NBC Late Night Fiasco

[hoagiepete]

Conan does the best job ad libbing during the interviews.

Actually Craig Ferguson does, imo.

I agree 100%. Ferguson cracks me up. Forgot about him.

[Glenn]

Craig Ferguson brought new life into latenite TV in my opinion. Love everything about his show.


Also, he's going to take over for Dave when/if he retires.


I'm a Dave guy....I do like Conan though.

I remember years ago when Dave went to CBS and Conan was his replacement....Dave went on his show as a guest and offered a lot of encouragement, etc...


I liked Leno for about 15 minutes.


In this case though, I hope Conan wins out big time.

[Jana]

Craig Ferguson brought new life into latenite TV in my opinion. Love everything about his show.


Also, he's going to take over for Dave when/if he retires.


I'm a Dave guy....I do like Conan though.

I remember years ago when Dave went to CBS and Conan was his replacement....Dave went on his show as a guest and offered a lot of encouragement, etc...


I liked Leno for about 15 minutes.

I'm a Letterman fan all the way. He's who I watch. Leno just didn't grab comedy moments in the interview and go with them and stayed on script with his set line of questioning.

Craig rocks. He's hysterical. Every once in a while his goofiness is too much, but on the whole he is refreshing. When he did a eulogy on his father for his whole monologue it was so emotional and funny and touching. His mother's was too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJWlNPq0ftM

[squirt1]

NBC/ MSNBC/
General Electric(owner of both) " We bring good things to life" . Many are unhappy with this. I am entertained everyday by this super derailment !!!

[SherriBerry]

I like Jay Leno and Jimmy Kimmel can kiss my rear end - he knows full well the promise to hand over The Tonight Show was forced by NBC and Leno was being a team player in trying to be positive and supportive of the move when he "promised" to hand it to O'Brien. It was not his choice, nor was it his show to promise - it was NBC's to give and NBC's to take away. As for Kimmel and O'Brien having kids to support and Jay just having cars, that was a lame comment - neither of them are going to be left poverty stricken by being moved half an hour. With Jay Leno as a lead-in taking the first 30 minutes against Letterman, Conan might be able to build the viewership he's been missing.

Conan always comes across as uncomfortable and I just don't find him very funny! Someday Jay will want to retire and they need to find someone not currently on the radar to host, someone who is both funny and has the rare talent to interview well and make it entertaining.

[SherriBerry]

I just read that Rosie O'Donnell is rooting for Conan O'Brien, so if I weren't already siding with Jay Leno, that alone would push me onto his team! Ever since she went off on Tom Selleck on her show and demonstrated gross hippocracy, I have not been able to tolerate her. Jay Leno prevented her from guest hosting The Tonight Show back in the day, so I'm not surprised that she is holding a grudge, but after her own show went off the air, she did some standup comedy and surprised people with how meanspirited and nasty she was about former guests on her show!

[Jana]

The late-night nightmare is almost over. Conan O’Brien is leaving NBC and receiving a payout—and he’ll be free to appear on another network before his contract expires, Kim Masters reports.

The NBC-Leno-Conan war is close to ending, according to a knowledgeable source. According to the outlines of a settlement, Conan O'Brien will leave NBC and the network will make an as-yet unspecified payment. The comedian will be free to appear elsewhere on television well before his contract expires, despite earlier threats from NBC that it would prevent him from working anywhere else.

There is still opportunity for the negotiation to fall apart, but clearly, at this point it is in NBC's interest to put an end to this dismal episode.

It seems that Ron Meyer, the affable chief of the Universal film studio, played a key role in bringing the parties together when they were at an impasse and talks had broken down. Meyer is a former agent whose industry relationships run deep and wide. And of course, he has lots of negotiating experience.

According to the source, the resolution to the epic and highly public battle came down primarily to the size of the check that NBC would write to O'Brien. That amount remains shrouded in mystery for now, and no doubt the parties will have to agree to confidentiality as part of the deal.

According to a knowledgeable insider, NBC Universal started out sincerely hoping that it would be able to keep O'Brien on NBC in a 12:05 a.m. slot behind Leno, who is to be reinstated at 11:35 p.m. Part of the resolution was getting executives there to understand that the plan simply was unrealistic.

At that point, with late-night comics across the television landscape piling on night after night—and with Leno being increasingly vilified and undoubtedly chafing at the public lashing he was getting—it was obvious that the situation had to be resolved.

