Monthly Archives: June 2013

Around twenty years ago, give or take a lifetime, musician Steve Schalchlin awoke each morning wondering if that was the last time he'd ever do that. He didn't expect to be alive for very long…and certainly not into this century. But Steve is still, I'm happy to say, with us. Read about my pal Steve Schalchlin and others who lived with — and died from — what he lived with…and didn't die from.

Jay Leno, the guy who had to go because NBC was worried he doesn't appeal to younger viewers, continues to win the late night ratings in every category…including younger viewers.

I don't argue with friends who don't find Leno funny and either never did or — and these are the ones who really hate him — think he was one of the greatest stand-ups of all time until he "sold out" and dumbed down his comedy. I actually never argue with anyone who thinks anyone isn't funny because that's one of those matters of personal taste you hear so much about. I do think though that there's such a thing as recognition of others finding someone funny. I mean, I personally haven't found Joan Rivers funny since she stopped doing The Ed Sullivan Show but I'd have to be wearing Comedy Blinders to not admit that an awful lot of people love her. I only recently started appreciating Louis C.K. and I still don't get Denis Leary. Maybe if I saw more of these folks live…

In any case, as a guy who's been following Leno since before 99% of the people reading this had heard of him — I saw him when he was literally sleeping in his car outside the Comedy Store — I don't perceive that much difference in the actual material the guy's delivered over the years. He does have an annoying tendency on topical jokes to presume he has to remind the audience who some of the people he mentions are. But apart from that, the only real change is that he's outgrown the "young, cocky punk" attitude he used to have, like when he guested with Letterman…and to whatever extent that was a conscious decision on his part, I think that was a wise idea. You can't talk like you're twenty when you're fifty. You can't do most sex jokes when everyone knows you've been happily married for several decades. You can't complain about the price increases at McDonald's when those same people all know you make millions a year and you have more cars in your garage than they have socks in their dresser. And most of all, you can't act like an abrasive, pissed-off guest when you're the host of The Tonight Show.

Where I think Leno has really soiled his reputation is with the stunts and bits like "Jaywalking" which are built on the principle of making people look like idiots. I can't watch most of them…but then I can't watch so much of television that operates off that premise. Most of so-called "reality" television is founded on that concept — watching non-professionals (or even professionals allegedly being themselves in something like Celebrity Apprentice) being embarrassed in some way. I can't stand these bits on Leno's show the way I couldn't stand the Rupert Gee bits on Letterman or him sitting at this desk squirting water on people walking down the street outside. It's no one's fault. Just a trend on television that I don't much like.

Anyway, Leno's doing great. I have the feeling that about a year from now, people will be likening the decision to replace him to a doctor who amputates a perfectly good leg because he thinks a better one will grow in its place. Jay has never gotten proper credit for scoring ratings in a much more competitive time slot than his predecessors in the job ever inhabited. But he will.

Within the next week or so, I'll have a big post here about why some folks think Jay did something unethical in reclaiming The Tonight Show and why I think they're wrong. It mostly consists of people who think he voluntarily left the job, vowed to never return, did a bad 10 PM show so Conan would fail and then jumped in and reneged on his pledge to retake the show. No wonder there are people in this country who think Obama sends hurricanes to devastate precincts that didn't vote for him.