Jay Leno going back to 11:30... Conan's future unclear

[JohnnyNipshank]

I'm not sure how to post pics but i signed up for the I'm with Coco facebook page and found this beauty haha

I'm with Coco

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Kimmel has the worst Leno impression ever. That's too bad.

I think that was kind of intentional. It was mean-spirited too. "Did you hear about this?"

[HotHotHeat]

Originally Posted by troutman

I think that was kind of intentional. It was mean-spirited too. "Did you hear about this?"

The best part was Cleto doing a lame-ass laugh the entire time Kimmel did his monologue. It was perfectly executed, if you consider what he was trying to accomplish.

[JerzeeGirl]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Kimmel has the worst Leno impression ever. That's too bad.

Letterman's is pretty good - he's just the right kind of squeaky to carry it off...

[d_phaneuf]

Originally Posted by troutman

I think that was kind of intentional. It was mean-spirited too. "Did you hear about this?"

don't think it was mean-spirited

they have both done each other's show, and Kimmel is going to be on Leno's show tomoro as well

[RedMileDJ]

I haven't read through all the pages in this thread, but I'm going to weigh in....cause I'm royally ticked off!

If I have any of my information wrong, please correct me.

A few years back (like 6?) it was announced that Conan would be taking over The Tonight Show. From what I remember hearing Leno wasn't too happy about the idea...but he had a few more years to have some fun.

Then the date got closer and closer. Leno had a fit and asked for another show.

BANG!

RIGHT THERE. See that!?!

NBC screwed up by LEAVING Leno on the air. Of course the affiliates are going to want Leno to come back to his old time slot...he's still on the air.

Did Johnny Carson say "uh yah, here Leno...take the show...but I'll be on a few hours earlier!"

NO!

Johnny left and gave Leno a chance.

NBC isn't even giving Conan a chance. How can Conan have a chance to take over such a great product when the guy before him is still on the air...on the same network...only a few hours before!?!?

I like BOTH Conan's and Leno's humor. But I just hate how this has all be handled. If Leno had not asked for another show and just left, I think we would see BIG numbers for Conan's ratings and a happy network.

Ok...I'm done ranting.

[Flaming Choy]

Clips from last nights shows (Conan, Leno, Letterman, Fallon, Kimmel, Ferguson), viewable from Canada

http://tv.gawker.com/5447747/late-ni...h-hate-for-nbc

[troutman]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

don't think it was mean-spirited

they have both done each other's show, and Kimmel is going to be on Leno's show tomoro as well

He was skewering Jay pretty good for being lame and unfunny.

[The Yen Man]

I'm a huge Conan fan, and I'll watch whichever network he ends up on.

But to be fair to Leno, it's different from when Carson left because Carson was retiring when he left the Tonight Show. NBC basically forced Leno to leave in 2009 to keep Conan from leaving. It's not Leno's fault that NBC was willing to give him the Jay Leno Show to get him to stay. They could have just let one of them leave instead.

[octothorp]

I really liked Conan's monologue from last night; one of the best since this whole thing started. "Kids, you can do anything in life you want to do. As long as Jay Leno doesn't want to do it too."

If this follows it's current course and Jay goes back to 11:35 and Conan goes to Fox, it'll be really interesting to see whether Leno is able to build up his support again, after being made out to be the bad guy (rightly or wrongly) by all of his peers, much of the media, and the more vocal portion of the public. There's no way he'll get back 100% of his audience, and with the oldest demographic of any of the late-night personalities, it'll only be going downhill over the coming years. He's got a certain amount of pride, too. And if he thinks that he's being set up to fail again by NBC, he may decide that it's better for him to walk, find a new network with more realistic expectations, and still maintain some dignity through it all.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by octothorp

I really liked Conan's monologue from last night; one of the best since this whole thing started. "Kids, you can do anything in life you want to do. As long as Jay Leno doesn't want to do it too."

But then there was Leno's dig at Conan saying how Conan was upset that they only gave him 7 months to make it work.... but he (Leno) only had 4.

Honestly, I don't know how much you can blame Leno. I like Conan better personally, but you can't ignore that Leno has a wider appeal. He is an NBC employee and if they want him to have that time slot, what is he supposed to do? Say "no" to the very people that made him?

Conan originally held the gun to NBC a few years back and said that if he didn't get the Tonight Show spot that he would leave the network. Leno didn't really want to step down, so you can't really blame him for asking NBC for another show.

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

But then there was Leno's dig at Conan saying how Conan was upset that they only gave him 7 months to make it work.... but he (Leno) only had 4.

Honestly, I don't know how much you can blame Leno. I like Conan better personally, but you can't ignore that Leno has a wider appeal. He is an NBC employee and if they want him to have that time slot, what is he supposed to do? Say "no" to the very people that made him?

