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The Final JAY LENO SHOW!!
I am – Hercules!!
Stephen King, writing in this week’s Entertainment Weekly:
Leno is a nice guy, but his prime-time showcase was flavorless pabulum […] At 11:30, when most of America has gone beddy-bye, this kind of semi-comatose entertainment is fine (and viewers searching for something at least marginally less acerbic can always switch to Letterman), but in prime time? Oh, God, please no. My delight at the Leno Show’s failure sprang from a bone-deep conviction that it would not fail, that it would in fact turn into a ratings monster and spawn what network TV does best: imitations. And, nice man though he is, you could add together the entertainment value of every single episode of Mr. Leno’s prime-time venture and it would still come up short next to a single episode of The Good Wife.
There are those who suggest Jay Leno’s popularity at 11:35 p.m. was due to women finding David Letterman too mean and hard-edged; they preferred “nice guy” Leno, who as host of “The Tonight Show” was soft, harmless and immaculately inoffensive.
But as I watched Oprah talking to her mostly female studio audience about Leno, I wondered if maybe the perception of the ambitious funnyman had hardened among the ladies holding the bedroom remotes.
While Conan O’Brien’s ratings shot though the roof as he closed out his days hosting “Tonight,” recent episodes of “Leno” aren’t even scoring as well as recent “SVU” and “The Office” repeats. The show's last full week appears to be its worst ever:
The Jay Leno Show in 18-49; older shows in parentheses; repeats in gray
1.1 (1.2) (1.3) (1.6) (1.5) (0.9) (1.6) (1.5) (1.4) (1.2) (1.4) (1.4) (1.2) (1.2) (1.3) (1.4) (1.5) (1.5) (1.7) (1.8) (5.3) Mo
---- (1.9) (1.8) (1.8) (2.1) (0.9) (1.5) (1.8) (2.9) (----) (1.9) (1.9) (1.9) (2.0) (1.8) (1.8) (1.8) (2.1) (2.3) (2.5) (3.4) Tu
1.2 (----) (1.2) (1.6) (1.5) (1.3) (1.1) (1.6) (1.3) (1.5) (1.6) (1.4) (1.4) (1.4) (1.5) (1.5) (1.8) (1.7) (1.9) (2.0) (3.5) We
1.1 (1.2) (1.4) (1.3) (1.4) (-----) (----) (1.7) (1.6) (1.5) (1.5) (1.6) (1.6) (1.6) (1.5) (1.6) (1.8) (1.7) (1.6) (1.7) (2.7) Th
1.2 (1.4) (----) (1.3) (1.4) (1.0) (1.1) (1.4) (1.4) (1.2) (1.0) (1.3) (1.2) (1.2) (1.2) (1.4) (1.3) (1.4) (1.4) (1.6) (2.2) Fr
This of course is likely why NBC is ending “Leno” early and substituting repeats of “SVU” and “The Office” at 10 p.m. over the next two nights. Also, Leno always does best when he follows “Biggest Loser,” so NBC is probably hoping to prevent its old/new late-night star from exiting primetime at an all-time ratings nadir. Still, we’ll see how new installments of “White Collar” and “Teen Mom” manage tonight against tonight’s sure-to-be-headline-making 10@10 with NBC sportscaster Bob Costazzzzz.
We’ll also find out if Leno has the same late-night ratings magic when he returns to hosting “The Tonight Show” March 1.
In the meantime, as you decide whether you want to watch NBC’s short-track speed-skating and other Olympics coverage over the next two weeks, I remind fans of late-night comedy that supergenius NBC Sports chief Dick Ebersol recently decided to publicly label Conan O’Brien “gutless.” Smart move, Dick.
10 p.m. Tuesday. NBC.
Follow Herc on Twitter!!
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“Farscape: The Complete Series,” $129.49 last year, is momentarily $59.99. That works out to less than $15 per season!!
Readers Talkback
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I know it's probably pointless to do so. But I will go out of my way to avoid The Tonight Show while he is hosting.
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Oprah asked him why he just didn't walk away. Jay said that would have been easy, but he had to fight for the jobs of his staff who have families, etc. In other words, trying to position himself as noble. Then Oprah pointed out how the contract would have given him and his staff millions if he had left NBC. So that was a bag of bullshit.
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Although, it is not working.
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..and fast. There's no way he'll win back his old crowd with the his tired schtick. He's now perceived as damaged goods and pity doesn't pull the numbers.
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But he won't have the same ratings he used to have before... he'll do slighty better then Conan did but will tie with Letterman
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kinda pissed me off.Especialloy when Leno took a few passive aggressive swipes at Conan, when he talked about how if he'd simply walked away from coming back to the Tonight Show, that would have been wrong to his staff and would have made it all about him and his ego ( of course implying that Conan's decision was all about ego). Then when Oprah mentioned Conan's statement about moving the Tonight Show to 12:05 would destroy the franchise, Leno shrugged and mentioned the ratings for Conan and said his lower viership had done that anyway. Yeah, pretty much fuck NBC. I have watched Chuck on Hulu, but don't plan on watchbing the Olympics at all or anything else on "more colorful" NBC ( ok I lied, I've also watched the last couple SNLs on Hulu as well). One thing the network geniuses ever figured in was maybe a lot of us watched Leno simply because we had him on as background noise till Conan came on. Now with no Conan, no reason to endure Mr Leno's lame, soulless comedy. I do kinda feel sorry for Jimmy Fallon though.
