Leno / Conan / NBC / etc.

[Degenerex]

Jimmy Kimmel absolutely destroyed Leno on his own show tonight. I have no idea why Jay went for that, but Kimmel went for it. He seemed restrained at first, then about halfway through he let loose and every question from Jay resulted in an insult. Jay stood there with no comebacks, looking foolish as hell.

 

Yes, this was some great television. He may not have the 11:35 slot or have a show on NBC, but Kimmel has consistently been the best talk show host since he started in 2003.

[u2roolz]

Jimmy Kimmel On Jay Leno's 10 At 10 (video)

 

This went up quick.

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

I've never liked Kimmel before, but his Leno parody was great. Then he had the balls to bring the heat to Leno's own show via satellite, but still) and my respect for him jumped a mile. Great comedy.

[OOO]

Jimmy Kimmel On Jay Leno's 10 At 10 (video)

 

This went up quick.

 

Wow. Brutal.

 

 

But awesome.

[GtrPlyr]

Jimmy Kimmel On Jay Leno's 10 At 10 (video)

 

This went up quick.

That was some great TV there, verging on the uncomfortable (in a good way.) Kudos to Kimmel for having the guts to do that.

[drop dead ed]

If Leno does take the job it's gonna look terrible. I honestly believe Conan and Jay are puppets though and NBC is simple trying to go with what works. It isn't fair to Conan though because 7 months isn't enough time to get his mojo working in a new time slot. I still don't think it's fair to anyone at this point.

 

Conan isn't going to take a later time slot and I don't blame him, and if Leno takes his old time slot back it's going to look really bad.

 

This could all be just one big drama cooked up by NBC to boost ratings for Conan. I mean the only reason Conan has the tonight show is because it was fear that he would move to another network back in 04, so NBC promised Conan he would wait five years to get the job ultimately firing Leno, or making him retire, right???

 

Conan is a lot funnier than Leno, but for some reason his ratings just aren't up to par. Nothing beats his old time baseball skit back on Late Night

[tugmoose]

This was all rather interesting until Tuesday. Now it's a little hard to get worked up over.

[cryptique]

Never cared for Kimmel, but perhaps I've misjudged him. That was 100% awesome.

[cryptique]

From Salon

 

Conan forever

 

Big Red won our hearts as Leno became the Voldemort of comedy -- even, shockingly, to his fellow comedians

 

By Mary Elizabeth Williams

 

It's a battle bigger than the one between Team Edward and Team Jacob -- and even more one-sided. Though it looks likely that Conan won't be coming back after his show goes on hiatus Jan. 22 while Leno triumphantly skulks back to 11:35, in the late-night court of public opinion, you can go Team Conan or you can go home.

 

A new Tvguide.com poll showed a staggering 83 percent of respondents saying they wanted Conan – whose show has been threatened with post-midnight exile to make room for Leno's return -- to stay at 11:35 p.m. (Can we get more scientific than a Tvguide.com poll? How about this: A look at the rapidly proliferating "Team Conan" hoodies and T-shirts on Cafe Press.)

 

It's not just the Facebook-addicted hoi polloi who have an opinion – comedians themselves have thrown their support behind Conan O'Brien in his increasingly bitter, wildly amusing feud with NBC. Comedy Central star Michael Ian Black sent out the tweet that "One bright spot on this terrible day is seeing everybody come together and agreeing that Leno sucks." And stand-up comic and "Ratatouille" star Patton Oswalt recently discussed the loathing his "comedian friends" have for Leno, calling him "passive aggressively mean" and comparing the late-night host to none other than Richard Nixon.

 

But if you want to really see the knives out, note how giddy Letterman, Kimmel and Ferguson have been these past few days, devoting increasing portions of their own shows to the gleeful evisceration of Jay Leno. (One exception seems to be Jimmy Fallon, who has been -- perhaps understandably, perhaps lamely -- not choosing sides.) And Letterman, NBC's first Leno victim, seems to be positively glowing. Or as he put it last night, "I have not been this entertained by NBC since Balloon Boy threw up on the the 'Today' show."

