What I Think about The Tonight Show Host Situation

I don't watch the network late night TV shows. I never really have except when I lived in Chicago 12 years ago.

My concern with what's happening today is not so much with any fairness to Conan O'Brien but with the tradition of "The Tonight Show." I've been told by many people (who actually watch late night TV) that Conan is very, very funny and deserved to get the Tonight Show job, a job that I still believe is one of the most coveted jobs in all of television. I'll have to take their word for it.

It's no surprise to people who know me that I'm a big fan of tradition (insert "Fiddler on the Roof" music). To me, it is an honorable thing to carry on a tradition firmly established in the past into the present and future, while maintaining the integrity of the tradition itself. Johnny Carson carried on the tradition of quality comedy television from Jack Benny and Jack Parr, and I have to say that I thought Jay Leno continued that tradition well when I watched him in Chicago.

But now, the importance of the tradition of "The Tonight Show" is getting lost in the muck and mire of television ratings and advertisement revenues. NBC, who has plummeted in both categories in the past 10 years, is seeking to hold on to their one last, great television tradition and maintain a hold on the one time slot they still dominate.

At this point, besides tradition, you have to bring in the word loyalty. Not just to a contract, but to a commitment and a person. Conan O'Brien, like David Letterman before him, worked hard for a decade on a show that followed "The Tonight Show" in the hopes of one day inheriting the tradition of the show that they felt (as I do) deserved to be carried on with dignity. Well, Letterman got totally screwed by NBC when they gave the show to Leno after Carson retired, and he took his show to CBS (justifiably). O'Brien stuck it out, maintained his own loyalty and was rewarded with the show. Now, his loyalty, patience and talent are being ignored so that Jay Leno can come back and take over the show he willingly gave up two years ago.

I thought Conan O'Brien's statement about "The Tonight Show" last week was one of the best and most sincere statements by a television personality in years. I could honestly believe that this man cared more about tradition of the show and loyalty to the fans than his own fame and fortune. That is a rare thing, and it's being squandered. That's a shame, but not at all surprising.

I predict "The Tonight Show" will flounder and fall from grace when Leno returns to the show. I can't say it will fail or do terribly worse than other late night shows because, let's face it, Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel are not Jay Leno and their shows are not "The Tonight Show" ... those are different traditions all together, and the fans know what they like. Instead, I think most people will simply give up on late night network television and switch to something else. Maybe Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert. Or maybe, heaven forbid, reading a book before going to bed. I know that's what I plan on doing. I think Benny, Parr, Carson and O'Brien would approve.