Why Are You Laughing? - Late Night Wars

 For those of you who want to learn about the Late Night wars of Leno vs. Letterman, there is no better resource than Bill Carter's book "The Late Shift."

But if you don't want to commit hours and hours of reading time, the "Why Are You Laughing?" podcast is perhaps the second best source of information.

The book was turned into a made-for-tv movie also (same name), for those of you who would prefer that. But that's a distant 3rd place, as the movie is less informative and a bit cheesy.

And for those of you who want to learn about the Late Night wars of Leno vs. Conan, there is no better resource than Bill Carter's book "The War for Late Night."

But, as above, if books aren't for you, the following podcast has you covered. There has been no made-for-tv movie about this topic, to my knowledge, but can you imagine?

If you'd like to read my book review of "The War for Late Night" see here.

As a self-proclaimed expert, I have my disagreements and differences with the podcast, just as I do with the TV movie. But they're mainly minor quibbles and who cares anyway? I enjoy their fresh perspective shedding light on my own.

Late Show - Dave On Jay Leno Vs. Conan O'Brien Supercut

 A montage of Dave talking about the "Jay vs. Conan" saga:

Norm Macdonald on the Tonight Show (7/23/99)

 

It's against my religion to post anything that is any way related to - or even mentions - Jay Leno, but I found this segment on a VHS of mine recently (I don't know how it got there, I swear!) and I don't see it anywhere on youtube and then Norm passed away...

It's a fun interview and it's Norm. So here's a little additional material for the Norm Macdonald rabbit hole.

Tonight Show - Jay Leno

Jay Leno was a guest on the Tonight Show on Friday. It's his first time coming back since he was host. Not only was he a guest (and stayed on the couch for the next guest) but he was invited by Jimmy to do some stand-up as well. Want to see the highlights? Me neither.

Fallon to Host Tonight Show?

Various sources are reporting that NBC is planning to give Jimmy Fallon The Tonight Show when Leno's contract expires next year.

Allow me to be the first of many who will say (and continue to say even after it happens) "I've heard that before."

Dave Calls Conan

Yesterday before the Top Ten List, Letterman announced - somewhat mysteriously - that he had called Conan O'Brien.

See the clip within this montage:

My best guess for asking "if everything is fine" refers to the Letterman/Leno/Oprah Super Bowl of Love ad. Based on Bill Carter's book "The War for Late Night", it seemed Conan was offended by the idea and/or that he was asked to participate. When word was passed to Conan that he was wanted for the piece, he reportedly said, "No fucking way I'm doing that. It's not a joke to me -- it's real."

However, it is total speculation that that was what this latest call was really about. Either way it would be silly to "feud" over something so trivial and hopefully this paves the way for Dave and Conan as guests on each other's show. Make it happen, science.

Book Review : The War for Late Night

Over the weekend I read the book "The War for Late Night : When Leno Went Early and Television Went Crazy" by Bill Carter. Bill Carter also wrote the definitive book about the original Late Night war (Leno vs. Letterman) over who would replace Johnny Carson, "The Late Shift" which I'm reading now.

The book obviously centers on the events which took the Tonight Show away from Leno to give it to Conan, the disaster known as "The Jay Leno Show", and then the events which took the Tonight Show back from Conan to give it to Leno. But it also thoroughly explores how the situation was set up by events and personalities years before as well as the conclusion of the battle where Conan goes to TBS. Every personality and event is covered step-by-step. It goes through all the Machiavellian machinations from the NBC executives, the affiliates, the lawyers, the press, mistakes made with the contracts and, of course, the thoughts and actions of the stars themselves. It also goes into some of the recent history and the reactions by the other talk show hosts, particularly Letterman, but also Kimmel, Kilborn, Fallon, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.

The book is an extremely well done and extremely insightful fly-on-the-wall insight into all the executive whispers, back room deals, show business politics and just general chaos that transpired within NBC and out to the other networks as well. Reading the book, it quickly becomes apparent that the author either had incredible connections and interviews or simply likes to makes stuff up (but of course, his reputation and risk of lawsuit precludes the latter). Which is exactly what I wanted out of it - when Conan and his producer go in an office and shut the door, the trail doesn't stop there, you get the spoken dialog of the discussion. The tone is also extremely even-handed - Leno is not made out to be a demon, and Conan isn't made out to be a victim - the book presents the viewpoints and insights of a wide array of "show biz insiders" and allows the viewer to judge.

This isn't a life-changing book or one that will greatly expand your understanding of the universe; the rating or recommendation is simply a matter of interest in the subject matter. If you don't find the Late Night battle an interesting topic, there's no reason for you to read this book, but if you're like me, this is mandatory reading. But (chuckles) you don't have to take my word for it...

[DO DO DO]

High Pitched 8 Year Old: DO YOU LIKE BOOKS ABOUT PINHEAD NETWORK EXECUTIVES? IF SO, THEN "THE WAR FOR LATE NIGHT" IS FOR YOU! When the story begins, executives at NBC are stuck with a problem: how do you keep two of your stars happy if they both want the same show?!

