TVSquad

Hey, a lot happens in five shows. Let's get right into it!

COMEDY CORRESPONDENTS
Arsenio Hall was featured twice this week. His first appearance was in a segment that had potential called "This Is What They Said/This Is What They Meant." I was expecting to see video clips of celebrities, politicians and the like spouting their same bullcrap, and then having Hall tell us what he thinks they really meant. Instead, it was Leno reading quotes, including historically famous ones like Julius Ceasar's "Et tu, Brute!" The gag didn't make sense anymore, and even worse the bits weren't funny.

Luckily, he came back later in the week with an on-site spot at Yankee Stadium, where he interviewed players from both teams and even set up a bet against a Yankees player and Phillies fan Kevin Eubanks involving Snuggies.

I like Hall when he's just interacting with the people because he's affable and funny. Force something too scripted on him and he loses his appeal. It also makes me sad that his own talk show is long gone.

Leno also utilized former Intern Ross Matthews twice, once in a segment all his own where he talked to people about Halloween and was scared ... a lot. The other time was in Chelsea Handler's "Earn Your Plug" segment. Neither time was he particularly hilarious, but neither is he offensive. He just is. On "JMZ," Cesar Milan was funny "dog whispering" Mikey Day with the tennis ball. But Audrina Patridge was just awful with her Super-Soaker mace.

Kyle Dunnigan's "Craig vs. Wild" was great, though. He played Craig, a man-child showing us how to live in the wilderness, which translates to the yard outside his house. His constant runs into the house with each injury were hilarious. Easily one of the best segments of the week:


Even though I didn't like the last time Jim Norton's "Uninvited Guest" stopped by, I got behind his Twitter rant. The jokes weren't anything new about the social networking site, but it's always fun to see people bitching about the annoyingly stupid things you see posted on Twitter. "I am writing a review of The Jay Leno Show."



GUESTS
Surprisingly, I found all five of Jay's guests this week to be a bit boring. The most entertaining stories came from Ewan McGregor and Dr. Phil, who also did well on the Green Car Challenge with Dr. Phil taking the new lead (54.91) and McGregor sliding in second (55.19):

It's always fun to see the animals, and watch an elephant eat more fruit in five minutes than I can eat in a week, as we got with Dave Salmoni. But I was surprised that I didn't find Chelsea Handler funny. I think she and Jay are so aggressive with one another, in an almost competitive way, that while it's somewhat humorous, it's more awkward than funny.

The biggest disappointment was Colin Firth. He was kind of arrogant and snooty throughout, and even his stories came across as pretentious.He lost me completely when during his "Earn Your Plug" he just flat out refused to sing an Abba song, even though he was in the film based on their music. What a twat!


10 @ 10
Even with Michelle Obama and Tina Fey on board, I still didn't find much to get excited about "10 @ 10." They were joind by Jimmy Rollins and David Gregory, and I can't pick out a single thing any of them said that really resonated with me or was particularly funny.


MUSICAL GUESTS
We actually got a musical performance this week. It was Tim McGraw teaming up with Greg Allman on "Southern Voice." I'm not sure why, but it seems like there are a lot more country artists showing up on Jay's new show than any other genre.

OTHER SEGMENTS
"Bring Your Own Clip" confused me. Specifically when Paige showed up to showcase her clip, "Scarlett Takes a Tumble." That video has been an internet sensation for a while now. She already got a "Web Redemption" segment out of it on Comedy Central's Tosh.0. Maybe I'm overly sensitive in this post balloon-boy era, but I don't like seeing regular people whoring themselves out so aggressively. Does she want her own show?

Jaywalking - "What's Wrong With This Picture"
As usual, there's nothing particularly noteworthy about "Jaywalking" segments. People are stupid. Specific examples aren't even necessary as it usually boils down to them not knowing something their dog should know. This time it was noticing things wrong with pictures. Buzz Aldrin on the moon without a helmet, Washington crossing the Potomac in a motorboat, stuff like that. I loved God and Adam fist bumping from the Sistine Chapel. I would buy a print of that to hang in my house!

Hey, "Headlines!":

• "Wayne Adult School - Invest Time Your Wisely!"
• "Sweet Corn Festival - Entertainment - Confessions"
• All recipes are made from real Italian people!"
• "Baldwin Monarch Uptight Piano"
• "Firewood: all you can eat."