NBC Will Regret Appeasing Leno: Conan was Czechoslovakia of late night TV

Wall Street Journal ^ | JANUARY 24, 2010 | Joe Queenan

[iowamark]

Cultural historians are desperately seeking a precedent to the Jay Leno-Conan O'Brien fiasco. They are looking in the wrong places. True, Pat Sajak, Chevy Chase and Joan Rivers all got axed from late-night talk shows after shockingly brief stints at the helm, but none of them got $32.5 million to take a hike. And none of them got replaced by the person they had replaced. And none of them pouted about getting canned for general incompetence while millions of their countrymen—who had not actually failed at their jobs—were unable to find work.

No, the most appropriate parallel to the debacle that has humiliated NBC took place in central Europe in the late 1930s. It happened at Munich.

Jay Leno, much like Adolf Hitler, is a master of making secret demands for foreign territory and then acting like the wronged party...

Here's where the parallels become even more eerie. In acquiescing to Mr. Leno's sotto voce demands to annex one-half of "The Tonight Show," NBC thought it could put the whole ugly controversy to rest. Wrong. Interpreting generosity as weakness, Mr. Leno began to maneuver for complete control of "The Tonight Show." Here he was again taking his cue from der Fuhrer, manipulating his outgunned adversary into a position so humiliating he literally had no choice but to surrender.

Just as Hitler sought to return Germany to its prewar stature by acquiring Austria and the Sudetenland, Mr. Leno will seek to restore "The Tonight Show" to the mythical stature it enjoyed under his predecessor. Hitler wanted to be thought of as the second coming of Frederick Barbarossa. Mr. Leno wants to be thought of as the second coming of Johnny Carson. Joey Bishop might be more appropriate...

[FreedomPoster]

How is that woman considered “funny”? I still haven’t figured that one out.

[Dixie Yooper]

What I don’t understand is why Obama isn’t outraged about all the money NBC is throwing around at so few people. Didn’t NBC benefit from the TARP money GE received back when they were bailed out?

[riri]

Agree — If I had to pick from all the hosts, Conan would be last on the list; in fact, I would not even turn on the TV if he were the only one on the air...

Really? I think Conan is hilarious. It's the only late night guy I'd ever bothered to watch.

[ReneeLynn]

She’s not. She just bashes Republicans. Maybe Obama watches.

[dfwgator]

Leno already was the second coming of Carson. He projected the same sort shtick, with some small allowance for changing taste, for example, JAY WALKING as replacement for Carson’s goofball skits. It was really as nearly perfect as anyone could hope for, and NBC ruined everything by replacing Leno with Conan. Of course, you can’t go back, even though they’re trying to.

They should just take a cue from the Coca-Cola Company and call it, "Tonight Show Classic."

[HamiltonJay]

Conan had a brief flirt with being amusing back in the early 90s.... and quickly faded. The only younger guy out there that would bring in crowds would be Stewart but A) you’d have to lure him away from CC, and B) He’d have to transition to making interviews about the interviewee, not so much the sarcastic jab.

I don’t know if he could do B, but if he could, he definitely could take over late night.

[dfwgator]

Conan had a brief flirt with being amusing back in the early 90s.... and quickly faded.

That had more to do with Andy Richter, than anything.