• Video: Clips of the Late-Night Showdown

• Bryan Curtis: Good Riddance to Conan It remains unclear where O'Brien might go next. The most obvious place is Fox, but top executives at the company have been scrupulous about avoiding any appearance that they tried to lure O'Brien there while his relationship with NBC remained unresolved. Should Fox go forward with a late-night show with O'Brien now, it will take months before he would be ready to go on the air.

[Ehwmatt]

I like Jay Leno and Jimmy Kimmel can kiss my rear end - he knows full well the promise to hand over The Tonight Show was forced by NBC and Leno was being a team player in trying to be positive and supportive of the move when he "promised" to hand it to O'Brien. It was not his choice, nor was it his show to promise - it was NBC's to give and NBC's to take away. As for Kimmel and O'Brien having kids to support and Jay just having cars, that was a lame comment - neither of them are going to be left poverty stricken by being moved half an hour. With Jay Leno as a lead-in taking the first 30 minutes against Letterman, Conan might be able to build the viewership he's been missing.

Conan always comes across as uncomfortable and I just don't find him very funny! Someday Jay will want to retire and they need to find someone not currently on the radar to host, someone who is both funny and has the rare talent to interview well and make it entertaining.

I've always liked Leno (as a host/comic) too, but to cast him as blameless in this incident is laughable. He was gaming NBC and ripping Conan over the airwaves. Hardly the mark of a blameless or classy man.

Besides, from all indications, Leno is a dickhead personally.

I don't get that sense from Conan at all. I think he's a genuine guy.

[bluejeangirl76]

The NBC-Leno-Conan war is close to ending, according to a knowledgeable source. According to the outlines of a settlement, Conan O'Brien will leave NBC and the network will make an as-yet unspecified payment. The comedian will be free to appear elsewhere on television well before his contract expires, despite earlier threats from NBC that it would prevent him from working anywhere else.

There is still opportunity for the negotiation to fall apart, but clearly, at this point it is in NBC's interest to put an end to this dismal episode.

Well, I hope it goes down that way. NBC already stuck it in, and I'm hoping to they break it off by slapping him with a non-compete. I can't believe they're running all over themselves to bend over for Jay Leno. It's sickening. All the way back to announcing they were giving Jay an earlier time slot... never made any sense to me. Ok, he's not going to do the Tonight Show, but we're going to create a weird time spot where we've never had a late night talk show before and give him that? Uhhh, ok. Might as well just keep him on the damn Tonight Show.

[Ehwmatt]

The NBC-Leno-Conan war is close to ending, according to a knowledgeable source. According to the outlines of a settlement, Conan O'Brien will leave NBC and the network will make an as-yet unspecified payment. The comedian will be free to appear elsewhere on television well before his contract expires, despite earlier threats from NBC that it would prevent him from working anywhere else.

There is still opportunity for the negotiation to fall apart, but clearly, at this point it is in NBC's interest to put an end to this dismal episode.

Well, I hope it goes down that way. NBC already stuck it in, and I'm hoping to they break it off by slapping him with a non-compete. I can't believe they're running all over themselves to bend over for Jay Leno. It's sickening. All the way back to announcing they were giving Jay an earlier time slot... never made any sense to me. Ok, he's not going to do the Tonight Show, but we're going to create a weird time spot where we've never had a late night talk show before and give him that? Uhhh, ok. Might as well just keep him on the damn Tonight Show.

They are letting him go elsewhere because my guess is they can't enforce the non-compete. Non-competes are not easily enforceable and NBC would be very hard-pressed to get a judge or jury sympathetic to their cause, given the public nature of the situation.

[kgdjpubs]

The NBC-Leno-Conan war is close to ending, according to a knowledgeable source. According to the outlines of a settlement, Conan O'Brien will leave NBC and the network will make an as-yet unspecified payment. The comedian will be free to appear elsewhere on television well before his contract expires, despite earlier threats from NBC that it would prevent him from working anywhere else.

There is still opportunity for the negotiation to fall apart, but clearly, at this point it is in NBC's interest to put an end to this dismal episode.

Well, I hope it goes down that way. NBC already stuck it in, and I'm hoping to they break it off by slapping him with a non-compete. I can't believe they're running all over themselves to bend over for Jay Leno. It's sickening. All the way back to announcing they were giving Jay an earlier time slot... never made any sense to me. Ok, he's not going to do the Tonight Show, but we're going to create a weird time spot where we've never had a late night talk show before and give him that? Uhhh, ok. Might as well just keep him on the damn Tonight Show.

