This is the first of a bunch of messages I'm going to quote here and rebut discussing what Jay Leno supposedly did that was so wrong when he took back The Tonight Show. This first one is from Jeff Stockwell…
During the Leno/Conan fiasco the gripe that I had was: Leno agreed to the contract that had him leave The Tonight Show at a pre-determined time and turn it over to Conan. I personally don't think Conan was given enough time to get his sea legs and build his audience. However, that's a point that can be argued. NBC decided Conan wasn't working and wanted to get rid of him. That's fine…it's their house.
While I don't think Leno was conniving, backstabbing, or any other such adjective, I do think his actions were dishonorable. I think Jay should have refused to go back to The Tonight Show. "If you guys want to fire Conan, that's your decision, but don't drag me into this. I left of my own accord. It's a tough job and he should get a chance to build his audience. I had a great run but I'm off to do other things."
I think NBC might have been reluctant to fire Conan if they didn't have the safety net of Jay Leno to fall back on.
I don't work in the entertainment biz at all, but that was my gut feeling the whole time it was going on. I don't think Jay is a sleazy guy, but I certainly don't think he's the stand up guy (no pun intended) that he is portrayed as.
Leno didn't "agree" to the contract that had him leave The Tonight Show. By all accounts, NBC guaranteed it to Conan before they went to Jay and told him he was out…or would be out in five years. Jay, NBC and Conan all tried to spin it like Jay was fine with it but not one person involved or around thought he wasn't pissed about it. He did not leave of his own accord. He was just gentlemanly about it.
Jay did leave The Tonight Show at the specified time and turn it over to Conan. Not only that but he handed him a show that was winning in the ratings and rather than make his final episode about himself, he had Conan on as his guest and turned most of the broadcast into a commercial to watch Conan on Monday. That's an awfully sporting way to treat the guy who got the job you wanted to keep.
Later on, when neither Jay's nor Conan's shows were getting decent ratings, NBC came up with this proposal to bump O'Brien's Tonight Show to 12:05 and insert a half-hour of Leno at 11:35. Some time ago here, I said I thought Conan would have been foolish to acquiesce to that. I still feel that way but after discussing it with others and seeing how he's all but disappeared on Basic Cable, I'm less certain of that. In any case, he could have agreed…and might have if he'd known there would be no offer from Fox. So he wasn't exactly fired there.
It's possible that if Jay wasn't around to go in at 11:35, NBC might have kept Conan there longer. Maybe, maybe not. And if they had left Conan on longer, maybe he would have gotten his ratings up…and maybe not. Every time a TV network axes Show A, it's based on an analysis of data and a projection that the show will not significantly improve its numbers and that they'll be better off with Show B in that time slot. Sometimes, clearly, they're wrong. But they make the swap and no one faults Show B for being in the on-deck circle, thereby making possible the axing of Show A.
I don't see that Jay had any moral or human obligation to turn down a job he wanted — and also put his staff out of work — so Conan could have more time to perhaps build up his audience. Conan did not say, when the whole thing started, "If you guys want to fire Jay, that's your decision but don't drag me into this," nor would anyone expect him to. He was offered a job that he wanted and he took it, same as Jay.
Or to put it another way: NBC decided to bump Leno from The Tonight Show because they had Conan. Later, they decided to bump Conan from The Tonight Show because they had Leno. That's pretty much the way it's always worked in television…and I would imagine in other industries, as well.
To be, as they say, continued…