MovieChat Forums > The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992) Discussion > My thoughts on Jay's departure...

My thoughts on Jay's departure...

posted 10 years ago by SkyWest1218
22 replies | jump to latest

Since early 2010 when the crap hit the fan for Conan at NBC, I have made no secret that I have a perpetual disdain for Leno...I haven't watched Leno (except for on a select few occasions) since the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien came to a close...that is, until tonight. The entirety of the last four years, I genuinely believed that Jay was an a**hole, but surprisingly, when he said his goodbyes in the last five minutes, I realized that deep down, he's actually a good guy. Perhaps he could have behaved differently during the fiasco in 2010 (if he'd just apologized to Conan for how things went down, that would have been enough), but nevertheless, to my shock, at the end of the episode I felt kinda bad to see him go. His business sense aside, he's always been genuinely concerned about the well-being of his staff, even going so far as to take a massive paycut a few years back so they could have a job, and in the past, he's done a lot to boost the careers of new comedians and musicians, which is not something many other people in entertainment have gone out of their way to do. His farewell was very surreal to me, very...sobering, I suppose. And while I still consider myself a life-long Conan fan, I must say that Jay really was the "class-act" that so much of Hollywood made him out to be. I for one wish him the best in all his future endeavors. He will be missed.

[–] fudgenuts101 10 years ago

I don't get why so many people jump to defend Conan. Yeah, both Jay and Conan could have handled the situation differently but Conan just didn't have the ratings. I love Late Night with Conan, but ever since the writers strike he just hasn't been that funny, (although his TBS show is better than his last half decade with NBC). Plus, he whined and whined about it but got a multi million dollar payout - basically winning the lottery. Jay has always been a down to earth, respectful, (at least to guests, coworkers and people who have met him), and I'm really sad to see him go. His final goodbye speech brought me to tears.

[–] tyler-92 10 years ago

For a couple years, Jay didn't have the ratings, either, and Conan never really got to be the feature attraction with Jay at 10pm.

[–] supercygnus 10 years ago

Conan began his Tonight Show gig months before Leno's show at 10pm began. Conan was terrific on the later show, but it just wasn't translating into the Tonight Show. I thought it would. Even with all the backlash when he returned Leno got numbers. And they went higher after that controversy died down (but never completely went away). That's just the way it is (was). Doesn't really matter anymore now.

[–] imnotjohncandy 8 years ago

I like both guys respectively but I feel that having to choose only one of them is a little bit difficult and also pointless. And as far as I know, just because Jay's the host or used to be doesn't mean that he technically owns the show as most people tend to think.

[–] enriquesinghjr 10 years ago

I have always disliked Jay... Letterman should have gotten The Tonight Show (just like Carson desired) and Leno perhaps Late Night... but he had an agent that was able to get him the Tonight Show spot and also demanded less from NBC than Letterman wanted.

But after a decade hosting Late Night... Letterman deserved the spot.

Years later...

Of course Conan was destined to fail... I like the guy, but his humor was not appropriate for that earlier timeslot.

Also maybe an even more important factor is the fact that it's not the same having a talk show before you every night (The Jay Leno Show) than having the expensive comedies and dramas as your lead-in.

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] stickley85 10 years ago

That's for sure.I see this going bad,sooner than some people think,and NBC is going to be pulling their hairs out if this fails once again.Why fix something,if it's not broken?

[–] I_Guard_Tanelorn 10 years ago

I think who was deserving of the Tonight Show, be it the guy who hosted the show after or the guy that was a permanent guest host of the show, is a valid argument with no winner. Leno's foot was in the door for Tonight. Dave was never in the picture. I don't care what Johnny wanted, he's just hired talent. Letterman was a wild card, Leno had proven numbers on paper. It was really never going to go any other way than it did.

"I said no camels, that's five camels, can't you count?"

[–] Brainwave1964 10 years ago

Do some FACT-CHECKING before posting I_Guard... Letterman had been promised The Tonight Show by NBC management throughout Letterman's lengthy tenure on Late Night - which is why the s__t hit the fan when Leno unexpectedly became Carson's successor instead. (Duh) If not for Johnny Carson outstaying his welcome Letterman would have taken over the Tonight Show a decade before Carson FINALLY retired. Unfortunately Carson wouldn't just retire graciously; he wanted to make huge-$ with lots of time off, hence Leno had the ludicrous position 'permanent guest host'.

As for your asinine statement that Johnny Carson was "just hired talent" on the Tonight Show, I can only re-state: CHECK FACTS BEFORE MOUTHING OFF on this or any other forum.

[–] a_l_i_e_n 10 years ago

Letterman had been promised The Tonight Show by NBC management throughout Letterman's lengthy tenure on Late Night - which is why the s__t hit the fan when Leno unexpectedly became Carson's successor instead.

But the thing is, when Brandon Tartikoff was telling Dave he had the edge when it came to who would inherit "The Tonight Show", he was also telling Jay that he was on the fast track to acquiring the job, too. That's the way NBC rolls; they tell these guys whatever they want to hear in order to keep them from leaving to start new shows on opposing networks. One of Dave's biggest mistakes, though, was not getting "TTS" promised to him in a nice, binding, expensive-to-break contract.

If not for Johnny Carson outstaying his welcome Letterman would have taken over the Tonight Show a decade before Carson FINALLY retired. Unfortunately Carson wouldn't just retire graciously; he wanted to make huge-$ with lots of time off, hence Leno had the ludicrous position 'permanent guest host'.

