Jay Leno Has Me All Fired Up!

OK. It wouldn't be the first time I ever got peevish, self-involved or completely hyper-critical about television (and the dreck that often and/or occasionally appears on it

) but I have now developed a full-throttle distaste for Mr. Leno. Do I think he's likely an extremely likable and popular fellow? Yes, I do. Do I think he's a mostly giggle-worthy comedian? Yes, more often than not, I do. Do I think his successful [and long] run as the "Tonight Show" host was impressive, especially since he took it over and maintained it from a true television icon like Johnny Carson? Certainly. Here's the thing, though. It would seem, and it's just my measly opinion, that Jay Leno has done a crazy disservice to prime time television this year

. He's now on at 10PM five nights a week on NBC. I get it that his show is much less expensive to produce than the gritty dramatic programming that network produced for years ~ a stage with a desk plopped in the middle of it is, naturally, much cheaper than recreating a hectic Chicago hospital top-to-bottom (ala "ER") or the brutal truths of the NYC landscape (ala the "Law and Order" franchise). And we all know money is tight these days, even in Hollywood, yes? Not that I really believe that Jay Leno is driven by some excessive desire to save the economy, mind you. Nor that the networks are, either. In my cynical head, it's all driven by the need for exposure and a hearty dollop of greed in the industry (as in somebody's saving money on this part over here just to overpay somebody else over there, etc.). But there's a wide-eyed country boy innocence in me, too. And it needs to believe that TV is about the audience, above all else, when it gets down to the bottom line(s).

This is all sparked, mostly, by the recent cancellation of a critically praised mid-season replacement series that started earlier in 2009 called "Southland". I really liked it --- I may have been in the minority there, I realize. Its ratings were respectable, but not astounding. It was a (gritty, yet again) cop show set in LA. It had the pace of "ER" (which it replaced) and the character richness of, say, "NYPD Blue". What it had plenty of was potential, though. BUT, back to that "gritty" thing, it seems the brass thought it had a little too much of said grit to 'make it' in a time slot prior to 10PM. Evidently there's a brainfulness in the viewers that doesn't *kick in* until that last prime time hour, or something? Anyway, they shut down "Southland" because Jay Leno now lives in the 10PM spot nightly. Bah! They moved both "Law and Order"s to 9PM -- and, given the thinking about all that pesky grit mentioned earlier, we can assume now that the NYPD will be chasing after more family-friendly perps like jaywalkers and truant high-schoolers, then? And, worst of all, they've given Leno a ticket for a full season! His ratings are, naturally (or so I predicted), NOT what NBC had hoped for. Doesn't matter, though. He gets to air every night regardless, and gets to do it until next year!

So the question builds. Well, maybe there's more than just one. Is a cheaper show with a waning audience better than a more costly one with an interested audience? Jay Leno has proven himself (at 11:30 PM, however) for many years ... but does that give him the power to deserve both such special treatment AND the gusto to wreck an otherwise successful NBC lineup? I watched, for the first time, his talk show last night and got to see Ewan McGregor in a racecar dodging ping pong balls and multi-colored streamers to see if his time on this peculiar obstacle course could be faster than the former 'top timer' - which was (are you ready for it?) Doctor Phil? Blech

. It was so not fascinating that I could hardly stand it.

All I left it knowing even more is that I miss the older better NBC. And I'll miss what 'might have been' from "Southland". And I'll miss (even more now) any realistic expectation that there's any more "ER"s or "Hill Street Blues" coming down the pike at NBC. Nope. There's now some big-chinned guy being shoved at us as the prototype of what prime time TV needs to be, now and forevermore? And my ultimate biggest question is: Why'd he leave the "Tonight Show" to begin with? I thought he was going to *retire*. Instead, he's basically doing the same show the same way 90 minutes earlier every night. It makes no, no, no sense to me.

Thank you for the opportunity to rant

. Does anyone out there have any feelings on this matter? Or am I just a hopeless, naysaying whiner?

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I'm about to projectile express myself all over your Hush Puppies ..." -- Sue Sylvester, from the television series "Glee"

Edited by Gatsby722 (Wed Oct 28 2009 09:57 AM)