Photo Source Anyway, this new feature is going to be a variety of posts filled with things that I think would work in an issue of Entertainment Weekly. That could mean a play review, an article about the entertainment world, or any other host of things. I would love to do something every week, since EW is a weekly magazine, but we’ll see how this goes. I hope you all enjoy!
Coco vs. Jay Jay
By now it should be old news that Conan O’Brien is no longer a late-night talk show host for NBC and Jay Leno is back in his old position. Just this week Oprah gave us all the inside scoop on just what Jay was thinking during all this and it does give me a broader perspective. Who is to blame though? I think that’s simple…NBC. As for Jay though, it’s not as simple as “he’s the bad guy” or “you can’t blame him for anything.”
I’m not going to go into details about what exactly went down. I’d rather assume you know what I’m talking about so that I can simply state my opinions on the whole affair. I do not believe it was fair to tell Leno he had to give up his job so that O’Brien would stay at NBC. I understand that they wanted to make O’Brien happy, but the Tonight Show was doing okay…why change? However, they did and Jay agreed to give up his spot in 2009. Enter O’Brien as the new host and Jimmy Fallon taking over the Late Show. The problem? Leno wasn’t gone. He was given a new show at 10 P.M. leaving O’Brien to still struggle in the wake of Leno. That’s not fair. Beyond that, it’s definitely not fair to suggest that O’Brien move his show back to give Leno a shorter version of his new show at 11:35. O’Brien didn’t want the Tonight Show’s time to change. It was a legacy. I agree with this and think it’s great that O’Brien was strong enough to say “no.” He would not change the way the show has been, even if just a time, for Leno.
Personally, I’m a bigger fan of Conan O’Brien. I wish he was still at NBC for my own selfish reasons, but seeing him back out because of his beliefs is a big deal. It shows a lot about the kind of character he has. I’m not saying that Jay Leno is a bad person for agreeing to go back to the Tonight Show, but I do believe that he should have said no himself and allowed O’Brien to continue on with the job he was promised.
Maybe you all say that pushing the time back is nothing and O’Brien should have agreed. Have Leno and then O’Brien If you don’t care about the Tonight Show’s traditional time, then what about newcomer Jimmy Fallon? His show would have been pushed back to around 1 in the morning. It’s safe to bet that most people wouldn’t stay up long enough to watch even half of his show. I know, in most cases, I wouldn’t be able to and I think that would be wrong. Fallon is doing a good job and it’s not right to throw away his dreams either.
To put this in other terms, imagine if Leno and O’Brien were Bush and Obama. Obama moves his family from one state to another (which O’Brien did when taking the reins of the Tonight Show) to do a job he’s been promised. After only a few months, Bush is back! The government (or NBC) are all “Obama, look, you’re great, but Bush had higher ratings and we just think we should bring him back…we’ll push you back a few years and then you’ll get your shot! Okay?” I don’t think Obama would go for that, so it’s no surprise that O’Brien didn’t go for NBC’s idea either.
Basically…
O’Brien: 100
Leno: 0
NBC: -100
I personally agree with you. I feel that NBC is the group at fault. Bush… back… ehhhkk… scary. *hides*
I'm a big Conan fan and I think he got a bad deal. I used to watch Jay Leno all the time, but not anymore. Sure, NBC made the decision, but Jay didn't have to go along with it. He's wrong if he thinks this doesn't affect how people think about him. I for one won't watch him again. But I'll be watching for Conan in the fall somewhere.