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dear jay leno,
you’re unfunny.
love, everyone under the age of 55.
What a crock of shit.
Why is NBC obsessed with keeping Jay Leno happy? I could see if his 10PM show had these great ratings and Conan was taking. But his ratings suck. But at least with Conan it can be chalked up to the fact that people aren’t watching the Tonight show period because they can just get their dose of vacuous movie stars promoting their latest claptrap at 10PM and don’t need to watch it at 11:30 like they used to. And of course the stars are going to want to be seen in primetime rather than around midnight.
Only the morons at NBC could look at this situation and go “Hmmm..the solution is to put Leno back at 11:30.”
Although if any of this results in Law and Order being moved back to 10PM I’m all for it.
Yeah, I don’t understand why the solution isn’t “Let’s fire Leno, run some of our best re-runs until the fall, and pray that our new 10pm shows work out next fall!”
So conan was setup to fail (with leno as the shittiest 10:00 lead in ever), so they fix it by setting him up to fail with a shitty lead-in.
Hahaha.
Conan is probably gonna take advantage of this somehow though. That’s just the way he is. If he is moved to 12:05 he will probably have a better show to be honest. Anf honestly. in the fays of TiVo this isn’t THAT big of a deal. People pretty much DVR everything anyway, except the old fucks who don’t watch conan.
Conan isn’t that funny, though… I don’t know why everyone calls him “edgy.” What does that even mean?
They should have given Mitch Hedburg a show while they still had time.
Howard Stern predicted this immediately after the announcement that Leno was moving to 10PM. Poor Conan.
Jason said:They should have given Mitch Hedburg a show while they still had time.
if mitch hedberg had a show, the only people that would have watched were college kids. and even they would get sick of it after a week.
So at this point Leno and NBC have now destroyed 2 of the few tv institutions NBC has had: The 10PM drama slot once held in their prime by Law and Order, ER, Hill St. Blues, St. Elsewhere, LA Law, and many others, and the Tonight show which presumably is now kaput, since my understanding is that it’s still going to be the Jay Leno show at 11:30.
I just hope Jay Leno becomes a pariah.
so Leno gets to unretire? who gets to quit their job then change their mind.
Who is watching Leno at 11:30pm that wouldn’t/doesn’t at 10pm? I mean, how can the ratings and, therefore, the audience, be so much different?
I never thought Conan’s stuff could translate to an earlier timeslot, but I was hopeful. I thought he was perfect for really late night (but have to admit I hardly watched it because it is too late for me.)
At least NBC tried something different by having a 10pm comedy timeslot, but it was worthless to take away good programming possibilities for a terrible comedian.
Jay Leno sucks, I have no idea who likes him.
The other thing is that in all these discussions and debates everyone talks about how bad Conan’s ratings are, but never aknowledge that moving the same basic format to 10PM was obviously siphoning off viewers.
Suzanne said:so Leno gets to unretire? who gets to quit their job then change their mind.
Brett Favre?
The more I think about this situation, the more I realize that I actually don’t care at all. I don’t watch either of these shows, so whatever. It sucks for Conan, but I’m sure he’ll be fine.
oh yeah, that Favre guy. He looks like a bigger fool than Leno because at least it’s NBC’s choice, not Leno’s. I guess.
I don’t watch them either but I have a soft sport for Conan.
Well, if there’s any upside, it’s watching Conan, Letterman, and Craig Ferguson all take jabs at NBC and Leno. Here’s video/transcripts: http://tv.gawker.com/5445941/conan-obrien-eviscerates-nbc-jay-leno-updated-so-do-letterman-and-ferguson
haha! I was just about to post that! If you want to watch all of it, Conan can be found on Hulu and Letterman/Ferguson can be found on cbs.com.
Jay said:Suzanne said:so Leno gets to unretire? who gets to quit their job then change their mind.
Brett Favre?
Jay Z pulls this crap too.
jay z, brett favre and jay leno – three of the worst people on earth.
Conan says “I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction.”
PURE MOTHERFUCKING CLASS.
Conan > earthlings.
I think Conan should team up with Letterman and Ferguson on a super show where all they do is make fun of leno and nbc. And I don’t like Letterman much, but I love that he hates NBC and Leno. Ferguson is awesome.
and jimmy fallon sucks.
anyone that says otherwise is wrong.
