While watching something else on YouTube the other day, the next video was for an early '80s segment of Late Night with Jay Leno as the guest. His wit was never biting, but in the early '80s it was sharper than it is today, to be sure. Jay appeals to those who don't want to be challenged as they head to bed. He appeals to those who want idle background noise to fall asleep to. He isn't someone people find captivating. And there will always be a market for that. Letterman's frat humor worked better when he was younger, and it is done better at present by Conan and Craig (and to an extent Jon and Stephen, though they've gone a decidedly different direction). CBS will keep Dave as long as he wants to be kept.
Even if I watched TV in real-time anymore, neither Dave nor Jay would merit viewing. I don't relate to either of them, and I don't think either is doing their respective best anymore. Watching Johnny Carson in his last year or two -- even though he was only doing three days a week -- he made it look easy. Watching Jay and Dave, you see just how hard the job really is. Despite the circumstances, Johnny got out of the act and got out of the way for those who followed him. Jay didn't, and -- so far -- Dave hasn't. The result, in my opinion, is two wasted hours of network late-night each weeknight. -- 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
