# Leno/Conan Shakeup at NBC **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 7, 2010, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073 "2010-01-07T21:31:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 36
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/701 "2010-01-23T05:30:42Z")
> [@Hawkeyeop](#): > > He had his dream job and he lost it. We relocated his entire staff across the country and they are all out of work. He isn’t allowed to be upset? Of course. But he could have handled it privately, not on the show. It’s so strange. He’s going to cry? Please. If you really feel badly for him, send him a few bucks. This has been a pathetic cry for attention. It just doesn’t speak well for him, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/702 "2010-01-23T05:33:55Z")
Freebird!!! . ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/703 "2010-01-23T05:34:07Z")
Are you getting paid $5 for each time you use the word “cry” or “crybaby” in a post in this thread? I liked Conan’s last speech there. Good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/704 "2010-01-23T05:34:48Z")
> [@Kid\_A](#): > > Jay Leno is a talentless hack who doesn’t have an original thought or joke in his body. I hope all of you 65-year old AARP members enjoy him when he returns. Fuck him. Leno isn’t really to blame here. NBC is. You can’t blame Leno for taking the money NBC is throwing at him. If Conan was kicking ass in his time slot, NBC would have cut Leno’s show and kept him. How many people get to even do their dream job? AND get paid an outrageous amount of money to do it? Hell, if I could have played 7 months in the major leagues, I’d be thrilled. Would it hurt to get sent back to the minors? Sure. But it would be the thrill of a lifetime. And the $33-45 million would make the fall very cushy. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/705 "2010-01-23T05:35:08Z")
MORE COWBELL!!! Yeah!! ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/706 "2010-01-23T05:36:34Z")
I was worried how this last episode would go. It did not disappoint. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/707 "2010-01-23T05:36:47Z")
Fun ending but someone needs to tell Will Ferrell he really can’t sing. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/708 "2010-01-23T05:37:16Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > Are you getting paid $5 for each time you use the word “cry” or “crybaby” in a post in this thread? > > I liked Conan’s last speech there. Good stuff. HAHA! No. I guess I have used it a bit too much. He’ll be fine. He’ll land on his feet. And if Leno sucks this next time around, I’m sure NBC will have no problem saying good-bye to him, either. Now, if we could only get rid of Dick Clark on New Year’s Eve 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/709 "2010-01-23T05:39:44Z")
> [@Kid\_A](#): > > Jay Leno is a talentless hack who doesn’t have an original thought or joke in his body. I hope all of you 65-year old AARP members enjoy him when he returns. Fuck him. could it possibly be that Conan’s audience wasn’t old enough to stay up and watch him? :dubious: Kudo’s to Conan on his last show. He ended it on a high note. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/710 "2010-01-23T05:41:09Z")
As far as I can tell, Conan did the same thing **Stink Fish Pot** said he would do, and he hates it anyway. 😛 For the official record that was a … near-listenable version of Freebird featuring Billy Gibbons, Robert Randolph, Beck, and Conan with the Tonight Show band and Will Ferrell. ---
**Author:** ![Achren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@Achren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achren)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/711 "2010-01-23T05:45:26Z")
That’s a helluva way to end the show. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/712 "2010-01-23T05:47:26Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > As far as I can tell, Conan did the same thing **Stink Fish Pot** said he would do, and he hates it anyway. 😛 > > For the official record that was a … near-listenable version of Freebird featuring Billy Gibbons, Robert Randolph, Beck, and Conan with the Tonight Show band and Will Ferrell. Think I’m being too harsh? Perhaps I am. 🙂 Sorry, Conan fans. I’m not picking on you. As George Wallace said, “Can you think of a better time to kick a man than when he’s down?” 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/713 "2010-01-23T05:48:11Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > According to all the reports from the other day, he’s getting $33 million and $12 million is going to the staff and crew. Cynicism slightly abated then. Good for him. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/714 "2010-01-23T05:50:35Z")