[Illustration of a man peering into a cave with a flashlight]

They think they have a solution by moving one of them to primetime but it turns out to be a bad idea and it makes their affiliates mad!

[Illustration of a bear running away from a cloud of bees]

What can they DO? Could the answer be found in the small print of their contracts?!

[Illustration of a farmer hauling watermelon in a pickup truck]

I'M NOT GOING TO TELL WHAT HAPPENS NEXT BUT IF YOU LIKE STORIES ABOUT PR WARS AND THREATS OF LITIGATION, THEN GO TO YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY AND REQUEST A COPY OF "THE WAR FOR LATE NIGHT"! YOU'LL BE GLAD YOU DID!

[DO DO DO]

Conan - Episode #1

As you no doubt are already aware, the first episode of "Conan" aired last night. I was extremely impressed with how smooth and seamless it was. That's very rare for the first episode of a late night talk show (yes, even when the host is a seasoned veteran). The cold open was about 12 times better (approximate) than the cold open of the first "Tonight Show" episode (I think they may have learned from that one). Loved the Halloween mask, loved Ricky Gervais' piece and Andy Richter is in top form (as always).

Apparently it got higher ratings than Letterman/Chinbag which doesn't surprise me at all but it ought to be interesting where it comes in when the hubbub dies down. You've gotta weigh an 11 o'clock start vs. the basic cable factor. Plus, there's the question of fan loyalty. Will all those people who went to rallies, the tour, created petitions, clogged twitter, etc. watch faithfully or forget again? We shall see.

Here are my favorite highlights:

Cold open:

Ricky Gervais wishes Conan good luck:

"Conan" Episodes To Be Available Online

Team Coco recently announced that full episodes of "Conan" will be available online (for free) the day after they air. It takes just one sentence to communicate that and yet its importance is monumental. This small nugget of information is the difference between me seeing every episode of his new show and seeing virtually none of it. I already watched every single episode of "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" so you know I'm good for it.

In other Conan News, in a magazine interview, Conan said he will not have Leno on as a guest (surprise?). But even more shocking is that there's going to be a rule that goes against decades of Talk Show Law in which no guest will be allowed to plug a project. I'm not so sure that's possible. Could it just be a joke? And even if it's real, it's going to become a giant elephant in the room in each episode. You'll have an actor never mention their show but wear a tshirt with the title and opening date on it or they'll take a sip from the guest mug and there'll be a movie poster on the bottom, etc. I guess we'll have to see what happens on the first show, airing this Monday.

Jimmy Kimmel on Letterman; Twitter

Jimmy Kimmel was a guest on Letterman last night and it delivered exactly what I was hoping for: a discussion on the "Jay Leno Scandal".

The whole interview was funny and quite entertaining though. Last night felt like it should be called "The Twitter Show" as Dave fired up his "twitter machine" and sent tweets all throughout the night. Not during commercials though - he would be talking to a guest, go silent, turn around to the other side of his desk, hunch over the keyboard and type right in the middle of an interview. I almost feel like I subscribe to his tweets just by watching the show. The following were tweeted during the show:

2400 dollars for a wax figure? Hell, I got that on me. Ha Ha!

1:18 PM Mar 16th via web

"My nephew done ate six pieces of chicken already"

1:03 PM Mar 16th via web

"Everything's in slow motion"

12:52 PM Mar 16th via web

Testing. Testing!

12:49 PM Mar 16th via web

He has problems with slow typing though. Apparently they got him a left-handed keyboard.

Super Bowl of Love II

As plugged in to popular culture as I tend to be, the Super Bowl is a giant disconnect. If someone asks me, "Did you see that one play where that one thing happened?" the answer is automatically, "No."

"Did you see that singer do that thing during the halftime show?"

"Nope."

"Did you see X, Y and Z commercials? I liked Y best." "Don't know what you're talking about. Didn't see any of them. I can't decide if small talk about commercials is even more inane, tedious and annoying to me than small talk about the weather. Uh oh, did I just say that out loud?"

That's because I've imposed a strict ban* on the Super Bowl for probably about a decade. One year me and a friend, in lieu of watching the Super Bowl, watched "Muppet Treasure Island". Another year me and another friend, in lieu of watching the Super Bowl that year, watched "Puppy Bowl I" on Animal Planet (narrated by the great Harry Kalas). Two of my favorite Super Bowl (or non-Super Bowl memories) of all-time. Later, there was a plan to watch "Follow that Bird" on Super Bowl night but I can't remember if we actually did that.

Having said that, did you see the one ad that aired during the Super Bowl???? In case you're like me, here it is:

* The exact ban is: I don't care about the Super Bowl if my team isn't in it. If my team was in the Super Bowl, I would not only watch, but agree that it would be the biggest sporting event of the year. Without my favorite team to root for, the whole thing is an over-hyped mass-produced, dumbed down, overblown corporate crapfest in my opinion where the game of football comes secondary to everything else.

