TVSquad

Wow,

You've completley left me wanting more. Please, oh please, post a followup column about how Jay Leno wins the ratings!

It perplexes me.

Cya,

Randall

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Conan's funnier than both of them.

I do worry that when Conan makes the move into Leno's chair that he'll suffer from the same toning down or mainstreaming of his show the way they did to Letterman.

One cannot even compare the Letterman of today to his Late Night days. Two different shows. Sadly to say, teh modern Dave is a yawner. And a bit of an elitist.

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Right on the mark about Leno. He sucks. Letterman's not as good as he was at NBC (and his morning show was amazing--I remember watching every episode one summer), and occasionally Conan is funny (the skits are the best part of that show). However, the real heir to the Carson crown might end up being Jon Stewart, once he moves on to replace either Dave or Jay in a few years.

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I agree- LENO SUCKS. I have NEVER enjoyed watching his show. I always watch Letterman.

I wish Letterman would get better ratings - because his show is MUCH better.

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I couldn't agree with you more! Leno has never been all that funny. Sure, he's had his moments when he capitalized on one event or another the nation was interested in, i.e. the Dancing Judge Ito's during the Simpson trial. Beyond that he's just not that funny. The monologue is way too long, Leno (unlike Dave) is afraid to piss anyone off, and the guests get short shrift. Maybe it's something wrong with me, but I've always tuned in to these shows because of the guests, not the host. Granted, I often enjoyed Johnny's comedy skits, but Leno just doesn't have any of Johnny's charm. The Tonight Show was THE place to be under his reign, now it's the place you because it gets good ratings. The guests always seem weird with Leno and he's always fawning all over them.

Now, Letterman is not perfect. He has, for the most part, been calling it in for the last couple of years. A lot of the passion seems to have gone out of Dave. However, more often than not he's damn funny and when the guests are there he doesn't try to overshadow them with his own ego. Moreover, Dave doesn't mind pissing someone off. Hell, he recently had Howard Stern on to bitch and moan about Dave's boss, Les Moonves. During the last election cycle, Dave was pretty even-handed in his jokes about the candidates and while he's been on Bush a lot lately, he is the president. During the Clinton years Dave as equally vicious with him!

I think what I also like about Dave is that he's respectful to his guests. When he has a big name on the show, like McCain or Clinton, he still gives them shit, but he also treats them with respect. And, he doesn't shy away from asking some tough questions. Leno, on the other hand, cracks wise and acts like he walking on thin ice; afraid some viewer might write a nasty note.

The best thing that could ever happen to the Tonight Show is getting Conan in there sooner rather than later. In many ways, he's a lot like Dave and even a little like Johnny.

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I can't watch Letterman, I don't find him the least bit funny. His top 10 never make me laugh, they are just SNL stupid. That being said, I don't usually watch Leno either...but when I do catch it, the headlines and Jay walking parts are hysterical. If I had to pick one, it would be Leno in a heartbeat...at least he can be funny.

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I don't think either of them are that great. Letterman was much better at NBC and I prefer Leno mainly for his Headlines segment on Mondays. Conan is better than both of them, but not as good as he used to be. Get Andy Richter back on with him and Conan will be back at top form.

I don't think Leno screwed Letterman over. He simply took the job when it was offered. It was either Carson or the head of NBC that really screwed him over. I think they wanted to keep him where he was to dominate the entire late night hours and probably thought he was bluffing when he said he would leave.

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for starters Leno has an excellent rep. as a stand up comic, so I'm not sure why it doesnt translate to late night. I will say that his comedic timing is what makes headlines, and jaywalking funny.
I prefer letterman, but its his darker comedy that i enjoy. i love conan also, but i doubt it will translate to good standings with the general public.
Bu i will admit that the interview portion is so boring and ill only watch it if some smoking hot actress is on, or a great musical performance- like Matisyahu!!!

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In the UK we get the late night shows a few days late so often the topical stuff is not so much out of date but not fresh, in addition a lot of it is US news related or about US celebrities who we would have no real knowledge of at least in terms of watching them everyday. As such, in addition to the material I personally think the host makes or breaks a show (this is true of everything but more-so here). The few times I've watched Leno I've just sat there waiting for Conan and more often than not have to turn off because it is just painful. Letterman, however sells his material so much better, even if the Top 10 is lame he can make it funny because he improvises and often makes just as much out of it being lame as he could if it was the best stuff around. Conan's strength really is in the sketches, he's funny the rest of the time but can be a bit manic, for want of a better word.
I think with any Late Night show it really is a case of what you're comfortable with, what your familiar with and for me Letterman is like an old friend. I've watched him for over a decade (only ever known CBS), followed him from SKY One to Paramount to ITV2, to ITV4 (may have forgotten some) and throughout a variety of slots ranging from 11pm to 2 or 3 in the morning. I think, for me another good thing about Letterman is that he seems to have a real appreciation for English humour, hence all the Ricky Gervais slots and his adoption (some would say rip off) of Harry Hill's "You like the lining?" line.

Leno is just crap, but then again the majority of the public like crap, just look at the television in general.

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I HATE LENO. His "look how dumb these people on the street are" segments are so annoying. At least when Letterman does stuff like that, it's not a prepared comedy bit - it's live stuff, and the situations are made to be dumb, not the people ("Stop the Clock," "Fun with Rupert," etc).

And Letterman has been doing Headlines since 1982. The bits were just called "Dumb Ads" and "Small Town News." Letterman is the true heir to the Carson throne. Watching him read the tribute to Johnny Carson last year made everyone aware of that. Johnny still wrote jokes for Dave up until his death. That should tell you everything you need to know.

