So who's side were you on? Back before NBC made changes to its late night line-up, both Conan and Jay were number one on their respective shows. More often than not, after the late local news was over, I'd keep it on the Tonight Show to watch Jay and listen to his jokes. It wasn't very often that I'd switch it over to Dave Letterman, unless that particular episode of the Tonight Show was one that I'd seen before. Nothing against Letterman, but sometimes his jokes become too repetitive. And I found that to be annoying. And a lot of times, I'd keep it on the Tonight Show because a majority of Jay's other skits I found to be enjoyable, too. As for Conan's show; I always watched it over the competition because Conan is just so darn funny. His jokes, his reaction to the audience, his awkward movements on stage, his skits; you name it. Back in 2004, when Jay Leno signed the rights away to hosting the Tonight Show, I thought it was the right thing to do. However, watching everything that has transpired within the past month, it's clearly obvious that was an ill-advised decision for not only the two comics, but for NBC.
I am wondering how people are reacting to Jay Leno's appearance on Oprah's show this past Thursday. I know I've read some criticism from columnists who write for certain newspapers. I didn't get to watch all of the interview, but saw the last half-hour of Oprah's show (not sure if the interview took up the entire hour or not). As for my reaction, I was a little put off by his comments. For one, he said the selfish thing he could've done was to walk away. And for one, he was looking out for his staff if he would've made the decision to walk because he didn't want to leave them on the street without a job. However, how can anyone think of that as being selfish? They work in Los Angeles afterall; I'm sure they could find other work. He signed an agreement in 2004 to walk away from the Tonight Show. He gave the reins of the show to Conan so he could succeed and for Jay to "retire." I know Jay and NBC made the agreement back then thinking he couldn't keep the title of being number one in late night going. But he remained number one that entire time which made the decision leaving the Tonight Show a difficult one for Jay.
I guess what I don't understand in all of this is why Jay ended up being so committed to NBC when he could've had his opportunities to walk away. Last year, with his reign on the Tonight Show nearing an end, he signed a deal to host his soon-to-be-cancelled primetime show. NBC signed Jay fearing he'd end up at a competiting network and start a new show there. Jay had his doubts a show at 10:00 PM would work. Yet, he went ahead and signed the deal. Right there, he could've demanded a release from the network to start his own show. I mean, he had his doubts, I'm sure other people involved with Jay had their doubts. He could've easily found a way to leave NBC and pursue other opportunities. The agreement back in 2004 only involved Conan taking over the Tonight Show from Jay, right? Then, when NBC decided to cancel Jay's 10:00 show and move him back to 11:35 and give him a half-hour show, again, another prime opportunity to walk away from the network. I wonder if Jay was waiting to see how Conan would react to moving back a half-hour to 12:05; whether he'd accept that compromise or not. What if Conan would've said yes to that, would that have caused Jay to walk away then? I have my doubts, because Jay seemed overly committed to NBC during this whole debacle. Even if it was only a half-hour show, he's still back in his old Tonight Show timeslot. In my opinion, Conan took the higher road in all of this and walked away from the Tonight Show, fearing the move of the show back a half-hour would damage the history of the institution. Honestly, it makes Conan look a heck of a lot better in all of this than Jay.
So who will I be watching March 1 when Jay Leno comes back to host the Tonight Show? I've contemplated switching over to Dave Letterman, but I might check out and watch all the hub-bub involving Jay's return. For all of these years, we've been comforted by Jay's jokes before we went to bed. I mean, he has portrayed himself as this blue collar, every-man, nice guy. However, this whole situation really taints his image. Obviously it was the network that put him in this position. Yet, don't you think it would've been incredibly easy for him to find another network to do his routine if he wanted to host a show that badly? I mean, Conan is going to get that same opportunity. It sounds like FOX is high on Conan's list, for one. And they've said they were always interested in getting back into the late night talk show circus. I believe this will hurt Jay for awhile, but I think he'll rebound over time. He'll likely regain his status as being number one in late night. However, once Conan comes back into the ring, you've got to believe many more people will flock over to his show as a way to stick it to the funny man with a big chin.
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