Coincidentally, I watched the same episode, which was the first time I'd tuned in Leno in at least two years (Dave was in reruns, and I wasn't ready to go to bed). I noted the same level of info available to Chin Boy as you did, but what I took away from the show was how odd it seemed to again see a late night show where previous guests stayed on the couch for the subsequent guests' interviews.
McCain came out, and was turned so far toward Jay that Matthew Perry was literally staring at the back of her head through the entire interview. After the first minute of shooting McCain in complete profile as she talked to Jay, the director finally moved her isolation camera directly to the side of Jay's desk, so that Perry could be seen over her shoulder every time she answered a question. At some point during the panel, she said something along the lines of "I really don't like to hear actors talking politics, because they usually don't have anything intelligent to add to the dialogue", with the obligatory turn and "no offense" to Perry, who managed to ad lib a very funny line, calling back to an earlier joke. It just struck me as extremely rude and condescending from start to finish and I was impressed by Perry's restraint, as I could imagine at least 3-4 pithy responses from Perry in my head. "Really? You don't want actors commenting on politics? A better choice would be an art history major who's only qualification as a pundit is being a Senator's daughter?" (Granted, growing up as John McCain's daughter probably really *is* good training as a political observer, but in the moment it was the principle of the thing.) :) Nothing really newsworthy in what I'm saying here, but I guess I've gotten so used to the one-guest-at-a-time format used by everybody else that it struck me as odd to see it done "The Tonight Show way" again after avoiding the show for so long. Doug Fields Tampa, FL -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Kevin M. Sent: Tuesday, September 11, 2012 1:38 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [TV orNotTV] Jay Leno's pay cut was 50% The other night, Leno had two guests on who I enjoy watching, so I gave the show a try. Matthew Perry is always a great interview, and Meghan McCain is what I think every Republican needs to be. I haven't watched Leno in months. What struck me is when the show went to the commercial break during Perry's interview, the camera panned over Leno's shoulder, making his desk visible from his POV. He had pages of notes -- not just notecards, letter-sized pages. Then, as they went to commercial after the second segment with Perry, the camera again moved behind Leno, this time facing his producers, and you could clearly see the cue cards with more notes about the guest. To me it represents a complete detachment from his job. He has been interviewing people since the 1980s, but he still needs to be inundated with epic tomes of information, even for someone as famous as Perry? Perry told his four funny stories, and McCain answered questions about the RNC and various other topics, but I still couldn't shake the feeling if the notes weren't in front of him, Leno would just talk about cars or whatever the guest is wearing, because if it isn't in his face, it doesn't seem to register to him (and sometimes, not even then). Oh, as for the current incarnation of The Tonight Show Band -- they sound like one of those bland awards show bands... because they are. -- 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
