Hi-yooooooo!

[captainsblog]

Stop me if you've heard this one. NBC, facing declining ratings and bad demographics, decides to replace Jay Leno at the helm of the Tonight Show with the younger, funnier host who follows him on Late Night.

Yes, we saw this. And, apparently, we're going to again:

In what seems like a case of déjà vu all over again, rumors are circulating that NBC may ask Jay Leno to leave his long-held gig on The Tonight Show after his contract expires in 2014, so that he can be replaced by the guy who comes on after him, Jimmy Fallon. While NBC denies the rumor and Leno’s team has provided no comment, Kim Masters of The Hollywood Reporter says that two unnamed “high-level industry sources” told her that the network “is moving toward a May announcement” about the transition.

Why now? Supposedly, it is all about age: ABC’s competing late-night vehicle, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, was moved to the 11:35 slot in January and has become a worthy opponent for Leno in the bid for the coveted 18-49 demographic. One source cited by The Hollywood Reporter says that Kimmel may be siphoning off younger viewers that would otherwise watch Leno—and then stick around for Fallon.

Nothing official from the Peecock just yet, but after 30 years of not liking Leno, it'll be good to finally get rid of the lack of hair on his chinny-chin-chin.  Despite having almost our daughter's entire lifetime to mold the Tonight Show franchise, Leno has never clicked with me- or, from what I can tell, with anyone.  His early years of hosting got two surprise benefits: the OJ debacle, which he got the inside track on joke-wise from it all occurring in his city; and Hugh Grant's sudden stupidity, which led to the "what the hell were you THINKING?" moment that helped boost his ratings above Letterman's.  Other than those bits, there's not a single moment in over 20 years I remember ever becoming part of the culture or even the following morning's water cooler talk.

It wasn't like that with Johnny. I was never an every-night viewer, but even though he recycled a bunch of bits from comic predecessors and avoided controversy, he was the kind of guy you felt comfortable identifying with on a first-name basis, and with making his show a shared experience with family or co-workers the next day. Dave has always had those same qualities of goofiness and slight vulnerability, which endear him to me even though we haven't been regular viewers of his Late Night gig in ages.  Leno got the job without class, came back and re-took it without class, and never deserved to be in the royal lineage of Steve, Jack and Johnny the way Dave should have been.

I did watch Leno's first Tonight Show. If I counted up the ones I even glanced at since then, it'd take up less than a hand and still leave a thumb or more.  I had no interest in watching his hand-off to CoCo, nor will this move cause any curiosity, either.  It's just sad that he cost late night comedy so much time while his on-and-off caretakership of Johnny's throne lasted.

Comments

[bill_sheehan.livejournal.com]

The Unindicted Co-Conspirator gave me a birthday card a few years back. On the front it said: "Survey: do people your age prefer Leno or Letterman?" Inside it said, "It's a trick question. People your age are in bed long before Leno or Letterman."

Sadly, it's true. I remember one good riff that Leno did - not on his own show - about cars. He's a collector, and he talked about one land yacht that was made of good solid American steel, inside and out. When you got into a wreck, they just hosed off the dashboard and sold it to the next guy.

Other than that, I've never found him funny. But I don't watch late night television. I have to be up at 5:30.

I did see Jimmy Kimmel's show get hijacked by Matt Damon, though - that was a classic.

[liddle-oldman.livejournal.com]

I often find "Headlines" amusing, but whenever I try to listen to his monologue, he sounds way too Republican for me. Though I never watch late-night talk shows -- except for Jon Stewart, of course -- anyway.