 

Big whoop, you might say. This may make for fun in the godless Sodoms of New York and Los Angeles, but in the Real America, Jaywalking rules and Leno's Letterman-trouncing ratings of yore don't lie. Twitter THAT, vocal minority!

 

But ratings aren't the only thing at stake here. There's a little something called cultural influence. "The Daily Show" and "Colbert Report" get modest ratings on basic cable, yet their rippling influence gives Comedy Central a tidy bang for the buck. When was the last time someone forwarded you a "holy crap" moment from Leno? Thought so. And as any middling communications major would gladly explain to the head of your local GE-owned network, overnight ratings in the age of DVRs, Hulu and the like are about as accurate as a Jim Cramer stock tip.

 

And this, you see -- the part where we the viewers come in -- is part of the public outrage being stoked here. It isn't just a fondness for Big Red. There's a collective scorn for the way that NBC has so openly pooped on its audience like Triumph the Insult Dog: replacing its 10 p.m. lineup with five nights of cheap, clunky Jay Leno shows because they're easier than, I don't know, creating something new that doesn't suck? Well, fuck you, too. There's nothing like swaggering around in your "too big to fail" pants to summon the gods of ironic punishment, now, is there, Jeff Zucker? So excuse us if we're Googling the German word for that derisive pleasure gained by watching a network's lazy contempt for the American public fail spectacularly.

 

Nevertheless, the clear-cut, Harry vs. Voldemort standoff here seems to have taken many by surprise. Leno, after all, is a man of the people -- a former stand-up comic who paid his dues wedged between shitty subterranean brick walls and drunken hecklers for eons before taking over "The Tonight Show." Not only that, he was

. Before ripping Leno a new one, Patton Oswalt called him "one of the best comedians of our generation."

 

Conan, in contrast, is an Ivy League fancyboy whose experience prior to getting his own show was as a writer for "Saturday Night Live" and "The Simpsons." A writer! A member of that august society of the most socially awkward, least charismatic people you will ever encounter outside of a ComicCon. The fact that O'Brien has managed to milk 17 years out of talking to people on television is a miracle on par with Beethoven writing symphonies while deaf.

 

Yet O'Brien has grown into his role -- and capably -- by being neither the lady-killer smooth paterfamilias Johnny Carson, nor the hulking, "I'm with stupid" Everyman Jay Leno. He did it by being, frankly, a gawky weirdo -- paving the way for the Craig Fergusons and Jimmy Kimmels of the world to unleash their own uniquely oddball styles on America's insomniacs. Conan, now so fiercely defended by the comedy world, was never the comic's comic, nor did he attempt to be. He was a writer's room writer, a guy who came out of a quick-thinking, throw it all against the wall environment. Maybe he's not everybody's venti latte, but he's unique -- and that inspires loyalty.

 

Maureen Dowd, in her New York Times column on Wednesday, tut-tutted that Conan did not have the "bland mass-market appeal" of a very specific sort of guy at 11:35 p.m. Thank God. It's not 1972, and Johnny is dead. (If Carson has any true heir, it's Letterman, who shares a Midwestern aptitude for making taciturn drollery look like old-fashioned hospitality.) That's why Conan floundered so when he assumed "The Tonight Show," like he was Victoria putting on the damn crown, and for his efforts received a ratings wedgie and an Elin Nordregen-level public humiliation.

 

Who ever wanted Conan to be as comforting as a glass of warm milk, anyway? Wasn't he hired to be Conan? You can't put a suit on a masturbating bear. That's why the past few days have been so exhilarating to watch. O'Brien's bird-flipping open letter to the "people of earth" stating his refusal to move his pasty white ass to 12:05 for Leno was unprecedented) -- and awesome. And his daily escapades into public bridge burning (Sample jab: "You can do anything, as long as Jay Leno doesn't want to do it, too") have been the pure antithesis of the staid, safe, snore-inducing stuff that Leno continues to peddle while the walls crash around him. It's as if Conan finally got the corner office, looked around, and decided to tear off his tie and shout, "I'm never going to be like you, Dad!"

