Leno Invites Kimmel to show, Gets Ripped a new Asshole
 

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/...-jimmy-kimmel/

Jimmy Kimmel, all is forgiven. You are forgiven for not usually being very funny, for often being crass, and for sometimes dating a female comic, Sarah Silverman, who is way more artistically daring and hilarious than you have ever been?until now. All your comedy sins are pardoned because of your classic confrontation with Jay Leno on ?The Jay Leno Show? tonight.

Kimmel, fresh off of an episode of his own program this week in which he dressed up as a faux Leno, appeared on ?The Jay Leno Show?s? feloniously tedious ?10@10″ segment, in which celebrities are asked ten softball questions and they reply with ten Wiffle Ball answers.

But not tonight. Tonight was hardball with steel bats and steroids. For pretty much every question, Kimmel kept turning the subject back to Leno and the fact that, after handing ?The Tonight Show? over to Conan O?Brien, he now seems poised to snatch it back again.

Leno asked Kimmel if there was anyone he wanted to interview.

?You and Conan together,? Kimmel replied.

And the fun was just starting.

?What?s the best prank you ever pulled?? Leno asked.

Kimmel started off with an answer about painting some relative?s house or something before getting to the red meat. ?But I think the best prank I ever pulled was I told a guy that five years from now I?m gonna give you my show and then when the five years came, I gave it to him and then I took it back almost instantly. It was hilarious?I think he works at Fox or something now,? Kimmel said.

Leno asked Kimmel about lap dances. ?Strippers I don?t like in general,? said Kimmel, ?because you have this phony relationship with them for money. Similar to that of when you and Conan were on the ?Tonight Show? together passing the torch.?

Leno asked him if there was any show he?d like to host.

?This is a trick, right?? replied Kimmel. ?Where you get me to host ?The Tonight Show? and then take it back from me? Listen Lucy, I?m not Charlie Brown, I don?t fall for that trick.?

Finally, Leno asked his last question, something about coming to ABC or something, and Kimmel pretty much ignored it and plunged the knife in.

?Conan and I have children,? said Kimmel. ?All you have to take care of are cars. We have lives to lead here. You?ve got $800 million for God?s sake. Leave our shows alone.?

It was the comedy of discomfort. Everything was laid bare. Andy Kaufman, Lenny Bruce and maybe Johnny Carson too, were all smiling, wherever they were. But maybe none of them watch talk shows at 10 p.m. After all, hardly anyone does and that?s part of how this whole affair got started.

You can see some of the interview here. (But not the really good parts yet.)

Okay, what did you think of Jay Leno vs. Jimmy Kimmel? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

VIDEO or IT DIDNT HAPPEN!

lmao love it

wow, Leno was destroyed in his own show

Hopefully Kimmel's show will have stolen some viewers from NBC from that. NBC has failed about as badly as a network can fail with this whole mess. Leno couldn't jab Kimmel back at all because he would have had to consult his shitty writers to conjure something up for him.

Loving it! Kimmel has finally captured my attention. :1orglaugh

NBC couldn't have fucked this up any more. They had the #1 show at 11:30 when leno was doing the tonight show and Conan was #1 in his slot. Now both those places are in last, Leno was a huge failure and many people see Leno as throwing Conan out. The reality is Conan is failing at the Tonight show. He is funny, but his humor is for a certain audience and he can't seem to draw enough viewers at 11:35. If they just canceled Leno and left Conan, he would still be in last place. Now they are trying to salvage it all and it makes Leno and NBC look really bad.

Leno had actual shows leading in to him, different shows on different days. Conan has Leno's shitty show leading in to his show 5 days a week - a shitty show with much lower ratings than the shows they had in that slot before. I'm not so sure his low ratings are due more to himself not doing well in the 11:35 slot than to Leno doing horribly in the slot before.

kimmel pounded his ass on his own show, lolz

That could be it, but I don't know how much the lead in really plays when you are 30 minutes detached. Part of the reason Leno is canceled is because the affiliates are bitching like crazy. Like you said there used to be actual shows that got decent ratings on every night. Those shows led viewers into the late local news which is where many of the affiliates make their money. With Leno sucking in the ratings it really hurt the affiliates. Leno was actually getting the ratings they expected him to get and his show was making NBC money, but it was killing the affiliates.

