Althouse: "'The Tonight Show' at 12:05 simply isn't the 'Tonight Show.'"

January 12, 2010

"'The Tonight Show' at 12:05 simply isn't the 'Tonight Show.'"

Conan O'Brien is right! It's not tonight anymore. After midnight's, it's tomorrow. Remember the Tomorrow show?

26 comments:

J. Cricket said...: Not in the wimpy Midwest where it would actually be 11:05!; 1/12/10, 11:18 PM
Peter Hoh said...: This article looks like fodder for a fun contracts exam.; 1/12/10, 11:22 PM
Titus said...: This entire episode is great for Letterman.

Love Letterman. Midwest guy living on the East Coast.

Leno is so boring.

Dowd nails it today in her editorial.

I just pinched a loaf. It was solid. Nice mid section while being narrow on the ends.; 1/12/10, 11:48 PM
Titus said...: I turn 40 this year and plan on stop working when I am 50.

Is that ok?

By that time I will have worked in Corporate America almost 30 years.

5 at Time Warner, 5 in IT Consulting, 10 in Biotech and the next 10...I am not sure?

Maybe waitress? Or State of Wisconsin? Or Soap Opera sales girl? Or tour guide at Ringley Bros in Baraboo? Bangalore Customer Service Rep?

At Christmas my mom told me my father set up an estate for me where I can draw 100k a year for the rest of my life.

They also have 6 pieces of property we can rent outto tourists. A farm, a hunting Cabin, a lake cottage, a condo in Arizona, a ski home in Bozeman, and a home in Waunakee.

What am I going to do with the rest of my life?; 1/12/10, 11:55 PM
Titus said...: I thought about being a rare clumber breeder and showing and competing in the dog world.

I love dogs.

I would convert the barn in Lodi to a fabulous loft and have many rare clumbers running around and show them and breed them and have rare clumber puppies and it could be fun.; 1/13/10, 12:00 AM
Wince said...: Tom Snyder was the master of the uncomfortable interview.

The edgier, the better, and he fed off it.

Manson in prison was right up there.

Not that I watched Tomorrow regularly back then, young as I was, but after it was gone, I missed it.

Now that you remind me, I guess I still do.; 1/13/10, 12:17 AM
1775OGG said...: "Where's Johnny?"; 1/13/10, 12:19 AM
Mark Daniels said...: When Jack Paar was host of The Tonight Show, it started at 11:15pm.

When Johnny Carson took over, as more and more local stations expanded to half-hour late news, the show sort of started at 11:15, but featured Ed McMahon warming things up before introducing Carson at 11:30.

Of course, Paar and Carson both did hour-and-a-half shows for years. Carson signed off at 1:00am. The show was shortened later.

So, the time has been shifted around before.

I just can't imagine that juggling Leno and O'Brien around, whatever the configuration, is going to make either of them that entertaining.; 1/13/10, 12:21 AM
el polacko said...: enough whining from conan already!
the name of the game is ratings and his have been in the dumpster..end of story.; 1/13/10, 1:49 AM
Bob said...: Remember the Tomorrow show? Yah, I do. Back in the day Tom Snyder smoked like a chimney while the show was live, as did his guests. I remember staying up as a kid to watch three Star Trek actors guesting on the show (James Doohan, DeForest Kelley and Walter Koenig), and as I recall they all smoked; the set was a haze of cigarette smoke.; 1/13/10, 4:58 AM
KCFleming said...: I don't watch any of those shows.

But, Conan's letter rejecting the offer began People of Earth:.

That's hilarious.

Titus, surely your financial windfall can permit you even greater solipsism than you had ever thought possible, including nursing your doppelgänger, Alex.; 1/13/10, 6:33 AM
traditionalguy said...: Remembering that the TV industry is a network that shows paid for commrecials to whomever is viewing at that time, frankly they don't care how those viewrs are attracted. If Leno does it, then fine. It is a numbers game that wins with more viewers of crap and loses with less viewers of true comic genius.; 1/13/10, 7:08 AM
bagoh20 said...: I can't claim to represent all the people of Earth but, I must say: I like Conan.; 1/13/10, 8:21 AM
MadisonMan said...: I like Conan. But I don't watch him. I find Leno kind of boring. Letterman is okay in small doses -- I do think he is a very good interviewer.

wv: boxledog -- in keeping with the dog theme of late; 1/13/10, 8:25 AM
Peter Hoh said...: If Leno does it, then fine.

