[TV] Leno back to late Night? Conan Homeless? 10pm slot on NBC freed up?

[hepcat]

i tend to agree.  the stand up thing to do would be to just go away for a while and then try something else.  however, i suspect NBC is pushing hard to keep him around since they feel he's their cash cow after his reign on the tonight show.

[Teggy]

I had never seen the Leno show, but last night I was cleaning and NBC was just on the tv. 10PM came around and the Leno show came on. He did a monologue, chatted with Kevin Eubanks, did his little bit where he makes fun of typos in newspaper ads, had Bill Cosby on and had a musical guest. I don't get it - isn't this just the Tonight Show at 10pm? Is there anything different about the Jay Leno show and the show he was doing before?

[hepcat]

I had never seen the Leno show, but last night I was cleaning and NBC was just on the tv. 10PM came around and the Leno show came on. He did a monologue, chatted with Kevin Eubanks, did his little bit where he makes fun of typos in newspaper ads, had Bill Cosby on and had a musical guest. I don't get it - isn't this just the Tonight Show at 10pm? Is there anything different about the Jay Leno show and the show he was doing before?

not much.  nbc wanted their cake and to eat it too by recreating jay's success on the tonight show at 10:00 and then again with conan at 11:30. 

they failed.

[CeeKay]

Everyone should protest by sending a masturbating bear to the NBC headquarters!

[hepcat]

does it need to be a bear?  cause...

..never mind.

[CeeKay]

does it need to be a bear?  cause...

..never mind.

no, you cannot substitute the bear with PR_GMR.

[Kagath]

I had never seen the Leno show, but last night I was cleaning and NBC was just on the tv. 10PM came around and the Leno show came on. He did a monologue, chatted with Kevin Eubanks, did his little bit where he makes fun of typos in newspaper ads, had Bill Cosby on and had a musical guest. I don't get it - isn't this just the Tonight Show at 10pm? Is there anything different about the Jay Leno show and the show he was doing before?

not much.  nbc wanted their cake and to eat it too by recreating jay's success on the tonight show at 10:00 and then again with conan at 11:30. 

they failed.

There were complaints that it was taking away revenue from the following news reports by all the people going to bed after the show as well.

[wonderpug]

Ugh, I wish Leno would just go away.  He stepped down and passed the reins to Conan.  Poor class to take Conan's new gig just because his new thing didn't work out.

Jay Leno Presents: Top Gear America

I'd even be happy if he took the 10:35-11:35 time slot for the show.

[Tebunker]

Ugh, I wish Leno would just go away.  He stepped down and passed the reins to Conan.  Poor class to take Conan's new gig just because his new thing didn't work out.

Jay Leno Presents: Top Gear America

I'd even be happy if he took the 10:35-11:35 time slot for the show.

I said it over at OO and I will say it here, I will march on any Studio that tries to do a Top Gear America without Jeremy, Hammond and May. It would never be the same show. All they need to do is to simul-cast Top Gear in the states with no editing or multiple month delay. Hell, NBC could buy the program, move the three host and the stig to the states and add Leno, as long as they don't mess with the show. Heck it'd probably get better as it would no longer be a "state" funded program as it would no longer be on the BBC.

[hitbyambulance]

Heck it'd probably get better as it would no longer be a "state" funded program as it would no longer be on the BBC.

that would make it faaaar worse

[JayDee]

Conan was on fire last night. "Classic Tonight Show Moment" from August 2009 was great. Especially Andy saying "I can hardly recognize myself!"

[Rumpy]

Heck it'd probably get better as it would no longer be a "state" funded program as it would no longer be on the BBC.

that would make it faaaar worse

Yeah, I agree. And transplanting the hosts wouldn't work, and it wouldn't exactly be American. Australia got their own version of Top Gear unique to them, so why can't the US?

[Bullwinkle]

I find myself getting more and more irritated with Leno with each passing day.  I don't watch him, but you can't help but hear about stuff.

I heard he responded to Conan's letter, specifically the part where he lamented only getting 7 months to nurture and grow the tonight show, by saying, "We only got four months."  Are you kidding me, jackass?  You failed and are getting rewarded by getting your plum spot back and forcing the new kid to give up his shiny new toy so you can essentially have it back.  You're the bully here.  You don't get to whine.

[Rumpy]

I find myself getting more and more irritated with Leno with each passing day.  I don't watch him, but you can't help but hear about stuff.

I heard he responded to Conan's letter, specifically the part where he lamented only getting 7 months to nurture and grow the tonight show, by saying, "We only got four months."  Are you kidding me, jackass?  You failed and are getting rewarded by getting your plum spot back and forcing the new kid to give up his shiny new toy so you can essentially have it back.  You're the bully here.  You don't get to whine.

I think he meant 4 months in referral to the Tonight Show, whereas Conan got 7 months for it to mature, while Leno had 4. At least that's how I read it. Leno's first few months were pretty rough as I understand.

[hepcat]

I find myself getting more and more irritated with Leno with each passing day.  I don't watch him, but you can't help but hear about stuff.

