THE TONIGHT SHOW: IS CONAN ANY GOOD?

Ok, Conan O'Brien has taken over Jay Leno's position on The Tonight Show. But is Conan any good?

All I can say is that Conan takes a bit of getting used to? He does try hard -- but it looks like sometimes he is trying too hard. Hosting The Tonight Show and interviewing celebrities does not come easily to him. It only shows that the writers he has on his show have not really tapped into the "feel" of the The Tonight Show.

Conan's New York "thang" is just not translating very well.

I do miss Jay Leno. I wonder how he is doing?


Photo credits:
1. Conan O'Brien picture from http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20281580,00.html
2. Jay Leno picture from http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20211733,00.html

TWO OF MY FAVORITE GUYS MAKE FOR GREAT TV!

I must say that it felt good to hear that the ratings for Jay Leno shot through the roof when President Barack Obama made an appearance on Leno's show last Thursday night. (CNBC aired the episode over via Astro during the weekend).

Here's a short report on the ratings of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno as found on www.imdb.com......

President Obama's appearance on NBC's Tonight show with Jay Leno Thursday produced the show's highest ratings in years. NBC and Nielsen Research said that the 11.2 rating and 26 share was the best score that the NBC late show has generated in five years -- when an identical figure was produced for a special about Johnny Carson. One has to go back to the night of the Seinfeld finale in 1998, when Leno talked to the cast, to find an episode that drew more viewers. In an interview with Daily Variety, NBC Co-chairman Ben Silverman said that the network is hoping to come up with similar big "gets" when Leno moves to primetime later this year. "There's an opportunity to really eventize the show," Silverman said. "(We're looking) to make it distinct and it should play perfectly in primetime, where there is a massive audience. It will still be a comedy show, but with more segments and formats." (Source: http://www.imdb.com/news/ns0000003/#ni0719150).


Picture credit: http://weblogs.newsday.com/entertainment/music/idol/blog/obamaleno.jpg

BEST OF 2008: GLOBAL STARS -- ELIZABETH BANKS AND KATE WINSLET THE SMARTEST WOMEN IN MOVIES

An appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is the official barometer to tell if a star is truly a star in every sense of the word.

Two women whom I saw on Jay Leno who easily are the smartest and brightest actresses of their generation are Kate Winslet and Elizabeth Banks. Both women appeared on Jay Leno's show (on different occasions) and they are both eloquent, have unsurpassed sense of humor, don't take themselves too seriously (TRANSLATION: feet firmly planted on the ground!) and -- MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL! -- can tell the studio audience a good story!

(Caption: Come, wanna make a porno with me?
Photo credit (Elizabeth Banks = mugshot): picture by Jeff Vespa for Wireimage.com on http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20186838,00.html)
(Caption: Come sit with me!
Photo credit (Kate Winslet seated): picture by James White on http://images.google.com.my/imgres?imgurl=http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/060928/104125__kate_l.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1540471,00.html&usg=__341CXEmiryEKdKN2pn-lomlNN0o=&h=400&w=300&sz=27&hl=en&start=12&um=1&tbnid=Yt9W74bSqEwbrM:&tbnh=124&tbnw=93&prev=/images%3Fq%3DKATE%2BWINSLET%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN)

BEST OF 2008: GLOBAL STARS -- KATHY GRIFFIN: BEST COMEDIENNE ON TV

One of my favorite comediennes is Kathy Griffin. She is the funniest comedienne working on TV today.

Kathy Griffin has an Emmy-winning My Life of the D-List -- one of the most hilarious side-splitting shows on tv.

Kathy Griffin has appeared on Larry King and was so good that Larry King had her host an episode of his show (the topic was on paparazzi and Kathy Griffin ripped through it in the funniest manner imaginable. Does CNN have the episode stored anywhere online? I am sure people who love comedy would love to get their hands on it!) Kathy Griffin also has appeared on Jay Leno and always has the audience in stitches -- although sometimes it looks like she is just too sharp for the audience to catch some of the nuance/speed of her jokes!

