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Last week I defended Modern Family from the charge that the show isn’t as good when the three families are kept separate. Fair’s fair; last night’s episode, which kept the three storylines largely separate, wasn’t as strong.
But it wasn’t because the families were separate or because the stories weren’t thematically connected: the …
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My print TIME column this week, it should surprise no one, is also about the Jaypocalypse at NBC. Since it needed to close on deadline—and who knew who was going to be working where by the time it came off the presses—I used the column to big-picture the issue.
Namely: NBC’s problem is pretty much the problem of newspapers, or …
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Can NBC be publicly shamed into keeping Conan O’Brien at the Tonight Show?
No, probably not. Let’s get that out of the way. These are TV-businesspeople we’re talking about.
Still, the level of public mockery and pressure that NBC has come in for in the last few days has been impressive—and it could have benefits for O’Brien, even …
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This morning, courtesy of the home office in Wahoo, Nebraska:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XfcH7rIgwM]
Two thoughts:
1. It must feel good for Dave to vent nearly two decades’ worth of pent-up Jay bashing. See also his monologue last night. (“Jimmy Kimmel was so convincing as Leno that today NBC canceled him.”)
2. Jeff …
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David Letterman has been killing it the past few nights when it comes to the Jaypocalypse, in which he has a long-standing personal investment. But the most audacious and outrageously funny late-night take on the situation yet belongs to Jimmy Kimmel, who did his entire show last night as Jay Leno. See it here in its entirety:
[vodpod …
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Last night’s American Idol debut was the first episode sans Paula Abdul, and the first since Simon Cowell’s blockbuster announcement that he will leave the show after this season to launch another singing competition for Fox, The X Factor.
The first audition episode dealt directly and upfront with the drama that led to Paula walking …
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In all the NBC late-night drama, I’ve made a point of not treating Jay Leno as the bad guy. I was not a fan of The Jay Leno Show nor of his Tonight Show, but a lot of other people were, and he did a good job making a show that they loved. He didn’t ask to get bumped off the Tonight Show, nor can I blame him for wanting it back.
That …
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Let me take off my TV-critic hat for a minute and put on my TV-business hat. Everyone’s assumption now—a well-founded one, it seems—is that, forced to choose between Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien, NBC will pick Jay. Leaving aside fairness, funniness or cosmic justice, is that the right business pick?
Short-term, I have to say: …
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Let it not be said that Conan O’Brien lacks company loyalty. Even as O’Brien was busy getting publicly screwed over by his network, he was on the Tonight Show, making fun of his own situation while giving a plug to Howie Mandel and Deal or No Deal:
[vodpod id=Groupvideo.4452615&w=425&h=350&fv=]
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The guy who’s having the best time with the Jaypocalypse and NBC’s Conanundrum? David Letterman. For now, anyway. Here’s a preview of his hit tonight (since I’m sure you’ll be watching to see what Conan has to say). The title gives away the punch line, but it’s funny anyway:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msC3uu4KZbg]
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NBC wanted a decision quick, and it got one: Conan O’Brien says he will quit [Update: or to be precise, all but says it] the Tonight Show if NBC moves it to 12:05 to shoehorn in Jay Leno at 11:35. This is not Conan “quitting” the Tonight Show exactly, but it is demanding NBC choose him or Leno.
[Update: NBC says that, yes, there will be …
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More news tidbits from the Winter TV Press Tour in Pasadena:
* Fox says it hasn’t had official talks with Conan O’Brien, other than to “commiserate” with his people. There, there, let it all out. Why don’t you dry your tears with this contract?
* Ron Moore says you don’t need to have seen Battlestar Galactica to get his new SyFy …
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I kind of don’t want to do a “Ooooh, look at the late-night hosts ripping on NBC!” post. I mean, late-night comedians making jokes about their own (or other) networks stopped being daring, what, 25 years ago? Was it even daring then?
That said: Ooooh, look at Conan ripping on NBC!