They are letting him go elsewhere because my guess is they can't enforce the non-compete. Non-competes are not easily enforceable and NBC would be very hard-pressed to get a judge or jury sympathetic to their cause, given the public nature of the situation.

Exactly. Whether you like him or not (or think he was a good fit for the show or not), general public opinion is that Conan got screwed over by this whole debacle. Getting a jury to enforce a non-compete would be difficult, at best.

Chalk this one up to a VERY expensive failure, and a knee-jerk reaction by NBC, and I doubt it's over yet. Whoever does take over the show whenever Jay Leno retires is going to want an ironclad contract to prevent this from happening again.

[Don]

Tonight Show host Conan O'Brien gets $45m pay-off

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8472865.stm

NBC has reached a $45m agreement with Conan O'Brien over his late-night US talk show, paving the way for his predecessor Jay Leno to return.

O'Brien, 46, will be paid in excess of $33m to end his seven-month reign as host of The Tonight Show, with the remainder going to his staff.

The deal allows Leno, 59, to return to the show, a program he hosted for 17 years before leaving last May.

O'Brien, who took over in June, will host his final program on Friday.

Actor Tom Hanks is scheduled to appear, as is comedian Will Ferrell - O'Brien's first guest as Tonight Show host when he began his stint last year.

Leno will return to The Tonight Show on 1 March, NBC announced on Thursday.

[JasonD]

Tonight Show host Conan O'Brien gets $45m pay-off

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8472865.stm

NBC has reached a $45m agreement with Conan O'Brien over his late-night US talk show, paving the way for his predecessor Jay Leno to return.

O'Brien, 46, will be paid in excess of $33m to end his seven-month reign as host of The Tonight Show, with the remainder going to his staff.

The deal allows Leno, 59, to return to the show, a program he hosted for 17 years before leaving last May.

O'Brien, who took over in June, will host his final program on Friday.

Actor Tom Hanks is scheduled to appear, as is comedian Will Ferrell - O'Brien's first guest as Tonight Show host when he began his stint last year.

Leno will return to The Tonight Show on 1 March, NBC announced on Thursday.

Yahoo reported that Conan held off closing a deal b/c he wanted to make sure his staff was compensated. That sounds noble in & of itself but the thing I don't like about it is that Yahoo went on to report that Conan has a staff of 200 people. If this info is correct, then the total buyout was $45 mil with Conan getting $33 mil and his 200 staff members splitting the remaining $12 mil. That's only $60,000 per person versus Conan's $33,000,000. Something doesn't seem right.

[Don]

Tonight Show host Conan O'Brien gets $45m pay-off

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8472865.stm

NBC has reached a $45m agreement with Conan O'Brien over his late-night US talk show, paving the way for his predecessor Jay Leno to return.

O'Brien, 46, will be paid in excess of $33m to end his seven-month reign as host of The Tonight Show, with the remainder going to his staff.

The deal allows Leno, 59, to return to the show, a program he hosted for 17 years before leaving last May.

O'Brien, who took over in June, will host his final program on Friday.

Actor Tom Hanks is scheduled to appear, as is comedian Will Ferrell - O'Brien's first guest as Tonight Show host when he began his stint last year.

Leno will return to The Tonight Show on 1 March, NBC announced on Thursday.

Yahoo reported that Conan held off closing a deal b/c he wanted to make sure his staff was compensated. That sounds noble in & of itself but the thing I don't like about it is that Yahoo went on to report that Conan has a staff of 200 people. If this info is correct, then the total buyout was $45 mil with Conan getting $33 mil and his 200 staff members splitting the remaining $12 mil. That's only $60,000 per person versus Conan's $33,000,000. Something doesn't seem right.

A lot of his staff are hourly workers making probably 15 to 20 dollars an hour. A year's severance (30k-40k) seems very fair in their case.

[JasonD]

Tonight Show host Conan O'Brien gets $45m pay-off

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8472865.stm

NBC has reached a $45m agreement with Conan O'Brien over his late-night US talk show, paving the way for his predecessor Jay Leno to return.

O'Brien, 46, will be paid in excess of $33m to end his seven-month reign as host of The Tonight Show, with the remainder going to his staff.

