TVSquad

The show has fully hit its stride and rhythm by this, its third week. It also appears that it may have found its ratings level, hovering between five and six million viewers a night. Those aren't great numbers, but considering how much cheaper it is to produce than Heroes, which isn't doing much better, NBC would consider it a win if it stays there.

The problem with that, as I'm seeing it, is too many of the recurring segments just aren't working as well. An entire segment each night is devoted to these comedy correspondents, and eleven episodes in, they're more miss than hit.

Tonight, Owen Benjamin (The House Bunny) brought in a video of himself traipsing around LA offering to write jingles for smaller businesses. As with every other video segment they've done, it just went on and on and on. Even worse, none of the songs were funny.

BILL MAHER
Jay actually got political in discussing the problems in health care in our country while talking to Bill Maher tonight. I was impressed to see him getting right into a serious issue like this. I've come to expect little more than fluff from Leno on his shows, so I'm glad to see him willing to roll up his sleeve and talk candidly about things that people do care about in the middle of his "comedy" show for NBC.

And, of course, he got Bill Maher right in his niche. Maybe it was all planned from the beginning to allow Maher to go into his own rhetoric, but either way it made for an intelligent and serious discussion, told with humor. Both comedians challenged each others points. I wish more interviews were this genuine.

As I mentioned before, Leno makes his guests "earn their plug" now. He even has a graphic for it. Tonight, though, all he had Maher do was participate in a segment with him reading real emails and texts from political scandals. I thought this was for them to either humiliate themselves or show us some hidden talent. How exactly did Bill earn his plug, other than being the funniest part of the show?

BRAD PAISLEY AND SHERYL CROW
I think Leno should stride to have a musical guest on every episode. It helps us move through the hour, which can get otherwise pretty tedious. Plus, with his primetime slot, it's a great opportunity for exposure for the recording industry. A great act can lure more viewers to the show, which is a win for both them and NBC. And it would mean fewer green car challenges.

It would help if they could avoid audio problems during it, though.

SUMMARY
Of course, "Headlines" is funny. There are moments of humor in his monologue, but for the most part, the show feels too long for me. I don't think the video correspondent segments are working and the green car challenge is a waste of air time. What is working are the interviews, the musical and comedy guests, and most of those closing bits. And for those who love his monologue, the monologue is as sharp as ever.

The problem is that those things do not make up an hour. Leno had multiple guests on The Tonight Show to fill the hour with talk, but now he has to do these correspondent segments, more comedy and video bits, and it's just not working. The show is starting to feel like an episode of Saturday Night Live where there are some great bits, but the whole thing goes on about 30 minutes too long most nights.

[Watch episodes and clips of The Jay Leno Show and other shows at SlashControl.]