Fallon doesn’t suck. And I am not wrong. Obviously I could see why some people will assume he sucks because of his past performances, bu this show, and his style is actually quite fun to watch on Late Night. I was pessimistic about him doing Late Night, but he won me over quickly.
ANYWAY…. http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs138.snc3/18578_248498200747_501550747_3399501_3791675_n.jpg
Fallon sucks and you are wrong. Letterman is still king.
John said:Fallon sucks and you are wrong. Letterman is still king.
Totally disagree. Fallon’s show is alright…it has it’s charms. Letterman’s show annoys the hell out of me.
Lettermen invented everything great about Late Night shows that Carson had left to invent and everyone but Leno admits it.
This, along with Tiger Woods, Mark McGwire, and The Jersey Shore is all part of an elaborate government scheme to distract you all from the crazy shit we have going on over seas.
John said:Lettermen invented everything great about Late Night shows that Carson had left to invent and everyone but Leno admits it.
god i love it when we agree.
fallon isn’t good enough to go by his last name. it’s jimmy and that’s that. he’s the eternal teenager and not in a charming way like dick clark. the only reason his show is good is cos of the roots and the musical guests. his schtick is that of his unfunny sketches on saturday night live where all he does is giggle and let someone else be funny for him.
So was this whole thing a stunt by NBC to get more viewers? Certainly the Leno show is going to be canceled, but maybe they did it this way to get Conan more publicity for his show when Leno’s show does eventually get replaced. Kinda makes sense. That is, if Leno does step away and move on somewhere else (which I really think will happen).
If it isn’t a publicity stunt, and Leno DOES go on at 11:35, then I am honestly excited to see what Conan will do next. Not that I don’t watch his show every night anymore, but I would love seeing him do something different.
Fuck Conan. Whiny bitch. Is he still doing that bit about how bouncy his hair is? Cool.
I’ve been over that guy for years. For me it’s Ferguson or nothing, and more often than not it’s a good book or Ferguson first.
Go wipe your tears with your million dollar bills, Conan. I feel sooooooooo bad for you. Wah wah wah. This paragraph was written using the Sarcasm tag.
Wow. Watching Conan rail against NBC made me want to support him even less. What an unprofessional thing to do. If you’re bitching about how the network is trying to keep a guy with more seniority happy, AND NOT WORRYING ABOUT WHAT WOULD KEEP YOU HAPPY you’re officially not a team player.
Yeah, maybe it’s a bad decision, but does that give you the right to go on the air for NBC just to rail against them? How can any of you see that as anything other than childish?
I mean come on: Howard Stern predicted this would happen. If that asshole saw it coming down the line, how can you be shocked? Second, you know Letterman and Ferguson are going to have a field day with this, SO WHY DO IT YOURSELF? Let the other guys defend you. They’re your fucking competition! When your competitors are giving you the nod and saying, “Wow, that’s a bad decision because Conan’s so good,” you are actually getting the best bump possible. Then you go ruining that by being a sniveling bitch that bites the hand that’s fed you for years.
Remember when George W. Bush squandered all that global goodwill post-9/11 by being a douche and pushing his agenda and whining about not getting his way? Same thing with your dear Coco (on a much smaller scale).
Ultimately this post is about a guy who is paid millions of dollars to tell some jokes and interview interesting famous people who is mad because his show might start a half an hour later than he’d like it to.
Like Jay said… you know there’s a war going on, right? Recession and all that?
I definitely agree that it’s nothing more than a silly diversion. But I think it does actually have some tangential connection to the fact that part of the reason we’re in this recession is the short sightedness and stupid decisions of upper management at huge corporations that screw things up royally and then expect everyone to be all o.k. about it.
And as for Conan whining I could see if before or even at the same time as he was signing his contract to take over the Tonight show, they announced the Leno thing. But the fact is (i think the fact is) that they went through the whole deal of saying “O.K. Leno’s contract is up, we’re not renewing him, and you get the Tonight Show” but then after that deal was done deciding to basically move the tonight show with Jay Leno to 10 o’clock 5 nights a week. Hobbling him with a poor lead in prime time lineup, but also having most high profile guests he would normally get, go to Leno’s show instead.