 

Conan may well be leaving NBC for good next week, but with any luck, he'll soon go somewhere else and make something new and completely nuts. Moving to 11:35 never could have turned Conan into Carson, and that's what we love him for. At heart, he's still troublemaking, rules-thumbing Bart Simpson. So are we. And Leno can eat our shorts.

[Guest Speed Racer]

Wow. Kimmel totally destroyed Leno.

[cryptique]

Conan may be free to go elsewhere

 

Conan's Exit Confirmed

 

by Kim Masters

 

The late-night nightmare is almost over. Conan O’Brien is leaving NBC and receiving a payout—and he’ll be free to appear on another network before his contract expires, Kim Masters reports.

 

The NBC-Leno-Conan war is close to ending, according to a knowledgeable source. According to the outlines of a settlement, Conan O'Brien will leave NBC and the network will make an as-yet unspecified payment. The comedian will be free to appear elsewhere on television well before his contract expires, despite earlier threats from NBC that it would prevent him from working anywhere else.

 

There is still opportunity for the negotiation to fall apart, but clearly, at this point it is in NBC's interest to put an end to this dismal episode.

 

It seems that Ron Meyer, the affable chief of the Universal film studio, played a key role in bringing the parties together when they were at an impasse and talks had broken down. Meyer is a former agent whose industry relationships run deep and wide. And of course, he has lots of negotiating experience.

 

According to the source, the resolution to the epic and highly public battle came down primarily to the size of the check that NBC would write to O'Brien. That amount remains shrouded in mystery for now, and no doubt the parties will have to agree to confidentiality as part of the deal.

 

According to a knowledgeable insider, NBC Universal started out sincerely hoping that it would be able to keep O'Brien on NBC in a 12:05 a.m. slot behind Leno, who is to be reinstated at 11:35 p.m. Part of the resolution was getting executives there to understand that the plan simply was unrealistic.

 

At that point, with late-night comics across the television landscape piling on night after night—and with Leno being increasingly vilified and undoubtedly chafing at the public lashing he was getting—it was obvious that the situation had to be resolved.

 

It remains unclear where O'Brien might go next. The most obvious place is Fox, but top executives at the company have been scrupulous about avoiding any appearance that they tried to lure O'Brien there while his relationship with NBC remained unresolved. Should Fox go forward with a late-night show with O'Brien now, it will take months before he would be ready to go on the air.

[Atticus]

holy crap was that Kimmel clip brutal. wow!

[Sir Stewart]

The ending of that was the best, Kimmel just unleashing. Funny.

[cryptique]

 

 

link

[u2roolz]

Yeah, Kimmel was pretty harsh, but I'm sure that's what Jay and Jimmy cooked up to make good television.

If not, then I'm sure Jay knew something like that was going to come out of his mouth. And why else would he ask for a "10 At 10" segment with Jimmy after he impersonated him a couple nights before? Ratings. It would be like Anne Frank asking Hitler to come up to the attic for some tea.

 

And it gets people thinking about Jimmy's credibility and thinking "hey, he's not so bad." Almost like a younger artist performing with a seasoned vet and all the fans of the seasoned vet go "hmm..I thought that boy only did that heavy metal that dem dere fellas like." (it really does seem like fraternal conspiracy by the late night crew to stir up viewers for every show with this controversy) I'm hearing that Conan wants "eternal" Leno hater Howard Stern as his last guest as Tonight Show host. Imagine Conan going out with a Leno bashing co-piloted by Howard Stern?