The deal allows Leno, 59, to return to the show, a program he hosted for 17 years before leaving last May.

O'Brien, who took over in June, will host his final program on Friday.

Actor Tom Hanks is scheduled to appear, as is comedian Will Ferrell - O'Brien's first guest as Tonight Show host when he began his stint last year.

Leno will return to The Tonight Show on 1 March, NBC announced on Thursday.

Yahoo reported that Conan held off closing a deal b/c he wanted to make sure his staff was compensated. That sounds noble in & of itself but the thing I don't like about it is that Yahoo went on to report that Conan has a staff of 200 people. If this info is correct, then the total buyout was $45 mil with Conan getting $33 mil and his 200 staff members splitting the remaining $12 mil. That's only $60,000 per person versus Conan's $33,000,000. Something doesn't seem right.

A lot of his staff are hourly workers making probably 15 to 20 dollars an hour. A year's severance (30k-40k) seems very fair in their case.

WOW!!!! Are you kidding me!?!?! I make more than that!!!!

[Don]

Tonight Show host Conan O'Brien gets $45m pay-off

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8472865.stm

NBC has reached a $45m agreement with Conan O'Brien over his late-night US talk show, paving the way for his predecessor Jay Leno to return.

O'Brien, 46, will be paid in excess of $33m to end his seven-month reign as host of The Tonight Show, with the remainder going to his staff.

The deal allows Leno, 59, to return to the show, a program he hosted for 17 years before leaving last May.

O'Brien, who took over in June, will host his final program on Friday.

Actor Tom Hanks is scheduled to appear, as is comedian Will Ferrell - O'Brien's first guest as Tonight Show host when he began his stint last year.

Leno will return to The Tonight Show on 1 March, NBC announced on Thursday.

Yahoo reported that Conan held off closing a deal b/c he wanted to make sure his staff was compensated. That sounds noble in & of itself but the thing I don't like about it is that Yahoo went on to report that Conan has a staff of 200 people. If this info is correct, then the total buyout was $45 mil with Conan getting $33 mil and his 200 staff members splitting the remaining $12 mil. That's only $60,000 per person versus Conan's $33,000,000. Something doesn't seem right.

A lot of his staff are hourly workers making probably 15 to 20 dollars an hour. A year's severance (30k-40k) seems very fair in their case.

WOW!!!! Are you kidding me!?!?! I make more than that!!!!

Everyone thinks Hollywood is all milk and honey. For makeup assistants, Boom operators, lighting techs, etc.etc.etc. a lot of them are scraping by and not even working 40 hours in many cases. With One bedroom apts. running anywhere from $900 to $1600 a month (or higher), a lot of these people have to take on second jobs to survive.

[Ehwmatt]

Tonight Show host Conan O'Brien gets $45m pay-off

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8472865.stm

NBC has reached a $45m agreement with Conan O'Brien over his late-night US talk show, paving the way for his predecessor Jay Leno to return.

O'Brien, 46, will be paid in excess of $33m to end his seven-month reign as host of The Tonight Show, with the remainder going to his staff.

The deal allows Leno, 59, to return to the show, a program he hosted for 17 years before leaving last May.

O'Brien, who took over in June, will host his final program on Friday.

Actor Tom Hanks is scheduled to appear, as is comedian Will Ferrell - O'Brien's first guest as Tonight Show host when he began his stint last year.

Leno will return to The Tonight Show on 1 March, NBC announced on Thursday.

Yahoo reported that Conan held off closing a deal b/c he wanted to make sure his staff was compensated. That sounds noble in & of itself but the thing I don't like about it is that Yahoo went on to report that Conan has a staff of 200 people. If this info is correct, then the total buyout was $45 mil with Conan getting $33 mil and his 200 staff members splitting the remaining $12 mil. That's only $60,000 per person versus Conan's $33,000,000. Something doesn't seem right.

Uh,, why the hell is that not fair? The staff doesn't have Conan's talent, name recognition, uniqueness, or any other specialized skill. It's plenty fair.

[JasonD]

Tonight Show host Conan O'Brien gets $45m pay-off

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8472865.stm

NBC has reached a $45m agreement with Conan O'Brien over his late-night US talk show, paving the way for his predecessor Jay Leno to return.

O'Brien, 46, will be paid in excess of $33m to end his seven-month reign as host of The Tonight Show, with the remainder going to his staff.