I heard he responded to Conan's letter, specifically the part where he lamented only getting 7 months to nurture and grow the tonight show, by saying, "We only got four months."  Are you kidding me, jackass?  You failed and are getting rewarded by getting your plum spot back and forcing the new kid to give up his shiny new toy so you can essentially have it back.  You're the bully here.  You don't get to whine.

I think he meant 4 months in referral to the Tonight Show, whereas Conan got 7 months for it to mature, while Leno had 4. At least that's how I read it. Leno's first few months were pretty rough as I understand.

i think he was referring to The Jay Leno Show, not his original run on The Tonight Show.  The Jay Leno Show lasted approximately 4 months before being canceled.

[CeeKay]

I bet the other networks are going to miss the ratings giveaway that the Leno show was.

[EngineNo9]

Letterman had some choice words about Leno on his show last night, and even more about the NBC executives.  I think he finally feels free to bitch about how he got hosed by that place.

[disarm]

wow...Leno just had Jimmy Kimmel on his '10@10' segment where he asks ten questions to another tv show host, and Jimmy pretty much used every chance he had to take a jab at Leno over this whole mess.  it was all pretty funny and you could tell that Leno was more than a little uncomfortable at times, always trying to change subjects and move the bit closer to an end.  Jimmy's final comments as Leno tried to end the segment were great...

"Listen Jay...Conan and I have children.  All you have to take care of is cars.  I mean we have lives to lead here...you've got $800 million for god's sake.  Leave our shows alone."

Leno just stood there and tried to hide behind a smile...

[CeeKay]

not everyone is taking the news well.

[disarm]

not everyone is taking the news well.

it was only a matter of time...but still brilliant

[Bullwinkle]

not everyone is taking the news well.

it was only a matter of time...but still brilliant

It's been dormant for long enough that it was like a callback.

[Freezer-TPF-]

I don't see how Leno can go back to the Tonight Show with a straight face.  I'd expect ratings to fall even further. 

[CeeKay]

looks like Conan's last show could be January 22nd.

[ATB]

I don't see how Leno can go back to the Tonight Show with a straight face.  I'd expect ratings to fall even further. 

People have short memories.  Jay apparently beat Dave every night. In time he will again.

Also, Jay's demographic is not the same as Conan's, they don't care at all about Conand,  and they probably will just be glad to have Jay back.

Also, I'm not buying into all of the Jay is the bad guy press.  It's all NBC's fault.  Jay would have been happy having never left the tonight show. It was NBC who promised Conan the gig...prematurely.

[Bullwinkle]

I don't see how Leno can go back to the Tonight Show with a straight face.  I'd expect ratings to fall even further.  

People have short memories.  Jay apparently beat Dave every night. In time he will again.

Also, Jay's demographic is not the same as Conan's, they don't care at all about Conand,  and they probably will just be glad to have Jay back.

Also, I'm not buying into all of the Jay is the bad guy press.  It's all NBC's fault.  Jay would have been happy having never left the tonight show. It was NBC who promised Conan the gig...prematurely.

He wasn't talking about Tonight Show ratings.  Jay's ratings have plummeted since The Jay Leno Show started.  To the point where affiliate stations were complaining and getting ready to drop him and/or NBC.  Why do you think this whole mess got started in the first place?

Agreed that it's all NBC's fault, but Jay isn't exactly helping.  He's essentially whined his way back to ll:30 after having failed at 10.  And he acts like he deserves it.  Additionally, he has never said sorry to Conan or even that he feels bad about the whole scenario.  He has sided with NBC.  Since NBC is a faceless corporation, he's become the face of the scandal on the bad side.  He's now a bully in the public's eye.  I don't see how the continued ill-will is going to help him at 11:30.  And it has nothing to do with whether someone likes Conan or his show.  It's perception now, and it's out there.  You may not be buying it, but most others are.

Also, did you watch that clip of Kimmel on Leno?  Leno's own audience wasn't exactly defending him.  They were laughing hard for most of it or were, at best, uncomfortably silent.  They weren't booing or rallying around him.

Leno's in a big, big hole.  NBC dug it to begin with, but they've made it even deeper, and he didn't stop them.

[Chaz]

Is there somewhere that compares the first seven months of the Leno Tonight Show with the first seven months of Conan on Tongiht? I know it's not apples to apples because Leno had much stronger leadins, but it would be an interesting comparison.

[Roguetad]

I've always liked Conan, and have appreciated his sense of humor since he started.  With that said, I don't think he was the right choice for the Tonight Show audience.  Carson and Leno provided easy laughs, with a lot of dumb skits mixed in, but nothing really taxing for the audience.  I don't think Conan, or his sense of humor, were relateable to the core Tonight Show audience (my mom and her 60 something friends), and many of them left.  They want Jay's streetwalk where he talks to morons that make his audience feel smart, they want Carson's add board bit where Jay reads misprint advertisements, they want dumb skits but not anything that requires too much thinking, but more importantly, they want more of the same. 