Conan originally held the gun to NBC a few years back and said that if he didn't get the Tonight Show spot that he would leave the network. Leno didn't really want to step down, so you can't really blame him for asking NBC for another show.

I don't think Conan saying "Look I have all these offers but if you can promise me some advancement opportunities will come in the future, I'll stay." is holding a gun to NBC.

[fredr123]

Originally Posted by troutman

I think that was kind of intentional. It was mean-spirited too. "Did you hear about this?"

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

don't think it was mean-spirited

they have both done each other's show, and Kimmel is going to be on Leno's show tomoro as well

It's an odd situation. I always assumed that Kimmel and Leno would be on good terms. Kimmel is good friends with Carolla from their days at KROQ and The Man Show. Carolla hates Conan and is good friends with Leno (what with their passion for cars and what not). I don't think Kimmel has the same disdain for Conan but I'm surprised he would go so far to sting Leno with that impersonation.

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by fredr123

It's an odd situation. I always assumed that Kimmel and Leno would be on good terms. Kimmel is good friends with Carolla from their days at KROQ and The Man Show. Carolla hates Conan and is good friends with Leno (what with their passion for cars and what not). I don't think Kimmel has the same disdain for Conan but I'm surprised he would go so far to sting Leno with that impersonation.

Why does Carolla hate Conan?

[Table 5]

Why would anyone hate Conan?

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Barnes

I don't think Conan saying "Look I have all these offers but if you can promise me some advancement opportunities will come in the future, I'll stay." is holding a gun to NBC.

The bottom line is that he gave them an ultimatum and then didn't deliver what they thought was an acceptable results. We can argue all day that maybe if he had more time it would be different, but Conan is the one that forced the change therefore the onus was more on him to deliver the goods. Leno can't be blamed for that.

It's really no different than when you see a hockey prospect threaten to go to Russia if they don't get called up, and then when they do get called up, they fail to impress.

Like I said, I like Conan better than Leno, but his Tonight Show was lacking compared to his old show imo. Personally, I blame Andy Richter. The guy kills jokes. Conan's old show improved immediately after axing him.

[GreenTeaFrapp]

Originally Posted by fredr123

It's an odd situation. I always assumed that Kimmel and Leno would be on good terms. Kimmel is good friends with Carolla from their days at KROQ and The Man Show. Carolla hates Conan and is good friends with Leno (what with their passion for cars and what not). I don't think Kimmel has the same disdain for Conan but I'm surprised he would go so far to sting Leno with that impersonation.

You really think these guys get upset that they're telling jokes about each other? They're freaking comedians! They're used to burning each other! And the jokes about the whole situation are probably improving all their ratings.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by fredr123

It's an odd situation. I always assumed that Kimmel and Leno would be on good terms. Kimmel is good friends with Carolla from their days at KROQ and The Man Show. Carolla hates Conan and is good friends with Leno (what with their passion for cars and what not). I don't think Kimmel has the same disdain for Conan but I'm surprised he would go so far to sting Leno with that impersonation.

http://jam.canoe.ca/Television/2010/...56691-qmi.html

Kimmel viciously skewered all things Leno: from his bandleader, lame jokes punctuated by rimshots and sound effects, adoring front-row fans, and even Leno’s signature Headlines.

Kimmel can probably sympathize with O’Brien’s plight.

Last year when it looked like Leno might jump to ABC, speculation was Kimmel would be bumped back an hour to make room for The Tonight Show host.

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

It's really no different than when you see a hockey prospect threaten to go to Russia if they don't get called up, and then when they do get called up, they fail to impress.

Well, actually it's a lot different, but okay, I'll play along with the analogy with a few corrections: it's not the prospect threatening to go to Russia, it's the prospect coming up for UFA status, and rather than seeking the best price on the open market, agreeing to a long-term deal that has a stipulation that he'll get a spot on the big club at a certain time in the future. So when the time comes, they give him his spot on the big club, but rather than letting the veteran (who's playing very well) go, they give him a backup spot. And the result is that the veteran loses his games big-time, and the new prospect wins most of his games, but not by as big a margin as the veteran had when he was in the starting role. And the team, not happy with winning close games with a young prospect, decide to switch the prospect to backup, risking at worst violating his contract and allowing him to walk, or at best thwarting his development. And if the veteran can't regain his old form, or if he decides to retire in a couple years anyway, then the team is suddenly empty-handed with no other good prospects in the system.

[d_phaneuf]

Originally Posted by Sainters7

Why does Carolla hate Conan?

He was banned from Conan's show for saying something about angry lesbians while he was on