Thursday, July 17, 2008

He'd Never Be King Of Late-Night

USAToday reminds me today that Jay Leno will soon be gone from The Tonight Show, leaving the iconic late-night talk show in the more-than-capable hands of Conan O'Brien.

Thank God.

I've watched The Tonight Show with Jay Leno only a handful of times. Leno's joke-telling rhythm annoys me, and I'm of the opinion he stole quite a few of his standard bits from David Letterman. I mean, really: his "Headlines" is a blatant rip-off of Letterman's "Small-Town News." And can you believe Leno had the guts to book Stupid Human Tricks?

I figure most late-night watchers are either Letterman fans or Leno fans, but not both. (Although Conan, by far, is the most entertaining of the three now that Dave has embraced the mainstream.)

Am I right? And if so, who's your favorite, and why?

3 comments:

Ian C. said...

Conan is by far my favorite late-night talk show host, and Craig Ferguson might be my current second favorite. So maybe my tastes and humor are better suited to the post 12:30 a.m. hour.

Between Leno and Letterman these days, it often depends on who their guests are. (Like I've watched Letterman this week because he's been having actors from 'The Dark Knight' on the show.) But even though Letterman is a far more subdued version of himself now, I appreciate his crankiness and refusal to get too caught up in celebrity culture much more than Leno's goofy, suck-up approach.

Anonymous said...

Jay Leno is a total hack. Always has been, always will be. But I'll give him credit for one thing: He knows how to play the politics behind his celebrity and he totally outgunned Letterman in this battle, plain and simple.

That Leno had the chutzpah to steal Letterman's best bits only confirms his inability to create his own schtick.

Conan's awesome, though.

Anonymous said...

I think Conan is horrible. I just don't get him.

My fav is Jimmy Kimmel. I used to love watching him on the Man Show!

Kelly