dude is a waaaaaay smarter than he's portrayed. and i think there's a reason for that. he doesn't allow his intelligence to keep him from doing his job, which is to make his guests feel comfy, let them promote their shit and make his audience laugh. he feels no need to cut them at the legs when they say some stupid ass shit. he could, mos def. but, he doesn't do it. he prolly wants to do that shit every night, but jay keeps his game face on.
dave is a miserable asshole, but i still love him more though. but, leno is clearly the more mentally and emotionally evolved of the two.
1. "yeah, Dave is clearly miserable. I love it when Howard Stern visits" In response to Reply # 0
because he always speaks the truth. One time he said "I picture you having NO fun," and Dave did the fake laugh and blushed because he knew it was true.
2. "I don't dislike Jay Leno the person" In response to Reply # 0
he seems like a nice enough dude, just don't find him on the Tonight Show very entertaining. For entertainment value, I'll take miserable asshole Dave over Jay any day of the week.
4. "i agree, i thought it was obvious..." In response to Reply # 0 Thu Apr-23-09 10:07 PM by BarTek
his response usually is just to laugh at what he hears but once in a while you know he's struggling badly to hold it in.. so he does that chuckle and rubs his eyes shakes his head and keeps going.. shit is hilarious to watch...
6. "I think Dave would readily admit that" In response to Reply # 0 Thu Apr-23-09 11:01 PM by Zion3Lion
> >dave is a miserable asshole, but i still love him more though. >but, leno is clearly the more mentally and emotionally evolved >of the two.
although I think Dave has become more emotionally evolved since his bypass surgery/stable relationship and having a kid. He still has that edge to him which I love.
edit and I think Leno being more emotionally/mentally evolved stems from the fact that Leno won, he got the gig that they were both fighting for and he's still bitter about it(maybe not as bitter as when he first started at CBS but still bitter none the less).
7. "Definitely agree" In response to Reply # 0 Thu Apr-23-09 11:03 PM by Call It Anything
Leno is a great comic who basically cashed in by being a company guy for NBC. He plays that middle of the road comedian role very well appealing to the average American viewer.
Even though I will acknowledge Letterman has had far more impact on the genre than Leno ever could, Jay will occasionally show his brilliance during interviews when he'll grab a great joke out of the air that I never saw. He's tremendously underrated as a comedian by the elitist crowd. Growing up I was 100% committed to Conan and had a antennae TV in my room with no remote so I'd usually end up putting it on NBC with Leno just so I would not have to get out of bed at 12:37 to change over to Conan. As a result over many years I developed a respect and affinity for Leno as a comedian and a host. Additionally, I've heard from a lot of different people that he's a great guy by show business standards.
8. "but, do people really hate leno as a person???" In response to Reply # 0
i never thought he was funny to begin with. but he always seemed like a nice guy who played by the rules and had that spark in his eye when he knew something was being said tongue-n-cheek.
dave is the underdog. he's an asshole when he feels like it and that only adds to his shtick.
10. "i just never thought he was funny, really" In response to Reply # 8
or at least not funny enough to get my attention. i prefer Dave's humour. even when he's doing the opening monologues, and you just know he knows the material is weak, he makes it obvious and you laugh at THAT than just the bad jokes. i dunno there's too much bout Dave n The Late Show that kicks ass over Leno. i think all of y'all have already mentioned why.
11. "he's always been smart and dedicated to his craft" In response to Reply # 0
and i respect that. i've heard him say that he never spends any of his late night money (he lives off of the money he still makes doing stand-up almost every night) and he and his writers come up with 20 minutes of jokes every day which he tries out on a new york crowd to come up with the best 5 minutes for his monologue. i'm also sure he's a nice guy. i would totally sit down with him and pick his brain.
but like everyone else has said, that's not the problem people have with him. comedians and a lot of fans of comedy don't really like him because his punchlines seem painfully obvious. as you said he appeals to a wider fanbase that way, but to a comedian the whole point of the punchline is it's supposed to surprise the audience.
i say all this with limited experience watching leno. only watched him a handful of times. i've always been a letterman guy. that's what my family watched when i was growing up.
