May 30 2009
Will The Tonight Show Ever Be The Same?
Jay Leno aired his last episode as host of The Tonight Show on Friday, May 29th. He held the position for 17 years and is passing it on to Conan O’Brien, host of Late Night. Leno took over when Carson retired causing scandal at NBC.
David Letterman had his sights set on the top spot in late night after following Carson for years and was insulted by NBC’s decision to cast Leno, Carson’s understudy, for the role as host. Letterman left his show at NBC (Late Night) to host Late Show for CBS. Conan O’Brien took his spot on Late Show and is soon to take over the role that caused Letterman to leave NBC.
Conan O’Brien is a very different comedian than Leno or Carson. He has a much more flamboyant style than either of the two previous hosts and is, of course, much taller. lol. The previous hosts, Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Johnny Carson, and Jay Leno have all had different styles, but O’Brien is by far different than any of the others.
Will he succeed as host on The Tonight Show? Let’s explore this question. He does have his own following on the Late Show. He has written for “The Simpsons” and was one of the more popular writers there in the early 90’s. He is, however, taking over a show that has been the industry standard for over 50 years and will be placed in a position that could ultimately land him in exile for his strange comedic presence. Many of the viewers of the show are of older traditions and may not stand for his off-the-wall approach to humor. He is also not the professional, in my opinion, that his predecessors were. This could land him in hot water with the older crowd. Screwing up The Tonight Show would be a disaster for his career as well as the longevity of the show which has run since 1954.
So, will The Tonight Show ever be the same? I doubt it. Will it continue on? For sure. Will Conan O’Brien be the quality showman that the previous hosts have been? No way. Will Dave Letterman be happy to see Conan cause the ratings to slide? Probably so. All I can say is good luck, Conan. I think you are going to need it.
Conan OBrien is hilarious, way better than Dry comedy Leno! I dont know why Conan moved over… he had is own show!!
not too mention over a decade with good ratings..?
I think he will be out of place at the Tonight Show. This a more refined audience…Older crowd…He will of course bring his fans with him, but I think the Tonight Show has seen better.