So yeah, like he himself even said nobody should cry over which million dollar decision he would make. There are plenty more valid pity parties to be held. But there’s no doubt that NBC out and out screwed him in a way that caused this recent situation and for which I think he has a right to rail against them.
Also factor in this isn’t just a matter of "Oh Conan, just take your millions and go away. There’s writers, there are production staff and personell, all of whom picked up and moved their lives and their families 3,000 miles away to try and make this work who are also being screwed over by NBC is this whole thing fails.
Sam, did you even read anything Conan wrote? The dude’s not whining. He’s just saying he’s not going to tow the NBC line.
Furthermore, the dude turned down quite a few huge deals over the years cause he’s had a standing contract with NBC to take over the tonight show. Now NBC is screwing him over without even giving his show a chance. Of course he’s railing against them. They’re practically in breach of contract!
Does anyone remember Zach Galifianakis show Late World with Zach? Where VH1 canceled him, and he spent the last couple episodes just bashing VH1. It’s very much what Conan is doing now and I love it. From what I’ve learned about Conan, and as he stated in his letter, he’s very much a man who respects TV history. And The Tonight Show has a legacy that is getting hurt, even if Conan ends up keeping it. I mean Conan is even making a stand to protect the 12:35 time slot because he has so much respect for a network giving someone that time slot and allowing them to take chances and even fail at times (remember Late Night with Conan was a gem at first).
I would love Conan to stay on as The Tonight Show host, but it might be better for him to go to Fox. And Fox should promise him their stars (Those from 24, House, ugh..American Idol) will hit his show first. And they should also make him write for the Simpsons.
John said:Sam, did you even read anything Conan wrote? The dude’s not whining. He’s just saying he’s not going to tow the NBC line.
I didn’t at all; I was merely going with the two or three clips you linked above. Conan isn’t really on my radar, so I wasn’t going out of my way to look more deeply into this stuff. I watched the clips and made a decision. If he went Jerry Maguire, I don’t know about it.
Conan and the Bread Rapist: http://www.noob.us/humor/conan-obrien-and-the-bread-professor/
Jeff Zucker, the guy ruining running things at NBC, and Conan have had previous disputes.
“..Zucker took to writing local sports stories for The Miami Herald. He continued his writing career as an undergraduate at Harvard University, where he covered sports for The Harvard Crimson. He later became president of the publication. It was at Harvard that Zucker first met Conan O’Brien, now an NBC late-night host, who worked for humor magazine the Harvard Lampoon. As a prank, O’Brien’s staff stole all the Crimson issues one day before they could be delivered. Zucker called the cops. “My first meeting with Jeff Zucker was in handcuffs, with a Cambridge police officer reading me my rights,” says O’Brien.
Jimmy Kimmel has some stones. I give him credit for mocking Leno to his face as well as on his own show (which in reality wasn’t all that funny…but that may have been the point).
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/15/kimmel-leno-show-appearan_n_424295.html
I came here just to post that. I’m surprised Leno didn’t look all that perturbed, though I like to think he flipped out and kicked over a trashcan on the commercial break.
He definitely seemed a little irritated which is probably more than he wanted to let on. I’m glad to see comics and other hosts calling him out on his scuzziness (Patton Oswalt’s radio rant was pretty good as well), but the sad thing is that the vacant sycophants in hollywood will still cozy up to him to promote their garbage. I was bummed to see Jerry Seinfeld take Leno’s side and claim that NBC didn’t do anything wrong to Conan and that if people weren’t watching him it wasn’t NBC’s fault it was his.
Kevin said: <p(Patton Oswalt’s radio rant was pretty good as well)
Link?
Kevin said: <p(Patton Oswalt’s radio rant was pretty good as well)
Link?
Trying to find it. It was one of those link from a link from a link from a link so I dont remember where it started from.
Kevin said:Trying to find it. It was one of those link from a link from a link from a link so I dont remember where it started from.
It came from the Comedy Death Ray radio show/ Podcast, which is the funniest thing going right now. Look it up on itunes. Here’s the website: http://comedydeathray.tumblr.com/
So apparently Conan is going to vacate the spot while NBC pays him… 30 million dollars! I hope that doesn’t mean he signs something saying he won’t compete for 3 years or something like that. I NEED CONAN ON TV.
Also, check out this clip from The Tonight Show with Jay Leno about the transition to Conan. Here