12. "HE DROPPED A GEM HERE:" In response to Reply # 0
'You know, there’s things you do when you’re young and when you’re older. It’s what I call the Thirty-Nine-and-a-Half Rule: When you are 30 and onstage and you got your leather pants and you say the word “pussy,”girls are like, “Ooooooooh, he said pussy!” When you’re 39 and you got the leather pants and the bald spot and you say pussy, they’re like, “Eccch, that old guy just said pussy. Let’s get out of here!” You need to grow up with your act.*'
14. "Here's another gem.." In response to Reply # 12
Any time you create something bigger than your act, your career is dead. When Kinison’s doing a bit on screwing dead people, what do you do tomorrow? When you look at Cosby, Newhart, Seinfeld—there’s a consistency. It’s not crazy to the point where you can’t top yourself. Keep the water warm. Because a rolling boil, that’s great for about twenty minutes, and then the water’s gone.]
17. "I disagree with that though- where would comedy be without a Kinison" In response to Reply # 14
or a Paul Mooney...
Leno has been handsomely rewarded because he made good decisions careerwise- same with Cosby, same with Seinfeld. Yet comedy moves forward primarily because of those guys who push the envelope and flame out.
I see what you're saying, and I wasn't really thinking about it that way. What Leno is saying is basically referring to them as people, and not the entire picture.
It's good that not everyone goes with his approach.
19. "Never had a problem with him nm" In response to Reply # 0
________________________________________________________________________ He is stupid But he KNOWS that he is stupid And that almost makes him smart Let's listen
22. "I think he'd be great in a Larry King type role" In response to Reply # 0
Where he interviews some celebrities, but also political figures, authors, etc. He does a good job of asking semi-hard questions, but never in an uncomfortable ambush sort of way. I'm very curious what the format of his new show will be. I think it could be really good if it was closer to an interviews and news of the day type show than another variety show.
---- I check for: Serengeti, Zeroh, Open Mike Eagle, Jeremiah Jae, Moka Only.
29. "he sure was. that fucked me up a little bit." In response to Reply # 28
i'm one of those rare Leno > Letterman guys anyway(or at least rare enough to admit it publicly...lol), but his show was damn near better while the writers' strike was going on.
32. "I have gained a begrudging respect for Leno as well..." In response to Reply # 0
Like most on here, I agree Letterman is far more entertaining, but having read Richard Zoglin's "Comedy at the Edge," in which he mentions how respected Leno was among other comics in the '80s for his work ethic, and also an interview with Letterman from the mid-80s -- long before the "Late Night Wars" -- in which he specifically points to Leno as an inspiration, I definitely have to respect him. I don't think Conan can do what Leno does in the role of "Tonight Show" host in terms of connecting with the Middle American audience.
36. "Jay seems like a good guy. Thanks for the post." In response to Reply # 0
Even if I'm 7 or 8 months late.
Anyway...I don't really buy his ignorance on the Letterman issue, and I think he looks like a real prick with this Conan thing. He's not supporting the brand he helped build and he also is going back on his word.
37. "Completely agreed... now, about that part about being funny" In response to Reply # 0
I think most people who are taking sides here are basing the entire argument on who they think is funnier.
Just as the average late night watching yokel doesn't like Conan's material (and I don't understand how they've ever liked Dave's nonsense), the average Internet douchebag has no idea Leno was one of the best comics anyone's ever seen.
They just know what they've seen at 10:30 and 12:00 since they've been kids, and you know what they've seen? A big chin motherfucker who told boring jokes. That's all he is to them, and now, he's also the asshole who took away Conan's shot at being the Tonight Show host.
So, if you want people to look at this reasonably, you're missing the point; they're comedians, and one is clearly funnier on a nightly basis than the other.
we're saying its ok for a man to make obscene amounts of money and be bad at his job because he's a nice guy? he's not even a good interviewer. and worst of all he's a vagina. He should have just said way back in 2005 that he did not want to leave late night. Conan wouldve been mad but but Jay was number 1 at the time so you couldnt have argued with him. Now, he's getting ethered left and right and it still remains to be seen whether he'll be able to pull his old numbers. The crown may be on Dave's head for good by now.
You know, we could all be reading a book right now.
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