[late night tv] Jay Leno retiring (again) in 2014...Fallon replacing him

None of them, none, have been able to replace Carson.

PS, Get off my lawn!

 

Leno's last show is tonight

http://www.deadline.com/2014/02/jay-leno-last-episode-tonight-show-host-final-show/

 

This was a "trash" piece on grantland this week
http://grantland.com/features/the-lion-sleeps-tonight/

 

This was a decent response imo
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/05/jay-leno-leaving-the-tonight-show_n_4731152.html

 

Before folk start commenting on how Jay Leno is mean, and Conan and Howard Stern and blah blah blah.

I just gotta say, I'm a fan of Conan, Kimmel and Fallon, and I also enjoyed watching Leno (especially with my immigrant parents and grandparents who didn't need some special American joke dictionary to understand Leno's safe jokes like they would need with Conan, Letterman or Kimmel)

The hate Leno has received from the Conan only supporters and the Letterman crowd(Boo hoo he got the Late Night gig instead of Letterman)
Let me touch on the Letterman thing real fast- WTF?
Letterman made out TREMENDOUSLY better because he didn't get the Late night gig. Letterman ends up getting his own show, his own production company and can basically mail it in most of the week.(Which is funny when I hear people talk about Leno mailing it in with his jokes).
If Letterman got the Late Night gig, do the letterman fans think he would still be on right now? Heck no. NBC would've forced him into retirement already.

The Conan $hit- Way too much blame is placed on Leno instead of NBC for effing the whole thing up. Conan forced NBC's hand, NBC in turn decided to force Leno to step aside.Pretty crazy considering he was still tops in the late night TV battle at the time. Conan's ratings were crap, NBC didn't want to turn Leno loose and decided to bring him back. Instead of crapping on NBC more, the Jimmy Kimmel's and Conan fans decide to turn their ire on Leno.

Kimmel is funny but was a complete asswipe to Leno.
I realize there are plenty in the USA that prefer Letterman, or Conan or Kimmel etc. They say Leno's jokes are basic and elementary and not funny.(Although comedy is subjective).
The people fail to realize that plenty of people, be they Baby Boomers, middle america, immigrants, etc don't get American humor easily like one would hears from Fallon, Conan or Kimmel. Plenty do not care for the Sardonic type of humour like Lettermans or the mean spirited type like Kimmel's or the eccentric type like Conan's. Some just want some basic elementary humor like Leno gives. Some meat and potatoes laughs a la Headlines or JayWalking. That's good enough.
Unfortunately for the Jay Leno Haters it's a problem because he isn't going further with his jokes or deeper with his interviews. Who gives a $hit?

Sorry, Rant over. Just had that on my mind for a while.

My main point was that everyone has different preferences in terms of humor. Some like Letterman, some Conan, some Kimmel, some Fallon.
I just see no need for the hating on Leno and I appreciate the easy laughs Leno has provided my family late night for almost two decades since we moved countries

 

I remember when Leno was the young usurper to Carson when he took over in 1992.

Now Leno goes on his way. I guess I'm old as dirt.

I've grown to like Leno. At one time, I was a Letterman fan. But he grew old and bitter and is too political in his monologues Meanwhile, Leno has remained lighthearted and while making jokes of politicians seems more of an equal opportunity jokester while there was never any doubt of Letterman's leanings.

Leno to me represents the last lifeline to the old "Tonight Show". I think Jimmy Fallon was a great pick to be the next host, but regardless, he'll never be Johnny. Then again, nobody will be.

I wish the younger folks here had the opportunity to know Johnny Carson. He was the ultimate late night talk show host IMHO.

 

This is funny considering that Grantland is literally the Tonight Show of blogs.

As for Leno, I hope he does a show on Americana, maybe something on Sunday mornings.

 

this article pretty much nails it

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10619461/Jay-Leno-goodnight-and-good-riddance.html

 

Never

He's the poster boy for mediocrity, even worse than Conan or Leno. The problem is that truly talented personalities would prefer to do other things, sitcom, films, specials, whatever, so the networks have to find comedians who are just good enough to host a show, but not so good that they can succeed doing anything else. Want proof? Make a list of all the talk show host the last 30 years, how many of them could convince the public to watch them do anything other than 1. sit behind a desk and chat with celebrities or 2. host a game show.

Drew Carry had a hit sitcom (it sucked). He could have chosen to host a talk show, but jumped at the chance to host The Price Is Right. That kind of tells you just how much the industry values late night television, it's a dumping ground for comedians who have hit their ceiling. One step down, comedy specials. One step up, game shows. Two steps up, sitcom or low budget comedies.

And of all the mediocre comedians, Leno was the most likeable, which is why he was successful.

 

Letterman is the worst late night host in my opinion. His jokes are not funny at all, and then he laughs at them himself. It's annoying. I will never understand why anyone could think he's funny.

 

Nice sendoff

 

Garth miscalculated on thinking California types would know the song "Friends in Low Places".

Not one person sang when he sent it to the crowd, so awesomely awkward.

 

Lol, yeah I posted that comment too soon. The show otherwise was a good one.

 

Yeah I wondered about that. I believe he was supposed to sing "The Dance" so i'm not sure what changed.

 

That's how I feel about Letterman but I don't begrudge anyone that finds him funny. Unfortunately, what I've noticed over the years is that those that don't find Leno funny, take delight in trying to connect the "basicness" of his jokes with the type of people that find his jokes. They were just simple jokes that people in search of a quick laugh could turn to .

You made some good points about Kimmel and the state of Late Night Talk shows(but I still find Kimmels brand of humor to be funny as well).

Re. Leno being likeable, I find that with all the trashing of Leno that has gone on over the years, It seems like those looking to trash him were looking for anything to go after and the NBC/Conan fiasco gave them fodder. Leno's been a one woman man for decades now. No affairs that we know of. No drug or alcohol habits that we know of. All he did was do his show, do standup on weekends, and be lowkey with his wife. Letterman had his affair and alcohol issues but seems to have received a hefty pass from the critics and other comedians. I guess they felt more of a kinship with the darkside of Letterman.
I think the fact Leno tried to and did come off as likeable, added to the hate directed towards him.

 

This quote pretty much nails my response after reading the article

It's pretty much the same b*tchfest from comics because NBC chose Leno instead of Carson's choice-Letterman. It's as if they felt Carson being a supposed late night deity would have final say as opposed to the NBC Execs.

The same b*tchfest about Leno keeping things safe. Why do they give two $hits that he changed his comedy style after taking the job? He did what he felt he needed to do in order to get to #1 in the ratings...and it worked.

The "insincere" crap with a horribly weak example by Garlin. Oh my, Leno sent a gift basket with a hand written note saying "Great Job tonight" prior to Garlin taking the stage. Wow, that mean Jay Leno.

Meh.

 

All of this talk about Kimmel, Conan, and Letterman... And which one is better than Leno, etc.

Craig Ferguson is easily my favorite late night host. Leno used to be the only one I actually watched, but now I basically just watch Ferguson.

 

I just want Craig Kilborn back.

 

Another case in point is Fallon. He's only one of a few SNL standouts that couldn't make it in the movies/sitcoms. He can do the 3 minute parody song, but nothing else longer than that. He's on the same level as Darrell Hammond and Tim Meadows when it comes to finding work outside of SNL. The only reason he has made it in late night is that his "character" plays well with the younger crowd.

 

Damn, so sad.