Jay Leno took back The Tonight Show from Conan O’Brien on Monday night, saying, “It’s good to be home.” Ha-ha-ha, oh, oh, I get it: Conan was a bully who kicked poor Jay out of his own house and stayed on as a squatter until the police (i.e., NBC) gave Jay back his property! Justice prevails!
“I’m a little nervous,” said Leno. “I know Dave and Oprah are watching.”
Meanwhile, over on The Late Show: “My name is David Letterman, same time, same host,” said Dave. “It’s a tough night for my mom; she doesnt know who to watch, Jimmy Kimmel or Jay.”
Leno preceded his monologue with a taped bit in which he was Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (Betty White put in a cameo appearance). The idea was that Jay was waking up from a dream after being gone to a place that was “not so nice.”
He also built a segment around finding a new desk. (He’s doing The Tonight Show from the studio where he once did the revolutionary 10 p.m. phenomenon, The Jay Leno Show, not from the gazillion-dollar studio NBC constructed for that interloper Conan.)
First guest Jamie Foxx sprayed the audience with champagne and led the crowd in a cheer: “When I say ‘welcome,’ you say, ‘back’ — Jay Leno!” “Get up! Do the wave!” he yelled. The audience obliged him.
The best moments of the hour belonged to Lindsey Vonn. Leno conducted a solid interview with the Olympic athlete, who came out carrying a couple of her medals. Vonn was completely charming.
Over on Letterman, Bill Murray was pretty great, coming out on crutches and elevating his leg into a sling, moaning about having had an operation for a torn meniscus. (Hey, had one of those myself.) Dave asked Murray about the possibility of a Ghostbusters 3. “This is my nightmare,” said Murray. “I told them if they killed me off in the first reel, I’d do it.”
Did you watch Leno? Letterman?
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Leno Sucks
Agree, Conan’s twitter account is funnier than Leno’s routine. Thankfully, I am a proud member of Craig Ferguson’s Robot Skeleton Army.
Oh you’re just jealous of Jay.
BACK OFF IMPOSTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ha, so true. I think I’d rather watch Conan interview that squirrel than suffer more Leno.
Always nice to come across another RSA member, and I’m totally with you on the twitter thing.
Seeing Leno in the same 10 pm set made everything seem even more tired. Since it’s pretty much guaranteed his material will always be dull, you’d think they would have given him the newer set to add something shiny and new. Or at least send him back to the old one which could at least add some nostalgia points.
What an arrogant douche-bag Leno is.
I hate the term but I’m hoping for an epic failure on his return.
Leno should be put on at 3am – he would be the funniest host on TV and win all the ratings. Conan was a better host and funnier. Sometimes a show didn’t gel entirely, but take a look at some early Letterman shows and you’ll see the same thing.
Conan’s tweets are genius. He’s actually the first celebrity I follow on twitter that I haven’t unfollowed after just a few days. He tweets once a day – and so far it has been 1000x funnier than anything Leno has ever done.
Question for all the fake NSHIs -
what was the first Nshi post?
Was the first Nshi post “Hi, I’m Nshi and I’m completely self-absorbed”?
Nope. The point of this exercise is to show that those posting under the Nshi name are pathetic. Myself included.
If Leno isn’t as funny, why does he ALWAYS win in the ratings? If Conan has SO MANY fans… why didn’t they watch him when he was on? Conan fans are just sore loosers…
No honest Abe Conan fans are people that can spell “loser”. Because they are educated enough to understand his humor. Go back to your blue collar job working on Leno’s cars and “servicing” his fluids.
What’s a looser?
You know something…U SUCK!
Leno doesn’t suck, YOU SUCK
if you don’t think jay leno sucks, there’s obviously something wrong with your senses. make sure you call your doctor to set up an appointment early tomorrow morning. i’m worry about you.
I’m worry about your grammar, Paul. Sheesh!
I think the first Nshi post was ” Hi I’m Nshi, and I’ll be annoying you on every EW post you visit!”
Leno’s a douche, and anyone who says different clearly works for him.
