmel has that problem with Nightline, he puts on a decent show but loses alot of lead in from Prime. Heck, they may try & beat NBC at their own game by giving Conan a Prime show and expanding Fox Prime (which would be VERY funny, but unlikely given Leno's failure)
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That's kind of disappointing. There are much better "friends of the show". They just should have just brought Norm Macdonald on again. No one makes Conan laugh harder than Norm. Well maybe will ferrell in that green thong from back in the day.
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But for what state?
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Jan 21, 2010 11:13:04 PM CST
I've gotten one, my parents got one, and someone else I know
by wickedjacob
So no Herc they aren't rare.
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And... I love it.
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I guess they didn't bump some of the already booked guests after discovering this was their last week...look's like Barry borrowed Rod Stewart's wig for his appearance.
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Jan 21, 2010 11:27:01 PM CST
Barry Manilow looks like he belongs in a low-budget 1980s fantas
by wickedjacob
And... I love it.
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That was like an excerpt from Labrynth or the Dark Crystal.
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Jan 21, 2010 11:30:25 PM CST
I hope Leno gets fondled by japanese businessmen
by rene_belloq_12inch_figure
in the subway.
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Out of curiosity, did Letterman's Late Night ever follow Leno's Tonight Show? Did Leno ever say, "stay tuned for Dave!"?
Also, surely that is, at long last, the final time that the Love Story theme will ever be played on any sort of late night, variety or music program. Surely, that was the end of that. -
He even said tonight he isn't sure what's going on with that. So all hope is not lost........
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I forgot that my friend's ex-gf and her batshit crazy Christian fundamentalist parents and sister were also a Nielsen family about 7 or 8 years ago. They had the box and everything. Those people believed that God and Satan respectively had a hand in programming TV shows and they tried to plan their viewing habits accordingly.
Nielsen says that they randomly sample 25,000 households total at any given time period. There are over 111 million households in the US. I've seen different numbers for the families who get boxes, but it's a evidently a long term commitment requiring a dedicated landline (a now outdated piece of technology) to collect the data. This particular batch of crazies had the Nielsen box in their home for at least 2 years when I knew them and still had it after he broke up with her a year later
So for AT LEAST 3 years, one insane family who thought God and the Devil were speaking to them through the TV had a direct impact upon what the rest of us got to watch. -
I'm done with you. You got nuthin NBC. NUTHIN. I will stick around long enough to find out who all the Tonight Show sponsors are and write them to let them know why I will no longer buy any of their products. Fuck you Leno! I vote with my remote and my wallet. FUCK YOU!
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His shows always seemed more at home in New York than in LA. LA has plenty of weirdness and celebrity cameos for him to play off of, but New York just felt like a more natural environment for Conan. I could never imagine Letterman's show working in LA for the same reason.
That said, Conan did use the parking lot as a set for some cool bits when he was on the Tonight Show. I hate to see that type of crazy stuff go. -
I was quite the kid at the time. It was annoying as hell. When the box started blinking you had to push a button which was like every few minutes. Every so often they sent a brochure filled with crappy toys you could select to compensate. We didn't do it for very long.
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An edit feature would be very lovely.
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most people in this talkback have no idea what the fuck they're talking about. jay leno was FORCED OUT five years ago, do you really think he had a choice about whether or not he was going to leave? nbc fucked up, put both hosts in a retarded position, and now the one with the lower ratings and the more manageable severance package has to go. hate jay leno for his mediocre comedy, but don't hate him for something nbc executives are responsible for.
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..."meh?"
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FORCED OUT by the NBC executives? Fascinating!
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goes crawling back to Conan begging him to come back? I am pretty sure that Leno's audience and career are gone forever. If Leno takes back the tonight show in March and continues to suck, would NBC go to Conan in July or August (when he's still under the no-compete clause) and offer to give HIM another crack at the Tonight Show?