She is one of the best things working on TV today and brings much needed laughter into the world.

She has her own website: http://www.kathygriffin.net/

(Photo of Kathy Griffin from EW)

BEST OF 2008: GLOBAL STARS -- JAY LENO: TALK SHOW HOST WITH THE MOSTEST!

Jay Leno is the most popular talk show host on the planet today.

He is a heroic celebrity interviewer to the global audience because he is witty, has a great sense of humor, has a great capacity to empathize with his guests, and displays a level of decency and morality that is in sync with people every where.

His recent kind and gloved handling of the extremely shy and modest Robert Pattinson, the star of Twilight, is a brilliant case in point. (Robert Pattinson appeared on the show along with goddess of gorgeousness Heidi Klum and her super-talented husband Seal.) And when his guests are completely confident and self-assured, like the brilliant interview with Elizabeth Banks a few weeks back (just after Halloween), he takes the interview to fun places!

(An excellent photo of Jay Leno by Peggy Sirota for Corbis Outline on ew.com)

JAY LENO -- THE BEST ENTERTAINER IN THE WORLD... AND THE MOST POPULAR MAN ON EARTH TODAY TOO!

Oh wow, that Jay Leno is one remarkable man. He has an excellent sense of humor, he has the world's most famous guests lining up to appear on his talk show and audiences everywhere (both the studio audience and the hundreds of millions of television viewers around the world!) absolutely love him!

Jay Leno handles all his guests with respect, has the great ability to connect with both guests and audiences and is possibly the most popular TV personality on the planet today!

Oh, and thank God CNBC is showing a few back-to-back episodes of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno during the weekends! Heaven knows the people of the world need laughter and good cheer in the increasingly cruel and hard world!



(Photo of Jay Leno, and also Leno as he appeared on The Simpsons)

HENRY CEJUDO ON JAY LENO... BRILLIANT YOUNG MAN!

In a recent episode of Jay Leno, impressive Henry Cejudo made an appearance. This endearing young man, 21 years old, won a gold medal at the recent Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

What was most excellent about Henry's appearance was how likable he was. He was very relaxed and had a lovable sense of humor and Leno's studio audience -- like the audience watching Jay Leno at home -- expressed their fondness for his honesty and disarming frankness in a big way.

Cejudo spoke of the hardship and the poverty of his youth and through it all, his effervescent spirit came through. Is it any surprise then that he won the gold medal in the 55kg category in his event (wrestling) at Beijing?

Photos:
Henry Cejudo and his mom (this picture from:http://www.themat.com/section.php?section_id=3&page=showarticle&ArticleID=19472)
Henry Cejudo victorious at the Olympics

JAY LENO

SHORT STORY...

Jay Leno's anxious moment...


"God, I wish I hadn't seen that beauty," Jay Leno anxiously thought to himself, as he stood at the wings of his Tonight Show stage, waiting for his cue to appear on stage. He outstretched his arms to his sides, closer to his hips, rather than sideways like a make-belief airplane, then bent his arms a bit and pretended to jog-on-the-spot quickly.

Why was this world famous man of TV anxious? He had, to put it politely, a pistol-in-his-pocket moment. It was a mild case, but it would most definitely look odd, AND OBVIOUS, on TV. He was nervous. What can I think about... what can I think about to cancel out this state of semi-excitement, he kept asking himself. Aha, then he thought he'd think of his wife. Which he did.

Woosh! No more pistol-in-the-pocket. Just in time, too, as that's when John Melendez announced, ".......Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay Leno!" As he happily hopped and skipped onto stage, Jay thought to himself, no more looking at car magazines before the show from now onwards for him! Instinctively, he then celebrity-slapped his audience's outstretched hands, greeted the studio audience and proceeded to focus on the cue cards!

   
• Jay Leno