Conan O’Brien vs. Jay Leno
C. Camel on Jan 13th 2010
By now you must be familiar with the ongoing drama regarding The Jay Leno Show and The Tonight Show. Here’s the gist of it – NBC wants to move The Jay Leno Show to 11:35PM, which will push The Tonight Show (Jay’s former show) to 12:05AM.
-
In a heartfelt (yet funny) statement (click here to read it) Conan O’Brien put his foot down and said he will not be a part of The Tonight Show being pushed back half an hour because he feels it will ultimately lead to the show’s destruction.
-
Jay Leno chose to retire from The Tonight Show and pass the reins to Conan. Then he pulled a Brett Farve, came out of retirement and returned with his own show right away. I’m okay with this, seems to be the hip thing to do. But now, he’s going to nudge The Tonight Show to a later time spot so his crappy show can get better ratings.
-
You might be thinking, so what’s the big deal, it’s only half an hour later?
-
The news runs from 11-11:30pm. Afterward, people flip over to The Tonight Show to watch the monologue then plan on being in bed by midnight. However, turns out Tom Jones will be performing later on in the show so the viewer ends up staying up even later than originally planned. Viewers=ratings=ad revenue= success. It’s the Cinderella syndrome. Most 9-5ers want to be in bed by midnight at the latest. Do you know how many viewers you lose by pushing it back half an hour?
-
Not only is Jay Leno and NBC screwing over Conan O’Brien and The Tonight Show, they also screw over poor Jimmy Fallon who is hosting Conan’s old show. In Conan’s statement he mentions Jimmy Fallon. Why? Because he gives a rat’s ass. He cares about the little guy because he used to be the little guy. Leno obviously couldn’t care less who he steps over to get back on top.
-
Lost in all this is Carson Daly, who will get pushed back even further. This will be tough on you insomniacs, I know.
-
Conan, unfortunately, can lose his dream job. Nowhere in his contract does it mention the starting time of his show, so this might be a difficult point to argue in court. Conan loves hosting The Tonight Show. He’s been waiting to get there for a long time. But Conan has integrity and is willing to put his job on the line to protect himself, the show, and the little guy. Who doesn’t love Conan?
-
So two middle fingers (crossed, it’s much worse) go out to NBC and Jay Leno, and two thumbs up go out to Conan O’Brien. Fuck you, Jay. You’re a dick AND you’re not even funny. Conan forever.
-
What are your thoughts on this? Who do you support?
Filed in Entertainment,News
Word. My feelings exactly.
Also: hahahaha. Carson Daly.
Leno should be shot and his chin should be put in a museum!
jk
Go Conan! Who cares about jay Leno! He hasn’t done anything worth watching since his brief appearance on Fresh Prince. Let Conan reign!
Leno lynch mob out in full force.
NBC, listen to what the people are saying!
Woooo…GO CONAN.
Although Leno never retired. Conan was given The Tonight Show on a promise from NBC in 2004, saying that he would get the show in 5 years. Leno never wanted to leave, but NBC was afraid to lose Conan…and rightfully so.
Either way, Leno is not funny. He never was. The Tonight Show should have gone to Letterman in 1993 anyway and Leno could have kept being a terrble stand-up comic. Conan is the superior talent and deserves the show. If NBC keeps trying to keep Leno happy over Conan, maybe Letterman will retire and give his show to Conan, so that together they can crush Jay Leno.
Amen,
JZ
@JZ – Thanks for the comment! I’m aware Jay didn’t want to leave when his time came, but whether Jay chose to retire or not, he was ‘retired’ from The Tonight Show by NBC. Retirement from something specific is not always a choice and I wasn’t sure even if Jay wanted it or not he would get another shot at late night TV, but surprise surprise, NBC gave him another show and in the end created some great controversy with the results of this controversy yet to be seen.
I’m glad you agree with the fact that – Conan>Leno.
Cheers.
I’ve been a Conan fan since the dark early days of 1993 Late Night, AND a Leno hater since he used to guest host for Johnny on Tonight …damn right I believe Conan > Leno. Eff Leno.
Z
1993 was a dark and scary time. Let us put it behind us and think of brighter days ahead.
Fightin’ Irish!! Go Conan—-Feck off Jay