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His Tonight show will continue to be a ratings flop, because honestly, I think America has decided they don't like the grey-haired insincere fucking CHIN monster with his grating laugh and sycophantic questions.
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Feb. 9, 2010, 4:56 a.m. CST
You guys do realize watching on hulu leaves MORE of a record
by WickedJacob
than watching on tv (unless your last name is nielsen). So if you want to "boycott" NBC, you should actually boycott NBC programming on digital outlets. It doesn't really matter what your TV is tuned to.
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And if conan goes head to head hell take viewers off letterman - not leno. And be realistic; boycotting nbc wont do anything unless youre a nielson household. Would be nice to see someone disrupt Lenos first show back though
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The 'WTF' moment of the night actually. Oh...and I wasn't planning on watching the Winter Olympics anyways, so no worries there.
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Feb. 9, 2010, 5:06 a.m. CST
It's never the way it's supposed to be. Leno will be fine.
by ricarleite2
And he will remain on the job for another 10 years. I wonder who would replace him.
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Feb. 9, 2010, 5:35 a.m. CST
Do not disrupt Leno's show -- he will get to play the victim
by Margot Tenenbaum
and try to regain audience sympathy. Plus it will give him his all-important ratings. <p>The best way to kick Jay Leno in the balls is to watch The Late Show with David Letterman, nightly at 11:35 PM Eastern & Pacific, 10:35 PM Central & Mountain! Only on CBS! Proud as a Peacock. BE THERE! <p>Whoops.
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Are they still running reruns of Conan at 11:35? Because ALL of his shows from the past year disappeared from the NBC website over the weekend. All of his past 7 months worth of shows were online still last week, and Sunday morning when I went to look at an episode - all gone. Do a search for Conan at the NBC site and all you get is an SNL skit. Low class move by NBC.
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I read The Late Shift in the wake of the Conan fiasco last week. Highly recommended. Anyway, it was a bit of a revelation for this longtime Letterman fan/Leno hater. Leaving aside what you think of their comedy, it's hard to deny that Letterman comes off as a dick in this one. First, either man had as much a right to the Tonight show as the other. Leno had been guest-hosting weekly for years. The point is made that at no point did Letterman ever make it known that he wanted to inherit the show, whereas Leno and Helen Kushnick actually made the effort. So I don't see how Leno "stole" the program. Second, Letterman tried to steal the show from Leno a year and a half into his run! What a massively dickish thing to do on his part. It's not much different than what Leno's done to Conan, only it didn't work, yet we've excoriated Leno for it in that case. Yes, Leno is unfunny. But if you take it objectively, he's not a bad guy and Letterman was a douchebag in '93.
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Conan's ratings ONLY spiked as people tuned in to see who this guys was getting all the press-where were his VIEWERS BEFORE?!?!?!.....it sure as hell wasn't because he was worth watching.....Conan will come back to TV and his initial rating MIGHT be good, but they'll fall quickly...Leno will once again reign over Late night TV...
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...was an external expression of NBC's (successful) attempt at taking corporate control of the Carson-controlled Tonight Show. <p>Letterman made it perfectly clear to the Carson people what he wanted but the Carson people made the mistake of thinking they'd have anything to say about what happened to the Tonight Show after Carson retired. <p>Leno was then as he is now: a tool of corporate expediency which makes him a SCAB DOUCHEBAG in my book.
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Then NBC will have to commit public seppuku. The entire corporation. That would be so incredibly, hilarious embarassing, it would almost be too good to be true. Please let that happen.
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Towards the end the execs were trying to change larry to increase his ratings; turning him into something he wasnt and changing his show. And he quit being funny; then when he knew the end was up he decided to have it exactly the way he wanted and he was funny again. Conan quit being funny when the execs were trying to turn him into leno. Once he knew the show was over and he was allowed to do what he wanted he became funny again. And the ratings in part; reflected this
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I'm just glad original programming has a place at 10PM, even though NBC will still probably pick shitty shows.<br><br>And Spike, posting the same fucking thing verbatim in every TB that involves Leno isn't going to help get the point across any better.
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people have a lot more choice nowadays. unless you're really interested in the person/people being interviewed, why watch these guys who just aren't that funny. it's almost as if americans feel they have to watch these late night shows. we have one a week over here on terrestrial tv. that works out fine.