The deal allows Leno, 59, to return to the show, a program he hosted for 17 years before leaving last May.

O'Brien, who took over in June, will host his final program on Friday.

Actor Tom Hanks is scheduled to appear, as is comedian Will Ferrell - O'Brien's first guest as Tonight Show host when he began his stint last year.

Leno will return to The Tonight Show on 1 March, NBC announced on Thursday.

Yahoo reported that Conan held off closing a deal b/c he wanted to make sure his staff was compensated. That sounds noble in & of itself but the thing I don't like about it is that Yahoo went on to report that Conan has a staff of 200 people. If this info is correct, then the total buyout was $45 mil with Conan getting $33 mil and his 200 staff members splitting the remaining $12 mil. That's only $60,000 per person versus Conan's $33,000,000. Something doesn't seem right.

Uh,, why the hell is that not fair? The staff doesn't have Conan's talent. It's plenty fair.

Matt, I'm one of those "milk & honey" people GB was referring to. I just thought all those "show biz types" make tons of money. I guess if I made minimum wage then $60,000 would seem like a lot to me but it doesn't. Also, if I wanted to get snippy, I could argue that Conan isn't talented on his own. He doesn't write all his jokes & monologues himself. He doesn't coif his own hair & select his nightly suit. I could argue that if Conan TRULY cared about the staff he's holding out for, then he could chip off about $10 mil from his $33 mil & spread that wealth among the staff. I could also say that just b/c NBC doesn't want to go higher than what they're offering that doesn't mean Conan himself can't step in & compensate the staff which he professes to care for. Btw..... I'm not trying to argue with you, Matt. I'm just playing Devil's Advocate. Peace, my good man.

[Ehwmatt]

Tonight Show host Conan O'Brien gets $45m pay-off

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8472865.stm

NBC has reached a $45m agreement with Conan O'Brien over his late-night US talk show, paving the way for his predecessor Jay Leno to return.

O'Brien, 46, will be paid in excess of $33m to end his seven-month reign as host of The Tonight Show, with the remainder going to his staff.

The deal allows Leno, 59, to return to the show, a program he hosted for 17 years before leaving last May.

O'Brien, who took over in June, will host his final program on Friday.

Actor Tom Hanks is scheduled to appear, as is comedian Will Ferrell - O'Brien's first guest as Tonight Show host when he began his stint last year.

Leno will return to The Tonight Show on 1 March, NBC announced on Thursday.

Yahoo reported that Conan held off closing a deal b/c he wanted to make sure his staff was compensated. That sounds noble in & of itself but the thing I don't like about it is that Yahoo went on to report that Conan has a staff of 200 people. If this info is correct, then the total buyout was $45 mil with Conan getting $33 mil and his 200 staff members splitting the remaining $12 mil. That's only $60,000 per person versus Conan's $33,000,000. Something doesn't seem right.

Uh,, why the hell is that not fair? The staff doesn't have Conan's talent. It's plenty fair.

Matt, I'm one of those "milk & honey" people GB was referring to. I just thought all those "show biz types" make tons of money. I guess if I made minimum wage then $60,000 would seem like a lot to me but it doesn't. Also, if I wanted to get snippy, I could argue that Conan isn't talented on his own. He doesn't write all his jokes & monologues himself. He doesn't coif his own hair & select his nightly suit. I could argue that if Conan TRULY cared about the staff he's holding out for, then he could chip off about $10 mil from his $33 mil & spread that wealth among the staff. I could also say that just b/c NBC doesn't want to go higher than what they're offering that doesn't mean Conan himself can't step in & compensate the staff which he professes to care for. Btw..... I'm not trying to argue with you, Matt. I'm just playing Devil's Advocate. Peace, my good man.

Right, and a lot of behind the scenes people account for an athlete's success too... trainers, coaches who draw up plays, mentor figures, etc. Doesn't mean they deserve an equal share of the pie. Conan didn't have to give them a dime, but he did so out of the goodness of his heart. This is the exact reason why people don't want to do nice things, especially rich people. It's never enough for all the bleeding hearts. Does he have to give half the $45 away to make you happy? 3/4ths of it?

On top of that, a rich person has financial needs and plans based on their expected income just as a lowly $20K/year worker does. Conan may be stretching himself thin giving this $12 million alone. Unlikely, but you don't know for sure.

In the end, he didn't have to give a dime and you're bitching for no reason.

