just saw the final show. i thought it was fun up until the will ferrel bit, and then just thought it was confusing. i guess its what conan wanted to go out with, but just seemed like an odd choice to not really be a part of the final 10 minutes of your final show.
Wasn't Conan in the band that played the last ten minutes of his show? Didn't he even do a little solo and get applause from the audience?
Yes, and it was something he's always wanted to do. Play guitar on television. I thought it was cool...
Pariah nerdy User Bow down to combaticus! 15000+ posts 6 minutes 52 seconds ago Reading a post Forum: Media Thread: The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
We won't be seeing Conan O'Brien hosting a TV show until at least September, a stipulation of his reported $44 million separation agreement with NBC. But that doesn't mean Conan's dealings with the network are completely over — NBC has just greenlit the first show in a series produced by Conan's NBC-based production company.
The pilot is for a show called "Justice," and it tells the story of a (presumably fictional) Supreme Court justice who quits his lifetime appointment to open his own law practice. Part of Conan's deal with NBC allowed his production company, Conaco, to continue operation until the end of development season.
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
I think its good he still has a working relationship with NBC. That way it will be easier to move him back to the tonight show after leno rapes it again.
November 6th, 2012: Americas new Independence Day.
David Letterman looked like "either Dinty Moore or Paul Bunyan's son." Or so recalls Jay Leno from his 1996 book on his first meeting with Letterman in 1975. It was a fateful encounter that formed an initial partnership and friendship. But now, in retrospect, it's a tragic relationship in which the repercussions from the fallout between the two are still being felt 35 years later, changing late night television forever. And, unknowingly, altering the fate of a then-12 year-old boy living in Brookline, Massachusetts -- Conan O'Brien. Letterman, on a January 19 episode of Late Show, referred to Jay Leno in a discussion about the current late night television battle as "vintage Jay." What does "vintage Jay" mean, and why does Letterman feel this way? Allow us to break down exactly why Jay and Dave have come to despise one another, both in real life and for our television enjoyment.
Letterman, not surprisingly, was never completely comfortable as a stand-up comic. His initial dream was never to host 'The Tonight Show.' What he wanted was to write for 'The Tonight Show' and his idol, Johnny Carson. In William Knoedelseder's fantastic account of the 1970's stand-up comedy scene, 'I'm Dying Up Here,' he recounts those initial early days of Leno and Letterman's friendship. Letterman was impressed with how comfortable Leno controlled the stage; in turn, Leno thought Letterman possessed the most original material on the comedy scene. The two were soon hired as a team by future husband and wife Jerry Kushnick and Helen Gorman (hold this thought) to write current 'Good Times' star Jimmie Walker 15 jokes a week.
On April 9, 1979, Letterman guest-hosted 'The Tonight Show' for his first time (Carson was hosting the Academy Awards that evening). This was 12 years before Carson would announce his retirement but, in Carson's mind, he had just appointed the next host of 'The Tonight Show.' Letterman would guest host the show 50 more times.
Letterman and Leno would remain friendly over the next few years. Leno would often be booked as a guest on 'Late Night with David Letterman' but, as far as anyone seemed to know, that was the extent of their friendship through the 1980s. In 1987, after Carson had a falling out with then-permanent guest host Joan Rivers, Leno was picked to replace her. This move never wavered Carson's feelings on Letterman's eventual role as the host.
As documented in Bill Carter's book, 'The Late Shift,' Leno's manager, Helen Kushnick (née Gorman; Letterman's former boss), made a power play for 'The Tonight Show' once Carson announced his retirement. An extremely loyal Letterman desperately wanted the show, but would never go behind his friend Leno's back. Leno had no problem making secret deals and, influenced by Kushnick (who was so unpopular, Leno soon had to fire her), proceeded. NBC had their reservations about the lanky, off-beat, quirky comedian hosting his show in New York (sound familiar?) and eventually decided Leno would make the extra effort to make the affiliates happy -- something Letterman had really no interest in doing -- and Leno positioned himself with the network brass as the heir apparent. So, in 1992, with no mention of Carson on his first show, Leno became the host of 'The Tonight Show.' Letterman and Leno would never speak again.
