I thought Mr. Leno's last Tonight Show was pretty good and I don't see the online reviewers today noting what I couldn't help but notice; that Jay, who would easily have done an hour-long tribute to himself, allowed it to lapse into The Billy Crystal-Garth Brooks Hour. Granted, a lot of what both did was hurling love at him but he gave them both plenty of time to soar as performers. Brooks even got to close the show.
That's always something that I always liked about Leno's Tonight Show: It wasn't all about him. He made his guests look very good and rarely felt the need to make it all about himself. And that was one of the reasons I thought Conan's Tonight Show didn't work nearly as well and why I sometimes turn off Letterman. (My other problem with Dave is that there are times when he's interviewing someone and his manner suggests that he doesn't really care about his guest. So why should I?) Jay just always seemed to me to like the people he had on and be pleased when they scored.
Dave, I hear, said something sportsmanlike about Jay last night and so, though he probably didn't mean it, did Jimmy Kimmel, as well. Conan said something graceless and bitter. I get the feeling that if Conan spills his soup at dinner, that's Jay Leno's fault.
A friend of mine who works for Jay is quite shocked that Jay isn't out there letting people know he'll be back soon in something else…and he says this is a sudden change; that only a month or two ago, everyone in the office expected Leno to have something lined-up and ready to announce soon. My friend quotes things Jay said to the staff that made them all think that that last thing he wanted was for his final show to feel like a retiring-from-show-biz party. But in some ways, it did.
I don't think the guy's going away. I think he has a great future as an Elder Statesman of Comedy — one in which he'll be more revered than he seems to be these days.