TV host feud causes kerfuffle
Issue date: 2/3/10 Section: Opinion
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By Kelly Ardis
Editor in chief
"The Tonight Show" has been the greatest tradition in late night television since its start in 1954. For decades, Americans have watched the show after the nightly news, staying tuned for some laughs before bed. It is truly a shame that such a beloved show has been tarnished by the recent NBC drama, which ripped the show from its newest host, Conan O'Brien.
O'Brien only got to host "The Tonight Show" for seven months, but this short time provided more laughs than the prior 17 years with Jay Leno. But the purpose here is not to hate or blame Leno who, despite poor reviews from critics, did continue the show's success with viewers. This article is to show why O'Brien was superior.
On both "Late Night" and "The Tonight Show," O'Brien proved he can not only tell a joke, he can actually be funny. Leno's biggest laughs came from "Jaywalking" and "Headlines," and in both it was other people being funny, not him. But O'Brien used his natural humor in many skits. "Noches De Pasion" featured O'Brien as Conando in a faux telenovela, and "In the Year 2000" O'Brien and a guest predicted what life would be like in the future. Both of these skits relied on O'Brien's abilities as comedian.
Leno did receive better ratings, which is not surprising since he had 17 years to earn them, as opposed to O'Brien's seven months. Leno had a great following with the older crowd, where O'Brien's biggest following was young adults. But the older crowd liked Leno because they got used to them; certainly they'd get used to O'Brien, if NBC had given him the chance. In addition to his lack of time to prove himself, O'Brien was given a poor lead-in with the failing-from-the-start "The Jay Leno Show," which Leno was given when he decided he didn't want to retire after all. Given that he was so successful on "The Tonight Show," it's obvious that the second show failed because Leno couldn't stand on his own without the legacy of his previous show. His lackluster show led to bad ratings for NBC's local affiliates, whose news programs were suffering because of his lead-in. This in turn hurt "The Tonight Show." NBC had to look out for itself, which is how this whole mess got started.
Looking to cover themselves as much as possible, NBC executives planned to start "The Jay Leno Show" at 11:35 p.m., the timeslot held by "The Tonight Show" for 60 years. "The Tonight Show" would then be pushed to 12:05 a.m., which doesn't quite make sense given the show's title. In his official statement, O'Brien said this was the "destruction" of what he believed was "the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting," and he wanted no part of its demise. After dreaming of hosting the show for years, finally and rigtfully getting it, and moving his family, his crew and their families from New York City to Los Angeles, he stepped down because he favored the show's integrity over his own job. He also said pushing the shows back would also push back "Late Night," which he said would be "unfair" to his successor Jimmy Fallon. While obviously upset over losing his dream job, on his final episode of "The Tonight Show," instead of saying one last "Up yours!" to NBC, he took the time to say how grateful he was for his time there. O'Brien is truly a class act.
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