To me I ask who would I rather watch, a boring interview with Republican candidate Huckabee? Or Robin Williams? Which will be more entertaining? It sure won't be Huckabee.

Tonight I'm going to watch Leno to see how he does without writers. Tommorow I'm watching Letterman to see how he does, plus Ellen Page is on his show tommorow. I'll check out Conan on friday since thats the one night I don't have to go to bed at a decent hour.

@Karen - I suspect nothing will "happen" per se. I mean, it isn't as if anyone is trying to make the argument that these hosts could go on indefinately without writers. So it really doesn't matter all that much who wins.

But Letterman did jump through all kinds of hoops to get his writers back so if Leno does beat him regularly I can almost guarantee you the Letterman writers will feel pretty lousy about themselves.

Let's be real: The average viewer doesn't tune into specific late night shows for the writing; he or she tunes in for the host (and, to a lesser extent, the guests).

I'm a huge Letterman fan, but I have no reason to believe he will pass Jay in the ratings tonight or anytime in the near future. Unless there some indication the American people suddenly have taste ...

So what happens if 3 weeks from now people are tuning into Leno without writers more than Letterman with? What does that do to the strike?

I can't stand Leno so I'm glad Letterman is back. I think viewers will be tempted to tune into Leno, just to see if he'll crash and burn or not. Conan is the guy I think will be great at the improv. I'd watch him even without writers.

I stopped watching late night shows last year, they just seemed to be same junk every night, no matter who was the host. But tonight, I'm watching Leno and Conan.

I think Leno sticks WITH writers. His funniest stuff is when he improvises. He's done it on the show - and I've seen him do it in person in Vegas. He's at his best when he involves the audience.

For tonight, I think Leno is going to destroy Letterman in the ratings. Because Letterman will just be normal Letterman while Jay is "What the heck are they going to do without writers?"

There's no way people won't tune into Leno tonight.

Honestly, its probably for the best too. Letterman is going to put on a fairly low quality show tonight. He has to. Everyone is rusty, everyone is poor (even if they are back at work now) and the writers have a huge amount of pressure on them as the whole question of "how valuable are the writers" falls on their shoulders. You couldn't put a great show on under those circumstances.

The real battle will be fought 3 weeks from now when the novelty has worn off and people are choosing who to watch on a regular basis. That is where Letterman stands to gain here.

Letterman's show is good only because he is a nice guy, Leno comes off as a jackass.

I'm really waiting for the Late Late Show because that's the best one on.

And I think Letterman is at a disadvantage, people will watch Leno to see how he does without the writers.