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Letterman is #1. LENO is sooo lame. If that is funny, then I'll never laugh again...

BUT I have to give a shout out to Jimmy Kimmel. This guys MONOLOGUES are MONEY. I laugh out loud 2 or 3 times each time. And his CENSORSHIP skits on FRIDAY nights have become CLASSIC...

As Guiarmo would say "GO JEEEMIE!!!!!"

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It says something that, when Johnny did start writing jokes again - and it actually was fairly late in his life - that he sent them to Letteman and not his "designated" successor Jay Leno. Letterman's style is closer to what Johnny's had been.

That's actually something I've been surprised by. I wasn't a huge fan of Dave's morning show, but I did watch it. When he was doing "Late Night", I frequently found him somewht cruel in his jokes, while Leno seemed more gentle and topical - more in Johnny's style. Since they each got their current shows, I think the reverse is true - Leno can be very cruel at times and Letterman can be topical and gentler to his targets.

There's something else - Letterman has developed as an interviewer and Leno hasn't. Most of the time Letterman does celebrity small talk it's true, but when he has a serious guest, or someone who really interests him, Dave can ratchet up the quality of the questions he asks. He can be downright erudite - admittedly not at the same level as a David Frost or a Dick Cavett, but still in an era when erudition in talk show hosts is wirtually non-existent even a little erudition is refreshing. It may be why both Brokaw and Rather were frequent guests on "The Late Show".

I think the way the two handled Johnny Carson's death on their show tells a lot about them. Jay did his monologue, had Ed and some of Johnny's pals on, but it was nothing you couldn't have seen on Larry King, except King would probably have done it better. Dave gave us an hour of him and Peter Lasally sitting and talking about a man they both loved and made it tremendously personal. That's the difference between the two.

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I whole-heartedly agree with your dislike of Leno. I just don't find him funny. In fact, I think he's annoying. He's sooooo middle of the road, vanilla, white bread, middle America, boring. Letterman and Conan are witty. Leno is for old folks in Iowa.

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One thing I notice is when Leno has guests on, you can tell that they've already planned the conversation backstage. Becuase then Leno brings up some seemingly random fact, like "Matthew McConahey,I hear you don't wear deoderant". Then the guest has some story they've already prepared. Conan does this a bit too, but its a little more subtle. Letterman usually doesnt do this.

I also love Letterman's public service announcements. The one last week with Pat Farmer about the bird flu made me piss my pants. I knew exactly what wasgoing to happen, but it was still gold when pat looks in his rearview mirror and sees the bird in his car and says "Oh, crap!". Then blood splats on the windshield!

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I'll mercilessly flip between whatever show *I* think is better.

That said, back in the days Carson, there wasn't a show to flip to when Carson "wasn't working" and by "working" I mean funny. Carson was a lot like M*A*S*H, where the early days were much better and more spontaneous than anything else they ever did. Towards the end of Carson, Ed McMahon was merely a joke, and the "you are correct, Sir!" went from something funny during the show to a parody of itself and eventually to the robotic nothingness of repetition. In short, the last four years of Carson were just painful to watch. I'm sure Johnny was above the show, but the show he did wasn't worth what it had once been.

As for the history of Letterman and Leno, yes, sure Letterman has some official "legacy" where he's the official offspring of Leno, but people don't watch based on legacy, they watch based on what they like.

American Idol may be junk, but it's the most popular junk on TV. Shows are put on TV not for quality, but for ratings.

High Ratings MEAN something, and Leno wins that battle, and he wins consistantly.

Conan won't last in Leno's time slot, whenever that comes to pass. That's my prediction, but hey, what do I know, I'm just a viewer. But I'd wager heavily on that if I could.

As for the Jimmy Kimmel/Silverman show, yes, you don't want to miss the Unnecessary Censorship on Friday nights.

And for pure funny, if forced to watch one show that didn't have Jon Stewart on it, it would be Craig Ferguson. (I think Letterman owns that show, yes?) Well, Letterman, if you're reading this, my only advice is to keep Craig poor and bitter. Poor and Bitter Craig = Funny Craig, and Fat and Happy Craig = NotFunny Craig.

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I never really liked Leno. It seems forced, and Leno really never seems to interested in his guest. Plus, the only thing his band leader, Kevin, can do is laugh. I mean, that's all that he seems capable of doing. Leno will throw Kevin a joke, and Kevin will kill it by laughing. Over on CBS, Paul Schaiffer will throw it right back at Letterman!

One more reason I like Letterman over Leno... I can actually hear Letterman. Leno gets really, really soft, and sometimes I have to turn the volume up REALLY HIGH to hear him. I don't know if that's just unique to my local NBC, but Leno just seems to talk really soft, and even mutter quite a bit.

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Leno gets more eyes for the same reason Bush got more votes: Stupid people love them.

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Overall, even being a New Yorker, I still like Leno better. Letterman's style is just too abusive to be funny most of the time. Leno's take on most things tend to be gentler even though he really should hire new writers. There is a great book on this subject that details how the two come to be where they are: The Late Shift

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1562827545/qid=1143584018/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-6563773-6154328?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

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Letterman - Old
Conan - Kid
Leno - In the middle

Different tastes for different people, but as the ratings show, Leno's show is the more universally acceptable one.

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I've *always* hated Letterman. I only watched his show if I was too lazy to look for the remote. I think my brakes would magicly fail if he wandered in front of my truck.

I used to watch Leno all the time through college, until, I realized he wasn't funny at all. He's a brown-noser to the Nth degree. I can't stand him now and I'd look forward to his retirement if he wasn't being replaced by that jackass known as Conan.

Now, whenever I'm up that late I'll watch History or Discovery if I can't find any porn.

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