I fear I've done some derailing I didn't mean to. My attack was on the original quote in the article, and then to answer Greg's answer. I think we're all pretty much in agreement the idea that a late night host has to have some sort of "gravitas" is a load of crap.
My apologies. On Tue, Mar 26, 2013 at 2:32 PM, PGage <[email protected]> wrote: > I remember that show (when he talked about his mom dying - I still checked > on Leno in those days) and it was refreshing, though I had some quibbles > with it that are not worth mentioning here. But really, if you can talk > from the heart about your mother dying then you are really pretty far gone. > I don't think you can use that as a basis for saying that he has any real > gift for dealing with serious issues. And it is not really true that he has > a policy against dealing with serious issues. He has commented on 9-11 and > natural disasters and other things on the show, and he has interviewed lots > of politicians. His claim (and I have heard him make it also) that the > Tonight Show is not a political platform is BS - he played a significant > role in launching his friend Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign for governor > of California. Leno may have seen that as simply helping out a pal, but the > recall of Gray Davis was one of the most naked, brass knuckled acts of > political aggression in the modern history of California, and Leno used his > Tonight Show platform to play a non-insignificant role in it. > We have noted often that when Leno is not wearing his Tonight Show persona > he can be a decent and genuine and more likable guy. But the point here is, > does he generate that kind of authenticity in his role as Late Night Host > during a time of serious national conversation or mourning? The answer is, > whether or not he is capable of it, he almost never does it, and when he > tries he is clearly inferior to Letterman, which is no real humiliation > since Dave is a master at it. > > I think the fallacy in this thread is the assumption that late night talk > show hosts should be picked on the basis of their ability to help the > nation process big serious issues. That may be one aspect of the job > description occasionally, but nobody is going to be good at all aspects of > that job, and, God willing, we won't need Jimmy Fallon to help us deal with > too many post 9-11 type attacks down the road. > -- -- 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 --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
