How is this popular?
Last night, I tuned in to NBC around 10 pm. Nothing else was on, so I decided to give the new 'Jay Leno Show' a look. I never cared for his version of the Tonight Show due to the poor jokes and Jay's awkward timing and cadence. I liked Kevin Eubanks, but I guess only really because he seemed normal and pointed out when one of Leno's lines tanked (often). Luckily, he made the cut and is in the new show. In fact, other than the set and titles for segments, most everything is the same. Hence, it still blows.
I guess from the response of Conan's new spot leading the Tonight Show, we can deduce that whoever is watching late night talk shows (not late, late night) only want dumb easy jokes that are often sex-related. It reminds me of Two and a Half Men in talk show form. Conan is a bit on the irreverent side, with a quirkier sense of humor. Apparently, this is not identifiable by the majority of the TV viewing audience.
My guess is that Leno's gig just stems from the fact that he is a familiar face and people are used to seeing him deliver horrible lines and engage in mediocre interviews. The familiarity brings comfort despite the actual content. He may have a good line now and then, but even when he does, he immediately starts the next joke while the 'laughing' is taking place. Lucky for him though, his big name draws actual competent funny comics who will come and do some good material. Jim Norton was on last night and I think I laughed more in his first two minutes than the rest of the hour. Along with better comedians comes the better A-list guests. But even A-list guests don't mean A-list material. Last night, Leno did an interview with Cameron Diaz (not a fan) and Tom Cruise via satellite from whatever over-budget movie they were currently shooting. They did some kooky Q&A thing which was garbage from the start. It was typical dumb questions, involving their previous work and quoting familiar lines, but the last question was what inspired me to write this rant. Apparently, Cameron's first Tom Cruise movie she saw was "Top Gun". The last question Jay asked was (knowing Tom is still a pilot), "What are you better at, flying or sex?". Seriously, what the fuck kind of question is that? It is such a softball, nothing question that it made me want to fist my television. Yes, you read that right, fist my television. Only more of the same type of drivel continued to spill from my set, so I was more than happy to just turn it off.
It will be interesting to see if 'The Jay Leno Show' continues in its nightly spot for more than the next few months. Though, just be examining the retardery of the Americans in the news and all around, I would bet that Jay's job is safe. I just think it is a shame that this kind of run-of-the-mill, mediocre at best 'entertainment' is being produced. But I guess there is a big enough market for it and some people actually do enjoy it, so people might as well make a buck off it.
On a related note, I want to point to some probable irony within his show. One of his pieces, "Jaywalking", interviews people off the street and asks them common knowledge questions. The whole point of this segment is to highlight how stupid and ignorant people are when it comes to history, news or just plain knowledge. In thinking of this show's demographic however, it makes me wonder just how many of the viewers actually know the answers to the questions themselves. But the piece remains popular, as it's always easy to laugh at others stupidity. Too bad I'm still not laughing.
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