O'Brien to Take Over for Leno in 5 Years

[LTR]

NEW YORK - NBC chose the 50th anniversary of the "Tonight" show on Monday to announce that Jay Leno will be succeeded by "Late Night" host Conan O'Brien in five years — or thousands of jokes from now.

The unusual succession plan solves a delicate problem for NBC, blocking other networks from poaching O'Brien to move him to an earlier time slot.

Leno planned to make the announcement on Monday's "Tonight."

"In 2009, I'll be 59 years old and will have had this dream job for 17 years," Leno said. "When I signed my new contract, I felt that the timing was right to plan for my successor and there is no one more qualified than Conan.

"Plus, I promised Mavis I would take her out for dinner before I turned 60," the notoriously workaholic Leno said about his wife.

(more)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=494&ncid=762&e=1&u=/ap/20040927/ap_en_tv/tv_nbc_tonight

[clonebot]

1. oh so they aren't going to give him the shaft like they did to letterman?

[kskiska]

2. An awful lot can happen in 5 years.

The show could go stale and die of its own weight. I hope Conan can option out if he wishes.

[karlrschneider]

3. Bleah. I can't stand either of them.

:eyes:

[leQ]

4. was this said when he was getting his star on hllywd blvd?

n/t

[gospelized]

5. "In 2009, I'll be 59 years old...

and will have had this dream job for 17 years."

um... Conan will have had his show for 17 years, too.

conan deserves better than to wait 5 more years. leno is one of the least funny people on tv. he should've been gone years ago.

[high density]

6. I like Conan O'Brien infinitely more than I do Leno,

but I'm afraid much of Conan's comedy is going to have to be toned down for the 11:30pm slot. Good for him, though. He definitely deserves the job.

[Digit]

7. Don't like Leno and O'Brien just ain't funny n/t

[doc03]

8. Why not quit now and get a job with AAAArnold!

[DS1]

9. thousands of Leno jokes, for me, translates to about 4 laughs

can we hurry this up, please?

[randr]

10. I guess that will guarantee a continuation

of inane, scatological, juvenile humor for years to come.

[DrWeird]

12. You say inane, scatological, and juvenile like it's bad.

For all the glorification of Carson's golden years, a lot of people forget just how inane, scatological, and juvenile he was too. Couldn't see a single episode without at least one Dolly Parson's boobs joke.

[sally343434]

14. There was a difference

You are right. The difference is that with Carson, the telling of the joke was the joke. Letterman used that type of humor too when he was on NBC, plus his guests themselves were the joke, as was the show itself.

Today, Leno tells the same kind of jokes but expects the joke's actual content to get a laugh. It works for his dumbed-down demographic. Sadly, Letterman's show has fallen into the same rut with the jokes, but Letterman's personality helps redeem it. It must be something about the time slot's viewers.

[randr]

17. I wouldn't call it bad

I would call it boring.

[sally343434]

11. All this talk of "Tonight's" 50th anniversary today

All this talk of "Tonight's" 50th anniversary today just makes me long for the old Carson days. Johnny had it down pat, didn't he? None of the current crop holds a candle to The King of Late Night. Letterman comes the closest, but even he defers to Carson's supreme honing of the craft of hosting a daily late show.

[Carolab]

13. in 5 years

we could all be dead. Or the TV screen will be loaded with government propaganda, not ads for Viagra that no one can buy, etc.

Let's get real. There won't be "late night talk shows" in 5 years. There may not be a recognizable country or planet in 5 years.

[Jackpine Radical]

19. Carson? Leno? Who are these guys?

What about Jack Paar?

[kskiska]

22. Paar was best, in my opinion

It was a real talk show back then, with interviews of people who'd written real books. There was a lot of fun, too, but when Carson took over he turned it into a total comedy show, with glitzy celebrities as guests. Paar had more serious topics with political guests at times, such as Bobby Kennedy. It was also more personal, with home movies of Jack's trips to Cuba, Africa, and other lesser-traveled places back then.

Before Jack there was Steve Allen, whose show was all comedy.

[The Chronicler]

15. Both guys are republicans. <nm>

[Josh]

16. Conan is NOT a Republican -

and neither was Jay until, it seems, a few years ago... crazy.

Conan will be great to replace Leno.

[Chico Man]

18. Conan's fake horse riding a real horse

Was one of the funniest skits I've ever seen on TV

[barb162]

20. don't like Conan; why in the world announce 5 years early?

wonder if someone a lot better than Conan comes along. Conan has the humor of a 15 year old boy or maybe a 12 year old boy.

[JohnOneillsMemory]

21. Perhaps Conan agreed to nominate Ahnuld for pretzeldent.

So his CIA handlers announced his reward for agreeing to handle the regime the way Leno does now.

Do you seriously have any doubt that the CIA has gotten to almost every major media figure that you see and hear from? Fear induces compliance. Cheap, quick, and sure.

Look up Operation Mockingbird.