Well, it’s just the week for re-hashing old drama! Which is really very fitting as it’s also finals time. In the last few days, Leno has done a horrible job at the White Houses’s Correspondent Dinner, Letterman has explained that he originally wanted Conan to join him and Jay in the infamous superbowl add, and Conan has given his first interview since the Late Night Wars of earlier this year (all three full stories can be found here. You go, Ken Tucker!)
Clearly, it’s been a very exciting time for old late night drama. Which really, is my favorite drama. But have we learned anything new? Not really.
Jay Leno still isn’t funny. Also, he’s still pretty much a jerk. Please watch the video and note that he actually says “well, this is a tough room.” False, Jay. Actually, you are just the least entertaining man ever (also note that our president is funnier).
David Letterman is still willing to sacrifice anything for a joke. To Dave, the late night wars were hilarious. He had gotten sucked into drama in the early 90s when he got “the late shift” but when the new dramadies rolled around, he was just entertained. He took glee in watching everyone mock his long time nemesis. But after it all, he wanted to put it all aside to make an awesome superbowl commercial.
Conan O’Brien is still awesome and still got totally screwed. Poor, poor Coco. He really was treated horribly. In our current television society, no one gets enough time. In the good ole’ days, a show would get a season (sometimes two) to get its footing. Network execs understood that not everything became an instant hit after the pilot (the Seinfeld pilot was so un-noteworthy that Julia Louis-Dreyfus didn’t even know that it existed until the series came out on DVD years later, and imagine where we’d be without that classic), and shows were allowed to live on quietly, slowly building a fan base. But those were the golden ages without sex predators and crappy social networking sites (I’m looking at you, new Facebook), and now we’re a society seeking instant gratification and little shows like Conan O’Brien’s Tonight Show get the short end of the stick.
The point of all of this? Kids, study up. Because you aren’t going to be able to make it as a late night comedian.
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