[Ken H]

After considerable drama played out in the media spotlight across the country, Jay Leno returns to his old haunting grounds, NBC weeknights at 11:35pm ET.


The only question now is: Can Leno regain the viewers & ratings he had before the aborted 10pm experiment?


Opinion seems to be divided in the issue, with some knowledgeable observers saying no, while others think he'll have little problem getting back to his old numbers. Personally, I'm already on record as saying I think Leno will do OK, about as well as Letterman, but not as well as he did previously. We shall see.


First night back guests are Jamie Foxx, Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn and Brad Paisley.


On Tuesday we'll get Sarah Palin, Olympic snowboarder Shaun White and music by Adam Lambert.

 

[VisionOn]

And just to prove how much The Jay Leno Show really really wasn't anything like the old Tonight Show, they reused the Jay Leno Show set, changed the lighting, added a desk and ...


hey, waddya know. It's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

 

[igreg]

Well, the show didn't use the former local which would have been nice. I like Jay having a desk, but I hope there is not a big table or ottoman blocking the view of the beautiful women on the show.

 

[VisionOn]

I didn't last long. Same Tonight Show as always and Jamie Foxx's hyperactivity just made me switch over to Bill Murray on Letterman.

 

[LCDSpazz]

Literally nothing has changed except a slightly altered opening and a different set (which is too dark and dreary IMO).

 

[igreg]



Quote:
Originally Posted by VisionOn /forum/post/18232347


I didn't last long. Same Tonight Show as always and Jamie Foxx's hyperactivity just made me switch over to Bill Murray on Letterman.

Yeah, having Jamie Foxx as first guest doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

 

[Young C]

I thought it was an OK episode.

I laughed a couple times.

No more DVRing 9:00 Jay to watch at 10:35

I'm glad all the "off topic" hate chatter about Conan Vs. Jay is now gone.

 

[BCF68]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Young C /forum/post/18233534


I thought it was an OK episode.

I laughed a couple times.

No more DVRing 9:00 Jay to watch at 10:35

I'm glad all the "off topic" hate chatter about Conan Vs. Jay is now gone.

Yes let's not have free speech. You MUST like Jay or you comments aren't welcome. Whatever.

 

[skyehill]

I dislike Jay's show for reasons. None of them involve him taking the show away from Conan. Conan lost his show due to his own ineptitude. I dislike Jay for simple reasons: He isn't funny. He's purposely inoffensive. He aims squarely at the middle of the road and never veers off of it. He's milquetoast garbage suitable for the over 60 crowd.

 

[Marcus Carr]



Quote:
In the metered market houshold ratings between 11:30p-12:30a Jay Leno's return to The Tonight Show dominated Leterman and Late Show. Leno had a 5.4/14 (household rating/share) to Letterman's 3.0/8.

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/03/02...n-return/43507

Quote:
The Leno reboot averaged a 2.0 rating/9 share in adults 18-49 vs. a 1.0/4 5.4 overnight demo ratings Monday, while David Letterman's "Late Show" scored a 2.0/9 in the same 25 cities with overnight demo information.

http://www.thewrap.com/ind-column/ja...ne-again-14794


But that doesn't tell us much. Conan's first Tonight Show got a 7.1/17, compared to Letterman's 2.8/7.

http://www.thrfeed.com/2009/06/conan...e-ratings.html


Conan got a 2.3 rating/10 share in the demo, compared to Letterman's 0.9/4.

http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/tvbizwir...gs-tonight.php

 

[Marcus Carr]



Quote:
Originally Posted by VisionOn /forum/post/18232206


And just to prove how much The Jay Leno Show really really wasn't anything like the old Tonight Show, they reused the Jay Leno Show set, changed the lighting, added a desk and ...


hey, waddya know. It's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

It should be no surprise that NBC didn't pay for a new set.

 

[kizzo]

I like Jay Leno. I'm glad to see him back. He delivered the ratings and cash to NBC, and once he left it all went downhill.

 

[Berk32]



Quote:
Originally Posted by skyehill /forum/post/18234115


Conan lost his show due to his own ineptitude.

You gotta stop with this. It's just not true. Not at all.

 

[dfergie]

Glad Jay is back... good show last night imho.

 

[Stereodude]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcus Carr /forum/post/18234335


It should be no surprise that NBC didn't pay for a new set.

I hear they have a really nice one at Universal Studios that's now sitting unused.

 

[humdinger70]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Stereodude /forum/post/18234496


I hear they have a really nice one at Universal Studios that's now sitting unused.

No, I saw some pics on another web site showing that set being dismantled.

 

[jwebb1970]



Quote:
Originally Posted by skyehill /forum/post/18234115


I dislike Jay's show for reasons. None of them involve him taking the show away from Conan. Conan lost his show due to his own ineptitude. I dislike Jay for simple reasons: He isn't funny. He's purposely inoffensive. He aims squarely at the middle of the road and never veers off of it. He's milquetoast garbage suitable for the over 60 crowd.

The Conan/Jay business was due to NBC's - and the buck surely must stop @ Zuker's - ineptitude - not Conan NOR Jay (I do admit to rooting for Conan - never been a fan of Leno at all).


Then again, one could construe a slight snub of Conan by Jay last night (although I doubt is was a conscious snub) - Leno apparently stated that Sarah Palin's scheduled appearance this week will be her 1st late night talk show spot.....um, except Palin was on The Tonight Show back in December....you know...when William Shatner did his reading from her autobiography? Conan was of course the host.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/0..._n_481804.html


And NBC themselves have since yanked all evidence of Conan's tenure from online sources like Hulu.


Bill Murray was great on Dave last night, BTW!

 

[BCF68]



Quote:
Originally Posted by dfergie /forum/post/18234448


Glad Jay is back... good show last night imho.

Bad taste explains why we have all these crap reality shows on TV.

 

[BCF68]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcus Carr /forum/post/18234317

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/03/02...n-return/43507



http://www.thewrap.com/ind-column/ja...ne-again-14794


But that doesn't tell us much. Conan's first Tonight Show got a 7.1/17, compared to Letterman's 2.8/7.

So Conan's first show was MUCH higher than Jay's? Hmmm. Doesn't bode well for Jay or NBC. What are Jay's ratings going to be when he has to compete with Letterman AND Conan? Oh by the way I'd like to know when Jay does eventually retire who is his replacement? Jimmy Fallon? Yeah that's better than Conan.

 

[jwebb1970]



Quote:
Originally Posted by BCF68 /forum/post/18234787


So Conan's first show was MUCH higher than Jay's? Hmmm. Doesn't bode well for Jay or NBC. What are Jay's ratings going to be when he has to compete with Letterman AND Conan? Oh by the way I'd like to know when Jay does eventually retire who is his replacement? Jimmy Fallon? Yeah that's better than Conan.

I read yesterday where on TV analyst stated that Jay & NBC should start grooming a replacement soon - and maybe do it in the manner that Carson did by having a stable of guest hosts to evaluate/choose from over the course of the next several years.


Of course, getting Leno to take a day off seems to require an act of God (or at least a Letterman invite to shoot a promo for a competing show w/ Oprah in tow).