Hooray for Jay Leno!
Good news comes in the form of a scoop from the Washington Post in this morning's editions: Comedian Jay Leno could well be restored as host of the Tonight Show, the perch from which he was so unjustly deposed last year by Conan O'Brien.
If this qualifies as a promotion for Leno, that makes me happy, though it takes some doing for me to go public with my feelings on the matter.
Back in the glory years, when Leno was killing it as Tonight Show host, I would occasionally volunteer my affection for his show in mixed company. Yes, I enjoyed the monologue. Loved “Headlines” and guffawed at “Bizarre Christmas Gifts.” Here was a show, I’d argue, hosted by a good guy who lived for comedy. Great smile, great jokes, and onstage bonhomie—what more could you ask for?
A lot, if you trusted the opinions of my friends and colleagues. “Oh, vomit,” declared a colleague this past September as I got pumped about the debut of Leno's 10 p.m. show on NBC.
Vomit indeed captures the intellectual tenor of the Leno v. Rest of the Comedy World debate. A long time ago, I was at a bar with some friends when the topic came up. Someone had remembered that I was a Leno fan and threw that notion-cum-bait into the conversation. Everyone pounced, lighting into me about Chris Rock or Conan or some other killer comic on cable.
By that point, I was used to having to defend this guy, and so I recited my litany. Leno spent ages on the comedy circuit and has the finest, most precise delivery out there. He recovers from a bomb with grace. He has a great rapport with Kev and other Tonight Show crew. He makes me laugh. Plus, it’s all a matter of taste.
And the fact that you have none, came the snark from the table.
And so it’s gone over the years. Each expression of Leno fandom prompts the same mystified rebuttals, with exclamation points landing after the following points: Jay’s not funny. He’s not a good interviewer. He recites the same, tired jokes over and over. He's still telling Clinton sex jokes. He’s boring.
The Leno attacks, I’ve always figured, are to be expected in and around what I call the District's gentrification plume—an area populated by what our company's former CEO would call "urban explorers." Smart people of refined tastes, urbanites, whatever.
Hence my theory that the hipster demographic hates Jay Leno. All the ingredients for a bad relationship are right on the shelf: Leno is a big, rich white guy who radiates establishment. He has way too many cars. And his brand of entertainment comes via a behemoth broadcast network, so there’s no process of discovery, no in-the-know cachet, to tapping into Leno.
A little Jaywalking upended my theory. In September, in anticipation of Leno's prime-time program, I stood outside two famous hipster farms in D.C. and interviewed folks about Leno, with a question designed to coax them into spitting fire: “Are you excited about Jay Leno’s return to TV next Monday?”
“Not really—I don’t watch TV,” said one respondent outside of Tryst coffee shop in Adams Morgan. “I don’t watch television,” said another. “I don’t watch TV—sorry,” said another. The closest I came to the Leno-hating hipster was one 33-year-old Gavin Hamilton, who blaséd his way through this response at Busboys And Poets: “I didn’t even know he was coming back. I don’t find him particularly funny.”
But he’s nice. A friend of mine once worked at a southern California comedy club where Leno performed. He said two things about the comic—that he ate tons of food and that he was a great guy, a joy to be around. That’s why I tuned into the Tonight Show, that's why I tuned in to the 10 p.m. show, and that's why I'd follow him back to the late slot.
11:52 am
Great!, I like Jay better than Conan.
12:05 pm
Where are you on the McDouble?
12:05 pm
Leno said he was gonna retire years ago....so they put this in the works years ago....how was he taken off the air before his time...do you have any idea how this is the second time this has happened? wow.....nice journalism there.
12:07 pm
He's been suggesting he take back the show for months, and he goes on his show and acts like it isn't his ego driving Conan's entire staff out of jobs. All without Conan ever making a negative move towards Jay. How is that "nice"?
12:12 pm
After consuming late-night tube for the first time in many months recently, it is clear that Craig Ferguson is BY FAR the best monologuist and interviewer going these days. This coming from a Letterman man.
12:25 pm
Letterman is still the better interviewer of any of the late-night talk show hosts.
1:27 pm
The only late night talk show (really the only talk show) worth watching is Red Eye.
2:03 pm
Im sorry Erik, how did you come to the incorrect conclusion that Jay Leno was "unjustly deposed last year by Conan O'Brien"? Jay Leno told the big wigs he was RETIRING. Also lets be clear, Leno's ratings were on the decline and Conan has a steady audience of 20 - 30 year olds that are the future of the demographic. And finally, no Jay Leno is not funny.
2:04 pm
Is this a guest post by Gary Imhoff?
2:07 pm
You've got to be kidding. Leno sucks. Conan is so much better. And Dave is the best of all of them. Jimmy Fallon is good too.
2:25 pm
Bring Arsenio Hall back! He is the best all-time. Dave, in second place; Jay & Conan & the rest all have talent etc., but the best was Arsenio. My mom loved Arsenio's show - he's smart, witty, & knows how to have fun.
The worst is Charlie Rose - if you want to see what 40 years of heavy drinking does to a man, tune in to Charlie. That dude can drink.