Conan only got half the ratings Leno had, and was losing on all demos. The proof was that even Letterman was kicking Conan’s azz in the ratings. Good riddance, I’m glad Leno no longer has to do the heavy lifting for Conan(17 years). We’ll see how successful Conan can be on his own not depending on a lead-in or falling apart if he doesn’t get one. If Leno gets his old ratings back then we’ll know the low ratings Conan got was because he sucked.
LOL! What a tool.
i know! conan is a tool! finally, someone comes up from between his cheeks
Good god are you serious? Check the facts. It was Leno that was failing, causing viewership of late news to slump and carried over to Conan.
Yes, and how do you suppose Jay would have done those years he was “dominating” if Johnny Carson had decided to be on at 9:00…with the same show?? Competing for the same guests?? Oh, and Johnny’s show was SO good..it was on FIVE days a week…instead of things like ER and Law & Order to lead in to the Tonight Show. Yes, we will see what happens next…
Get your facts straight. Conan was losing in over all ratings, however he was winning the coveted 18-35 year old male demo and building on that very steadily despite the terrible lead in of Jay’s prime time show.
And do remember that Leno struggled for around two years before claiming the number one spot.
Leno may not have deserved to lose his show, but if you are going to defend him get your facts straight.
Are you kidding? Regardless of which host you like better, the fact is Conan had the deck stacked against him because Leno’s show was so bad and had such poor ratings. Even the local newscasts all over the country were complaining to NBC because THEY were losing marketshare because of Leno’s show’s performance. Bottom line: NBC caused this & NBC blew it.
Hey doofus, even if Jay gets his old ratings back the comparison will be moot because he has already rid himself of the biggest albatross Conan had to deal with….Jay Leno as a lead in.
Loved LENO! Jay was fantastic, and it was soooooooo great to see him back where he belongs. LONG LIVE LENO!
Leno and Jamie Foxx deserve each other. They’re both lazy unfunny hacks.
Jamie Foxx would still be doing a piece-of-s*** fifth-network sitcom if he didn’t have a good Ray Charles impersonation.
Leno does suck. I never thought he was funny and would watch Letterman over him any day. He’s a d*uche for what he did to Conan and i don’t even like Conan.
Jay is number one, I like Conan, but he is not on the same level.
Weather you like it or not he is the undisputed king of the late shows.
He can perform well in any studio, what matters is the talent not the location.
Whether, not weather. Ugh.
Leno was awesome! He is back where he belong, at 11:30 p.m. What goes around, comes around. Conan wanted the Tonite Show so bad that Leno was forced to leave the show to Conan eventhough Leno was #1. All of us wil be “older”at one point or another, so is it okay that our employer let’s us go to allow someone younger in your position eventhouhg you are doing a good job? Come on people.
Lindsay Vonn gives me wood.
Jamie was a bit hype tonight.
I watched Leno and I actually thought it was pretty damn good. The “Wizard of Oz” bit in the beginning and the desk search were hilarious. I was a bit worried the show would fall flat but it exceeded my expectations. Here’s hoping he’s here to stay for a while at least! Welcome back, Leno!
Wow…Leno must have his fat italian cock down your mouth…
Ugh, could you be any more offensive?
What are you, Alan, like 68? What’s Jay gonna do when you and your buddies keel over?
Unfortuneately Aln probably has more disposable income than James and Dinjab combined (if they are in that coveted 18-35 demographic – THAT HAVE NO REAL WEALTH). Get a grip and deal with the reality of business and advertising and which name ‘pays the bills’. Conan’s stunts came in a close second to that of my own kids’.
Wow. I think Jay Leno is the unfunniest, lamest guy, and I love Conan, but James and Dinjab, you are unbelievable a$$holes. Do you just hide behind the anonymity of a message board to get out your aggression, or do you also beat up your wife and kids if they don’t call you “sir”? Alan stated an opinion. I don’t agree with it, but unlike a lot of commenters here, he didn’t stab Conan because he likes Leno. Somehow this gave you the right to insult him viciously why? And no, don’t give me another failed attempt at edgy humor (yeah, I get it, you thought you were being funny, but boy are you lame.) Pathetic.
Mo, I do beat up my wife and kids. They like it. It’s a game in our family.
wow.