Carson became a deeply private person, granting only two interviews between leaving 'The Tonight Show' and his death in 2004. It's telling Carson never appeared on Leno's show, but his last television appearance was a walk-on appearance on Letterman's competing CBS show, 'Late Show with David Letterman.'
If there's any wonder why, in 2010, it appeared that so many in the industry sided with Conan in this latest late night mess: It's true Leno made his corporate bosses happy -- ratings were sky high -- but this wasn't the case with his fellow comics. Again, as Knoedelseder accounts, Carson was famous for using his 'Tonight Show' platform to launch the career of young comics; Letterman continued this tradition, and Leno did not -- stating the network "didn't think they drew numbers." This didn't endear Leno to the fellow comics he rose through the ranks with, as well as new comics that never had a chance of being on this new incarnation of 'The Tonight Show.' Leno had a history as the guy that conceded to make everyone happy as far back as the late 1970s comics' strike versus The Comedy Store (the basis of Knoedelseder's book). Leno, who was the first comic to voice his displeasure with the lack of pay, was known as sympathetic to owner Mitzi Shore (Yes, Pauly's mother); he was the "let's just make her happy," voice of the group. This was a strike Letterman gave his full support to, even picketing outside The Comedy Store the very same night after he hosted The Tonight Show' for the first time.
It's not surprising that Letterman can see "vintage Jay" repeating and it's even less surprising he would jump to the defense of O'Brien. It should be noted that when the story of Letterman's workplace infidelity broke, Conan refrained from making any jokes about the incident while Leno had a field day. Letterman's full quote during a taping of 'The Late Show' on Jan 19 is telling, "I've known Jay Leno for, what? Thirty Five Years? A long, long time. We used to buddy around in the old days and what we're seeing now is vintage Jay. And it's enjoyable for me to see this. It's like, 'hey, there he is; there's the guy I know.'" Considering Leno returns head-to-head versus Letterman in March, this fight is nowhere near over -- only Letterman's no longer pulling his punches... vintage Jay or not.
This is why I did not and do not like Leno. Furthermore, he's not nearly as funny as Dave.
Of course, for utter late night hilarity, I rather like CHELSEA LATELY, too.
On Thursday, Jay Leno went on Oprah and said that Jimmy Kimmel “sucker-punched” him when Kimmel appeared on his “10 @ 10″ segment. Well, Kimmel devoted a chunk of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” Thursday night to deliver another sucker-pu… I mean, a fascinating, behind-the-scenes look at how it all happened.
Kimmel talked about being booked on The Jay Leno Show, and the standard talk-show process of being “pre-interviewed” — when a staffer goes over with the guest the general topics that will be discussed. When Kimmel realized that Leno wanted ask him stuff such as “What’s your junk-food weakness?” Kimmel balked, claiming he told the staffer, “I really think we have to talk about what’s going on with Jay and Conan because that’s what people want to hear about — not about my junk food weakness.”
He was told that Jay felt “‘there’s been a lot of talk about that stuff and we don’t want to beat it to death.’”
Kimmel paused and said, “But what he did not understand was I did want to beat it to death. I like beating things to death. And so I did.”
Then Kimmel delivered the roundhouse right:
“If I made any mistake, the mistake I made was thinking Jay would have anything other to say than what was written on the cue cards. I figured he’d get into it and mix it up. You know, at one time he was a comedian. But he just stood there, kind of reading through the questions like a robot and then goes off and rats me out to Oprah.”
In case you forgot the original segment, here it is:
Kimmel concluded Thursday night by jokingly whining Lenoesquely, “He’s a tattle tale. Oprah and I had a wonderful relationship and now it’s ruined because of Jay.”
I watched that last night. The clips they showed of the rapist and the racist made me want to vomit. I would have rather watched the state of the union speech again.
November 6th, 2012: Americas new Independence Day.
Uschi said: I won't rape you, I'll just fuck you 'till it hurts and then not stop and you'll cry.
MisterJLA: RACKS so hard, he called Jim Rome "Chris Everett." In Him, all porn is possible. He is far above mentions in so-called "blogs." RACK him, lest ye be lost!