“I hate cynicism. Don’t be cynical.” Stupid crybaby. Didn’t you just know he was gonna play the “don’t be cynical” card? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Shroud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@The\_Shroud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Shroud)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/715 "2010-01-23T05:51:08Z")
Conan would hate me, because this has made me more cynical than ever. But he’s right; work hard, be a good guy, and amazing things will happen. But not necessarily the _good_ kind of amazing. I’ve really deleted NBC from my channel lineup. Sure, it’s just a pointless, emotional move, but I doubt I’ll find a reason to reinstate it. Craig Ferguson is proving to be a good salve. ---
**Author:** ![Piker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@Piker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Piker)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/716 "2010-01-23T05:57:13Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > Leno isn’t really to blame here. NBC is. You can’t blame Leno for taking the money NBC is throwing at him. I love the standards we’re holding people to nowadays. The principle-less, talent-less hack is not to blame! What _other option_ does he have but ruin the lives and dreams of another show’s cast and crew when the opportunity was offered to him . . . I mean, he’s only a _near-billionaire_! Nope, no blame here! And don’t come back to me and say the ratings speak for themselves. If, back in the early nineties, Leno was held to the same standards Conan was held to here, the only thing we would remember about him would be the Doritos commercials. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/717 "2010-01-23T06:02:18Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > Haven’t chimed in until now, but I have to say I love Leno and hate Conan, so I won’t miss him. > > I’m also having a hard time feeling sorry for a guy who, for 7 months of work, will never have to work again. > > Leno will once again win the late night ratings war, as Letterman sucks as well. > > Carson was such a class act. When he was done, he walked away and never popped up again. So I’m confused: Do you like class acts like Carson that, when they’re done, they walk away and never pop up again? Or do you like Leno who, when he was done, did NOT walk away and eventually popped up again and again? Well, I guess the bottom line is we’re gonna have a class-less act now hosting the Tonight Show once the Olympics are over. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/718 "2010-01-23T06:02:39Z")
> [@Kid\_A](#): > > Jay Leno is a talentless hack who doesn’t have an original thought or joke in his body. I hope all of you 65-year old AARP members enjoy him when he returns. Fuck him. Leno had a [1.4 rating](http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman2/publish/Dayparts_update_51/With_Jay_Leno_it_s_all_in_the_numbers.asp) with the 18-49 prime demographic in 2008. Before the rise in ratings as the result of all this attention Conan was getting … [1.0](http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/01/04/conan-beats-dave-with-18-49-viewers-in-4th-quarter/37565). I’m not an AARP member, though I’m eligible. (You’re eligible as soon as you move out of the 18-49 demographic, interestingly.) But we aren’t the problem. It’s all you Conan fanatics who didn’t bother to watch his show. You have to blame yourselves. Really. You do. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/719 "2010-01-23T06:06:17Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Leno had a [1.4 rating](http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman2/publish/Dayparts_update_51/With_Jay_Leno_it_s_all_in_the_numbers.asp) with the 18-49 prime demographic in 2008. Before the rise in ratings as the result of all this attention Conan was getting … [1.0](http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/01/04/conan-beats-dave-with-18-49-viewers-in-4th-quarter/37565). > > I’m not an AARP member, though I’m eligible. (You’re eligible as soon as you move out of the 18-49 demographic, interestingly.) But we aren’t the problem. It’s all you Conan fanatics who didn’t bother to watch his show. You have to blame yourselves. Really. You do. I do (did) watch his show…in a non-traditional format: the Internet. I imagine a lot of my generation gets their television the same way. Don’t know if those millions get counted in the ratings. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/720 "2010-01-23T06:11:05Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > I do (did) watch his show…in a non-traditional format: the Internet. I imagine a lot of my generation gets their television the same way. Don’t know if those millions get counted in the ratings. This is another thing we talked about upthread - apparently they do get counted in the diary ratings method, which only takes place in certain months. But they do not get counted by the year-round ratings (set-top box) system. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073.md?page=35) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073.md?page=37)