Conan or Jay?... or both?... or neither?

[BlueFrenchHorn]

I'm sure you've all heard the ruckus about Jay Leno's 10:00 program getting canceled and NBC moving him back to 11:35. Then Conan (the current occupant of the 11:35 timeslot) threw a fit and threatened to leave the network.

So, who do you like? Jay? Conan? What about Letterman? And the super-late night Jimmies: Kimmel and Fallon?

Of all of them, Jay is my favorite. The jokes in his monologue never seem too forced, and I love the Jaywalking and Local News segments. But to be honest, after the first week, I stopped watching his 10:00 show and I'm somewhat relieved that it didn't succeed. I read an article about it just before it was set to start last fall, and it focused on how cheap it was to make the show in comparison with some of the other scripted programs that it competes with at the 10:00 spot. If it had proved to be as success, the other networks would likely follow suit, and the airwaves would be packed with cheap talk shows, and good quality scripted dramas and comedies would begin to diminish. We already have too many reality shows out there -- so even though scripted shows may cost more to produce, you get what you pay for.

Letterman is my least favorite. His trademark Top 10 list is way past its prime, and he comes off as annoying to me.

Conan is ok, but I'm not crazy about him. I don't know why. He's funny, but seems somewhat awkward. And I don't like some of his recurring themes (Everyone is going to hate me for saying this, but I just can't stand that stupid dog puppet with the cigar).

I like Jimmy Kimmel, but I can rarely stay up to see his show.

I never saw Jimmy Fallon's show, but I liked him when he was on SNL.


What does everybody else think?
_________________
--Matt

[watcher1006]

You left out Craig Ferguson. Among the hosts of the late shift late night TV offerings, I like him best as a person, although I often can't sit through his monologue and/or stand-up routines (like his inane email feature). I like his interviewing style. I've never thought much of Jay Leno as an interviewer. I think David Letterman asks somewhat more intelligent questions, although he can be annoying too.

I don't resent Jay or Conan or David for their roles in this late night controversy. Not one bit The credit for the idiocy can be laid directly at the feet of NBC. Jay never wanted to leave The Tonight Show and he was winning his slot regularly when NBC pushed him out. NBC was seeking to expand its appeal to the younger demographic, as all the networks do. But what made them automatically think that younger demographic automatically called for a younger host? Those audiences they were seeking were perfectly happy with Jay. They thought Conan would fill the bill and they were afraid that he would go to a different network if he didn't get the plum of The Tonight Show. Maybe, but in doing what they did NBC was trying to have its cake and eat it too with Jay and Conan, plus they were trying to save money by knocking off scripted programming in the 10:00-11:00pm slot. In making their boneheaded moves after last season they very effectively shot themselves in the foot.

It looks like Jay will be coming back to Tonight and Conan - well he'll probably depart for another network (imagine what dire straits NBC would be in if Jay did so too!) Whether I watch either Jay or David will probably depend on who they have on as guests on any particular night. I don't watch much late night TV as it is.