Jay Leno took one on the chin (pun intended) last week, when TV comic George Lopez verbally attacked the late night host on an Orlando, Fla. radio show. The ABC star called Leno "two-faced" and "the worst interviewer" on TV.
But Brad Dickson, a former staff writer for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, thinks Lopez may be onto something -- at least about those interviews.
"I don't think Leno's 'interviewing skills' are particularly important to him," the 13-year Tonight Show vet told AOL Television. "The skits on the show don't seem to matter much either, nor does the music."
Dickson, who recently released the self-help spoof Maybe Life's Just Not That Into You: When You Feel Like the World's Voted You Off, said Leno only focuses on one thing: the jokes.
"He's obsessed with the monologue. The producers go to great lengths to try and get him to develop some interviewing skills and to make the comedy bits better, but Leno spends nearly every waking moment reading jokes from 3 x 5 cards, deciding which to use on the program. I always pictured him during the 1994 L.A. earthquake, while the city crumbled, crouched under a door frame reading jokes on little index cards, getting ready for that night's show."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-29-2007 @ 6:55PM
TomB said...
Yeah, but the jokes aren't any good either.
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1-29-2007 @ 7:08PM
Jake said...
makes sense since he's a standup comedian. I think his jokes are family friendly... which might not be such a great thing because more often than not it also means they are kind of lame. But honestly, aside from Conan, the rest of late night is crap anyways.
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1-29-2007 @ 9:55PM
Bob Jones said...
Atleast he doesn't insult or fall-asleep like Letterman.
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1-29-2007 @ 8:01PM
Scott K said...
Leno's monologue is almost unbearable. Especially when the audience doesn't even laugh at half the jokes. The segments they do like Jaywalking can be entertaining though.
Letterman will always be best in my book with Conan coming in second. Conan gets sidetracked way too often lately though, reacting to the audience's reaction to a joke.
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1-29-2007 @ 7:59PM
Susan Coble said...
When Leno took over for the King, Mr. Carson it was a BIG disappointment. He was the wrong choice. Letterman should have been given that position. (Notice who had the best tribute to Johnny? Wasn't Leno.....David Letterman did. David even had the most cooperation with some of Johnny's closest friends. Not Leno.) I do, however, have to agree with Jake. It is getting to be all crap on late night now anyways.
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1-29-2007 @ 8:51PM
sean tubbs said...
I'd like to say Colbert has a better show than any of them these days. Watching Colbert in his first year is like watching early Letterman, when television itself was the most common subject of jokes.
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1-29-2007 @ 9:07PM
Maven said...
When I heard the interview, I thought it was a planted question since they play off the Rosie-The Donald feud. Then I starting thinking about what would have put Lopez and Leno at odds--The Michael Jackson trial. Lopez ended up testifying for the prosecution and Leno for the defense.
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1-29-2007 @ 9:24PM
Borat said...
Craig Ferguson currently provides the best monologue...hilarious almost all the time. He's not a bad interviewer either.
Letterman's interviews are the best, and Conan's wackiness always insures that something funny will happen.
But Leno? He even manages to make the funniest and most interesting people the most boring people on earth.
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1-29-2007 @ 9:40PM
Whitecat said...
I think Jimmy Kimmel is better than 'em all.
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1-29-2007 @ 10:00PM
1iPete said...
Sadly, now that Koppel has retired, I find the average Nightline funnier than Leno.
For my money, Conan & Ferguson are the best late night hosts right now.
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1-30-2007 @ 12:51AM
jake said...
Funny how he is so far above all the rest -- number 1 -- so he must be doing something right. You want to talk about bad interviewing skills -- how about David Letterman -- who doesn't know anything nor asks questions that are pertinent to the movie or tv show one is promoting.
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1-30-2007 @ 1:40AM
Linda said...
Why would anyone watch comedians for their interview skills? If you want a good interview, go to a station utilizing journalists. However, in defense of Leno, how else would you start an interview with Hugh Grant than "What the hell were you thinking?"
Case closed.
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1-30-2007 @ 4:39AM
4ham said...
I rarely watch the interview segments because no matter the show and who's hosting it, it's the same song and dance. The first guest hardly even stays on for the entire hour anymore. Letterman looks like he's insulted he has to stay up so late, and Leno appears he doesn't care. And the band? They all appear to be real thrilled when the camera cuts to them. Though in the case of Max Wienberg, it's his stictk to look less then thrilled. I fear Conan getting the earlier timeslot because of the increased censor scrunity. I don't watch all that much latenight tv anymore but when I'm up I watch Conan. Why? I'm gonna laugh, either with him or at him.
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1-30-2007 @ 8:13AM
GamerJunk.net said...
The monologue is the best part. Jay Leno has the best jokes, Conan has the best skits and Letterman has the craziest interviews.
George Lopez is annoying and always wants to attack someone. Is he still going after Carlos Mencia for not worshipping him?
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1-30-2007 @ 8:45AM
Pamela said...
George Lopez is so unfunny, that his statements about Leno must be a joke (a bad joke). Jay Leno is an icon, who must put on a show five nights a week, and be funny and a gracious host. So if he is less enthused about a guest once in awhile, so be it. George Lopez' name shouldn't even be used in the same sentence as Leno. Like Donald Trump and Rosie O'Donnell, he wanted his 15 minutes of fame and to see his name in the news. What a loser.
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