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...at the least, in the fact that Carson himself was aware that Letterman wanted the Tonight Show. (And it was disingenuous at best for many at NBC in that fiasco to suggest they were "unaware" that he would want it.) Letterman's mistake apparently was not going around Carson to lobby for his job with the bigwigs before Carson was ready to retire... which would have been dickish in the extreme.<br><br> That's what drives me up the wall about Leno then and now... He's so blatantly predatory and yet wants to be seen as innocent. His public statement last fall that he'd take the Tonight Show gig back if NBC offered it was predatory. (I imagine he could see that if Oprah came out and said that she'd host the Tonight Show at 11:30 if NBC would offer it to her. That would have added some spice to the interview...)
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Break his fucking chin, people !</p>It annoys me.</p>
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I was trying to check out a cosby show on the website and all i got was an offer to buy ghost dad! Bastards! and for all he's done for them...
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was STILL getting about 5 to 6 million viewers a night, the same as when he was on the Tonight Show. That sucks for Prime Time but it is more than enough to beat Letterman with. If he was going to be abandoned, why wouldn't they have done it already? His ratings have stayed about the same through all of this. His audience didn't abandon him and they're not going to now. They will follow him back to Late Night. I don't know ho you people aren't getting this. Plus, this animosity some of you feel is NOT SHARED by the majority of Late Night's potential audience. As you noticed. Letterman's ratings never really went up. It's just that Conan lost most of The Tonight Show Audience.<p>Another thing that kills me about alot of you people is how you think it's OK for Letterman and Conan to trash Leno all day long, but the minute Leno says something about one of those guys, you throw a hissy-fit. You're such hypocrites. Kind of like Obama and the Democrats. For 8 years they've been attacking Bush, saying he's made us less safe, that dissent is the highest form of patriotism, etc. NOW, Obama is saying that Obama critics are helping al-Qaeda. What completely hypocritical phonies...
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...right after I watch Elli Ochowicz. Have you seen her? She could crush me with those hips and I would LOVE IT.
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HOORAY!!!!!<br> <Br> ......<br> <Br> Wait, what? He's coming back?<Br> <br> dammit.
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to love Stephen King, there it is.
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It was only then that his show was interesting- people love a train wreck. But before that all happened, nobody watched O'Brien either.
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That's why Leno will reign again at 11:35. Letterman and Conan will compete for the small amount of smart people watching. Leno will be McDonalds and serve billions of idiots.
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different sense's of humor so they can feel better about their very narrow likes and dislikes...
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Great! Now you stop comparing it's ratings to all the other shows.
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It's right there!
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Not because I'm boycotting anything. It's just boring.
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I see how out of touch TIME is.
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If there's any justice in the world, you and your "Tonight Show" will fail miserably. Make mine Dave or Conan.
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People are saying Leno's act is tired? What exactly does that make Dave's act? I mean come on people you can't have it both ways. Letterman was great from the early to late 80s. Once Carson picked Leno he was never the same. I miss the old Dave..
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Feb. 9, 2010, 10:12 a.m. CST
Sorry, Peter, the Tonight Show will be number one again
by Coughlins Laws
until Leno retires. That's just the way things are...
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Leno will attempt to recapture the Hugh Grant moment a few times but fail to crack back into the public consciousness. <p>Since he generates ZERO original material, he'll find it increasingly difficult to compete and adapt in the era of Conan/Kimmel/Fallon. <p>He's like Bob Hope in the '80s -- he'll just dodder on stage and sarcastically mention a cultural reference written for him by a 25-year old hack and pass it off as a joke.
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Feb. 9, 2010, 10:23 a.m. CST
Re: TIME mag, remember when the Person of the Year was You?
by YackBacker
Christ, that magazine sucks. Most do, anyway. Except for Jugs. That magazine has never sacrificed its standards. Not once did they showcase small yams. That's integrity.
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Feb. 9, 2010, 10:24 a.m. CST
Not with the way he handled this entire situation, Coughlin...
by Peter Franks
big chinned bastard lost his shine. After he fucked over Conana just like he did Dave back in the day, people are finally seeing him for what he is...a phony.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2oukX44ECU&feature=related Jump to the 5:30 mark. Mujibur was such a prick to Sirajul!
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNaAdrx5yQI&feature=related
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Craig Ferguson is fucking awesome. And as for Conan- he's a brilliant writer and a below-average interviewer. I could watch his skits all day long. Put this guy behind a desk and it goes to shit. That's why his show did so poorly. He's not good at what amounts to 50% of the job of a late-night host. Heck, Jimmy Kimmel is better at interviews than Conan (but far less talented at the comedy). But Ferguson is brilliant at everything. The networks should fire everyone, go into a consortium to pay Ferguson and simulcast him on all the major networks.
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Maybe his kind of crap goes over the 'older' ladies' heads or something, but I find Leno way more offensive than Letterman. Letterman never pretends to be anything other than what he is: a bit of a grouch. Leno is trying to be nice (I guess?), so all of his sexist jokes seem way worse to me. His wife is a feminist? The mind boggles. LETTERMAN ALL THE WAY.
