Leno Loses It In Prime Time

After a week of watching the new Jay Leno Show which airs on NBC weeknights at 10 eastern time/9 Central I’m very disappointed. It just not the same show; and not just in the name and time slot.

After 13 years of Leno following the format nearly set in stone on the “Tonight Show” the new show's format leaves a lot to be desired. The show’s set is unlike any other talk show set I’ve ever seen. There are turntables that rotate to reveal guest comedians and double glass doors that open to allow guests to come on stage. I can’t explain why but the look and feel of it all seems just a bit off. I know it’s stil Jay Leno standing on the special stage doing the monologue, introducing the guest comic’s location pieces, sitting in the chair across from his guests, and doing the familiar Leno comedy bits but it’s just not the same. The pace and timing of the show is off just enough to make me uneasy watching it.

Jay looks exceptionally uncomfortable sitting in just a chair next to his guest and not behind the traditional desk. I don’t know why they got rid of the desk. It’s not something that’s exclusive to the tonight show. All the other late night hosts sit behind desks. It’s a universal element of that brand of program.

The program starts out as usual with Leno’s monologue. His jokes are usually topical and funny. His banter with band leader Kevin Eubanks is entertaining. The altered or staged video taped bits usually work. But after the monologue all bets are off.

The comedians who come on with what I call "location pieces" have not been funny at all; mainly because the comics aren’t funny to me at all. I also miss Fred Willard and Gilbert Gottfried playing their parts of fictional or real person who are in the news and adlibbing away from their scripted jokes.

The new “10 @ 10” bit where Jay asks a celebrity via satellite 10 questions to get spontaneous answers is not very good either. The first one with Cameron Diaz and Tom Cruise on location in Massachusetts was as close to a flop as any thing with movie stars of that degree could be.

Jerry Seinfeld’s bit with having Oprah Winfrey appear as a guest on his (Seinfeld’s) segment and not an “official” guest of Leno fell flat on its face. There was nothing funny about it. Robin Williams wasn’t even his usual hilarious self when he was a guest. His harmonica playing was somewhat entertaining but it went on way too long after the commercial. Whose idea was it to let Michael Moore sing on national television? Who is making these decisions?

I can’t comment on the musical acts because I have very rarely ever paid attention to them. I fast forward through them on the DVR.

The comedy bit that usually followed the monologue: Headlines, Crazy 911 calls, or funny new products (such as back to school stuff) have been moved to the very end of the show. The ending of these segments with Leno signing off by reminding viewers that their local news “is coming up right now!” is an awkward way to end a program.

I don’t know who changed the format for the new Jay Leno show but I have to ask “why?” Did they want to differentiate and distant themselves from “The Tonight Show?” They didn’t have to do that. You see, when Conan O’Brien took over this past summer he brought the format he used on his Late Night show. (Just so you know. Other than the “In the year 2000” bit I don’t enjoy anything about O’Brien’s version of the Tonight Show anymore either) Why couldn’t Jay and his producers just have left well enough alone? The partnership of host and format wasn’t broke. Why fix it?

I enjoyed Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show.” I DVRed it every night. But I don’t like the new Jay Leno show. Leno is different. He tries to be just like “the old” Jay but like the rest of his show there’s something off. It’s almost “forced”; like he's trying too hard to prove himself worthy of the gamble the network has taken with him.

Last week’s edition of Entertainment Weekly magazine included an article that asked if Leno’s move to prime time was a good idea. Then they proceeded to make a case for answering “yes” and for answering “no”. I’m no one special. I’m just the average American TV view, a loyal Tonight Show fan for years including the Leno years. But if I had to answer that question for myself I’d say NBC has made a mistake and has ruined one of the best programs the network ever had on night network not just on its late night schedule.

I have made a decision. I’ve got a lot better things I could be doing with the 40 minutes it takes for me to watch Leno’s show (I zip through the commercials). So I believe I’m going to delete the setting that records the program every night. Perhaps I'll use it for some extra sleep. At least then I can dream of the old Leno Tonight Show days or even better bring back Johnny & Ed.