"I can't even brush my teeth without gagging!" - Tommy Tantillo: Wank & Cry, heckpuppy, and general laughingstock
Nono, Rue McClanahan was the racist and Uschi was the rapist. Pay attention, Lothar!!!
Uschi said: I won't rape you, I'll just fuck you 'till it hurts and then not stop and you'll cry.
MisterJLA: RACKS so hard, he called Jim Rome "Chris Everett." In Him, all porn is possible. He is far above mentions in so-called "blogs." RACK him, lest ye be lost!
"I can't even brush my teeth without gagging!" - Tommy Tantillo: Wank & Cry, heckpuppy, and general laughingstock
Pariah nerdy User Bow down to combaticus! 15000+ posts 6 minutes 52 seconds ago Reading a post Forum: Media Thread: The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
Fox executives are scheming for Conan O'Brien's big comeback. They are kicking around Conan hosting a four-night-a-week show on Fox's sister station FX.
A weekend version of the show would air on Fox. Eventually, once network executives convince affiliates to carry him, Conan will return to late night against his original rival: NBC's Jay Leno.
Stephen Battaglio, the business editor for TV Guide Magazine (subscription only), spoke with sources who told him the plan. They say News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch will have a hard time resisting an attack on NBC's Tonight Show with the host they turned away.
Fox Broadcasting entertainment chairman Peter Rice would also get a boost for landing the deal. "This could make him," an insider told Battaglio. "His fingerprints would be all over it."
O'Brien and Fox are in talks but more "serious discussions are expected to happen over the next six weeks," according to TV Tattle's scan of the article.
Taking the time on FX would allow Fox to woo their affiliates. Meanwhile, they would have to figure out what to do with Wanda Sykes, who has a late night show at the 11 p.m. timeslot on Fox.
Hey, Conan's Facebook army, gather your troops.
November 6th, 2012: Americas new Independence Day.
To pull off the surprise Super Bowl spot he did with rival David Letterman, Jay Leno flew secretly to New York on the NBC jet last Tuesday and managed to sneak into the Ed Sullivan Theater undetected wearing a hoodie, sunglasses and a fake mustache.
Rob Burnett, executive producer of the “Late Show,” said keeping Leno’s participation under wraps was the key to preserving the effect of the 15-second promo, which featured the two late-night comedians uncomfortably watching the Super Bowl together, with Oprah Winfrey trying to keep the peace.
“We wanted desperately to keep this a secret,” said Burnett, who said the only CBS official who knew of the plan was Chief Executive Leslie Moonves. “Most of the staff didn’t know. We just knew we had to keep the circle extraordinarily tight.”
At NBC, Leno’s executive producer, Debbie Vickers, NBC Universal Television Entertainment Chairman Jeff Gaspin and NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff Zucker were in the loop, but few others had a clue that Letterman and his longtime rival had joined forces for what was easily the most unexpected Super Bowl ad of the night.
In the spot, Letterman is seen on a couch, glumly munching potato chips. “This is the worst Super Bowl party ever,” he says.
“Now, Dave, be nice,” responds Winfrey, seated beside him. The camera then pulls back to reveal Leno squeezed on the couch on the other side of her, with his own bowl of potato chips. “Oh, he’s just saying that ‘cause I’m here,” the NBC host says. Letterman then mimics Leno in a high-pitched voice, prompting Winfrey to roll her eyes, sigh and throw up her hands in frustration.
Letterman came up with the idea and wrote the script himself after CBS told him they were giving his show a brief promo during the Super Bowl, Burnett said. Letterman pitched the idea to Winfrey, who had appeared in a similar spot with him in 2007. She quickly agreed to it, and then Burnett ran it by Vickers. She thought it was funny, and within minutes, Leno was on the phone, agreeing to do it.
“I think for Jay, he thought of it less as a promo and more of a funny piece to be doing on the Super Bowl,” Burnett said. While the “Late Show” staff speculated internally about what the ad would do for Leno’s image, Burnett said Letterman was focused on another aspect.
“Dave is ruled by one law: Is it funny?” he said. “That’s all he really cared about. And the sense I got in the room was that all three sides thought it was really funny.”