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I agree he could be a bit more smooth with it, it's always 'I want to mention..' type things. When he's with someone fun like Norm though, that's the funniest shit you'll see on tv. He should just do skits and talk shit with funny people. I mean honestly, unless I really like them, I don't give a shit what some douchebag celebrity is pushing. I think it's less that he has a problem with interviewing people, but BORING people are just plain boring to talk to, no matter how you go about it.
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FUCK THE BASTARDS THAT CAN'T TAKE A JOKE! FUCK THE BASTARDS THAT CAN'T TAKE A JOKE! FUCK THE BASTARDS THAT CAN'T TAKE A JOKE! FUCK THE BASTARDS THAT CAN'T TAKE A JOKE!!
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He can ask sycophantic questions better than anyone.
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However, I find many of his skits to be duds. But his interviews are great. It's always so casual, no agenda. More often than not, if they even mention it at all, whatever the guest is promoting is mentioned only in passing.<p>Too bad it was Leno and not O'brien who got the 10pm show. Just imagine what Conan would have done, given the opportunity to re-invent the comedy/variety show in PrimeTime. I'd think less emphasis on celebrities coming in to the studio, more of O'brien going to their homes, or on outings with them (like what Rick Mercer does on his show, or like the time Conan went shopping for guitars off of Craigslist with Slash).<p>I know that wax-figure Fonzie exploded along with the clunker they blew up, but was there ever a final fate for wax figure Tom Cruise?
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They were tuned into Comedy Central watching the Daily Show and Colbert Report. Thats why he didn't get the numbers. When I tuned into Conan's Tonight Show (with the little bit of late night I actually watch) I enjoyed it thoroughly but given the choice between Stewart/Colbert and Conan? Its going to be Stewart/Colbert every time. As for Letterman, his bits are beyond old and its time for him and Leno to retire.
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because I'll never tune in to watch his humorless crap at 11:35 either. Leno sucks! I'm with Coco!
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Seriously, I though he went off the air the same time Conan did.
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Couldn't happen to a better freak.
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Feb. 9, 2010, 2:16 p.m. CST
Ebersol needs to shut up and stick to digging his kids' bodies o
by Epsilon
What? Too soon?
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Feb. 9, 2010, 2:18 p.m. CST
Ebersol needs to shut up and stick to digging his kids bodies...
by Epsilon
... out from under plane wreckage. What? Too soon?
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McPoyle, I'm just touched you noticed.<p> I swear, that was the last time. Just that after a week of Conan talkbacks followed by nothing, there never seemed to be a natural place to discuss it until now.
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I'm willing to bet that Conan's old shows they've been running the last two weeks are pulling better numbers than Leno's. Whadda ya say?
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Feb. 9, 2010, 2:22 p.m. CST
Coughlins, since you're obviously desperate for attention as usu
by The Garbage Man
I'll be your huckleberry. <p>You're such a hypocrite. Kind of like Cheney and the Republicans. For a year they've been attacking Obama, saying he's made us less safe, that dissent is the highest form of patriotism, etc. BEFORE, Cheney was saying that Bush/Cheney critics were helping al-Qaeda. What completely hypocritical phonies... <p>Such a die-hard partisan and you still don't know how politics work? Don't worry champ, you'll catch on when your brain stem finally kicks in.
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with me...<p>As far as Cheney, before we were more interested in capturing and killing terrorists. Obama is only interested in giving them lawyers and extending Constitutional rights to them...
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Please take Coughlin's Laws comments with a big dash of salt. He's on Leno's payroll.
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Business as usual in Coughlins Land. <p>Don't worry deelzbub, I've danced with Coughlins before. As always he trips on his own feet for a few minutes before falling flat on his ass and throwing an hours-long tantrum on the dance floor. I guess I just assume one day he'll learn to moonwalk... one day...
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Feb. 9, 2010, 3:13 p.m. CST
What's your little point, Garbage Man? Cheney and Bush
by Coughlins Laws
have been vindicated by Obama himself who tries to defend himself by saying he's been treating terrorists the same as Bush. Now, either he's admitting his 2 and a half year and $500 BILLION campaign was bullshit, or he's lying. Take your pick. Either way, it's not good...<p>As far as being on Leno's payroll, that's just stupid. I just prefer him to Letterman or Conan, as do the vast majority of those who watch Late Night talk shows. I'm sorry you don't like Leno, but millions of Americans do. Are we all stupid, or in-bred, or anti-intellectual? Really?
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Father Coughlins, you really are a piece of work, man. I've never seen anyone shovel the same FNC/GOP bullshit as much as you do, man. It's hysterical.<P>And there is nothing wrong with liking Leno. He tends to appeal to those who aren't bothered with banality. But it's all subjective anyway. Glad you enjoy it though. Really.
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and Jay will be back with his loyal audience that couldn't get Conan (my mother, a perfect example, who's 82, has said of Conan, "I don't like him, he makes me nervous"), and it'll be back to business as usual. Look at all the celebs who have bounced back from actual scandals, actual criminal activity, and after time, all is forgotten. Look for the same for Leno. He'll ride the Tonight Show until he has to be physically removed while on the air.