I see a number of reasons why Leno's ratings might be up slightly from where Conan's were a few months ago, mostly due to the fact that Leno will get a stronger lead in from local news and people will be curious about how he runs the Tonight Show from Conan's set. I don't think he'll ever beat Letterman in the ratings and I think his friendly, likeable everyman persona is damaged beyond repair now. Besides, the old folks might prefer Leno and look better in the raw numbers, but Conan appeals much more strongly to the demographics that advertisers actually want.
Of course, we're forgetting that this isn't just about Jay vs. Conan. By moving that godawful Leno show out of primetime, not only does the local news get a better lead-in, but NBC also gets a chance to move the Law and Orders back to their old 10:00 timeslots and try to recover viewers there. The package deal of limp Leno ratings with better ones for the local news and L&O is probably acceptable to NBC at this point, though God only knows how long it'll take them to recoup the losses from Conan's buyout and the money wasted on his new set and PR campaign. -
...ran behind The Tonight Show with Jay Leno for about a year, during the period that's covered by the book & movie 'The Late Shift' by Bill Carter.
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Jan 22, 2010 12:25:32 AM CST
Wonder if NBC will cash in and put the Tonight Show on DVD
by jsarnold513
There are only about 140 episodes or so, and without commercials they only run about 43 minutes each. With blu-ray you could fit those into a single box set pretty easily.
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;Dbut seriously, there's a whole chorus of people saying fuck leno, turning him into a villain in this whole thing. it seems to be a common misconception that jay somehow doubled back on his own retirement, when it was actually more like a termination.
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Thanks, RHV.
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sorry for addressing you like a human.
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Okay, time to break my silence. I didn't want to get involved but I really have to say this. I don't know who the fuck that bald fucker is on Letterman, but he needs to get the fuck out. He may be the most annoying man on the planet. All he does is, literally, repeat what Dave says, 3 seconds later. THATS IT. AND HE DOES IT FOR EVERYTHING DAVE SAYS!!!!! What's the goddamned point? Does he exist for people who are hard of hearing who may have missed what was said 3 seconds ago? Is he supposed to be helping hammer home the "hilarious" points that Dave is making? I don't know, but it made me so angry I shot my dog.
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http://tinyurl.com/yedza6x
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Favorite character/song from the "Late Night" days.
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... Conan or Fallon? Having to endure more Fallon is the worse part of this whole mess.
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Yeah, that's also how Leno got the show in the 90s, but Carson didn't hang around and wrestle it back. He had class. Now sure, NBC sucks overall for putting this all in motion to begin with, but the thing is - what self respecting human being would hang around a network that obviously has no sense? I mean, as you said, they forced him out. So why would he even want to stick around? He should've went to another network and stole all of NBC's late night audience and stuck it to them. But he stuck around like a domestic violence victim hoping to get a cookie. And he got it. But he made himself the bad guy by doing so. (And I don't think that analogy worked well, since DV victims aren't usually the bad guy... but whatever).
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Jan 22, 2010 12:55:15 AM CST
Jon Krause- Have you not seen THis is Spinal Tap?
by battle_royale_with_cheese
That's Artie Fufkin...
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Will he get shitcanned?
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premiered his Tonight Show: Jay should've retired, Letterman should've retired and Ferguson inherited The Late Show. Conan's version of The Tonight Show shouldn't have adjusted the style of his show for the previous 11:30 set, alienating his demo. The people who preferred Jay's style could've gone fucked themselves.
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bring in Carvey to do his Carson impression, or Carsenio. ;-)
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As I put it in another TB on this topic, one of two things is happening:
1. Leno has an extreme lack of self-respect and NBC knows it. So they push him around like a pathetic pawn.
-or-
2. He deliberately fucked over Johnny Carson, David Letterman & Conan O'Brien and he's using those evil NBC execs for cover.
Most reasonable people think its number two, but the Leno spin machine is constantly pimping scenario #1 in order to confuse people and gain sympathy for Leno.
