(S01E01) A lot is riding on this little NBC pet project. Like one-third of their primetime lineup. But despite all their promises and promotions that this was a comedy show, vastly different than Jay Leno's work on The Tonight Show, I saw virtually the same exact show on a different set. That's not necessarily a bad thing if you're NBC. Leno was incredibly successful for a long time on that show. Just call it what it is.
The promise that it would stay topical was brought to fruition. In the opening monologue, just like those Tonight Show monologues of yore, he drops a joke right away about the situation last night at the Video Music Awards involving Kanye West and Taylor Swift. Conveniently, Kanye was a booked guest tonight, as well, so with a little shuffling, he wound up on the chair next to Leno to talk about it.
VIDEO BITS
The Cheaters parody was funny, if predictable. I'm glad to see the Kevin Eubanks/Jay Leno gay romance gags have traveled along with them to the new set.
Dan Finnerty, from The Hangover, performed a partially ad-libbed musical routine for a very uncomfortable customer at a real car wash. I was surprised to find myself laughing at parts of this.
Another laugher was his faux interview with President Obama. Leno has done clever things with these fake interviews, and he did so again, tackling such tough topics as tort reform and the money the President could be saving from Geico.
INTERVIEWS
I enjoyed the banter between first guest Jerry Seinfeld and Leno, even if the set-up to Jerry's interview with Oprah Winfrey was painfully forced. It was an easy and fun conversation between two old friends.
Leno accepted Kanye West's request for an interview spot so he could earnestly talk about his behavior at the VMA's last night. It was pretty convenient for West that he would have this opportunity in front of what will likely be a huge audience the day after. But, he looked genuinely ashamed of himself, and even got emotional when Leno called him out on how his mother would feel about it.
MUSICAL GUEST
It was a little awkward that Kanye had to immediately jump up to try and perform a high energy song with Jay-Z and Rihanna. It was actually nice seeing a humbler and more subdued Kanye up there. The set for the musical acts is enormous, I can see that being used very effectively.
BITS & PIECES
- I liked Leno coming out to stand on the "10-Spot," indicative of his new spot on NBC's schedule. The 10s were everywhere!
- The set reminded me of the lobby of a fancy high-rise building. Even the lack of desk enhances the illusion. With the still shots of traffic outside, I suspect that's what they were going for, and maybe this has already been announced, but I went into this fresh like a potential new fan. I do like the look of the set, down to the topiary and the clear glass double-doors everyone comes through to enter the stage.
- Leno made some in-jokes and references to the show as if even he thought of it as a continuation of The Tonight Show. He alluded to his car collection as if the audience already knew this about him.
- Jay Leno sitting on a lounge chair, rather than behind a desk, for these interviews is going to take some getting used to. I keep wondering why his legs are sticking out there.
- And the best bits from The Tonight Show will be back. Tonight was the return of "Headlines," always one of the funniest bits. In fact, the bit closed the show rather than the musical act, which usually does so. I guess it was deemed a better segue into the news.
- Who are we kidding? This is The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 10pm. He just got a long vacation so they could build him a fancy new set. If it's supposed to be different, it isn't yet.
CONCLUSION
I expect the ratings for this first episode to be huge. I certainly can't remember the last time NBC promoted something half as much as they've promoted this. If you think about it, maybe they're promoting it five times as much as any other new show because technically, it is five new shows for them. The other networks didn't even bother to contend, throwing up a movie on ABC and CBS's typical CSI: Miami repeat in the timeslot.
Curiosity will get tons of viewers for these first few episodes; it's just a matter of how many of them will stay. Will the people who loved The Tonight Show with Jay Leno want to watch the exact same show at 10pm instead of 11:30? If so, then this could be just what NBC is looking for. Now those fans can watch Jay, check out their local news, and get to bed an hour earlier.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
9-15-2009 @ 12:26AM
Lesley said...
Glad Jay's back. And how nice of Kanye West to provide the "Hugh Grant" moment on the premiere show. Yes, it looks and feels just like The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and that's a good thing! Jay should still be ON The Tonight Show.
And what happened to John Melendez? Tonight's announcer sounded catatonic.
I plan to TiVo Jay's new show and watch it at 11:30 p.m.-
Jay's rightful time slot. Keep up the good work Jay. You have a hit on your hands. If it ultimately fails though, ABC and /or Fox will welcome you with open arms.
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9-15-2009 @ 8:32AM
JPN said...
Yes, how nice of him...surely none of what Kanye did Sunday night could have been planned??? *gasp*
9-15-2009 @ 12:29AM
Jimmy said...
Leno sucked behind a desk. Who would have guessed he'd be worse without one?
I was actually buying Kanye's remorse until he sang that misogynistic trash. Good riddance.
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9-15-2009 @ 12:51AM
Wii60 said...
It was boring, as expected. Leno seemed a little phoney in an "emotional" moment with Kayne West.
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9-15-2009 @ 1:16AM
Frantic Monkey said...
I hate those chairs Leno and his guest are gonna sit in. It just makes it look like a cheap daytime talk show, ala Ellen. He should be behind a desk like every single other late night talk show host.
That Kanye "interview" was EXTREMELY uncomfortable too. Those comedy segments were way too long as well.
Still Seinfeld was great as always, and I was a little surprised that he didn't do some stand-up. The musical collaboration was very good as well.
