Welcome to another edition of TV or Not TV where I love it when spin gets spun out of control.
I’ve not said a lot when it comes to the recent NBC Prime Time / Late Night debacle because this is really a matter of people that have made millions off of NBC who are getting bitten by the same network as it tries to recover from some really bad decisions. My silence, however, has to be broken when it comes down to the Jay Leno / Oprah interview from this last Thursday because this interview was almost as bad of an idea as the Jay Leno at 10 PM decision was.
First and foremost let me say that I think Jay Leno wasted his time with this interview and I think it was done far too soon after all of the NBC late night drama. Jay was hoping for some PR spin through this Oprah interview because he has been labeled as the bad guy. This perception, however, doesn’t matter in respect to him returning as the host of The Tonight Show. The people that used to watch The Tonight Show with Jay Leno will probably follow Jay back to The Tonight Show when he returns after the Winter Olympics because Middle America loves his non-confrontational and bland form of interviewing and entertainment. He’s their visual form of warm milk to take right before bed after they’ve watched their nightly news. This is the very reason that NBC wants to put him back into the Tonight Show driver seat.
So why did he think it was such a good idea to go on Oprah so soon after Conan’s last show? He has to know there’s no way he can reclaim the devout “I’m with CoCo” people so those people have to be written off. I’m sure those people are also just a small portion of the actual viewing audience of The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien. I think that the real motivation is in the branding of “bad guy” that he’s been smacked with. This attitude is reflected in his interviewing style since he never asks the hard questions and always lobs up celebrity softball questions. Jay wants everyone to like him and wants us to think he’s just like us, just with a cooler job and a far better paycheck.
Prior to the Oprah interview I was willing to not exactly think of Jay as the bad guy, instead just being more of an accomplice. The bad guy in this scenario is actually NBC in having such an extreme reaction to their own bad decision to try to keep both Conan and Jay five years ago in a bid to avoid another David Letterman style defection to another network. The network also solidified it’s position as the bad guy for not really giving Conan a chance to grow in to The Tonight Show and have his audience build with him. Leno trailed Letterman in the ratings for almost three years before the Hugh Grant interview propelled him into a lead that the show held on to. Who knows what Conan would be doing a year from now?
When it comes to The Tonight Show ratings I’d also like to point out that ever since Conan took over the show everyone and their brother knew that Leno would be premiering at 10:00 PM. In a completely un-scientific fashion I can tell you that for every commercial I saw for Conan’s The Tonight Show I saw there were at least 10 teaser commercials for The Jay Leno Show. How much of the former The Tonight Show audience was not giving Conan a chance while waiting to see what the forthcoming Jay Leno Show had to offer? I think it is also fair to compare Conan’s ratings to before and after the premiere of The Jay Leno Show where his bad ratings caused a drop in NBC affiliate local 11:00 PM news, which also translates as a lead in for Conan’s The Tonight Show, doesn’t it?
Wait, didn’t Leno say something about affiliate complaints in his whine-fest during the Oprah interview? Yes he did, but the context he used it in was the following when asked if he thought by going back he was taking away Conan’s dream, “By going back to “The Tonight Show,” did he ever think that he was “taking away Conan’s dream?” “No. Because this is an affiliate decision. Affiliates felt that the ratings were low.” Now I’m now TV expert but this almost make Jay seem to be as well informed as Sara Palin regarding what paper she reads. The only thing I ever heard about affiliates complaints were that after The Jay Leno Show premiered the affiliates experienced up to a 49% drop in audience with their new lead in when compared to 10 PM dramas filled the time slot. Affiliates sell local ad time during their news with very little sold during 10 PM or after the 11:30 PM time slots. Don’t try and take a bit of information and twist it around to try to say that the affiliates were the driving force behind this. Oh, and Leno, what’s with this comment that Conan’s ratings were “destructive to the franchise”? Didn’t you just say in August of 2009 that you too were http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/11/jay-leno-defends-conans-r_n_256910.html beat up in the ratings early on in your The Tonight Show tenure? I guess your perspective is dictated by whatever the current corporate line is.