Conan > Leno
Agree!!!
I will never watch Leno again – what a backstabber! And he wasn’t very funny to begin with!
Actually CONAN is the backstabber. He tried to usurp Jay’s job. Didn’t work.
Ummmmm. Ok.
Learn to read someday, pal.
Wow Robert, do you bother reading?
Robert = moron = Leno fan. Intelligent friends, pity the morons.
Whoever wrote this article could not have been any more biased towards Chinny McStealshow. You could have at least done your job and reviewed the first show without your idiotic opinions. Ken, my friend, actually my urine soaked sponge, you really don’t matter in this world. To anybody.
Pretty sure he was using sarcasm, buddy.
How do you suggest someone write an opinion piece without giving an opinion?
boom, roasted!
Bazinga!
It’s his blog you idiot. He is supposed to write what he thinks.
Why do you have a urine soaked sponge? Are you planning on washing your car with it or something?
Seriously, putting Ken Tucker in charge of posting a Leno recap has to be the most ignorant thing EW has ever done. What’s the point? He’s just going to do his typical one-dimensional blind Jay bashing. This isn’t a Conan fan site, it’s EW. How about some actual coverage?? I wonder if Ken writes his Jay trashing portions before or after the show… since he clearly knows exactly what he’s going to say before the show even starts. Jay could have had the greatest show ever, and there wouldn’t have been a kind word towards him in the entire piece. So WHY BOTHER!? We all know you can’t stand him. Let somebody else handle the Leno coverage. You’re entitled to your opinion, but when it’s the same every week for the last few MONTHS, it just becomes a waste of our time. Spare us, all-wise Tucker.
Awesome comment and so true!
I watched Letterman. Leno has always been the worst talk show host. He just kisses the celebs rears and tells the most poorly constructed jokes. Hack comedian Hacky Host. Coco is way funnier and In my opinion, the best interviewer on tv.
I agree with Bob wholeheartedly. Leno appeals to Republican meatheads who laugh at anything like his former guitarist, Kevin Eubanks. Jay Leno is as funny as a Chilean earthquake. Yes, not funny at all.
My whole family is Republican and NONE of us like Leno. Meathead. . .
I watched Letterman because Dave is class and Leno is a hack. Bill and Dave were great together, as always. I won’t give Leno any of my airtime again. patiently waiting for Conan to kick Leno’s ass…
I wont watch Leno on principle. I used to watch before Conan’s run, and he will be right back to boring in short order. Can’t wait to watch Conan on Fox. Been watching Craig Furgeson who is actually pretty funny guy.
The wizzard of oz bit was LAME!! but it is Leno.
Never liked Leno. Jokes are really bad. Its old played out TV…Carson was a classic. Conan a genius. Why does anyone watch Leno. I’ve watched only when there is an interesting guest. I cant stand his monologue
Welcome back to Milquetoast!
umm, ken, really, i understand you dont like jay, but must you misinterpet every word that comes out of his mouth? how the F was he taking a swipe at Conan (and NOT nbc) with his “feels good to be home” remark? you really are reaching
It’s obvious he’s been taking swipes at Conan with his smug promos. And it’s been awful to hear my local news during the Olympics plug his unfunny a$$ with their canned “Jay will be back where you love him” bits. Not that I planned on watching NBC after the Olympics, anyway.
I watch Letterman, and then the best host of all, Craig Ferguson.
A vacuum should have the propah amount of succction! Most vacuums don’t have BALLS!!!
Too FUNNY!!
haha! I’ve been watching Craigy since Conan left too…
I’ve always been torn between my Conan and my Craigie. Both so original and genuine. That stupid Dyson impression still makes me laugh out loud just thinking about it.
Dave, Craig,Conan and the two Jimmys rule, I am sorry to say Jay isn’t remotely in their respective genius comedy world, even Carson Daly has more creative intelligent energy. Jay is like the boss who puts in 40 years, never gives 150%, never suggests a new idea and the reason the bosses love him is because he causes no trouble and shows up every day no matter how much he screws up. I hope his fans are happy, the king of boredom has returned to put them all to sleep
Jay Leno- live blogged.