[JasonD]

Tonight Show host Conan O'Brien gets $45m pay-off

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8472865.stm

NBC has reached a $45m agreement with Conan O'Brien over his late-night US talk show, paving the way for his predecessor Jay Leno to return.

O'Brien, 46, will be paid in excess of $33m to end his seven-month reign as host of The Tonight Show, with the remainder going to his staff.

The deal allows Leno, 59, to return to the show, a program he hosted for 17 years before leaving last May.

O'Brien, who took over in June, will host his final program on Friday.

Actor Tom Hanks is scheduled to appear, as is comedian Will Ferrell - O'Brien's first guest as Tonight Show host when he began his stint last year.

Leno will return to The Tonight Show on 1 March, NBC announced on Thursday.

Yahoo reported that Conan held off closing a deal b/c he wanted to make sure his staff was compensated. That sounds noble in & of itself but the thing I don't like about it is that Yahoo went on to report that Conan has a staff of 200 people. If this info is correct, then the total buyout was $45 mil with Conan getting $33 mil and his 200 staff members splitting the remaining $12 mil. That's only $60,000 per person versus Conan's $33,000,000. Something doesn't seem right.

Uh,, why the hell is that not fair? The staff doesn't have Conan's talent. It's plenty fair.

Matt, I'm one of those "milk & honey" people GB was referring to. I just thought all those "show biz types" make tons of money. I guess if I made minimum wage then $60,000 would seem like a lot to me but it doesn't. Also, if I wanted to get snippy, I could argue that Conan isn't talented on his own. He doesn't write all his jokes & monologues himself. He doesn't coif his own hair & select his nightly suit. I could argue that if Conan TRULY cared about the staff he's holding out for, then he could chip off about $10 mil from his $33 mil & spread that wealth among the staff. I could also say that just b/c NBC doesn't want to go higher than what they're offering that doesn't mean Conan himself can't step in & compensate the staff which he professes to care for. Btw..... I'm not trying to argue with you, Matt. I'm just playing Devil's Advocate. Peace, my good man.

Right, and a lot of behind the scenes people account for an athlete's success too... trainers, coaches who draw up plays, mentor figures, etc. Doesn't mean they deserve an equal share of the pie. Conan didn't have to give them a dime, but he did so out of the goodness of his heart. This is the exact reason why people don't want to do nice things, especially rich people. It's never enough for all the bleeding hearts. Does he have to give half the $45 away to make you happy? 3/4ths of it?

On top of that, a rich person has financial needs and plans based on their expected income just as a lowly $20K/year worker does. Conan may be stretching himself thin giving this $12 million alone. Unlikely, but you don't know for sure.

In the end, he didn't have to give a dime and you're bitching for no reason.

Okay, you win. I didn't think I was "bitching." I just thought I was talking. I guess we're in two different mindsets today & so I'll move on to another thread.

[SherriBerry]

I like Jay Leno and Jimmy Kimmel can kiss my rear end - he knows full well the promise to hand over The Tonight Show was forced by NBC and Leno was being a team player in trying to be positive and supportive of the move when he "promised" to hand it to O'Brien. It was not his choice, nor was it his show to promise - it was NBC's to give and NBC's to take away. As for Kimmel and O'Brien having kids to support and Jay just having cars, that was a lame comment - neither of them are going to be left poverty stricken by being moved half an hour. With Jay Leno as a lead-in taking the first 30 minutes against Letterman, Conan might be able to build the viewership he's been missing.

Conan always comes across as uncomfortable and I just don't find him very funny! Someday Jay will want to retire and they need to find someone not currently on the radar to host, someone who is both funny and has the rare talent to interview well and make it entertaining.

I've always liked Leno (as a host/comic) too, but to cast him as blameless in this incident is laughable. He was gaming NBC and ripping Conan over the airwaves. Hardly the mark of a blameless or classy man.

Besides, from all indications, Leno is a dickhead personally.

I don't get that sense from Conan at all. I think he's a genuine guy.

Where has Jay said one negative word about Conan? The only time he has really discussed the incident, he made a point of saying what a great guy Conan is, he is a gentleman, and this is NBC's fault. All of his barbs have been directed at NBC executives - not Conan. If NBC didn't want to keep Jay over Conan, they could have taken his new show off the air (no one would have blamed them) and paid out his contract instead. NBC chose Jay because Conan's numbers were dismal and the worst thing Jay Leno did was be willing to take his old job back (the one he was fired from despite being #1) if Conan refused to move to 12:05 and hang on to TTS!

