First off, a bit of housekeeping...
Josh and I apologize for the absence of any activity both on the blog and on and podcast. The holiday season was quite busy for both of us, and as we have said in previous episodes, we think that it’s important for us to not force an episode or a blog post. Let’s Just Be Friends is absolutely a source of stress relief and fun for us, and we never want it to be work. That being said, we have some great ideas for features on the shows for the near future. Once Josh returns from his glorious trip from the Pacific Northwest, we will immediately begin the planning process of implementing these ideas into some podcast delight.
Now, for the main point of this blog post: The Leno V. O’Brien debacle.
Being a huge fan of Conan, I am outraged at NBC. This network has made truly bad decisions before, and this will be remembered as one of the biggest. After only seven months, they have decided to move him to a later time, giving Leno the 11:35 time slot.
For those who do not know, the ‘Tonight Show’ has always aired immediately after the local news. As Conan rightfully stated in his open letter, moving it to a later time would destroy the show and it would not be the same ‘Tonight Show’ that has existed for 60 years. Additionally, Conan refuses to move the show because it would knock the ‘Late Night’ show back out of it’s long held time slot, thereby screwing over Jimmy Fallon. As a result, Conan is going to give up the show, and let NBC murder the ‘Tonight Show’ on their own.
Why is it that the executives at NBC are incapable of realizing that they should not mess with what has been a solid franchise in the network’s history? Also, why is it that T.V. executives (not just NBC) never want to develop any shows anymore?
Conan was given seven months. That is not ample time to turn Leno fans into O’Brien fans. Also, Conan had to deal with the ratings vacuum that the ‘Jay Leno Show’ was creating. Harmelin Media did a research study that revealed Jay Leno’s horrible show was causing local NBC stations have an average of 25 percent drop in their newscasts. In major markets, the drop was even bigger: 48 percent in New York, 43 percent in Los Angeles, and 47 percent in Philadelphia. That audience drop surely had a huge affect on the ‘Tonight Show’ ratings.
So, a logical solution would be to rid the airwaves of the tumor that is Jay Leno, would it not? Apparently not. They think that moving Leno back to his original time would be better. Maybe NBC wants to corner the market on comedic abortions that is Jay Leno’s jokes and writing.
As of January 19th, it is reported that Conan is close to signing an exit deal with NBC worth $40 million. The deal would also give his employees a decent severance pay (which maybe they can use to once again relocate their families, since all of them moved out to L.A. to do a show for seven months...).
Leno talked about “his point of view” on his show the other day. If you haven’t read this, don’t. It’s utter crap, considering that Leno was the one who said he would give up the show in 2009 when he really did not have to. Leno said he wanted to retire and not do the ‘Tonight Show’ into his 60’s and blah blah blah whatever. Instead of having the decency to say no to the NBC jerks that want to move Conan, and just retiring with his millions upon millions of dollars, he goes along with it as if he doesn’t have a choice.
This is what bothers me the most. Our generation was so close to having “our guy” in a show that has become a staple of late night. Finally, a show that reflected the comedic style of our generation, with jokes that are actually funny and bits that are entertaining.
We are seeing what has become a pattern in American television: the suppression of the fresh, bright, and cunning for the tired, hackneyed, and stale. Right before our eyes, we are seeing the truly better man fall to the wayside.
I hope Conan ends up in a position where he can create a show he can be proud of and have the success that he truly deserves.
And I hope NBC is not around to see it.
- the guy who hates everything about NBC except for 30 Rock - Ryan
No comments:
Post a Comment