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If you're not, you should be. You're like, one of three Leno flag wavers around here, and definitely the most persistant. Ol' Chinny-chin-chin has got the cash to fund your flag-waving. Might as well get PAID.
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I laugh more at the ASPCA commercials than I have at anything Jay Leno has said in years. The guy is a hack, and I will not be watching his new show. I am thankful the old show is now gone forever and I won't have to ever relive that brain abortion again.
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What's all this "Jay Leno is tarnished/people have seen him for the prick he is" business? You think Middle America cared about any of what went down? You think they'll remember it when he goes back to late night? <p> Boring, predictable shit sells. It's why Avatar's a success and why Leno will be back on top. It's not bad; it's smart business and a good way to make money.
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Not unlike the ewok celebration at the end of Jedi. Yub Yub!!!
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Nobody agrees with you.
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... what the fuck exactly are you talking about?
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If you prefer Leno over anything else on late night, you ARE a fucking dumbass.
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Then I'd be excited.
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Leno will plod along and make tens of millions a year for NBC. Anyone worked up about this is a fucking tool. It's LATE NIGHT TV who cares? Seriously all you demonizing Jay Leno are weak minded sheep. You seriously think Jay Leno is evil incarnate when it's you all who didn't bother to watch Conan and got him canned. Jeff Zucker is the one who screwed everyone over, if you want to bitch about someone bitch about him. Jay Leno is a hack but if that was a crime why is Chelsea Handler on TV? If this story shows anything it's that weak minded, borderline retarded Americans will run around hysterically about the most inane and worthless topic if properly prodded by blogs and media.
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Just because Leno is more watched it makes his show better? So since you view things that way I guess you consider Backstreet Boys to be better than The Beatles? Afterall, the Backstreet Boys' Millenium album sold 40 million copies and The Beatles have NEVER had a album that has sold more than 31 million (and that was a best of album). Leno is #1 in his timeslot, Jersey Shore was one of the most watched shows in 2009, people flock to see Sarah Palin speak (from writing written on her hand), Fox News is the most watched news channel. That doesn't prove any of that crap is better but it does prove there are ALOT of idiots out there.
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He seriously looks so joyless doing this.
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Bunch of talentless assholes if you ask me. Viva Conando!
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Who can Ski the fastest, sled the fastest, dance the best on ice; is all really dumb and some of it quite gay. Why do people give a shit if their country isnt the best downhill skiers. Really now.
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Do you like other people's religous views making policy in our country?
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...a willing, smiling SCAB like Leno. <p>I have no respect for someone who allows himself to be used as a bludgeon against a fellow worker and then skulks around in the shadows waiting for it to all blow over so he can emerge as Mr. Nice Guy again. <p>This is our fucking CULTURE. Of course we care about it.
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Re-runs of *anything* would have been funnier. Good riddence from prime time, he was polluting a valuable slot.
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Feb. 9, 2010, 6:44 p.m. CST
The Olympics rule. It's the only time they let female athletes o
by Margot Tenenbaum
I've watched every Olympics, winter and summer, since I've been alive. <p>But I won't watch this year because I won't let NBC's Olympics coverage be a ratings coattail for douchebag execs like Jeff Zucker and Dick Ebersol ride into jobs-for-life. Fuck NBC.
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The rest of my post title. ^
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I say Larry the Cable Guy.
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which must have been hard to see since it was standing directly in front of your face, is that your political talking points are the definition of ridiculous. My point was that I could easily take your exact statement, switch the names with the most outspoken members of either side, and it would be exact same talking point the other side used 18 months ago. Honestly, how did you miss the fact that I DIRECTLY COPIED your statement and swapped Obama for Bush/Cheney and NOW for BEFORE? <p>My point, since you clearly can't understand something that is stated only twice, is that what the partisans from both sides are doing is exactly the same thing political rivals have been doing since the beginning of time: when one is in power, the other side says everything they do is wrong. When the sides switch power, they use the EXACT SAME ARGUMENTS only now they are for what they were against. Do you understand now? <p>My bonus point is that you're a complete fool and your constant need for attention exemplified by the fact that you drag politics into every argument only serves to illustrate your foolishness to everyone but yourself. Good day, sir.
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It must be maddening for you to see someone that you despise have a life and just gets better and better. Once again, if we bring morality into this: How does the adulterous Letterman gain the high ground on Leno? Odd.... I am sure that you have answers. But I hope you gain solace in knowing that Leno still after all of the hatred spewed his direction is living large...
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Seriously are we even going to posit ANY of these millionaires in terms reserved for the working class? Poor Leno, Conan, or Letterman? Margot, do you think that Bon Jovi was refering to CoCo when he wrote "Livin' On a Prayer"? I heard that Conan had to sell his six-string because he is down on his luck.... 45 million isn't what it used to be... I think that we need Lou Dobbs to expose that scab Leno, that Italian that is stealing American jobs through unfair trade practices!