Jay has a staff of 175 people and by all accounts, they love the guy. Not everyone can say that about their boss and they know him better than someone who walks up to him on the street and he isn't what they expect him to be. He certainly is no pushover, but no one who can survive in that business could be. And keeping his staff of 17 years working is one of the reasons Jay was willing to stay with the network that kicked him in the teeth, broke his contract as well as Conan's (people forget that part - he was guaranteed 2 years of prime time) and fired him twice!

[kgdjpubs]

and this is NBC's fault. All of his barbs have been directed at NBC executives - not Conan. If NBC didn't want to keep Jay over Conan, they could have taken his new show off the air (no one would have blamed them) and paid out his contract instead. NBC chose Jay because Conan's numbers were dismal and the worst thing Jay Leno did was be willing to take his old job back (the one he was fired from despite being #1) if Conan refused to move to 12:05 and hang on to TTS!

NBC is the one coming off badly in this one. Conan will make out fine (popular perception is that he is the fall guy in this one), and Leno will probably be fine also. The main issue is that NBC has really painted itself in a bad way, and screwed itself come 5yrs when Leno does retire. I seriously doubt that Conan will ever consider coming back, and it's not like they are going to get Jimmy Fallon to host the show.

btw....not related much, but did anyone see Harrison Ford on Letterman last night? He looked like he would have preferred going to the dentist to get a tooth removed. Very uncomfortable for all parties.

[Don]

and this is NBC's fault. All of his barbs have been directed at NBC executives - not Conan. If NBC didn't want to keep Jay over Conan, they could have taken his new show off the air (no one would have blamed them) and paid out his contract instead. NBC chose Jay because Conan's numbers were dismal and the worst thing Jay Leno did was be willing to take his old job back (the one he was fired from despite being #1) if Conan refused to move to 12:05 and hang on to TTS!

NBC is the one coming off badly in this one. Conan will make out fine (popular perception is that he is the fall guy in this one), and Leno will probably be fine also. The main issue is that NBC has really painted itself in a bad way, and screwed itself come 5yrs when Leno does retire. I seriously doubt that Conan will ever consider coming back, and it's not like they are going to get Jimmy Fallon to host the show.

btw....not related much, but did anyone see Harrison Ford on Letterman last night? He looked like he would have preferred going to the dentist to get a tooth removed. Very uncomfortable for all parties.

He's been sporting the Jonathan Cain look quite a lot lately.

[brandonx76]

did anyone see Harrison Ford on Letterman last night? He looked like he would have preferred going to the dentist to get a tooth removed. Very uncomfortable for all parties.

Not sure what you're talking about, I just watched it and laughed my ass off...Harrison's 'seemed' nervous, but I think that's just his personality, and he's a little older too. Some funny moments though.

[Sarah]

Everyone thinks Hollywood is all milk and honey. For makeup assistants, Boom operators, lighting techs, etc.etc.etc. a lot of them are scraping by and not even working 40 hours in many cases. With One bedroom apts. running anywhere from $900 to $1600 a month (or higher), a lot of these people have to take on second jobs to survive.

Truth on this! One of my friends is a Production Assistant, and he is lucky to find production work for more than 6 months out of the year (TV seasons only last a few months), and when he does get PA work, he's making minimum wage but putting in 13+ hour days. It's crazy.

[G.I.Jim]

I like Jay Leno and Jimmy Kimmel can kiss my rear end - he knows full well the promise to hand over The Tonight Show was forced by NBC and Leno was being a team player in trying to be positive and supportive of the move when he "promised" to hand it to O'Brien. It was not his choice, nor was it his show to promise - it was NBC's to give and NBC's to take away. As for Kimmel and O'Brien having kids to support and Jay just having cars, that was a lame comment - neither of them are going to be left poverty stricken by being moved half an hour. With Jay Leno as a lead-in taking the first 30 minutes against Letterman, Conan might be able to build the viewership he's been missing.

Conan always comes across as uncomfortable and I just don't find him very funny! Someday Jay will want to retire and they need to find someone not currently on the radar to host, someone who is both funny and has the rare talent to interview well and make it entertaining.

I've always liked Leno (as a host/comic) too, but to cast him as blameless in this incident is laughable. He was gaming NBC and ripping Conan over the airwaves. Hardly the mark of a blameless or classy man.