 

Plus, I love how NBC is banking on Leno's return to be an easy return to ratings superpower. Are the bandwagon fans who jumped ship for Letterman going to come back after all this? Isn't it best to let it all simmer until March or April then bring back Jay? Or will Jay have huge ratings when he returns for a week and then people go "mmm...ok...back to reality...(flips channel)" ? I don't know how NBC is thinking about all of this. Are the people (responsible for his "good" ratings) that watch Leno's monolog that forgiving to tune back into him when he returns and they'll sleep better now knowing that?

And how long until Leno "walks" again? Maybe NBC will just retire the Tonight Show and come up with something new when that time comes.

 

BTW, great articles found by Cryptique.

[bobbob1313]

The ending of that was the best, Kimmel just unleashing. Funny.

 

It went from funny to uncomfortable at that point, with Jay trying to kind of stop him a little and he just kept talking over him.

 

But yeah, that was great.

[Guest Jules]

Plus, I love how NBC is banking on Leno's return to be an easy return to ratings superpower. Are the bandwagon fans who jumped ship for Letterman going to come back after all this?

This didn't really happen. The Leno viewers went to cable, not to Letterman. Unfortunately, I think they will come back.

 

If Conan can get Stern to fly out there, that will be one hell of a show.

[GtrPlyr]

Yeah, Kimmel was pretty harsh, but I'm sure that's what Jay and Jimmy cooked up to make good television.

I don't get that impression at all. I just think Jay underestimated how far Jimmy would go with these questions. He probably thought Kimmel would make a few light and playful jokes, but nothing that would make Jay look bad, because after all, he is a guest on Jay's show and nobody would dare take him to task on his own show... how wrong he was.

[MattZ]

Am I the only one who thinks this was all staged?

 

(the Kimmel/Leno thing, I mean)

[u2roolz]

I don't get that impression at all. I just think Jay underestimated how far Jimmy would go with these questions. He probably thought Kimmel would make a few light and playful jokes, but nothing that would make Jay look bad, because after all, he is a guest on Jay's show and nobody would dare take him to task on his own show... how wrong he was.

 

Jack Benny was always the foil for his guests to take a jab at him to make for good tv and make people laugh. Plus, remember the Andy Kaufman/Jerry Lawler incident on Letterman back in the 80s.

 

I think so Matt. I just wrote about it.

[GtrPlyr]

Jack Benny was always the foil for his guests to take a jab at him to make for good tv and make people laugh. Plus, remember the Andy Kaufman/Jerry Lawler incident on Letterman back in the 80s.

This went way beyond anything I could imagine Leno being comfortable with. It wasn't some fun ribbing ala the Jack Benny Show, this was serious jabs full of vitriol. Jay looked bad in the segment, and not in a we're all laughing with you way either.

 

If he agreed to it he's a fool as that segment only benefited Kimmel and Conan.

[Sir Stewart]

Leno's not an idiot - no matter what, he had to know that Kimmel (as a personality) has no qualms about getting nasty.

[u2roolz]

This went way beyond anything I could imagine Leno being comfortable with. It wasn't some fun ribbing ala the Jack Benny Show, this was serious jabs full of vitriol. Jay looked bad in the segment, and not in a we're all laughing with you way either.

 

If he agreed to it he's a fool as that segment only benefited Kimmel and Conan.

 

Yes, but Jay is still getting the Tonight Show back so all is well in his head.

 

I agree with you on your observations, but it's all television. Plus, you could argue that Jay has no problem with looking like the bad guy otherwise he would've let Conan keep the Tonight Show. Remember Joaquin Phoenix on Letterman. That was all an act and people thought that he had "finally lost it."

[Winston Legthigh]

Am I the only one who thinks this was all staged?

 

(the Kimmel/Leno thing, I mean)

Of course it was.

[MattZ]

Leno's not an idiot - no matter what, he had to know that Kimmel (as a personality) has no qualms about getting nasty.

 

Yeah, I guess this is what I am getting at. Leno couldn't have possibly thought that Kimmel would just make a couple of not-too-nasty jokes and everyone would just chuckle and move on.