NEWS JUNKIE POST
May 2, 2010 at 12:27 pmLeno’s Lost Weekend: Obama & Conan Take Shots At ‘Tonight’ Host
President Obama proved a hard act to follow. The Commander-in-Chief outshined Jay Leno at the annual White House Correspondence Dinner Saturday night. After a brisk monologue which included a couple of zingers aimed at the late night lion, the President turned the mic over to Leno. Looking a tad rumpled and despite a staggering start, Leno managed to pull off a decent, if uneven and tired set. The biggest applause line was at the expense of embattled GOP chair Michael Steele. “That’s my favorite story. Republicans being caught at a lesbian bondage club. They don’t want lesbians to get married, but they love seeing them tie the knot.”
Leno has already garnered mediocre reviews. That puts him in good company. From Rich Little to Steven Colbert most featured comedians seem to come up with less than stellar White House Correspondence performances. Maybe facing a room filled with the political players they routinely skewer throws off their comic equilibrium.
Of course Leno’s a pro; he can pull off a routine in his sleep with his chin tied behind his back. So while it may not have been a sparkling success, his performance wasn’t a certified clunker either. Still had he opened for Obama, it wouldn’t have been a stretch to say the President had offered Leno a bail-out.
And the late night titan, who’s entering the second month of his new “Tonight Show” reign, can’t catch a break these days, On Thursday’s “Late Show” David Letterman regurgitated his ancient bitter bile. In an exchange with Dr. Phil, Letterman called Leno “a boob.” When Dr. Phil suggested Jay got a bum rap, Letterman nursing his ancient grudge said, ‘He got what he deserved.”
On Sunday’s “60 Minutes” Conan O’Brien sits down with Steve Kroft ( two days after NBC released him from his “Can’t Appear on TV” restriction). Released excerpts have Coco, still stewing in his bitter post-”Tonight” juices, sticking it to Leno again. “He went and took the show back. I think in a similar situation, if the roles had been reversed–I know me, I know I wouldn’t have done that. If I had surrendered “The Tonight Show” and publicly wished them well and then six months later. But that’s me you know. Everyone’s got, you know, their way of doing things.”
Anyone forget that Leno was the one who first took it on the chin? Four years ago, with his ratings still continually trouncing Letterman, the NBC honchos informed him of his expiration date. And Jay went along with the gag in a pretty classy fashion, announcing his retirement as a voluntary act. It wasn’t entirely his fault that the ten 0′clock experiment bombed; most anticipated lower ratings than first run dramas in that slot. But the ailing Peacock Network was looking for both cost cutting measures and a way to retain Leno’s comedic prowess. The affiliates balked and we all know the rest.
O’Brien,too, proved a ratings’ dud behind the “Tonight Show” desk. The guy is funny, but late late, after hours quirky funny. And he wasn’t able or willing to make the necessary adjustments for the more mainstream time slot. To be fair, O’Brien may have grown into the gig over time. I haven’t seen the complete “60 Minutes” interview so it will be interesting to see if he cops to that.
As I’ve said for months, NBC fumbled the late night shuffle from the git-go. They never should have promised the show to Conan in the first place. Why fix something that’s not broken? Especially when you have prime time problems that sixteen new “Law & Order ” spin-offs couldn’t remedy. And they surely should have treated both guys with more respect. Still, O’Brien scored a big wad of walking away money and landed a new show on the cable outlet TBS, where the stakes will be lower and Coco can do his thing without the compromise required to court a bigger audience.
So enough with the Leno bashing already. Get over it, Conan. And shave the beard. Man, that guy looks like he aged ten years in three months. Guess late nights on or off TV can take its toll.
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A question to the author of this article… Did Jay Leno give your mother her hugest orgasm ever that you can’t help but praise even the wrong-doings of him? Just get your face out of his chin.. and stop sucking up on his bum-hole…. be realistic and admit that Leno bombed on the WHCD… He bombed at ten… and his ratings on the Tonight are at his minimum ratings ever… He lost to him self!! I don’t care if his ratings are topping Letterman, because Letterman’s ratings are not dipping… and he still makes 10 million dollars more than Jay does per year.. so its a win win for Letterman.