Second Negative

The late shift

Jay Leno announced Monday that he will retire from the Tonight Show in 2009 and turn over hosting duties to Conan O’Brien. I like Conan, but it won’t make any difference to me who hosts the Tonight Show as long as David Letterman is still on the air. I’ve always preferred Dave over Jay, and although I enjoy Conan’s show, I wouldn’t give up Dave for any other host. Even Johnny.

I have a number of problems with Leno, but I’m mainly bothered by his interview style. After spending more than a decade hosting the Tonight Show, he barely seems more comfortable with guests now then when he first took over. I’m not sure if the interviews follow a script, but Leno seems to have difficulty asking follow up questions when his guests stop talking. I don’t expect him to be Tim Russert, but if you’re a celebrity or a politician, you certainly know that the Tonight Show is the television equivalent of People Magazine. Fluff. And while that is their right, I don’t think it’s all that interesting, especially when you compare it to a real host who asks real questions.

I’ve also never found Leno to be particularly funny, but to be fair, that may be because I don’t really like generic humor. I’ve read before that he spends a lot of time preparing for his monologue, and I know that he likes to boast about how many jokes he does per night. But that may be part of the problem. Leno seems to believe that greater quality can be achieved by increasing the quantity of jokes. Like a home run hitter with a low batting average. Except, without that many home runs. Or really, any.

Dave, on the other hand, is the king of sarcasm and wit. Okay, so I might be biased. But only because I value sarcasm and wit. Dave’s opening monologue is often short, but pointed and funny. He seems to believe that a few quality remarks better serve the content of his show than a barrage of throwaway jokes with obvious punch lines.

Letterman is also a smooth interviewer (watch his body language) and he manages to create what comes off as an actual conversation. He never shies away from the hard questions, regardless of the guest. Case in point, while he doesn’t appear to be a fan of George W. Bush, he certainly didn’t hesitate to press John Kerry about certain aspects of his record. He also asked FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS during the course of the interview. Imagine that.

I’m not a Jay Leno hater. He seems like a nice, hard working guy. But the fact is that he’s the McDonalds of late night talk show hosts, and I expect something with a little more flavor. And you should too.