This is why you KNOW Leno's a douche but you somehow also feel he's a victim somehow.
NEVER FORGET that JAY LENO is a DOUCHE. -
He just needs the freedom to do the same STYLE of comedy he did at 12:35...With that being said, CLOPPY NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!*gunshot*
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But I wonder if the idea was ever put on the table, once NBC decided to give Leno 11:30, if they ever considered in turn to give Conan the primetime 10pm gig. Effectively just switching them. I'm betting his numbers would have been way higher. Oh well.
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1864 baseball!
http://tinyurl.com/c9c6mv -
I wish people would stop saying that. Leno's contract was set to expire in 2004. During that time, it was mutually agreed upon that Leno would step down in 2009...they extended his contract to 2009 for that very purpose...at which point Jay would pass the torch. If he was forced out, why would he stick around a network that fired him? When you get shit-canned, you go somewhere else.
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Maybe Conan can wrestle fake alligators on his new show.
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Nielsen uses 2 things to help determine ratings...The Box which is installed and stays for 1 or more year and is set up much like a cable box, no other action is required for it to collect data and the Nielsen log which are primarily used for Local TV ratings. The Nielsen company sends out letters to people asking if they would be willing to help take a survey of viewing habbits.If you say yes they send you a recording book in which you list the people sex and ages of the viewers in your home as well as your channel line up, then you record hour by hour who watched what.The end result is supposed to help them determine the programming demographics....
Problems withe Nielsen? the Boxes are currently only in HOMES - and home with established residency, you move you loose your box- not in bars/hotels or collage dorms
Damn I want my Nielsen box back -
People who think jay was forced out instead of willingly retiring on his own are idiots and probably Palin supportersJay steped down on his own, but changed his mind, then threatend to go to another network so NBC shut him up and gave him a primetime show, when that failed Leno said i want my old job back. Leno is a hack who fucked over everyone at O'briens show, he's a greedy man who says one thing and does another, he did it in 1992 when carson retired and he didit again in 2009. Odds are his rating will never be the same (especially ifconan gets a show of his own at 11:30 or takes over for letterman) but Leno will most likly contine to host TTS for another 12 years or so, NBC will spin the ratings loss on "the every changing world of technology and internet downloads" and in 2022 Leno will finally step down for good and jimmy Fallon will inherit the tonight show and NBC executives will finally realize what a fuck up the whole situation was
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....Sorry mate I believe Jay over you.....
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...they most likely won't use them, but will merely keep them so that Conan can't use them in order to keep some type of competitive edge over him. It would be pretty ridiculous to do so...but at the same time, I can see how Conan could possibly get around it...like replacing Triumph's puppet with an insult comic cat named...Victory...or some shit. Same voice, though. And says, "For me to crap on," instead of poop. And Camel Toe Annie can become Camel Toe Susie...and the Masturbating Bear can become the Masturbating Llama....or something. There's ways around it...you can't copyright another man's creativity.
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During 2004, NBC essentially told him to leave in 2009. NBC said that they did not believe that he could maintain his #1 position. Jay did not have a choice. As 2009 approaches, NBC still see that Leno is #1 and want to keep him at the network while still keeping Conan. At this point, the fuck up starts. To argue that Leno should have simply disappeared is naive. He has a right to pursue employment. I do not know this, but I suspect that NBC gave him a metric butt load of cash to stay at the Peacock. In retrospect, Leno should have told NBC to fuck off and moved to FOX.
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Should be easy for most who post on this site since the majority of the sponsors are Viagra, Cialis, Boniva, flomax, activia, etc.
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I actually tuned in to Jay's 10 pm show when he was on there, and it was just sad. If anyone can make Pee Wee lame, it's Leno.
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I going to be tuning into Dave and Jimmy Kimmel, and then Craig.
