Jaypocalypse Then: From the Archives

By James Poniewozik | @poniewozik | January 15, 2010 | +

According to The New York Times, the struggling new host of NBC’s Tonight Show feels disappointed and betrayed that the network is considering dumping him, after less than a year, for a replacement. Admittedly he got off to a rough start, but things are going smoothly now, he says, and he deserves more time.

Speaking to a reporter, he ruled out an NBC plan to move him to a later time slot to make room for the new host. Would he go to another network? “Of course. I’m not going to do some little happy hour from Omaha at 12:30.”

The year: 1992. The host: Jay Leno.

Love ya, Omaha!

(Hat tip to Bill Simmons for the link.)

Related Topics: irony, jay leno, the internet never forgets, tonight show, Uncategorized

@TIMECulture

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[...] Leno in 1992 was outraged at prospect of losing "Tonight Show" to Letterman "Would I go to CBS if they asked me?" Leno said at the time. "Of course. I'm not going to do some little happy hour from Omaha at 12:30." PLUS: Read an excerpt from "The Late Shift." Why comedy writers hate Leno: He's too perfect! As Nathan Rabin points out, "He’s been married to the same woman for decades. He has amassed a vast fortune working nonstop yet never spends his money on anything other than his overflowing collection of sports cars. He seems devoid of angst. He suffers from a terrible dearth of personal demons. Leno is so normal and functional that he’s practically a freak. That creeps out comedy writers who would rather have their heroes stagger into the gutter, penniless and filled with contempt for a world that has shunned them, than play yet another Indian casino to pay for that 32nd Maserati." Conan offered a "Sons of Anarchy" cameo "We have," says "Anarchy" creator Kurt Sutter, "an IRA story line that will continue to play out this coming season and I could use a bad-ass O'Brien on my team. Guns, blood, fist fights — you could really work some sh*t out. Think about it." [...]
antena99

Please, oh please, let Conan be Letterman’s only guest on March 1. I’d imagine Jay will book whoever became the biggest newsgrabber/medal winner at the just-concluded Olympics, or something like that…
carpevis

Of course, with the ratings boost O’Brien is getting from the NBC family squabble (Would that be a cock-fight, given NBC’s trademark peacock symbol?), a lot more people are being exposed to O’Brien than before. It may well be that he captures a larger permanent audience from it.

If so, NBC could milk this feud for quite some time while O’Brien builds his time-slot fanbase then have Leno, being the willing soldier and all around good guy, announce that he thinks O’Brien deserves the show after all and withdraws from NBC entirely to pursue other projects elsewhere.

That would make NBC look less bad, win the time slot back from Letterman, give a boost to O’Brien and keep him in his slot and let everyone come away a financial, if not necessarily “reputational” winner.