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May 26, 2012

Fans asked to help Leno celebrate fifteen years

by Adam Finley, posted May 22nd 2007 4:02PM

jay lenoCan you believe Jay Leno has been hosting The Tonight Show for fifteen years? Believe it, mister. On May 25, 1992, Leno stepped onto the stage as the new host, following in the footsteps of the legendary Johnny Carson.

Fans can go to this page on The Tonight Show Web site and create their own montage using clips and audio from the last fifteen years. I've been scouring the site and have not found an option that allows you to insert Carson back into every episode that has aired since his retirement, which is what myself and many others would like to do.

It was also announced about three years ago that Leno would be stepping down as host in 2009 and that Late Night host Conan O'Brien would take over as the new host. Given the mercurial nature of television, it will be interesting to see if that remains the case in two years.

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Walt

The Conan defenders will be in full spin mode when Conan doesn't last in Leno's spot as Couric has in CBS Evening News hot seat.

May 23 2007 at 12:45 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Will Teullive

I agree with Big Ted, Leno is a top notch stand-up perfomer when he wants to be. Just YouTube his older stuff and you will see. Once he took over the Tonight Show he had to dumb it down for the average American viewer. This approach has served him well since he is a steady ratings winner, but for me the show has become unwatchable. I might find one laugh during his 11 minute monologue per night, and that's not enough.

May 22 2007 at 10:05 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Teddy

Ah, Mr. Conn? If you want people to read your self-published novel, it would be a good idea to demonstrate that you can put three coherent sentences together. Although the idea that "intellectuals" often appear on Leno is a pretty good joke.

May 22 2007 at 7:55 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Viv

I need to take Philosophy all over again to understand the above post.

May 22 2007 at 7:47 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Dave Conn

The book, LEDNORF'S DILEMMA, explains why celebrities such as Jay Leno (and the intellectuals who often appear on his show) have a major block to truth, and thus escape into the comfortable confusion of new-age (and other modernistic) philosophies. Thes well-meaning ones are only half alive in a kind of logic-less trench' Thus they continue, "ever learning, but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."

May 22 2007 at 6:45 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Teddy

It isn't just that Leno isn't funny. The sad thing is that he used to be funny, back when he was just a comedian and he would make appearances on other people's TV shows. (See if you can find footage of his Letterman chats from 20 years ago, and you'll see what I mean.)

So the only possible reason for his complete lack of humor now is that he's doing it on purpose. Somewhere along the line, he decided that the largest masses of light-night viewers want to be lulled to sleep with dullness, not to laugh. That's why his show now consists of him making dumb-celebrity jokes, stepping over his punchlines or repeating them two or three times to make sure no one laughs, making fun of people, and fawning all over his guests without asking them interesting or participating in any kind of meaningful conversation.

Now, some of this may just result from his weakness as a host. But this is a guy who really cares about ratings, so I can't imagine that any of it is unplanned. (And it works, seeing as his ratings are consistently the highest.)

I'm happy for everyone who likes the show... maybe you even find it funny. I'd like to enjoy it -- he often has the best guests, and his monologue covers the most topics -- but every time I watch, I find it lifeless and frustrating.

Still, I guess he'll be proven right all along if, when Conan takes over, he's funnier... and the ratings go down.

May 22 2007 at 5:25 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
David

He's not funny at all and is a perv. Of course all the sex and perviness might be because he's trying to be funny but fails.

Plus the fact that he should have never ever have been the host of The Tonight Show because it should have went to Letterman.

May 22 2007 at 5:20 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Scott K

Because while he seems like a genuinely nice guy, he simply isnt that funny. At all.

May 22 2007 at 5:02 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Viv

Jeez why do you people hate on Leno so much?

May 22 2007 at 4:36 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
steve

i'm worried when conan takes over he'll get watered down and wont' be able to be his corky usual self. hopefully i'm wrong.

May 22 2007 at 4:36 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

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