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...blames no one but himself for what he did, whereas Leno blames NBC, Warren Littlefield, Jeff Zucker, Helen Kushnick, Conan O'Brien, David Letterman etc. <p>Letterman refused to play along with his BLACKMAILER even though his information was true, then he admitted what he did on national TV, apologized to everyone involved then took his personal life off the public stage. <p>If Letterman just kind of weaseled his way around hoping for things to blow over then went on Oprah to bitch for an hour about that douchebag CBS producer blackmailer and how he ruined his life, he'd be at Leno's moral level.
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You miss the point of all the hate. We don't say "poor Conan" because he got $45m. We say "poor Conan" because we understand that the Tonight Show was his dream. It wasn't about the money for him. For Jay on the other hand, it was always about the money and if you have ratings, you deserve lots of money. Kierkegaard would shit his pants if Leno told him his philosophy.
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Feb. 9, 2010, 7:37 p.m. CST
You get used to break the contract of another person...
by Margot Tenenbaum
...you are a SCAB. I don't care if you make $45 million or $45.00 an hour or $4.50 an hour. It's a completely indefensible position.
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Or is it orifi?
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. . .ever reached those viewer numbers is beyond me.
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When the f*** does Stephen King find time to watch television. Seriously, he writes some long ass novels.
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Feb. 9, 2010, 8:46 p.m. CST
Jay's first guest when he returns to the Tonight Show...
by Stifler's Mom
Tiger Woods. With musical guest Chris Brown. A bunch of pampered, clueless jerkoffs kissing each others' asses and trying to convince America that they're still loveable.
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I'm not sure Leno will see much of a drop from his audience, which is primarily older. The reality is that most of his viewers probably didn't follow this whole saga very closely. They likely interpret the whole thing as, "Conan didn't work out, so Jay had to go back."
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Leno is a big fucking liar. He admitted it, he said back in 04 he was retiring, but he wasn't. He has admitted it was a white lie. Although he had agreed to step down and let Conan take over. Instead of sticking to his agreement and staying out of the way, he stabs Conan in the back and the world hates him for it. When his prime time show tanked, he should have had the decency to get the fuck off tv for awhile and let Conan sink or swim on his own merits instead of acting like he's the nice guy. No matter how you look at it- he's a douche. Either he's a stooge that lets network goons bribe him like the good whore he is or he's really a snake just pretending. Either way... Even Bob & Tom are in on this and hate his guts..... You people defending Leno are fucking retarded first off and secondly have zero comedy taste- NO taste of any kind. Leno is meant for retards, old women who are easily offended and enjoy his toothless stylings and dicks.
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...they are immortal. They traded their intelligence and discernment for eternal life!
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personally offended, rabid CONAN fan when you need one?
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You suck, frank.
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Wake me up, when the Big Chin, retires for good.
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"That doesn't prove any of that crap is better but it does prove there are ALOT of idiots out there."<p> That's "A LOT". Two separate words. There's no such word as "ALOT".
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But I watch the Canadian broadcaster, CTV, so no NBC.
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I agree with you on next to no political topic, but we see eye-to-eye on these tiresome Conan fan hysterics.<p> In particular, they don't want to face up to the simple fact that "Coco" feigned concern, than took the money and ran, whether they wanted him to stay or not. The Leno half hour lead-in show was a sound compromise...it would have undoubtedly boosted Conan's ratings (Leno's viewers would likely have stayed for Conan rather than flip over for half a Letterman show) and worst of all, this compromise would have lasted all of two seasons on the outside before Leno called it quits for good and Conan "adopted" most of his viewers.<p> In the battle of bruised millionaire egos, I have to shrug and rule in favor of Leno...he didn't want to leave TV in the wake of a failed experiment, where Conan is plainly throwing a hissy-fit over the fact that his LATE NIGHT antics were failing in Leno/Letterman's time slot, and trying to blame Leno.<p> Worst of all, he started playing martyr on the media stage when this country has so many unemployed and Haiti is still a disaster area. Think I reached the limit of my patience when his fans started to openly bemoan the Haiti telethon intruding on their beloved Coco's final ep.<p> Herc, let this be the last of this bullshit. Come clean on your personal grudge against Leno and move the fuck on.
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use Conan getting so much money as some excuse, so if someone kills your child, but you get 30 million dollars because of it, its no biggie? I know thats reaching, and in no way a fair comparison. Then again really, it is the same, its okay for someone to steal something amazing from you as long as you get something for it.
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that was PRO-CONAN
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He isn't living large, he's miserable. Look in his eyes. He's so fucking unhappy he can barely stand himself.
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It would be even sweeter if he burned up in his rarest vehicle. I think most people passing by would throw gasoline and wood to keep the bonfire going.
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I just found out that Gabriel Byrne is going to be a Sith Lord in Episode III! Remember that bullshit, scaggots?
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End of Shit Show! Nobody cares! Except maybe old people. Here's to your return to the Tonight Show failing! If the Late Night Wars were like the Mafia. They would have whacked you by now.
