I like Jay Leno. I like David Letterman, too, by the way. Those two likes are not mutually exclusive…but this is about Leno. I knew Jay very casually back when he was working the Comedy Store. I even sold him a few jokes back then and decided he was a great guy and a terrific comedian, and I've seen nothing since then to alter those views. That doesn't mean I've liked everything he's done, of course. I doubt Jay even likes everything he's done. But I admire an awful lot of things about him, including his determination to fight good fights even when he's down.
That skill may come in handy in the months to come because I don't think his new show is working. The ratings say it isn't working for the public, which watched the first week when he was a novelty with weak competition, then abandoned him the second week. Some of those folks will come back when we reach the day that he's offering new shows opposite reruns on the other channels…but I wonder how many. Even I, last week, was leaving him unwatched on my TiVo…or speed-viewing, catching the monologue and racing through the rest. The Leno Tonight Show was usually fun and this show, which closely resembles that show, is not. So what's different?
Darn near everything, I'm afraid. I've been trying to figure out an incisive reason…and I do think the 10 PM program lacks a certain sense of importance and energy. Leno's early Tonight Show, where he first took over from Johnny, suffered because he was still guest-hosting for Carson. He hadn't established a new style and identity for a new show. His newest show suffers because, again, it isn't a new show. He's still doing his old show…and since it's in a new, fancy wrapper, you open it expecting more than the same old thing. An old bit can feel like an old friend — something you're glad to see again — but it can also feel like an old bit.
Of the new elements, the "Ten at Ten" questions segment is okay, I guess, though it feels pretty scripted and rehearsed. The "Green Car Challenge," I don't get at all. When I first heard about it, I thought the idea was to pit an environmentally-friendly electric car against a petroleum guzzler in order to prove something about going green. Turns out that's not it at all. Instead, they're pitting Drew Barrymore against Bob Costas to see who can notch the best time driving around a miniature golf course. I don't know why I should care about that contest or why anyone thought I would.
So far, the things I like least about the show are the remote "correspondents'" reports where Jay completely disappears from The Jay Leno Show and the whole thing is turned over to someone else. Leno did this on Tonight and even though some have been funny, it always feels like I accidentally hit the remote, changed channels and am watching a different program. What do I like most? The monologue…though most have not been as strong as the ones he did at 11:35. I also like it when Jay has a guest he seems to really like, which usually means someone who spilled blood with him on the comedy club circuit like Jerry Seinfeld or Bill Maher.
Word from inside NBC is that they're committed to this as a long-term deal. I suspect that will change if affiliates start to defect or juggle their schedules to move Jay later. For now though, it looks like they're going to tough it out, hope the affiliates don't panic, and wait and see what happens when Jay has new shows opposite reruns. Leno and his staff are reportedly working hard to beef up the comedy…and that may help a little. But they're dealing with a basic conceptual problem: The premise of this show is to do The Tonight Show without having it be The Tonight Show. That's a pretty shaky foundation on which to build five hours of NBC's weekly prime time schedule. I don't think little fixes are going to save it. I think they're going to have to raze the place and rebuild from the ground up.