Jay Leno has never been a favorite of mine, even when he was on top of the late night world. I was always a Letterman fan, a Jon Stewart Daily Show fan, and a Conan O'Brien fan. Leno never did anything for me, he seemed like the guy at the bar sitting around thinking he was funny because his friends laughed at him. Leno's retirement was a welcomed change as the true funny men of late night would get a better shot. O'Brien has a brain (he is right there with Rivers Cuomo from Weezer as the coolest Harvard grads on the planet), a written comedic background (stints as a writer for Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons), and the ability to be smart without being highbrow. Leno's retirement opened the door for Conan to rule the airwaves.
Leno opted to end his retirement and take his late night show to prime time. While this should have worked, the jokes were tamer, the guests were less than impressive, and the show lacked that important feel. There are reasons why late night television isn't shown in prime time; what you can say at 11:30 is much different than a few hours earlier. Once Leno's show became a failure he was left with nowhere to go. His pride wouldn't let him just retire, he needed to show he could still command an audience. Where was Leno to go? Back to late night, taking Conan's spot. Why not just leave well enough alone? Leno could have done a huge stand up tour, but now he has thrown a wrench in late night plans. Conan played second fiddle long enough to deserve his spot, don' let Leno steal it NBC.
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