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...much more off topic like I was. It would have been a better argument. If I were you I would have said something like, "Remember when you used to watch Masters of the Universe as a kid? That crossover that introduced She-Ra and the Evil Horde was sick! They should have gotten Hordac to host the Tonight Show." Then I would pretend that English was my second language and I would spit out something like, "Yesterday is the stupid. Today is for great! Would you like to make a party?" That's how it's done, douche!
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Yeah Conan obviously got the most, as he should. The show had his name. Conan's crew suffered the most. They reallocated their families to California, to start a new carrer. A new life. Leno's crew has been in Cali more than 20 years and had a great run, but they're not done. Jay doesn't wanna leave. He says that wouldn't be fair to his crew. Who all have grown kids and made a great life in California. Leno doesn't care that a new young crew of a late night talk show, have young kids and now have to move back to NY Jobless. Jay Leno and his old crew come first.
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...that Jay's move back to late night was because of his spectacular failure in prime time leading to a near-revolt by the local affiliates. It had nothing to do with Conan's performance -- that's NBC's after-the-fact spin.
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A 30 minute Leno show would have boosted Conan's ratings? Would be a sound argument, except for the fact that his one hour show killed Conan's (and the local news) ratings. So no, a 30 minute show would have not boosted his ratings. If anything, it would have completely destroyed it (much like how his one-hour show was in the process of doing). You think Leno's "audience" is going to stick around for what amounts to one hour of monologues and random comedy sketches? Fuck no. They'll get their 30 min. monologue/sketch from Leno, and then tune out Conan.
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...that Metallica song is terribly overrated. And I'm not Arab, but I am Indian, the kind that calls corn "maze". Don't hurt my spirt animal, then again you can't because I have a higher IQ. (I could have just called a racial slur and used the word "fuck", but I'm saving that for the next round.) I love you long time!
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Many people, including myself, have made the same observation about popularity to the Cocktail Lover, CL. And whether he is a tool or a troll, he never has an answer for it.
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I love Letterman and hate Leno as much as anyone at this point, but you're not quite accurate. At least in the sense, that from all accounts, up until the point the Leno show was going to be cancelled, he did pull in the ratings that NBC asked him to get.<br><br> NBC was willing to take those lower numbers and the savings over producing five different hour long shows a week. It was the affiliate revolution that forced the cancellation of the Leno show.
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...if the van that ran over Stephen King was on sale on eBay, I'd buy that bad boy and drive it to Burbank to look for Big Jaw.
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Why defend the chin retard ? Why ?
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to state the facts as they really are (or as I think they are, I could always be wrong).<br><br>Leno is the one lying to cover his ass.
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leaves said job and gets another one. then leaves and goes back to where he came from. I never thought a situation like that could ever happen in ireland but it just did. George Lee who worked in RTE for well over 20 years. left to join Fine Gael. then this week he left fine Gael after nine months and now he is back with rte. FG's leader Enda kenny is looking very shakey these days.
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was the economic editors and he charlie bird were instrumental in revealing one of irelands biggest banking scandals, in National irish bank. which is know owned by a dutch bank. oh and charlie bird is flying back to rte after an aborted stint as rte washington correspondent. bird is 60 years old and has spent his whole life in rte. rte found it necessary to make two part programme out of it called charlie bird's american year. which ended after 9 months!
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Feb. 10, 2010, 7:20 a.m. CST
There was this guy who quit his job and then wanted it back
by ricarleite2
He ended up shooting Harvey Milk. Just saying. Conan, beware.
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For who? Both O'brien and Leno should have been insulted by that "compromise". For Conan, it's well known why he wasn't "on board" with it. I've never believed for a second that Jay Leno would have been happy with that job. If we are to believe him, he was forced out of his beloved Tonight Show gig by NBC. NBC then cancels The Jay Leno Show after only 4 months. They try to make it up to him by offering him the job of being Conan O'brien's opening act? Leno is a headliner - does anyone think he was ok with becoming the warm-up guy? <p>On the Oprah interview Leno said NBC told him, when they offered him the 1/2 hour pre-Tonight Show show, that they were 75% certain Conan O'brien would be ok with it (moving the Tonight Show to 12:05). Leno, upon hearing this, agreed, thinking, he said, that Conan would be on board. I very much doubt that was the end of the conversation. Leno's no fool; NBC says they figure Conan is 75% certain to be ok. The natural next question is "what if he isn't?". Which, at that point, NBC most certainly told Jay Leno "If O'brien won't move the Tonight Show to midnight, he's out and you get the show back at 11:30". <p> Leno, in my opinion, didn't agree to the 11:30 show because he was being "loyal" or wanted to "compromise". He did it because he saw it as one step closer to getting The Tonight Show back, whether that be in one month or one year. He was hanging around because he was looking for the same offer from NBC Letterman got when Leno first took over The Tonight Show (NBC was willing to give Letterman The Tonight Show if Leno couldn't increase the ratings over an 18 month period). I'd even go so far as to speculate that The Jay Leno Show was simply a way for NBC to keep Leno on the payroll for 2 years, during which time, if O'brien couldn't get the ratings back to par with Letterman, they'd bring back Jay. But the affiliates threw a monkeywrench in the works by threatening a revolt which forced NBC to accelerate their plan. Instead of firing one over the other, they came up with this so-called compromise, and went with the guy who was the biggest pushover - Jay Leno.