When 11:35pm rolls around maybe some people just keep it on whatever channel they are on, but I think most people that watch late night talk shows switch over to see who has what guests and decide based on that. However, each host does have some loyal viewers. I just think fewer people like and get Conan than Leno. Conan is very hip and I think he doesn't translate well to a lot of places in this country. For that matter, I feel the same about Letterman. Leno was very safe and plain and never challenged or offended anyone. To me it is no wonder that Nightline is now beating both Conan and Letterman. There are a lot of people who don't care for either of them and would just rather watch the news.

i hate sarah silverman. she is not funny. her whole routine is basically- "i'm a girl, i'm jewish, i curse and make poop jokes"

He killed him. Pretty funny.

good for kimmel

pretty much.

I cant stand Kimmel, never could. He is a classless talentless shithead.... but he did great on that show, showed balls for sure


spaz

It took Leno YEARS to take over after Carson handed the show over. I want to say for 2.5 to 3 years the show was floundering before it finally started to take off and gain traction. Back then people bitched about Leno for not a few months,... YEARS.

Frankly, while I do not care for any of them, however that said, they need to refer to the history after Carson when Leno took over and how long it took for people to accept him.

:2 cents:

Go read Late Shift, great book that was made into a movie detailing how Leno and his ball busting dyke agent stole the Tonight Show from David Letterman, whom Johnny Carson wanted to pass the torch to. Leno is a creep.

There will never be another Carson, i grew up on him and then Letterman's original late late night show that puts all these shows to shame.

VERY funny ... but does have a very heavy cringe factor... I like Kimmel :)

LMFAO that was classic. Leno had to of known Kimmel was going to take some shots at him, you would of thought he would of had some comebacks ready. But he probably didn't think Kimmel was going to own him like that....

Never been a Jimmy fan but man did he lay into Leno... the last bit is the best...

that's more or less how it goes

The Jay Leno Show was cancelled, not the Tonight Show. Leno was cancelled because the leno show failed to bring the viewers they were expecting and even took some away from the local news for petes sake. In any case, having two late night snows on almost back to back is going to split viewers.

The techincal issue was Conan and his agent not thinking to lock in a guaranteed time that the show was to air. Who would think that some knucklehead would actually suggest moving the Tonight Show to 12:05 or to ANY other time? Unreal shenanigans. And NBC wanted to sign him to a deal 6 years early just so they would NOT lose him. Thats why they guaranteed him the job! Now because Leno failed, and Conans team didnt think ahead enough, Conan and hundreds of families are going to get the shaft.

Leno DID get a guaranteed time of 10pm. Thats his negotiating strength in this, and it's why he is the key to the entire mess. Not just his show failing, but having a smart contract negotiator. NBC has to air him at 10, or renegotiate, or pay him like 70 million wingwangs. So even if this were NOT his fault, he would still be in this position of power due to his contract. Thats why they offered him 11:30, and why Conan couldnt claim that doing so would break his contract.

Kimmel did a public service by pointing out that the only person with a contract to fight with is Leno. And he looks for all the world like he's sitting back and not doing anything but waiting for them to kick Conan off the lot. I can only say that he sure looks ugly in this whole thing.

Kimmel's best quick shot was this one, and it was obviously off the cuff:
Leno: Ever order anything off the TV?
Kimmel: ....Like how NBC ordered your show off the TV?

Epic!

not that I care for any one of them, but this was Great !!
?Conan and I have children,? said Kimmel. ?All you have to take care of are cars. We have lives to lead here. You?ve got $800 million for God?s sake. Leave our shows alone.?

Do you think it might have something to do with having another talk show, directly in front of his talk show?