Conan - before he moved to LA - used to go to my sister's church in CT. In person he looks like a giant woody woodpecker - he's even taller & skinnier in person, & looks like redheaded step child. His wife is smoking hot - she's about the hottest babe this side of Carla Bruni & Kate Moss.
3:02 pm
that you think the washington post "scooped" this story this morning (Friday) is more embarrassing for you than your love for Leno.
3:48 pm
What a ridiculous statement - hipsters are the ones who hate Leno?
My parents in their 80's can't stand him, neither can I, suburban woman in my 50's.
After the brilliance of Johnny Carson, Leno was NBC's way to dumb down late night TV.
Jay Leno isn't funny, isn't original, doesn't deserve to have 1 hour of network TV, much less 5 hours in prime time!
4:04 pm
It's nothing to do with hipsters. The man isn't funny. Bazooka Joe makes better jokes than he does.
4:25 pm
Kudos, Erik. My Nana couldn't have said it better.
5:03 pm
okay I am not an urban trendsetter or a hipster demographic who hates Leno.I live in the burbs of DC and yes I watch late night. I am not 20, 30 or 40 something so take that for what it's worth. I never thought Leno was funny when he was on Letterman back in the day.
I love Letterman. I have never found Jay to be funny - he may be a nice guy but just because he's nice doesn't mean I want to watch him. What the heck kind of reasoning is that? I bet Maury Povich is a nice guy too but you won't catch me watching his show of Who's your baby's daddy!
Letterman is so much better. Smarter. Better interviewer. I did prefer him when he was a bit snarkier but even mellow Dave is always better than a Leno. Jay walking is an insult to anyone with an IQ outside the double digits.
By far though to me the best is Craig Ferguson. I tivo both he and Dave nightly. And while Dave may get the bigger names Craig is original, fresh, smart and funny as hell. His monologues aren't one liners but free flow.
So NBC can keep Jay where ever they want I still will never watch him. That is why I have a remote control.
5:08 pm
Jay Leno is the best. Erik is right.
6:44 pm
"Jay Leno is the most fake person in show biz." - George Lopez
9:57 pm
really? what a misinformed piece. you can like jay all you want, but getting your facts wrong as you have is truly egregious. I'm no Leno fan, and I'll not begrudge anyone their opinion, but claiming someone is funny because they're "nice" seems to miss the point entirely, doesn't it? Is a painting exquisite because the artist is "a swell guy?"
so, in summary:
you're a douche.
10:58 pm
"Smart people of refined tastes, urbanites, whatever."
"Leno is a big, rich white guy who radiates establishment. He has way too many cars. And his brand of entertainment comes via a behemoth broadcast network, so there’s no process of discovery, no in-the-know cachet, to tapping into Leno."
City Paper reader's grasp of satire only goes as far as Dr. Seuss' catalogue.
11:32 pm
I cant stand Jay leno- his chin takes up the whole screen. he may be a 'nice" guy- but he comes across as smug. Him and his 500 classic cars can go back to 11:30. ill be asleep by then.
Though I must say- thanks Erik for a piece that wasn't Dc specific, it mixes up the blog a bit.
12:28 am
For what it's worth, I'm a die-hard urbanite, mid-40's living in a major East Coast city & working in the legitimate theatre industry, so I don't know how you want to classify me but I love Leno. Always have. I'll admit I don't like his new show as well as The Tonight Show, but at the same time I found Conan occasionally entertaining on his old show, but can't watch him on The Tonight Show. I don't dislike him, just don't find the show funny with him as host. And even though I'm a born & bred East Coast girl I was never a big fan of Letterman either. Carson was the best, but I still like Jay.
Thanks Erik for showing me I'm not alone!
3:18 pm
Not only have you shown to have no sense of humor for liking the unfunny Jay Leno, but by trashing all of the so-called hipsters who you claim diskike your hero, you have exposed yourself to be a tired, crabby fool who obviously shakes your fist at kids who pass by your house and who yells at them to stay off your lawn. It must really suck being you. Go take your meds, douchebag!
8:35 pm
If I was a self-important douche, I would refute this article point by point, and end by mocking the author, suggesting his journalism degree would be better suited for wiping away the residue of a healthy bowel movement.
I may still articulate the latter, but something tells me this article is simply a well-crafted satire intended to piss people off and/or out the simpletons who find Jay's bland, fast-food-style entertainment...well...entertaining. Or maybe "Erik Wemple" is just Skip Bayless' pen name.
I'll end with this: if it was only the hipster element that hated Leno, then why did an episode of Spongebob, and repeats of CSI: Miami and Sons of Anarchy soundly beat new episodes of Leno in the ratings, including the all-important 18-49 male demographic?
3:30 am
Is this a satire? Jay Leno isn't funny. He doesn't do any research on his guests and, so, comes up with inane questions. Conan is quick and naturally funny.
Jimmy Fallon is a whole other story. Ech. Who farted?
5:36 pm
Leno is the past. Conan should be the future.
NBC is wrong and will suffer many viewers for their bad decision making.