But Leno didn't do it. He didn't do it against Letterman, and he didn't do it in prime time. (Actually, he performed as well as could be expected in prime time, but he didn't do as well as E.R. and other NBC dramas used to do.)

NBC screwed up. I am certain that they will continue to screw up.; 1/13/10, 8:38 AM
Joan said...: For most of his Tonight show tenure, Leno consistently beat Letterman in the ratings. I don't watch any of these guys, but I like Leno and Conan, whereas Letterman just skeeves me out.

NBC is just stupid.; 1/13/10, 9:10 AM
William said...: I read the accompanying article and was deeply touched by Conan's loyalty to and respect for the Tonight franchise. It is so rare that show biz types look beyond their narrow self interest to larger issues such as the integrity of the Tonight show. We should all look up from our petty concerns and admire the way Conan refuses to besmirch the Tonight show brand even if he must take a $45 million dollar payday because of that refusal.....Incidentally, congratulations to Pogo for using solipsism in a sentence. All of my adult life I have wanted to use solipsism in a sentence but have never managed to pull it off.; 1/13/10, 9:56 AM
Chip Ahoy said...: Solipsism and doppelgänger with dots, way to go Pogo, you stud.; 1/13/10, 10:59 AM
Original Mike said...: William, in my group you're required to raise your left hand when you're being factious. So everyone will know.

I propose that Althouse adopt this convention.; 1/13/10, 11:08 AM
muddimo said...: I remember the Tomorrow show. Freaky.; 1/13/10, 11:30 AM
Chase said...: Letterman vs Leno is the most ridiculous waste of time.

I am always amused that Jay is widely quoted the next day, but Letterman?

Here's a favorite trick. The next time someone mentions how much better Letterman is than Leno, look them straight in the eye and ask:

"Really? Did you watch last night? What did Dave say that was funny?"

Crickets.

Every time.

It's all about the ego of the talker, never about the funny.; 1/13/10, 12:46 PM
Chris said...: Yeh, NBC will continue to screw up its programming. They are the geniuses who thought Rosie O'Donnell hosting a prime time variety show last year was a great idea. Truly clueless. Always thought Conan appealed to a niche audience (younger, 20-30 year olds) rather than Leno's broader night time audience. Never understood this grand "experiment". Now they have a real mess to clean up given the fact that they dumped the programming in the 10-11 (Eastern) time slot. Just hope Conan finds a place to go.; 1/13/10, 12:47 PM
former law student said...: The professor is quite right. As far as the start time goes: While the start time of the Tonight Show was shifted back 15 minutes, then returned to 11:30, then shifted forward to 11:35, the Tonight Show has always immediately followed the late local news. NBC gave different, distinctive names to its late night chat shows that did not immediately follow the late local news -- Tomorrow, Late Night with XXX, and Last Call with YYY.; 1/13/10, 1:03 PM
former law student said...: Because most of Leno's fans are in the AARP set, he should really start at 7:30, right after Jeopardy.; 1/13/10, 1:04 PM
Paul Kirchner said...: EDH said...
Tom Snyder was the master of the uncomfortable interview. The edgier, the better, and he fed off it.
Manson in prison was right up there.

>>>

Absolutely! I wish there had been VCRs back then. The Manson interview was amazing, as was his interview with Johnny Rotten. Snyder seemed like a clueless dork, but in some strange way that made the show more interesting.; 1/13/10, 2:07 PM
mariner said...: Yes, I do remember the Tomorrow show.

Tom Snyder was an excellent interviewer, if a little hard to see through the cloud of cigarette smoke.; 1/13/10, 6:35 PM