It's been nice knowing you, NBC. -
Watching a 50-something year old Pee Wee repeat his old catchphrases like "I know you are but what am I", while wearing a toupee and a suit that looks a little too tight...it was funny when he was a young man...but as an old man, Pee Wee looks like a deranged pedophile.
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Unless it's complete bullshit I was contacted by Neilsen about a year ago to participate - and declined.
According to the information they gave me the way they apparently do it now is that everyone in the family wears a little device through the day, and at the end of the day you plug it in to some other system that uploads the results.
My guess is that there's some sort of background signal broadcast with the shows they track (radio too I think). -
Pee Wee getting creepier as he ages is part of the schtick now, I think. I think it's great.
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I know kids of the 80's who wouldn't watch his show because they thought it was scary.
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I loved Pee Wee's Big Adventure...didn't like Pee Wee's Playhouse. He's doing Pee Wee's Playhouse performances now for the hardcore Pee Wee fans, but if he were to do a movie, I would hope it would be a return to form of the original film...of a bizarre character with an innocent outlook being put in a very adult world, like Biker Bars, truckstop diners, sleazy Hollywood backlots, and the like. This time around it could be strip clubs, porn theaters, and NBC offices. But watching him play with toys and stuffed animals...count me out.
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should end with Abe Vigoda singing "Danny Boy"
make it happen Coco! -
As most of the Late Night and Tonight Show characters will be buried for all time by NBC, I'm hoping they'll each get a last appearance tonight followed by a ritual suicide or death by explosion, and maybe an all skate "In the year 3000" with Mr. T and Letterman wondering what this thing called NBC was about before it's sudden disappearance.
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Do you think Conan & his staff will stay in LA, or will the bad taste in their collective mouth have them all packing up to head back to NYC?
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...but if a lot of his staff have put down large hefty down payments on homes they thought they would be using for years to come...they might just stay.
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Plus its more exciting for celebs because most of them live in LA. so they get to stay overnight in Manhattan and write it off as a business expense.
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he COULD be in LA for the last Conan show.
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Jan 22, 2010 10:43:45 AM CST
No More Cactus Chef Playing "We Did'nt Start The The Fire" On th
by mst3kpimp
I don't want to live in a world that robs me of this divinity.
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Jan 22, 2010 10:45:12 AM CST
Margot_Tenenbaum: Nick Cage Cannot Afford to go to NYC
by darfurontherocks2
How does some one forget the pay taxes....?
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That's a zen coen.
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...for a Letterman appearance. I know it's unlikely, but it's sorta the only way I see this ending without tears and/or gunshots.
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He USED to tape them on Thursdays, but now he tapes them on Mondays. I attended a Monday taping for Friday airing just last month. However, if Ricarleite means that Letterman is taping his Jan 22nd show on Thursday Jan 21 to be as topical as possible, then I can understand the exception.
My sister is DVR'ing the show for me. Can't wait to see it. Hope there are clips on the Internet asap. -
Maybe I misunderstood what you were saying to me: but I'm totally on your side. I don't see Leno as a victim at all; I was just trying to put that other guy's perspective.. into perspective? Like I was saying even *if* Leno was forced out, he's being an unbelievable dickbag, maybe even moreso than if he did step down all on his own.
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"Staying on the Titanic"? What the fuck is Leno talking about? He gets everything he wants while screwing Conan over. In what way is he on "the Titanic"?
Leno's been entirely disingenuous during this whole fracas, even ragging on Conan long after we knew Conan was getting the boot and Leno was moving back to 11:30. They talk about Letterman being mean-spirited, but that's pretty low. -
I would love The Late Shift 2 to star Conan himself, and have it be a *musical*.
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will never again waste a minute of my time.
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... It should be a porno!
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Jan 22, 2010 11:34:10 AM CST
This will result in a renaissance in American literature.
by royston lodge
As millions of people start reading books at 11:30 instead of watching tv.
That, or playing on-line poker.
