“You can do anything you want in life, unless Jay Leno wants to do it, too. Read the full post.
Jan 14
2010
08:24 AM ET
Who is TV's biggest Conan O'Brien supporter? Who's the lamest?
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Why so harsh with Jay, it’s NBC, they are the ones that moved him and now want him to go back. I wish Robin Williams would take over late night, now that would be a talk show worth watching and staying up to watch.
WHAT IS IT WITH YOU CRITICS??? you just slobber all over Letterman, and his jokes aren’t that great. he’s not relevant. and you “gasped” at that merv joke? b.s. conan ain’t no victim. he and his big-wig agents got him this job years ago, and he botched it. those are facts. sorry.
“YOU CRITICS”? Oh, it’s more than critics. You’re already on the internet — look around a little.
do you really think the author “gasped” at that merv joke??? give me a break.
How did he botch it? By not bringing in ratings immediately? Go check Leno’s ratings before the Hugh Grant (over a year after he inherited the show) – they were dismal. If Leno deserved a shot to make it work back then, Conan deserves it now.
Don’t forget that for the first year Leno didn’t even have competition. Letterman was still following Leno on NBC for the first year. And then it was still a while before Leno gained viewers. And to compare Leno in primetime to Conan in late night as far as winning over viewers is apples to oranges. Prime time shows are usually given less opportunity to prove themselves. Leno knew this and was saying so over the summer. Leno is not a stand up guy and he is proving that now. He screwed over his old friend Letterman and now he’s doing it again. Maybe this is why Carson didn’t like him.
nbc took the tonight show AWAY from jay in 12/92 and offered it to dave. dave turned it down, then went to cbs. the rest is history. facts.
so this has happened before. and if you don’t think ratings are important, i can’t help you.
Steph… So you have an opinion on my post but not on the story we’re all commenting on, that is the definition of spam. Way to go! :p
Won’t someone PLEASE think of Carson Daily!
Jay is NOT funny. Some of his bits, initiated on other programs, can be, but his uncomfortable interactions with others kill them.
Conan is quirky funny and can really interact with people. Fallon stinks. Craig Ferguson (sp?) is creepy funny and a good watch. Letterman is now boring, like watching Gilligan’s Island for the umptenth time (better than nothing = Jay)
You and me brother. Agree 99%. Can’t find the adorable Craig “creepy funny”, hysterical funny for me. Love my Conan and my Craig and was thrilled when I didn’t have to keep flipping between them. Also finding that I quite like Kimmel.
David letterman is a sad old man. I can’t stand him. I like both Jay and Conan. But am leaning toward Conan in this situation.
Ah-HA – the 9th viewer has been located! One more – and we’ve tallied the entire Leno audience.
5 million = 9 in your universe?
Apparently you’ve never heard of hyperbole.
Jimmy Fallon is a celebrity butt kisser.
This is not the fault of Leno or Conan (although it was Conan that could not keep the Tonight Show #1), it was the bonehead that decided in 2004 that Conan would replace Leno in 2009, even though Leno was #1 and soundly beat Letterman year after year.
Yes, well Leno didn’t keep the Tonight Show #1 the first couple of years (not months) he was hosting it, so does that mean he should have been dropped back in the early 90′s?
UGH! Check your facts; it took about 18 months for Leno to start bringing in ratings. Why doesn’t Conan deserve the same chance? And how is it not Leno’s fault that he’s reneging on his original agreement?
they gave jay 7 months, back in ’92, before offering the show to LETTERMAN. SEVEN MONTHS! dave turned it down, and went to cbs. those are the facts.
UGH back, to K. I am SO sick of convenient facts used to defend any crazy thing people want to say. I don’t know if you are right that it took Leno 18 months to get his ratings up, but he was on for a total of 17 YEARS!!! People are allowed to say he was # 1 and beating Letterman soundly at the time the change was made without having to mention the first 18 months of a 204 month run!!
I was responding to the notion that Conan couldn’t keep the Tonight Show #1, when neither could Leno, way back when. Maybe Shel, you should read people’s argument’s correctly before beaking off. (although I did not know the show was offered to Letterman after 7 months. Thanks for the info, that only worsens my opinion of NBC – if that were possible).
Just read this, and it’s not clear – I meant that Leno couldn’t keep the Tonight Show #1 after assuming the gig from Carson, and slowly built his ratings (mostly after a fortunate controversial interview). So the idea that Conan should be able to keep it #1 from the second he took over is unrealistic.
I should have added, K, that when NBC decided back in 2004 that they wanted Jay to commit to leaving The Tonight Show in 2009, he was soundly in his WINNING phase and long since had past his 18 month beginning. So, Kay was quite correct to describe NBC execs as bonehead.
EW can be really annoying when they so obviously fawn over people who share their political views, when the topic is late night tv.
You know what is REALLY interesting? Even with Jay’s nasty joke, no one has even brought up the problems Dave has had in the recent past. No wonder he has no issue stoking the Tonight Show flames. This is a great way to brush his story even further under the carpet. Letterman owes Jay, Conan, and Tiger Woods some nice fruit baskets.
why is it REALLY interesting? This isn’t the story about Dave – this is the story of the Tonight Show.
Considering the position he was in in the ’90′s, he’s familiar with the story and now is enjoying the view as it replays almost 20 years later.
TIGER finally speaks:
Jay Leno comparing the war in Afghanistan with this little ripple in NBC’s lineup was tasteless and egotistic. And anyone who loses sleep over which comedian makes sarcastic remarks at what time should have more to think about.
Gettin tired of Letterman jumping on this with such glee. Y’know when Dave had his little affairs coming out, most of the late night hosts were respectful. Then the Tiger Woods thing came out and though I wouldn’t have expected a late night host to ignore it, it was a little hypocritical how much he’s laid on Tiger. Glass houses y’know. Now this, and I usually like Dave, I just think he has really gotten carried away with this and wish he’d move on.
Hmmm, good point.
Jimmy Fallon has always been lame, no surprise there.
While Dave is actually pretty witty and funny with this situation, he’s also comes across really mean. Is it really necessary for him to rip into Carson Daley like that?
I didn’t realize Carson Daly still had a show until Letterman started this series of jokes. But hey– they upgraded Carson to Ice-T on the Leno Victims Unit.
It’s funny – I think people are either fans of Leno’s brand of humour or Letterman’s brand. I’m a Letterman fan but I don’t begrudge anyone their choice of a different style and I thought that Jay’s popularity up to now has been based on that support. What I find interesting is that the decline in his viewers when his timeslot was changed suggests he didn’t have a lot of true fans – they belonged to the Tonight Show, not him. Conversely, Letterman created his own fan base when he crated his own show which I suspect would follow him in any time slot on any network and it looks like NBC may discover the same thing about Conan.
Hey, some of us don’t find either of them appealing. Call me a Conan/Craig girl!
I actually like both men, sometimes one more than the other, depending on mood and how “on” either one was at the time. As for decline in Jay’s viewers, I think it is a bit simplistic to say that it was because they weren’t “true” fans. I like Jay, but I don’t watch any talk show daily – I just don’t have the time. At 10:00, I am generally watching something else I TiVO’d….which the ratings companies have been finding out explains alot of lost 10:00 ratings for the networks. The show was also not great – not the Tonight Show, not something entirely new. I could like Jay and still think, “10:00 talk show nightly? hmmm, don’t think so” and not have stopped being a fan. This was a bad NBC decision, period, to me. And, for the record, I really like Conan, too, but have not found him entirely comfortable in his new shoes yet, either.