The Tonight Show

[TwoGloves]

I had my doubts when Fallon took over for Conan. But his show is great. He's incredibly talented and he gets great guests who go along with some crazy things he has them do. That shows me they respect him and his talent. Leno hasn't been funny in years. Fallon should kill on The Tonight Show if he doesn't change much. You're missing some good TV if you don't watch him. (P.S. I don't find Conan remotely funny so keep that in mind, too.)

 

[jr/shotglass]

I find Conan remotely funny.

Just remotely. Like he's got a restraining order.

 

[jr/shotglass]

Leno.

I think he deserves some credit for not trying to be something he wasn't. He was a workhorse, a joke machine, a standup who could interview people. He wasn't Dave. Dave liked -- likes -- the camera on him. Jay obviously saw himself more in the role of show facilitator. Think Dave would have had Garth Brooks' mug dominating the final minutes of his last show? Uh-uh.

And the man is doing stand-up Sunday night in Tampa. He is a workhorse. He carried a lunchpail each day, even if it had gold inlays. Will I miss him? Not particularly. Do I think Fallon will be better in that slot? Sure do. But I hope history remembers him well. He deserves that.

 

[PCLoadLetter]

Leno's legacy is that he made the position of Tonight Show host much smaller than it had been in the past.

By 2000, it was just another job. Some of it on his watch, some of it the reality of the times. Carson and, later, Carson/Letterman were the only stores on the street. Once Letterman moved to CBS and provided a credible opponent (even if Leno won the slot year after year), Daily Show followed with Kilborn and then Stewart and it was a free for all.

Hard to pin that on Leno. Everyone launched shows to run against him... and he still beat them. I don't think you can say his "legacy" is the competition.

I always end up defending Leno in these threads, which is funny, because I don't think he's funny and don't watch the show. It's probably the last late-night show I would watch. The reality is, though, that he was consistently the top-rated show against some tough competition. I don't know what the hell NBC is looking for.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

Leno.

I think he deserves some credit for not trying to be something he wasn't. He was a workhorse, a joke machine, a standup who could interview people. He wasn't Dave. Dave liked -- likes -- the camera on him. Jay obviously saw himself more in the role of show facilitator. Think Dave would have had Garth Brooks' mug dominating the final minutes of his last show? Uh-uh.

And the man is doing stand-up Sunday night in Tampa. He is a workhorse. He carried a lunchpail each day, even if it had gold inlays. Will I miss him? Not particularly. Do I think Fallon will be better in that slot? Sure do. But I hope history remembers him well. He deserves that.

Hell, he's doing his standup act tonight in Florida.

It's interesting the praise he's getting for his final speech about how the staff became his family. I've seen a couple of critics say that Leno should have been seen more often.

 

[Huggy]

Years ago I worked with a guy who had a side gig restoring muscle cars and showcasing them in mags like Hot Rod. He said Leno called him a couple of times to inquire if a particular car he had seen was for sale. Said he sold him one.

 

[DanOregon]

Still the best...

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/d804c62ae0/the-late-night-war-by-ken-burns

 

[jr/shotglass]

The story of how Crystal got everyone for the "Sound of Music" send-off. Jim Parsons must be a bit of a duke.

http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/so-long-farewell-an-oral-history-of-jay-lenos-surprise-sound-of-music-send-off/

 

[Inky_Wretch]

The story of how Crystal got everyone for the "Sound of Music" send-off. Jim Parsons must be a bit of a duke.

http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/so-long-farewell-an-oral-history-of-jay-lenos-surprise-sound-of-music-send-off/

Grantland should leave the fake stories to The Onion.

 

[IllMil]

Kimmel is good.

He is not 10 times funnier than Fallon.

I find Jimmy Fallon insufferable. I don't like any of the skits they do and I think he's a fumbling, bumbling ash-kisser in the interviews. I find Jimmy Kimmel hilarious, and I like his show, and I've never liked any other late-night show. After Kimmel, I'll watch Letterman if my antenna isn't getting ABC, but besides those 2 I can't watch a second of any of those network hosts. I don't just think they're "meh," I actually cringe watching Leno or Fallon.

 

[IllMil]

Funniest guy in late night is Ferguson... it'd be hard to see that humor at 11:35, but his show can be an absolute scream to watch at times.

Saw Jay's last few minutes on video just now. First time I ever saw him get emotional like that.

Edit: I do really like Ferguson, but I think he'd struggle earlier.

 

[exmediahack]

Maybe we look at Leno's "legacy"...

If I was the executive producer and I had ONE host to pick for one show on a Thursday night, I'd have to pick... ?

Leno had the gig for 22 years. Yet I cannot think of anything memorable and especially ground-breaking from his long tenure. Dancing Itos? Jaywalking? He was the game manager of evening hosts.