I suppose it is time to talk about what would bring viewers back to Jay, but it almost seems moot since Jay has proven he is incapable of changing his style or format.
Just in general terms, I've long believed late night to be the place where the most experimentation is possible. More than a decade ago, after the quick rise of "South Park," Don Ohlmeyer confided they were hoping to turn the 1:35am timeslot into a place where they could develop buzzworthy shows. Obviously that didn't happen, and because it didn't, it paved the way for things like Adult Swim and the Daily Show/Colbert Report block, both of which captured much of the coveted demographics. Jay could get a larger audience by breaking out of the formula. Monday = Headlines, Wednesday = Jaywalking, and the same 25 jokes rehashed every f-ing monologue just doesn't appeal to many, and they will appeal to even less when Leno returns to the Tonight Show. I actually liked some of his roundtable segments which he introduced on his new show (but mostly because I worship and adore Meghan McCain, who was a regular part of the segment), and I would have liked to have seen more of the green car challenge, because at least Jay was attempting to break out of the routine a little bit. But he could go farther. As could all the hosts of late night. And that is probably why I'm really enjoying Ferguson's show. Whether goofing around with puppets or playing around with characters (Aquaman as an advice columnist is funny), at least he is mixing up the format. To the best of my knowledge, Fallon auto-tunes the news and has, again, a regular series of features that don't get messed with too often (that's what I hear from those who can stomach his show). And, to give credit where credit is due, Stephen Colbert has been trying a lot of different things, particularly since he was given a new set. >From his Olympics segments to the new touch screen he has (where he keeps drawing Snoopy, mostly because it seems to be the only thing he knows how to draw), he seems to have the freshest show in late night. Just because of the sense of tradition and reverence I have for the show, I want The Tonight Show to succeed, but that has nothing to do with its new host. Ironically, the only way for the show to succeed under Jay Leno is to throw away the tradition and try new things. And I just don't think he is up to that challenge. -- Kevin M. (RPCV) -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