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it seems that obrien left late night, went to the tonight show and got cold shouldered. just like george lee. yesterday lee was all over the irish media complaining like a big baby about his treatment in fine gael. his salary at rte is around 160,000 a year. senior figures in that party have poured colod water of lees claims that rte didnt know he was quitting. sympathy only lasts so long. and today after being all over the media like rash, nobody has very much sympathy for lee who goes back to work in rte. Charlie bird is a veteran of irish journalism. and his battles with NIB and bevery flynn are legendary. rte is creating a new reality show regarding george lee and its called Celebrity big baby. boom boom.
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My roommate DVRs it. I'm not sure if he likes it, or if he just likes to torture me and our other roommate, or even just to torture himself. <p> As expected, it was pablum, and if he had actually tried some of the stuff that he joked about having done (The "Look Back" segment), maybe the show would have been more entertaining. Leno brought nothing to 10PM, not that he brought anything to 11:35, so the real test will be at 11:35. </p> <p> I'm also a little disappointed in Letterman, as the Super Bowl commercial, as devised by Dave, was a tacit forgiving of all of Leno's bullshit from the 90's and now. </p>
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the person who gets parachuted in. and maybe this is what leno felt about conan getting the tonight show job. its essentially the same thing as what happened to former rte economics editor. he got parachuted in and was marginalised. he threw all his toys out the pram, did george lee and fg have spent today knocking the crap out of him, lee hit back. this evening saying that they were trying to discredit him.
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27,000 people that voted for him last year did.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l76IjT6Guaw&feature=related
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Feb. 10, 2010, 5:32 p.m. CST
It's true, Conan lost half of Jay Leno's viewers. Know where the
by Goody2shoes
Jay Leno's show! It's unreal to me how some people aren't taking this into account when they use that argument. They couldn't have all switched to Letterman. Think about it, Leno's show was more or less the Tonight Show with Jay Leno on at 10. If I were a fan, I wouldn't bother tuning into Conan, cuz what would be the point? I get the same show I've always had, just an hour and a half earlier. I don't know if it was the blind, deaf or dumb monkey that thought of this at NBC, but Conan was destined to have crap ratings with that scenario. Not that there's any way to prove it, but I guarantee his ratings would've been higher had Jay's show not been there. Not just because it was a super weak lead-in, which it was, but because they already watched that format at 10.
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That Conan "Leno lead-in killed my lead-in's lead-in" is just about the biggest load of shit I've ever heard. Cracks me up that anyone buys it. On another talkback I posted an actual quote from Conan that DVR's and the internet had "changed everything" ratings-wise in his late night slot...so which is it? He seems to want both versions of reality to be true.<p> What's more, Coughlin's right...THE JAY LENO SHOW's viewership was actually excellent for an 11:30pm slot (averaging better than his TONIGHT SHOW numbers), but atrocious by 10:00pm prime time standards, whereas Conan had less than half of Letterman's viewers before this fracas started. He was doing okay in the 18-49 demographic range, which was nearly a four-way tie between the big three and Cartoon Network(!), but given that his chief appeal was supposed to be to youngsters, that was hardly an accomplishment.
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second sentence in the subject line was supposed to read "know where they went?"
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"The natural next question is "what if he isn't?". Which, at that point, NBC most certainly told Jay Leno "If O'brien won't move the Tonight Show to midnight, he's out and you get the show back at 11:30"."<p> Yeah, but any way you cut it, it was Conan's decision to make, and he did.<p> Also, in that time slot, the opening act is the "headliner"...when Letterman interviewed Obama, he didn't put him on after "Will It Float", did he? Leno's ego would have been appeased, even if Conan couldn't take the hit. And really, that's what this all boils down to...a war of egos, where "Coco" blinked first.
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You stated that a 30 minute Jay Leno show at 11:30 would have boosted Conan at 12. Right there, you're implying that the LEAD-IN of Leno would be beneficial for Conan. But when I stated Leno's show at 10:00 pm caused a corrosive effect for proceeding shows, which it did, you shout "crock of shit!" and pull out an argument of "DVR! And Internet!" implying that the lead-in argument is moot. So which is it? And don't dispute that lead-ins mean nothing. Oprah herself stated that a strong lead-in is important on her after-show interview with Jay. And answer this: How exactly does a 30 minute Leno show boost Conan? Do you really think Leno's elderly audience is going to stick around for a midnight Tonight Show after they've had their hearty fucking fill of Leno for 30 minutes? They didn't before, why start now?
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Leno didn't start getting good numbers until 1995 so for NBC to say Conan wasn't cutting it, is a damn falsehood.
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