Besides, from all indications, Leno is a dickhead personally.

I don't get that sense from Conan at all. I think he's a genuine guy.

Where has Jay said one negative word about Conan? The only time he has really discussed the incident, he made a point of saying what a great guy Conan is, he is a gentleman, and this is NBC's fault. All of his barbs have been directed at NBC executives - not Conan. If NBC didn't want to keep Jay over Conan, they could have taken his new show off the air (no one would have blamed them) and paid out his contract instead. NBC chose Jay because Conan's numbers were dismal and the worst thing Jay Leno did was be willing to take his old job back (the one he was fired from despite being #1) if Conan refused to move to 12:05 and hang on to TTS!

Jay has a staff of 175 people and by all accounts, they love the guy. Not everyone can say that about their boss and they know him better than someone who walks up to him on the street and he isn't what they expect him to be. He certainly is no pushover, but no one who can survive in that business could be. And keeping his staff of 17 years working is one of the reasons Jay was willing to stay with the network that kicked him in the teeth, broke his contract as well as Conan's (people forget that part - he was guaranteed 2 years of prime time) and fired him twice!

That was one of the best posts I've read on MR Sherri! I couldn't have said it better.

[JasonD]

Speaking about the blame game, I thought this clip from Letterman was pretty funny regarding the Jay & Conan thing. Sorry if it's been posted already:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AK3T987jk8

[Ehwmatt]

Speaking about the blame game, I thought this clip from Letterman was pretty funny regarding the Jay & Conan thing. Sorry if it's been posted already:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AK3T987jk8

Whoever you like and don't like, it's still ironic tough talk considering Dave can't beat Leno and by March 1 he'll be getting beat again

[SherriBerry]

I like Jay Leno and Jimmy Kimmel can kiss my rear end - he knows full well the promise to hand over The Tonight Show was forced by NBC and Leno was being a team player in trying to be positive and supportive of the move when he "promised" to hand it to O'Brien. It was not his choice, nor was it his show to promise - it was NBC's to give and NBC's to take away. As for Kimmel and O'Brien having kids to support and Jay just having cars, that was a lame comment - neither of them are going to be left poverty stricken by being moved half an hour. With Jay Leno as a lead-in taking the first 30 minutes against Letterman, Conan might be able to build the viewership he's been missing.

Conan always comes across as uncomfortable and I just don't find him very funny! Someday Jay will want to retire and they need to find someone not currently on the radar to host, someone who is both funny and has the rare talent to interview well and make it entertaining.

I've always liked Leno (as a host/comic) too, but to cast him as blameless in this incident is laughable. He was gaming NBC and ripping Conan over the airwaves. Hardly the mark of a blameless or classy man.

Besides, from all indications, Leno is a dickhead personally.

I don't get that sense from Conan at all. I think he's a genuine guy.

Where has Jay said one negative word about Conan? The only time he has really discussed the incident, he made a point of saying what a great guy Conan is, he is a gentleman, and this is NBC's fault. All of his barbs have been directed at NBC executives - not Conan. If NBC didn't want to keep Jay over Conan, they could have taken his new show off the air (no one would have blamed them) and paid out his contract instead. NBC chose Jay because Conan's numbers were dismal and the worst thing Jay Leno did was be willing to take his old job back (the one he was fired from despite being #1) if Conan refused to move to 12:05 and hang on to TTS!

Jay has a staff of 175 people and by all accounts, they love the guy. Not everyone can say that about their boss and they know him better than someone who walks up to him on the street and he isn't what they expect him to be. He certainly is no pushover, but no one who can survive in that business could be. And keeping his staff of 17 years working is one of the reasons Jay was willing to stay with the network that kicked him in the teeth, broke his contract as well as Conan's (people forget that part - he was guaranteed 2 years of prime time) and fired him twice!

That was one of the best posts I've read on MR Sherri! I couldn't have said it better.

Thanks Jim!

[wastingbeerz]

Speaking about the blame game, I thought this clip from Letterman was pretty funny regarding the Jay & Conan thing. Sorry if it's been posted already:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AK3T987jk8

Whoever you like and don't like, it's still ironic tough talk considering Dave can't beat Leno and by March 1 he'll be getting beat again

When all is said and done, I really don't see how ANYONE can stand Leno, or find his stale, formulaic, "safe" humor funny at all. To each their own, I guess...