Edit: The title is "Super Bowl of Love II" because the first one aired last year and can be seen here. The title is not just derived from the fact that it airs during the Super Bowl. I mean, that's obviously part of it, but it comes from a long running gag on the Late Show which would take too long to explain here.

Kimmel On Leno On Oprah On Kimmel On Leno

Or in other words, Jimmy Kimmel talks about the recent Oprah interview with Jay Leno where they discuss Jimmy Kimmel's appearance on Leno's show.

In some ways I feel bad for Leno because it really is NBC that's to blame for the entire mess but even if Jimmy Kimmel is going too far, it is entertaining to watch him go too far.

Not seen in this video: Oprah criticizes personal jokes Leno made about Letterman as being "beneath [him]". You go girl! I kind of disagree, I've watched Leno make unfunny offensive jokes for years. Leno's viewing audience doesn't complain (or perhaps register) that the jokes are offensive probably for the same reason that they don't complain that the jokes are unfunny.

Earlier on his show, Leno had said, "Letterman has been hammering me every night. You know the best way to get Letterman to ignore you? Marry him. He will not bother you. He won't look you in the eye." And then later said that Letterman's attacks surprised him because, "usually he's just taking shots at the interns."

The most surprising thing about the "counter-attack" is that Letterman didn't really attack him in the first place. He's been talking about the drama pretty consistently but has been very impartial and even defended Leno saying that Leno hadn't done anything wrong. He does, however, refer to him as "Jay 'Big Jaw' Leno" and imitate him in a high, whiny voice. But even so, that level of immature mockery doesn't call for personal, vitriolic attacks in my opinion.

Late Night Wars - The Chinese Animation

A while ago you might recall seeing the Chinese news animation of the Tiger Woods scandal. If you haven't, see it here, now.

But the hard-hitting reporters of the Chinese media have a new late-breaking story to cover: the recent late-night talk show wars. Like the Tiger Woods video, this is an actual news broadcast - this is absolutely real.

I would love to have more insight into the Chinese culture to be able to explain why they supply Sims-style reenactment videos for their stories but I'm as dumbfounded as the next guy. Even if we all lived in a Sims game, do we really need people represented as comic book heroes in a battle royale?

I wonder if they made Conan "The Hulk" because he once turned into the Hulk for a classic comedy sketch or if it's just coincidence.

The New "Law & Order"

David Letterman premiers a promo for the new "Law & Order" series:

That Ice-T always finds a job.

Jimmy Kimmel vs. Jay Leno / Wine In a Box

Want to watch the kind of train wreck that causes you visceral pain and yet you can't look away from? Sure, we all do!

Then check this out:

Do NOT put a box of wine in a microwave. I'm not sure if this is real. I hope it is.

Dave Explains Things #1

In this Episode: Dave explains the modern history of NBC's late night schedule up to the present day and proposes his own homespun solution to the current problem. Still no idea what to do about Carson Daly.

[Removed Broken Video Link]

Tonight Show Moves To Tomorrow

Following the woeful performance of the new "Jay Leno Show" and decreased ratings of "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien", NBC has decided to move Jay Leno back to his 11:35 slot though with a shortened duration.

This means that "The ---- Show" (it's my blog, I don't feel like typing it) will air from 11:35 - 12:05 and "The Tonight Show" moves to 12:05 - 1:05. Yes, that's right, the brainiacs at NBC have decided that "The Tonight Show", as it is called, will not actually air "Tonight". "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" will move to 1:05 AM - 2:05 AM. Eeeeeee. Presumably "Last Call with Carson Daly" will air at a new time specifically invented for NBC called "fliggen o'clock" and "Poker After Dark" will air when it's light out.

Isn't it amazing that NBC used to rule the TV ratings with a golden fist? From "Seinfeld" to "Friends" to "E. R." to late night TV they had it all. Not that they were actually that great ("Frasier", "E.R.", "Will and Grace", Jay Leno all suck and I have never understood why ANYONE watches/watched them) but they did, somehow, completely dominate the ratings. And nowadays, they're the television version of "Kruger". "'The Jay Leno Show' is a horrendous failure", one suit behind a desk with pseudo-intellectual glasses begins, "instead of cancelling the crap, let's keep it around in a way that punishes everyone who's actually good." "Sounds good to me, I'm late for pilates", replies the female suit behind a desk with pseudo-intellectual glasses.

Interestingly, the scenario outlined above is the currently proposed scenario but it is only one of three possibilities. The change in time slot technically constitutes a breach of contract by NBC and Conan can now do one of three things:

1. He can quit and go on vacation for the next four years while collecting as much as $80 million for doing nothing.
2. He can move his show to a competitor (Fox/ABC), compete directly with Leno/Letterman and still get payed by NBC. (The money that NBC owes him is offset by the money he makes there. So for instance, if he's making $10 million per year now, and ABC payed him $7 million per year, NBC would owe him only $3 million per year.)
3. Go with the flow, take the new time slot and ride it out.

If I know Conan as well as I think I do, he'll go with option #3. But, for some reason, part of me is hoping for #2.