Althouse: The best of Jay Leno.

३० मे, २००९

The best of Jay Leno.

I don't much like Jay Leno, but after all these years, a "10 Best" set of clips has got to be pretty good. Let's check out the best of — the surprisingly smutty — "Headlines":

१० टिप्पण्या:

traditionalguy म्हणाले...: Very funny. Highlites wrong word choices could only seen as funny, and hopefully will not be demagoged into final evidence of an evil/racist woman's mind set attacking all helpless White Men.; ३०/५/०९, ८:२३ AM
Bissage म्हणाले...: “You know, it is so fashionable to take a shot at Jay Leno. Look, the fact is the man is out there every bloody night with fresh material and he’s charming.”

-- Stewie Griffin; ३०/५/०९, ९:२५ AM
Bissage म्हणाले...: Jesus reveals himself to Jay Leno.; ३०/५/०९, ९:२६ AM
Ken Mitchell म्हणाले...: Jay vs Johnny?

There were a lot of similarities between the two, but here's one of
the biggest differences. Johnny Carson had "CLASS", with a capital-C, and Jay Leno does not. Jay is funny enough, I guess; he was actually funnier during the writer's strike, when he was writing his own stuff.

But Carson was in a league of his own; head and shoulders above
Leno's best.

Did you ever notice that Leno rarely - like, almost NEVER - allowed guest hosts? The Tonight Show with Leno was in reruns a third of the time, it seemed. Carson's show never did re-runs; when Carson was on vacation, there were guest hosts; it was fresh every night. Guest hosts like Jay Leno, who got his start guesting for Carson. Leno, who NEVER allowed young talent to get their starts on HIS show.

As I said; Carson had class. He was one of a kind. I miss him.

I won't miss Leno. Of course, how can we miss him if he won't go away?; ३०/५/०९, ९:३३ AM
Peter Hoh म्हणाले...: The kid wanted to watch the last week of Leno. Among other reasons, Leno took the reigns of the Tonight Show a month or so before the kid entered the world.

Leno ended the show nicely, thanking his staff and celebrating all the kids who have been born to his staffers since he started 17 years ago.; ३०/५/०९, १०:५९ AM
traditionalguy म्हणाले...: Leno is alive and funny. Carson is as dead as Bob Hope.Time moves on.; ३०/५/०९, १०:५९ AM
John Stodder म्हणाले...: It took me about 14 of his 17 years as host, but I finally got to appreciate Leno the past few years. He's not comparable to Carson, and he was never as good as Letterman at his (unfortunately, long-ago) peak, but he could be pretty funny.

It's not much remarked upon, but Letterman and Leno became virtually the only highly visible venues for rock, pop and R&B musicians to perform and promote their work. No matter what else was going on for the first 55 minutes of each talk show, if I was awake I always tried to find out what band or singer was performing.

Someone mentioned that Leno didn't do up and coming comics the same favor Carson did by showcasing them. Letterman, who owes even more to Johnny, rarely does so either, nor does Conan or Craig Ferguson. Could it be that there is a drought of innovative stand-up comics? If Dane Cook is the stylistic pacesetter, that's probably the case.; ३०/५/०९, ३:१३ PM
Chase म्हणाले...: I get such a kick out of the identity politics of peoples choices in Letterman vs. Leno.
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When Letterman first went to CBS, for years the talk was of how much funnier he was than Jay. Here's the only problem - not one funny thing about or done by Letterman was ever given as an example in any of those articles - NYTimes, Rolling Stone, blogs galore, ad nauseum. Nothing. You would think that someone wanting to convince a reader that David Letterman is the funniest guy around would have at least one illustration - "remember that bit . . . ". Zero. Which makes this point - it was always about identifying with a guy like a team and staking out part of your identity. Letterman pushed that kind of stuff. Leno was just a nice guy.
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I like Letterman's outside camera bits - Dave at McDonalds is one of the all time greatest gags (see, I gave an EXAMPLE - sheesh, the stuff I have to do for you people!). But he is just not funny as a stand up - he accepts the laughs for material he knows is not worth a groan, which is pathetic; his great talents lie elsewhere.
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Jay is a joke teller. My favorite illustration was the comment he made about Madonna - "I see where Madonna is getting a Woman of the year award. Sure am glad she beat out that bitch Mother Teresa". That was in the 90's, and at work - no lie - a guy that loudly "hated Leno" because he "wasn't funny" but adored Letterman told that very joke the next 2 days. After about 10th time he told it, I yelled across the office "Hey Jimmy, I heard your Madonna joke on Jay Monday. Why don't you tell us what was funny on your boy Letterman last night?". Jimmy - "the Letterman is better" asshole - didn't talk to me again. He transferred to Vegas 3 months later. I still smile at myself everytime I think of it.; ३०/५/०९, ६:३० PM
अनामित म्हणाले...: Here are some classic moments of Jay as a guest on the Letterman show back in the 1980s.; ३०/५/०९, ७:२९ PM
Joan म्हणाले...: Leno has never been "cool" but he routinely beats Letterman in the ratings.

I like Jay, but then again, he's a MA guy and I grew up there, so maybe that's why. He strikes me as a regular guy, and he appears to make his guests comfortable, too. He's not a great interviewer, but he's a sight better than Letterman, who seems to indulge his inner 13-year-old a bit too often. He's altogether too old for that shtick now.; ३१/५/०९, १:२८ AM