Now there you've made a very good point. Yes, Johnny did rely a great deal on guest hosts like Gary Shandling, Joan Rivers, and, of course, Jay Leno. And I, too, think that he absolutely should've stepped aside when he started doing only 3 shows a week.

[–] Brainwave1964 10 years ago

Thanks for your response a_l_i_e_n... I was aware there had been some bizarre NBC/Tarticoff machinations; my comment regarding Letterman's expectation to be promoted to Tonight Show was in response to I_Guard_Tanelorn's inane statement "Dave was never in the picture". So many simpletons writing down whatever opinion pops into their heads as though it was gospel >:(

[–] a_l_i_e_n 10 years ago

Cheers. :-)

[–] a_l_i_e_n 10 years ago

But after a decade hosting Late Night... Letterman deserved the spot.

From a financial stand-point, considering Dave spent the majority of the last 22 years running behind Jay in the ratings, NBC definitely made the right decision. In fact, for a while there "The Tonight Show" was about the only consistent ratings winner that the once proud peacock network had, so they definitely needed Jay more than they did Dave.

Years later...

Also maybe an even more important factor is the fact that it's not the same having a talk show before you every night (The Jay Leno Show) than having the expensive comedies and dramas as your lead-in.

NBC wasn't exactly overflowing with too many successful comedies and dramas at the time, though. Mind you, even Jay admitted the 10pm program did not help Conan's "Tonight Show". However, Conan proved during that summer that he could fail in the ratings all on his own.

[–] enriquesinghjr 10 years ago

It would be interesting to compare the NBC dramas/comedies ratings at 10PM of around that time against The Jay Leno Show at 10PM to have a better perspective of Conan's lead in ratings.

I found this video at 3:30 interesting when Carson had Dave as a guest after NBC had announced that Leno was going to take over...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLQwp-kTXEg

[–] enriquesinghjr 10 years ago

After Carson retired he visited Letterman once and wasn't able to say a word because the audience's reaction was so overwhelming... he just handed Dave the envelope with the night's Top Ten, sat for a brief moment behind Letterman's desk... the cheering continued so he smiled, stood up and left... this was his last appearance on any late night show.

(Visited Leno 0 times).

Carson frequently contributed new jokes to Dave's monologue until his death.

Letterman and Carson saw each other, they spent time as friends before and after Carson's retirement... there was a tribute show after Carson's death with Peter Lassally where they talked about this... also when Regis interviewed Dave when Regis guest hosted the show of the guy who replaced Larry King on CNN.

[–] jonathanstatsny 10 years ago

Carson was leaving NBC, he wasn't in charge of who to replace him. Obviously he had his opinion and seemed to quietly make his choice, but he was retiring and that was that. Leno was the right choice. Heck, you could argue he was being groomed to fill Carson's shoes. It is really a coin flip when you think of it. Dave himself has carved out quite the audience and following.

[–] Okeelani 10 years ago

I've never been much of a Conan fan. He makes everything about himself...in his monologues....in his interviews. Watch him during an interview, he'll turn every answer from the guest into an opportunity to make a joke about HIMSELF. Plus, he took a cheap shot at Jay in his monologue on the night of Jay's final show. All the other show hosts (Dave, Kimmel, etc...) had something respectful to say. Not Conan. Just not a fan.

[–] a_l_i_e_n 10 years ago

All the other show hosts (Dave, Kimmel, etc...) had something respectful to say.

Wow, even Kimmel? What did he say, please?

[–] Okeelani 10 years ago

This is what Kimmel tweeted:

"Issues aside, 20 years at #1 is a remarkable achievement. Congratulations and best wishes to @jayleno on an incredible run."

[–] a_l_i_e_n 10 years ago

Thanks.

Nice to see Kimmel can give the smug routine a rest and actually be gracious.

[–] FangsMcWolf 10 years ago

riker-403 (Thu Feb 6 2014 23:33:47)
Perhaps he could have behaved differently during the fiasco in 2010 (if he'd just apologized to Conan for how things went down, that would have been enough),

Here's what I don't get. Last episode of The Tonight Show, before passing it off to Conan, Leno told his viewers to watch Conan (on the new Tonight Show). He was encouraging people to watch Conan to help him be successful. Then Conan started hosting it, ratings took a gigantic nosedive so NBC scrambled to recover from the disaster they had on their hands. They put Leno back on The Tonight Show and then people blamed Leno for Conan's failure.

Just how does that work? I want to know, so that I can blame others for my failures. I mean, after all, despite Leno encouraging people to watch Conan, Conan still bombed in the ratings. So how was it Leno's fault? Why would he need to apologize to Conan for something that wasn't in his control? What's he supposed to say, "I'm sorry that you brought in miserable ratings?"

For real, it's not like Leno wore a disguise to look like Conan and then hosted in Conan's place, purposely destroying the ratings just so he could get the show back. If Conan had managed to maintain good ratings, he would have remained the host and it wouldn't have gone back to Leno. People make it seem as though Leno said, "I changed my mind, I want the Tonight Show back" so Conan got the boot despite bringing in wonderful ratings.

Wow, just wow.

[–] a_l_i_e_n 10 years ago

People make it seem as though Leno said, "I changed my mind, I want the Tonight Show back" so Conan got the boot despite bringing in wonderful ratings.

Yes, unfortunately there are some people who still believe that Jay actually wanted to retire, and then just changed his mind. But we now know it was NBC and Conan that decided Jay would be leaving "The Tonight Show", and then later on NBC changed it's mind when they realized Jay could be a big challenger to "TTS" if he went to another network.