Jay Leno waved goodbye to his audience last night… for a few weeks, anyway. Tuesday was the official end of “The Jay Leno Show”, the controversial prime time ‘experiment’ that became one of the biggest home goals in US TV network NBC’s long history.
The show flopped in the ratings, outraged the network’s affiliates and ultimately caused a major public embarrassment when it was decided to axe the show and return Leno to his rather more successful position as host of “The Tonight Show” – at the expense of his replacement Conan O’Brien, who was ousted after just seven months in his dream job. Fortunately, Leno didn’t try to make the end of his prime time show particularly emotional – indeed, most of the talk was still about Leno’s surprise team-up with late night rival David Letterman on a now infamous Super Bowl advert. “It was great fun,” Leno told his studio audience on Monday. “I want to thank Dave for making him a part of his promo. I was glad to promote his show. Dave, thank you very much. I appreciate it.”
Leno insists there was no animosity between the two, who have traded barbs on their show since Leno’s still controversial seizing of the job as “The Tonight Show” host eighteen years, when even Johnny Carson himself had favoured Letterman for the gig. “I walk in and see Dave. He puts his hand out and we shake hands. And you know, whatever happened the last eighteen years disappeared,” Leno claims. With their old rivalry set to flare up again on March 1, when Leno returns as “Tonight Show” host, it remains to be seen whether that newfound civility will continue, however.
