Watching Conan now. Both a sporting beards tonight. Letterman with writers, Conan without. Oh...Leno is back too but I ain't watching.
I'm watching Conan now, and I don't know how his show can last beyond this week w/o writers. He probably has to dance 15 minutes per show. Someone throw him a nickel...
Conan was hilarious tonight. Him playing real guitar in front of the Rock Band screen was awesome. I approve of him doing stuff outside the studio anyway...I've always found that to be funnier than some of the skits that he makes fun of because they weren't funny enough anyway.
http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/leno-sounds-like-he-broke-strike-rules/ Leno Sounds Like He Broke Strike Rules I have a feeling this controversy not only isn't going away but will probably deepen over the next days: Jay Leno admitted last night on the air during his first show back from strike hiatus that he wrote his own monologue. That's a huge problem because it violates the strike rules of one of his unions, the Writers Guild Of America, which is currently on strike and picketing NBC and Leno's Tonight Show. Leno did deliver what was a funny monologue. So the big question is who wrote it: WGA members or scabs (i.e. the usual contingent of joke writers who hang out around Jay's kitchen table)? Leno addressed that very issue during the monologue: "You know what I'm doing? I'm doing what I did the day I started. I write jokes and wake my wife up in the middle of the night and say, 'Honey, is this funny?' So if this monologue doesn't work it's my wife's fault," he explained. "We are not using outside guys. We are following the guild thing... We can write for ourselves..." Earth To Leno: That's not the way the WGA interprets its strike rules as spelled out here: "The Strike Rules, among other provisions, prohibit Guild members from performing any writing services during a strike for any and all struck companies. This prohibition includes all writing by any Guild member that would be performed on-air by that member (including monologues, characters, and featured appearances) if any portion of that written material is customarily written by striking writers." (See my previous: WGA Reminds Returning Jay And Conan: No Monologues.) Now the question is what will the WGA do about it? The irony is that Leno last night sounded so proud of the jokes he claimed to have written for his monologue. Jay's in a tough spot, to be sure: after years of beating Dave week after week, Leno could fall to No. 2 now that he's doing The Tonight Show without his writing team because NBC won't bargain with the striking writers. Whereas Letterman's production company Worldwide Pants owns The Late Show (not CBS) and negotiated an interim waiver from the WGA allowing Dave to return on air with his writing team intact. Sure Leno's ratings may stay the same or even go up as audiences anticipate a potential on-air train wreck. But can they stay there? Will America's late night viewing habits change? And will NBC suffer? What makes the situation even trickier is that Leno has been very supportive of his own picketing writers and the entire WGA since the strike began two months ago (see photo above) by delivering food and drinks to the scribes walking the line. So the WGA, which has made it clear it's picketing NBC and not Leno, may not want to make an example of a high-profile member like Jay for breaking its strike rules.
i made an effort to try to catch leno and letterman, i failed NBC/CBS youtube needs streaming of entire show, or at least the monologue quickly someone be nice and upload! <3
These guys are suppose to be comedians, why can't Leno and Letterman write their own material? Are they that bad?
It would seem easy, but in their format there is too much stuff to do. The monologues are topical, so would require research of current events and pop culture, after that it would be time to write the monologue. Then there are skits, special segments, top 10 lists, viewer mail, etc. to write. On top of that he would need to research his guests, prepare questions for that interview, and practice all of the above, then make changes to what didn't work, and needs to be fixed, rehearse again etc. They would have to work 24 hours a day to pull that off by themselves alone all the time, and all the ideas would be from one place, and not a collection of funny minds. It has nothing to do with them being that bad. Leno might be that bad, though. Kudos to Letterman for making a deal with the writers guild. Great move on his part.
Did you completely miss the article above this post that stated that Leno did write his own material?
Don't leave out the little details about Letterman(now looking like phil jackson) owning his show so he can make such deals. Leno COULD NOT due to the status of his show. He doesn't own it. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/28/AR2007122802625.html
So by the definition of the WGA's strike rules, the only way Leno can do his show is if he wings it the entire time? He can't write monologues or skits or top 10 lists or whatever, so he can only do his show off the cuff? That will SUCK. Moreso than usual.