Or maybe fucking. I bet there's a spike in the birth rate 9 months after Leno 3.0 debuts. -
I am not a Conan lover, but this is bullshit. Leno should go play with his 500 overpriced jerk off cars. He isn't funny and hasn't been in ages. Eat shit Jay.
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Triumph meets Jay Leno, and guess who is funnier?
http://tinyurl.com/ykr6xbt -
Conan, on the other hand, got space on a lifeboat and is on his way to the Carpathia.
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As long as NBC doesn't force Conan to hide from all public view here are a few guest shots I like to see... 1. guest shot on Letterman 2. guest shot on Kimmel 3. guest shot for both Conan and Andy on Cinematic Titanic 4.guest shot for Conan and Andy on Caprica 5.And finally Conan and Andy in a remake of Freebie and the Bean. Go Conan
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Admittedly I didn't get the NBC=Titanic metaphor. I was perhaps confused considering, in the greater context, Leno is doing a-okay; for him to suggest that he is in any sense in a disadvantaged or perilous position is, again, disingenuous at best.
And this idea that Conan will end up alright in the end might be jumping to conclusions. As has been said, Fox affiliates aren't too thrilled about the idea of a late night talk show. It might be some time after September before we see Conan again, and it might not be in the format we want. -
Is that in all this NBC promoted Leno's jokes or whatever you call them about it. I saw a promo for Leno from Monday and it said, "Stay tune for Jayson Leno to hear what he has to say about this fiasco" or something like that? Nothing like that was said in support of Conan.
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just about EVERYONE has been screwed over by a two-faced backstabber in their lives, and that's what it's about to us. Jay can certainly live with himself- he's gotten away with it before. People make mistakes, Corporations made up of people make lots of mistakes- this is what can be forgiven; being a freaking bastard can only be forgiven by the same kind. Sure, Jay's just a victim, that always seems to get what he wants in the end. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. Fool, me thrice, fuckin' kill us both!
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I was mistaken. But what I meant is, Letterman was able to fly to LA Thursday night or this morning in order to be on the final taping. I am not sure if he would be allowed on NBC, though!
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Someone wait at LAX and see if Letterman comes out!
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I guess so since Jaywalking ripped off John's bit from the Howard Stern's show.
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He'd destroy his own show in the ratings!
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... I can see a Jay Leno creeping up on me!!!
One night of Dave on Conan isn't going to wreck Dave but it won't happen anyway, even if it would be as they say, EPIC! -
Don't believe that...why in god's holy name would NBC in 2004 say Leno wouldn't be able to hold his ratings in five years? What possible reason? Were they pre-cogs? Could they see the future? He was king of late night at that time. They had no reason to suspect Leno's ratings would decline...what evidence would they have had? That's absurd. It would be like Will Smith's agency telling him "hey, you're fucking king right now, we love you, you're making us all rich, you're the number one movie star in the world.....buuuuut in five years, we don't think you'll be able to hold that spot. We're gonna have to force you out." There's no fucking way a company in their right mind would do that. Not only would your shareholders and boss ream you out for being so stupid, you risk pissing off your cash cow and having him walk right then and there. It makes absolutely no sense to anyone with half a brain. Do not believe a word Leno or NBC says, it's all bullshit and makes no sense. The more likely scenario, which everyone else is saying, is that when it came contract renewal time, Conan let NBC know he wanted the Tonight Show or he'd go to another network. NBC, not wanting to lose him went to Leno and asked if he'd toss it in five year from now. Leno was king, nobody was gonna give him an ultimatum at his height of power...ridiculous. Leno agreed, and even announced it on his show...if they forced him out, why didn't Leno speak about to anyone? It surely would have leaked that NBC fucked Leno...but nothing. Again, makes no sense for an NBC force out. More likely NBC promised Jay a sweet deal and his own new show.
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I agree completely. Conan is funnier late night tho so /shrug.
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