This might be my first post that has nothing to do with sports, but what I am about to blog about is just as compelling as any nailbiter of a game I have ever watched.
Unless you have been living under a rock in the past two weeks, you know about the late night mess that has gone on at NBC. Jay Leno, six years ago, gave up "The Tonight Show" in 2009 to Conan O'Brien, who was then host of "Late Night." 2009 comes and, as expected, Jay Leno walks away from the Tonight Show. However, NBC, not wanting to lose Leno to another network, offered him a Primetime Slot at 10 PM. As expected, Jay Leno moved from "The Tonight Show" onto "The Jay Leno Show" which was regularly in "A Safe Third Place" seemingly every night, competing against great shows like "CSI."
Fast Forward to about two weeks ago, when NBC announced that, after the Winter Olympics, they wanted to move "The Jay Leno Show" to 11:30 PM and move "The Tonight Show" to 12 AM. Conan O'Brien didn't like that idea, was exploring his options, and it now appears as though Jay Leno will get "The Tonight Show" back and Conan O'Brien will likely take his staff with him to Fox.
David Letterman gives a bit of a revisionist history on the NBC "Debacle."
Jay Leno talks about the situation regarding his show and Conan.
It's obvious to me why David Letterman wants Conan O'Brien to stay at The Tonight Show. Letterman has been leading in the Late Night ratings since Conan took over "The Tonight Show." If Jay gets the show back, Dave is worried that he won't be number one anymore.
I don't understand why Jay Leno has been the bad guy throughout all of this. If Jay Leno wants to continue to make a living telling jokes, that's his right, just like it's Brett Favre's right to continue to play Quarterback in the NFL if he so desires. How many people have you heard say "The Vikings need to go to Tavaris Jackson. He's the young guy. He's the future."? I haven't heard any Vikings fans that I know say that.
If you want to blame anybody for this debacle, blame the Incompetent morons at NBC for thinking they could predict something six years in the future like this. Don't blame Jay Leno. This was not his doing.
If you're "With Coco" go watch him on Fox, but don't be hating on Jay Leno.
Strong points for Jay! I like all of them, Jay, Dave, and Conan. It's too bad it's not working out, but Conan deserves the Tonight Show. At the very least, he deserves more than 7 months to show his worth. That's like benching a player if he strikes out after his first at bat. Give the guy a fair shot. You're right, the morons at NBC are responsible for this whole mess. Keep up the good work. JF
ReplyDeleteThanks James. I wrote this article because the Conan fans have been hating on Jay Leno ever since the news broke, acting like this is all Leno's fault.
ReplyDeleteConan needs a fair shot, whether it be on "The Tonight Show" or somewhere else.