Though Letterman and Leno have both flung pointed insults at each other on the air in recent weeks during NBC’s messy late-night imbroglio, Burnett said the two men got along well during the 20-minute shoot.
“Dave and Jay were very professional and cordial and friendly with each other,” he said. “And Oprah, in addition to her many talents, is a wonderful comedienne.”
NBC officials had no comment on Leno's participation in the ad. The taping kept Leno from doing his show Tuesday, so the network extended Tuesday’s edition of “The Biggest Loser” to fill his time slot.
I think this tells you what kind of trouble NBC is in perception wise with Leno. Why would you let him do a promo for a competing show and push back an episode of your show to accommodate the competition otherwise?
i couldn't believe either one of them would agree to it. very surprising dave wrote it. still, i thought it was funny, and that they both came off good in it.
I think it proves that Letterman has given up. Now all of Conan's fans are mad at him and oprah is a fat racist bitch.
I think it shows that Letterman is smart. It was a funny spot, and I guarantee folks are going to be talking about it tomorrow. Hell, we're talking about it now. He knew that Leno and even NBC would jump at this to try and get back some of the nice guy image Leno used to have with fans and patch up the cluster fuck.
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
Yeah, why wouldn't Dave do it? Basically, Letterman was making Leno his bitch and Leno was saying "thank you sir, may I have another." Jay is now officially the Sikkbones/Halo of the late night comedy war.
If you thought the commercial featuring longtime rivals David Letterman and Jay Leno sitting within arm's length of each other was the most shocking of last night's Super Bowl ads, imagine if Conan O'Brien had appeared in it, too. As it turns out, if Letterman had gotten his wish, that third member of the recent bizarre late night television triangle would have joined them.
Letterman's team had the idea of putting the three late night hosts together for the Super Bowl spot for his show and, sensing the comedic opportunity, Leno didn't hesitate. O'Brien's team never fully rejected the idea but according to longtime Letterman producer Rob Burnett, it was never close to happening.
"I did call Jeff Ross (O'Brien's producer) to talk about it," Burnett said. "I just think they weren't in a position to consider it all."
The call came just as O'Brien and Ross were finishing up production on "The Tonight Show," so nothing ever came of the idea. Jay Leno, who jumped at the chance to share screen time with Letterman and Oprah Winfrey, secretly flew to New York City on February 2 to create the 10-second spot.
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
A first-run episode of "The Jay Leno Show" had been pulling in a little over 4 million viewers a night before it was canced on February 9. This week, a repeat of "SVU" drew 5.98 million viewers. (To be fair, Jay's finale on Tuesday night drew 5.8 million viewers.) However, the "SVU" episode was not just a repeat. It was a repeat of a repeat. The episode, "Hardwired," had already run twice before, on October 21 and October 24, making it the third airing of the show.
When they decided to air "The Jay Leno Show" at the unprecedented talk-show hour of 10 p.m., NBC knew they were taking a leap of faith that fans of the host would tune in earlier. Still, the network's thinking was this: When the other networks started repeats of their own 10 p.m. dramas, Leno would thrive. They probably never expected that it would take airing reruns of their own to drive a jump in ratings.
NBC's decision to remove five hours of scripted programming a week from its primetime lineup was not a popular decision. Not only would this mean fewer primetime dramas in general, it would also mean the end to many shows that, due to their more mature content, couldn't air at an earlier time.
Last season, after "ER" ended its 15-year run in April, NBC aired a new police drama, "Southland," in the Thursday night 10 p.m. timeslot. "Southland's" first two episodes drew over 9.5 million viewers each, and consistently drew more than 6.5 million viewers during its seven-episode run. "Southland," even with higher ratings, was eventually canceled by NBC. The network deemed the show "too dark" for an earlier 9 p.m. time slot -- in favor of the cheaper-to-produce "Jay Leno Show." "Southland" was eventually saved from cancellation by TNT.
One of "Southland's" stars, Michael Cudlitz, was not thrilled with NBC's decision to discontinue airing his show. He told Entertainment Weekly "What audience are they afraid of pissing off? They don't have an audience."
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
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