Right. It's like two american idol kids that the teen girls just love. As soon as one of them is kicked out, the other one gets all the votes.

As soon as Conan is gone, and Leno has the tonight show again without resistance, it'll get more ratings. But it'll get them because they're no longer forcing viewers to be split on who to watch.

Oh, Kimmel, you're so fine
You're so fine you blow my mind
Hey, Kimmel
Hey, Kimmel

I think it was staged.

Nicely wrapped up :):thumbsup

If the movie is representative of the book, Leno doesn't come off bad at all OTHER than being too dependant on his Nazi personal manager. If anything, he comes off in a good light showing how bloody loyal he is. It appears he genuinely felt bad about the whole thing while, at the same time, trying to become the permanent host of the Tonight Show. NBC comes off like a bunch of idiots and his manager like a manipulative bitch. Leno just comes across as naive.

I like Leno. Used to like Letterman but over time he's become grating and quite frankly, not funny. Conan can be funny too, but overall I prefer Leno. That being said, and as much as I think Leno was a WAY better host of the Tonight Show, THIS time around, Conan is the one getting the shaft. I don't know how much Leno has to do with it, but again, THIS time around, he doesn't look too good.

I think it's rather strikingly similar. Everyone knew Johnny wanted Letterman to replace him. Leno got the good contract from NBC though.

This time, everyone knows Conan is simply being screwed because his team didnt forsee the assholes actually suggesting to change the time the Tonight Show comes on just because once again, Leno got the good contract from NBC.

It doesnt matter if he was at fault, he has the ONLY possible chance to do whats "right" and not fuck over yet another more talented entertainer than he is. (last part IMHO and millions of others of course, not trying to speak for everyone)
How can he do it? By standing up to NBC on his AND Conans behalf. Instead he's just sitting there waiting and being a victim of everyone elses jokes, not denying they're accurate. Just being there. Guess thats enough. Says so on the document.

Let's say someone volunteers to be a comic on the street for a day. Would anyone know he was a comic if he didn't tell it to anybody?

Not that I want to defend Jay, but Jay didnt "give" his show to Conan, I'm pretty sure he was ousted against his will because Conan wanted the job and NBC wanted to give it to him... Same thing is sort of happening again... The difference is 7 months is a little shorter and more cruel than being shown the door after 15+ years..

Strange.

that made no sense to me.... one guy (on one network) taking cheap jabs at another (on a different network) on (live?) tv....

I may be wrong, but that's what it smelled of to a foreigner who knows neither person.

pfft, only on america network tv ;)

It was all part of the script.

BFD. Why should Carson choose who gets the show after him?

While I agree with you that Conan is the one being screwed over THIS time, there are as many millions or more that prefer Leno to Conan. The only reason Conan has the 88% online support, or whatever it is, is because people (even people like I, who prefer Leno) DO realize that he's being screwed...NOT because he's more talented.

I just did a bit of digging and will make this prediction. Leno will not take over the Tonight Show permanently. If he does at all, it'll be temporary. Conan is too pissed off at this point to stay, so NBC is going to have to find a new host altogether. Maybe this is NBC's way of just getting Conan the hell out of there?

Why do I say Leno won't be the permanent host? First, Leno isn't stupid. He knows that there will be a public AND professional backlash against him and that'll end up being his legacy. Secondly, he couldn't NOT know that Kimmel was going to come on his show and say the things he was going to say. Finally, his 10 @ 10 guest tonight? Ricky Gervais...who's apparently another supporter of Conan keeping his show. Even if Leno is stupid, he's not retarded. Gervais is probably gonna rip him another one tonight. The only reason Leno would put himself through that AGAIN, I would think, is if fully intends to NOT take the Tonight Show. Perhaps Jay is sending a message of his own to NBC? Either that or he's trying to gain sympathy that he probably isn't going to get.

Yeah thats pretty much right. According to 'the late shift' it was 3 years that letterman beat out jay until hugh grant was on the tonight show discussing being caught with a prostitute. after that jay was leading in the rating but if he kept it up until conan took over or not, im not sure.