I'll be watching the show whenever there's a guest that I like, but certainly not for Leno's humour. I'm just not a fan of it.
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9-15-2009 @ 6:59AM
Jimmy said...
I haven't seen Seinfeld's act in a few years, but half of the "interview" came across as set-ups for his jokes, e.g. the filter when he's with his wife vs. when he's with his friends.
Besides, Jerry's stand-up would have upstaged Jay's. (Actually, just about anyone's would have.)
9-15-2009 @ 1:51AM
kluz said...
Ok, premise, I'm Jay Leno fan.
-I like the fact the stage is bigger, but not all of his design.
For example, cutting away the step in front of the crowd looks good, some scenography in the back not so much.
-I need the desk back. Not only the legs, I kept noticing the socks. Please a desk, or something!
The rest was, more or less, nothing that new.
The opening jokes, Headlines and the Band are just the exact same.
Some gags better some worse: generally I think he had much better days on that aspect.
We'll see in the future.
About all the stuff regarding network ratings, time slots etc, I'm curious but don't care that much personally: I don't live in the USA. Actually I did watch it 1 hour ago during breakfast on my laptop, skipping the boring parts as usual.
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9-15-2009 @ 2:36AM
Johnny said...
I thought at least the first show would be watchable. It doesn't bode well, but Jay's still going to get paid, so he doesn't care.
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9-15-2009 @ 4:58AM
Andrew said...
I thought it was good. I'm not one of those people who is going to hate whatever he does just because.
I skipped past the car wash bit because those kind of things always make me uncomfortable, but the monologue, the Obama interview, and the Kanye interview I thought were all good. And of course Seinfeld was hilarious. I'll watch depending on the guests.
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9-15-2009 @ 7:58AM
Michael said...
I thought it was a solid opener for Leno's "new" show, but I just don't know if I can see myself watching every night at 10. But I agree with the review... It was pretty much just the Tonight Show but at 10.
"In the '90s, when we quit a show, we actually left!" Funniest line of the night.
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9-15-2009 @ 8:02AM
Jason said...
I'm still wondering why the media think this is NBC's new BOLD effort to change TV. I think it's a bit ridiculous. If I watch at all, it's because someone I admire will be on as a guest.
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9-15-2009 @ 8:18AM
miller980 said...
As much as I like Jay, I'm still a bit concerned about the longterm viability of his show. One thing that all the Jay haters (jaters?) should keep in mind - if Jay fails, you will not, I repeat, not be seeing any dramas replacing it. NBC will either put on more Datelines or simply turn the hour back over to their affiliates. The cost of dramas is too high, and in this new economy sponsors are not willing to pay the astronomical amounts they paid in the past.
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9-15-2009 @ 8:38AM
susan paisley said...
What a bore!
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9-15-2009 @ 8:48AM
Ryan said...
Why does his set feel like it was built in the mid 90's?
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9-15-2009 @ 8:53AM
Jimmy said...
Hey, it's more relevant than the intro, which looks like it was done in the '70s!
9-15-2009 @ 10:54AM
Scott K. said...
It was okay. I only occasionally watched the Tonight Show and I expect I'll only occasionally watch this.
I was disappointed, however, that for something that was supposed to be this big experiment, it was a lot of the same stuff.
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9-15-2009 @ 11:12AM
Elf said...
Leno is not edgy or groundbreaking in any way. He is the TV equivalent of comfort food. For people who want comfort food, that's fine. You're not going to get anything off the menu that you've never seen before, hence all the rehashed bits. Leno is the comedian for people who go to a bar that has three hundred beers in stock and order a Bud. And again, there's nothing wrong with that.
I won't begrudge other people's tastes simply because they don't agree with mine. But I'm the kind of guy who will ask if the restaurant has anything special that's not on the menu and gets curious about how a wheat ale from northern Japan might taste.
The people who will be watching Leno's show are those who don't want to try anything new because they are settled into their own ways and don't want to change. NBC obviously believes that there are enough people like that to keep the show profitable, and if there are, then more power to them. If it doesn't work, I won't be gloating, in fact I'll give NBC credit for trying something unprecedented. Then I'll likely never watch anything live on NBC again so I can fast-forward through the endless onslaught of promos for the avalanche of crappy reality programs that will replace Leno...
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9-15-2009 @ 11:45AM
JWB said...
I wasn’t Impressed. The show wasn’t that funny. The car wash bit ran too long and Jerry’s interview was too short.
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9-15-2009 @ 11:48AM
MacGuffin said...
Watched it. Never was a big fan of Leno on the Tonight Show and glad that Conan replaced him.
This was really horrible Prime-time TV. NBC should be ashamed of catering to the lowest common denominator with this banal 'humor'.
My question is whatever happened to creativity and originality? This was largely the 1130 show at 10 PM. Albeit with the segments shifted around to maximize viewership.
I suppose if you are a big Leno fan, this was great stuff. But it is a sad commentary on the once-great NBC. Really giving up on its upscale audience who commanded premium ad rates.
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9-25-2009 @ 11:09PM
Michael said...
I'm not a big Leno-comedy fan, but I still think he's likable. I think this would be so much better as an appointment-TV type show on Sundays at 8 pm for two hours. I guess that's not as much of a money maker for NBC, but he'd do real well in an Ed Sullivan type show that hasn't been seen in generations.
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