Five years ago Leno was a victim, that’s true. The executives of NBC told him that they were giving the show that he loved to Conan to keep him from getting away. I’m sure there were plenty of corporate yes men that also surrounded Jay with smoke and sunshine to make him believe that the 10:00 PM time slot would be the greatest TV innovation of all time. The truth of the matter though is that he had his run and he had his time. I’d have far more respect for him if he hadn’t agreed to the 11:35 time slot move just on the word of NBC that they were either “75% sure Conan would go for it” or that they would “talk to him tomorrow” (both of which he has said, which one is it though?). The moral thing to do would have been to wait to see how Conan would feel about this, but then again I’m talking about the guy who in conjunction with his former manager set up the situation to essentially force Johnny Carson out of The Tonight Show.
Don’t blow smoke up our ass Jay and make us think that you weren’t a part of this and don’t try to claim you were a victim. I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that we’re just not buying it. Your Oprah interview did only one thing for me, it re-enforced for me that you are looking out for #1 and that’s about as far as your interest goes.
OK, now that I’ve said my piece on this let’s move on to what else that our television viewing options are for the week.
MONDAY
TLC – 8:00 PM: Two hours of CAKE BOSS followed by an ULTIMATE CAKE OFF? Seriously TLC, I’m trying to lose weight here and you’re just an enabler!
LOGO – 9:00 PM: Putting Kathy Griffin into the mix as a guest judge on the second season premiere of RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE may have made this one a must watch for me this week.
ABC – 10:00 PM: After the last two episodes I can’t tell you just how disappointing it is to me that this week’s CASTLE is a repeat from earlier this season.
TUESDAY
NBC – 8:00 PM: The Peacock brings us the last hour of last week’s THE BIGGEST LOSER followed by this week’s two hour episode. What could they possibly be trying to counter-program against? Oh yeah…
ABC – 8:00 PM: LOST is back with a one-hour “get you all caught up on the past five years” of the show before the two hour season premiere at 9:00 PM. Yeah, I’ll be glued to my seat and confused as all hell by 11:00 PM.
FOX – 8:00 PM: VICTORIA BECKHAM is back tonight as a guest judge to creepily not emote very much in response to the contestants.
WEDNESDAY
NBC – 8:00 PM: The good about MERCY? James Van Der Beek joins the class (the DAWSON!) The bad? I haven’t watched MERCY yet so I have no idea what this means.
FOX – 8:00 PM: The good about HUMAN TARGET? Jackie Earle Haley. The bad? Just about everything else (accept Chi McBride as well).
ABC – 9:00 PM: The good about MODERN FAMILY? Minnie Driver guests (and everything else). The bad? That we have to wait another week for a new episode.
THURSDAY
CBS – 8:00 PM: How do you get everyone ready for the special SURVIVOR: HEROES VS. VILLAINS? Put together a clip show and call it SURVIVING SURVIVOR.
NBC – 9:00 PM: Kathy Bates guests as the CEO of the company that buys the parent company of THE OFFICE. How awesome would it be if she played the role as her role from MISERY?
COMEDY – 10:30 PM: THE SARAH SILVERMAN PROGRAM returns for it’s third season with Sarah growing a disturbingly thick mustache and her sister falsely telling her she was born with both sex organs. OK, I get it, I’m not supposed to watch this show sober at all am I?
FRIDAY
THE CW – 8:00 PM: Two hours of SMALLVILLE try to combat the Friday dull drums with special guest Pam Grier.
BBCA – 8:00 PM: My inner 13 year just giggles every time I see MY BIG BREASTS AND ME on the schedule.
SYFY – 9:00 PM: I have no idea what happens tonight on CAPRICA, but I’ll still be watching.
SATURDAY
AMC – 8:00 PM: If you’ve never seen SILVERADO than give this a chance instead of all of the other crud that is being offered tonight.
TBS – 9:00 PM: OK, SILVERADO too butch for you? How about MEAN GIRLS instead?
NBC – 11:30 PM: How do you follow-up an amazing appearance last week by JON HAMM on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE? Completely underwhelm the audience with ASHTON KUTCHER is my guess right now.
SUNDAY
CBS – 6:30 PM E / 3:30 PM P: This year I’ll ask the same question I always do about THE SUPERBOWL: which commercial will be the one I think is the best?
ANIMAL PLANET – 6:00 PM E / 3:30 PM P: Yes, I know, based on my SUPERBOWL comment above you think I should just be watching the PUPPY BOWL.
ABC – 8:00 PM: From 8 to 10 a repeat of MODERN FAMILY tops each hour, followed up by two back-to-back episodes at 10 PM. If you haven’t seen this great show yet here’s your chance to pace yourself.
– Will Wilkins will please stand by.  
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