Commenting on Conan O’Brien’s treatment by NBC and Jay Leno over The Tonight Show

January 20, 2010 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment 

Conan O’Brien Says He Won’t Host ‘Tonight Show’ After Leno. VTda.info

I love Conan O’Brien. There’s something about his style of comedy that has always appealed to me. He’s just so strange, so awkward, so ugly, and yet it all comes together in an amazing package. This is why the current situation with Conan O’Brien and NBC is so disheartening to me. This is the biggest network television screw-up since ABC drove Who Wants to be a Millionaire into the ground by over-saturating the airwaves.

First they announce that he’s going to be the new host of The Tonight Show five years in advance as a way to dangle a carrot in front of him so that he won’t leave NBC for greener pastures. Now that he’s done his time and waited the five years, they have completely messed up his transition to official host of The Tonight Show.

I began to grow concerned when I heard that Jay Leno was going to have a show in prime time that preceded The Tonight Show (and local news). Come on, NBC, if you’re that hardcore about Jay Leno then why did you let him off of The Tonight Show to begin with. This move completely undermined Conan’s rise to hosting duties of The Tonight Show, as it showed clearly whom NBC felt was their premiere late-night host.

Now NBC is saying that Conan’s ratings weren’t up to snuff? Well how could they be when NBC spent all their money promoting The Jay Leno Show while undermining The Tonight Show. Goodness sakes, give the dude a chance. Jay Leno and David Letterman are great at what they do, but Conan should have been given more of a chance to do what he does best.

His humour appeals to a different crowd, and I think he really could have had a successful run as The Tonight Show host. Now we’ll never know. Thanks a bunch, NBC. Way to take a great talent and screw him over.

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