Conan has his own following, his own audience, and it's definitely not the main Tonight Show demographic.  If you remember back during the last 5 years of the Carson reign, one of the most popular guest hosts during that time was Joan freaking Rivers!  That says something about that audience.

[hepcat]

Don't knock Joan Rivers.  The woman is like Don Rickles:  timeless in their humor.  She's friggin' vicious when wound up.   

[Bullwinkle]

Absolutely.  Joan Rivers wasn't "easy" for that time at all.  She was edgy and fairly vicious.  And extremely popular (and it wasn't the last five years Carson was on, either).  That's why she got her own show.  And one of the main reasons it failed was that her move was seen as a direct slap in the face to Johnny Carson. 

Is there somewhere that compares the first seven months of the Leno Tonight Show with the first seven months of Conan on Tongiht? I know it's not apples to apples because Leno had much stronger leadins, but it would be an interesting comparison.

I would be interested in that, too.  I'd also like to see how Tonight and Leno have been doing since the scandal broke.  In the former case, there's no question that Leno was on top (although Dave was trouncing Leno in the early years).

It's interesting that the situation between Dave and Leno was sort of the same.  Where Dave was seen as unfairly treated, and he won consitently at first.  The big difference between then and now was that Dave and Jay were closer to equals (Jay may even have been considered a bit of an underdog).  And though Jay just shrugged and did what the network asked of him then, too, there was less of an impression that Jay asked for the change than there is now.  Also, there's the established host muscling out the new kid thing.

[pr0ner]

The Tonight Show, for sale on Craigslist.

[Eel Snave]

The Tonight Show, for sale on Craigslist.

I made an offer.  Fingers crossed!

[Chaz]

The Tonight Show, for sale on Craigslist.

I made an offer.  Fingers crossed!

The seller's just going to take it back in a few months.  *zing!*

[CeeKay]

the bastards are keeping the masturbating bear!

[Eel Snave]

the bastards are keeping the masturbating bear!

Oh to be a fly on the wall at that meeting.  "OK, we'll give you Conando, but the masturbating bear is ours!"

[Eel Snave]

Via TMZ:

One of the sticking points in the negotiations between Conan O'Brien and NBC is a custody battle -- who gets Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and other characters Conan has created over the years ... sources tell TMZ. But we're told Conan will bag the dog, with strings attached.

Sources say Conan and NBC are "close" on his "Tonight Show" exit agreement -- but one of the remaining sticking points is intellectual property. Conan's characters -- like Triumph, the Pimpbot 5000 and the Masturbating Bear -- are all legally the property of NBC (Triumph's rights are a little tricky and may be the property of Conan's longtime friend Robert Smigel).

Conan wants to take them with him wherever he lands -- and we're told NBC will ultimately give Conan the right to his characters, in return for conceding other points in the exit deal.

As for what Conan may have to concede ... we're told the non-disparagement clause is still an issue. Specifically, how long will Conan be prohibited from trashing NBC? Conan may have to fold on this point in order to walk the dog.

Bottom line -- looks like the Masturbating Bear will live to self-gratify another day.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/#ixzz0czeMXc9I

[Rumpy]

Via TMZ:

One of the sticking points in the negotiations between Conan O'Brien and NBC is a custody battle -- who gets Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and other characters Conan has created over the years ... sources tell TMZ. But we're told Conan will bag the dog, with strings attached.

Sources say Conan and NBC are "close" on his "Tonight Show" exit agreement -- but one of the remaining sticking points is intellectual property. Conan's characters -- like Triumph, the Pimpbot 5000 and the Masturbating Bear -- are all legally the property of NBC (Triumph's rights are a little tricky and may be the property of Conan's longtime friend Robert Smigel).

Conan wants to take them with him wherever he lands -- and we're told NBC will ultimately give Conan the right to his characters, in return for conceding other points in the exit deal.

As for what Conan may have to concede ... we're told the non-disparagement clause is still an issue. Specifically, how long will Conan be prohibited from trashing NBC? Conan may have to fold on this point in order to walk the dog.

Bottom line -- looks like the Masturbating Bear will live to self-gratify another day.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/#ixzz0czeMXc9I

Bah, Triumph is a ripoff of Ed the Sock. Ed the Sock had the same type of attitude and character long before Triumph.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNV4a9XEALs

[hepcat]

Leno goes into full damage control

i wondered when he'd catch on that folks are overwhelmingly on conan's side and that attacking him was just hurting his image.  he's attacking nbc exclusively at this point.

if this was genuine, it would've come out earlier.  at this point i think it's too late to salvage his reputation as the nice guy.  he will probably be a ratings winner again with the tonight show, but he'll never have the squeaky clean image again.

[CeeKay]

I've decided to change my avatar from pooping angel to support Team COCO!

[Bullwinkle]

Leno goes into full damage control

And yet...

[ATB]

I've decided to change my avatar from pooping angel to support Team COCO!

Word is he's getting a $30 mil payout. I don't think he needs your support.