Well in 2006 jay announced that was retiring from the show in 2009. I guess 2009 just came sooner than jay thought and he didn't want to quit yet, hense the current mess.

It was announced in 2004 that Jay had 5 more years to go before Conan took his place.. That was the network decison, not Jay's decision...

Anyone who thinks this stuff happens by accident is a moron. Broadcast TV is struggling and on the way out. Gotta do something to make a buzz.

I've liked Kimmel ever since he was on The Man Show

Agree 100%

It wasn't a matter of Johnny deciding who should take over for him, NBC told him that Dave would be taking over, so Johnny told Dave the night before the announcement (as I recall). All the while they remade a deal with Jay.

Also I would submit that Conan has such online support because of simple simple fact that he has the younger more viable and marketable audience. That was supposed to be the entire point. It's like changing from a text tgp to a tube site, then getting scared and replacing your old main page. Dumb. But again, just MHO.

And a decision they made so Conan wouldnt walk! A way to lock him in to the network. Well fuck all that since Jay bombed is the way it reads today.

To me the difference is that Carson chose to retire. He wanted to stop doing the show so they needed to find someone new to take over. Yes, it did take Leno a long time to get the ratings he had. He was losing every night to Letterman until the night he had Huge Grant on after Grant had been caught with a hooker. He was number one that night and ever since.

Leno didn't want to leave. Conan's contract was up and he was being made offers from other networks. NBC didn't want to lose him so they promised he would get the Tonight show within 5 years and re-signed him. They also signed Jimmy Fallon to a big contract (I read in the area of 10-15 million) just to put him on hold so he wouldn't do another show and could take over for Conan. I think they assumed Leno would either retire or be down in the ratings five years from when they re-signed Conan. Of course Leno was still number one and still wanted to do the show.

So they took the number one guy and fired him, basically, then realized they fucked up and gave him a prime time show only to see the affiliates unhappy with the prime time show and Conan not getting the same ratings as Leno did. Had Leno just retired and left the biz, they may very well have had more patience with Conan and let him try to develop an audience, but I think they felt they could just switch it all back and everything would be the same. There is no guarantee that Leno will go back to being number one. If he doesn't go back to number one pretty quickly I wonder how patient NBC will be with him. Especially if Conan ends up at Fox or somewhere else in a competing time slot.

The only real late night show I watch is Kimmel unless either of the others has someone I really want to see on. I don't really care who hosts the tonight show and who doesn't. I'm just interested in the debacle. You would think someone who has become the head of a network would have been able to see that this would have happened. I think it goes to show when you start to just take the audience for granted you find out that they are still able to operate the remote and change the channel and if you don't give them what they want, they will find it somewhere else. That could be a good lesson for any business, not just TV.

I personally believe that no matter how long they gave Conan he would never be number one or get the ratings that Leno did - unless he dramatically changed his act. I feel that way because he is kind of hip and edgy and there are a lot of people out there that just don't get him or his humor. Those that do love him, but does a farmer sitting in his house in Nebraska get him? Maybe not. At the same time I don't know that the farmer gets Letterman either. Leno was political and made safe topical jokes and did bits that, while often not funny, were not going to offend or confuse anyone. Conan, I think, has a niche audience and does a great job of working towards them, but I think there are enough people who either don't get him or like him that he would always lag behind Letterman and Night Line.

Night Line is the biggest winner here. Their ratings went up after Leno left and have stayed up. I think a lot of people just want to watch something as they wind down for bed and it looks like many of the prefer the news over Letterman or Conan.

Just my opinion.

DUDE...it doesnt event mater...Jimmy Fallon is better than all these other guys!

I can't believe Leno has opened himself up to this. He was SO shrewd when Carson left and he assed out Letterman for the Tonight Show. Now he's basically looking like a complete and total putz.

His 11:30 was failing bad, so they moved him to 10:30, that's even worse, so they're putting him back to where he was failing. SMART.