Even Jay Leno seemed unenthused by his "Tonight"-like 10 o'clock debut
"The Jay Leno Show" is basically the old "Tonight Show" in a new timeslot with the same low quality jokes, as Matthew Gilbert points out: "From the opening monologue and the overly scripted banter with guest Jerry Seinfeld (and, via satellite, Oprah Winfrey) to the goofy-headlines segment at the end of the hour, 'The Jay Leno Show' was numbingly familiar. The boilerplate talk format was reminiscent not only of Leno’s “Tonight Show,” but of almost every other late-night talker on the air right now. Another serving of movie and TV show plugs, coming right up."
It felt old — and, to some people, perfectly comfy // Most of the jokes were stale
What if "Leno Show" is never funny? // Leno seems to be only targeting his old fans
More snoozeworthy than creative // Leno: Cloned? // Bud Light commercial was funnier
Kanye West apologizes on Leno
"It was rude, period," said West, who paused and said yes after Jay Leno asked if his late mother would've approved of his comments.
Obama calls Kanye a "jackass" // The 5 best late-night apologies
ACLU: Richard Hatch's 1st ammendment rights are being violated
Sending the "Survivor" winner back to jail amounted to a "clear-cut violation of his First Amendment rights," the ACLU argued today in federal court.
Helen Hunt may replace Maura Tierney on "Parenthood"
The Oscar-winning "Mad About You" star is considering a return to primetime TV.
Emmy presenters include Tina Fey, Stephen Moyer, Jimmy Fallon, "HIMYM" stars
Also presenting are Blake Lively, Jon Hamm and Leighton Meester.
"Kendra's" hubby losing his Philadelphia Eagles job
Wide receiver and E! reality star Hank Baskett is on the trading block.
The star of "The Beast" and numerous big-screen hits succumbed to pancreatic cancer on Monday. "Patrick Swayze passed away peacefully today with family at his side after facing the challenges of his illness for the last 20 months," his publicist said in a statement. Swayze was first diagnosed with cancer in March 2008 while filming the A&E drama series, but he vowed to keep on working.
As luck would have it, "The Jay Leno Show" is kicking off tonight with Kanye West (as well as Jerry Seinfeld) just as Kanye is embroiled in a national controversy over his VMA disruption. Could tonight be Leno's Hugh Grant moment, Part 2: "Without a doubt producers are convening at Jay Leno headquarters," says James Poniewozik, "trying to figure out how to come up with a way to ask "What the hell were you thinking?" for a new generation. And NBC must be thanking God for giving them evidence of their argument that The Jay Leno Show will be a hit because it can comment on watercooler topics."
The "King of the Hill" star was "Archie Bunker without the prejudices, Ralph Kramden without the unhinged temper tantrums," says Don Aucoin, who adds: "The genius of 'King of the Hill' was that it managed to simultaneously challenge and reaffirm Hank’s authority in a way that both mapped and commented on the complicated shifts in the cultural landscape.
“This may very well be the last year they’re on a network show,” says Harris, who in addition to hosting is taking the unusual step of producing Sunday's ceremony. “This wheel contract they have, where each year a different network gets the show, as the ratings decline it becomes less of a good thing to ‘get it.’ It’s a very expensive show. Which means they have to get more ad revenue. Ads are less expensive, because ratings are down. So you have to do more ads, which makes the show smaller—and inevitably, when it goes to ABC, the same thing will happen, and finally someone will do it on cable, where there won’t be any commercials. Which will be a wonderful show. Our three-hour show is only two hours and five minutes long, due to economics.”
Heather Havrilesky says this season wasn't too far off from "The Sopranos," HBO's other massive hit. "Just as the morally upside-down mob microcosm captured our imaginations, so, too, does this dark (but often downright silly) world ruled by ignorant rednecks, self-righteous Christians and blood-sucking fiends," she writes. "Yes, just when everyone's hugged and thanked their lucky stars and it looks like they'll all live happily ever after, some Yahtzee-playing vampire queen or pot-smoking demigod is about to roll into town and crush these sad little mortals under his/her/its merciless feet."
