More on that in a moment.
First, a couple of takes from major media on what has become a major media event in the last few days.
Now that everything is official, Conan O’Brien is speaking out about Jimmy Fallon taking over The Tonight Show from Jay Leno next year.
On his TBS talk show Wednesday night, O’Brien congratulated Fallon and — without directly referencing Leno — noted the new host is “the perfect guy” for the iconic talk show.
“I want to congratulate Jimmy, that is a really fun gig,” O’Brien said, drawing laughs. “It is! … It’s a fun gig and you know what? Jimmy is the perfect guy to do it; he’s going to do a fantastic job. So congratulations Jimmy.”
O’Brien took over The Tonight Show from Leno three years ago, then exited NBC after the network wanted to return Leno to the 11:35 p.m. slot. Earlier this week O’Brien’s show Conan was renewed through 2015.
In a refreshing sign of empathy for his competitor, David Letterman expressed surprise during his Late Show monologue Wednesday that NBC would allow Jay Leno to leave his job while he’s on top.
“Now earlier today, NBC announced that Jimmy Fallon will take over for Jay Leno as host of the Tonight Show in February of 2014. This is – something’s wrong here,” according to a Late Show transcript released by CBS. “This happened once before with Conan O’Brien, and then they had to bring Jay back, and so he had to start his show all over again, and now it looks like the same thing is happening. And I just – I don’t get this. He’s retiring, so it says, and good for him. I’ve known him 38 years. I’ve known Jay Leno for 38 years, thank you. I don’t know what aspect of that you’re applauding, but thank you…So now he’s out again, but going out on top. So congratulations to Jay, a job well done. And, I mean, how many times can a guy be pushed out of the job, I mean. And what’s the matter with NBC? What’s the matter with these guys? You know, honestly, what are they thinking?”
Earlier in the show that was taped in New York today, Letterman made a series of quips that relate to his previous life at NBC. “I got a call from my mom today, she says, ‘Well, David, I see you didn’t get the Tonight Show again.” “It seems like we just went through this,” Letterman continued.
“Didn’t we just go through this? Jay Leno now is being replaced, and this is the second time this has happened. I mean, it’s crazy. He’s being replaced by a younger late night talk show host – what could possibly go wrong? Honestly. They had pretty good luck with this in the past. But NBC, God bless ‘em, announced the official date for Jay Leno’s departure – no mention of his official date of return, however. I happen to know Jay’s got another job on network that has greater viewership, higher ratings – Univision. He’s going there.”
Some random thoughts.
First, it's inevitable that, once the dust settles, Fallon is going to have his work cut out for him as he is compared to the guy considered the platinum standard when it comes to late night television hosts.
Johnny Carson.
Personally, I don't find Fallon all that hot, let alone holding a candle.
But, in fairness, it should be pointed out that the Jimmy Fallon of 2013 shouldn't be compared to the Johnny Carson revered by millions.
Because that Johnny Carson is the iconic host who retired in 1992 after thirty years of building, and keeping, an audience.
And not the less than well known part time stand up comic, former game show host who, in 1962, looked like a pretty debatable "what are they thinking?" replacement for the guy who, in 1962, was considered the standard when it came to late night television hosts.
Jack Paar.
Who?
Exactly.
So, at this point at least, if comparisons are inevitable, then the fair is fair comparison should be the Jimmy Fallon of 2013 compared to the Johnny Carson of 1962.
Which brings us around to that "inside the biz" thing I mentioned earlier and the bottom line that seems to escape a lot of the pundits waxing ad nauseum in print, on air and online about this massive shift in the tectonic plates of talk.
Most people really don't care all that much.
Oh, make no mistake, ask almost anyone if they have a favorite and you'll likely get an answer.
And in the game of "he with the most viewers makes advertisers the most money", the network executives whose future, not to mention present,employment is tied to winning that game, it matters, a lot, who gets to do the monologue and the behind the desk chit chat that has been the m.o. of every talk show host since the days of....well...
Jack Paar.
Who?
Exactly.
But ask any one of those same anyones who were earlier questioned about a favorite if they really care, one way or another, who gets the gig, chances are that the answer, in most cases, will be something along the lines of .....
...uh, no...not really.
Because the simple, and seemingly obvious but oft overlooked, fact is that it's not really the kind of thing that people think about all that much.
Not that you could tell from all the noise being made in print, on air and online about it.
Noise, though, being made primarily by media whose jobs are, primarily, to make noise.
And, as a result, to create the illusion that this kind of thing matters a whole lot more than it really matters.
It happens a lot.
A lot more than you might think.
If you were ever inclined to think about it.
And not just in "big" event stories like the change of hosts on a nationally televised talk show.
Even in some "smaller" events like, say, the departure of one local radio host and the arrival of another.
Over the years, I've done my share of moving on from and/or moving in behind the microphone and, along the way, have come to realize that, at least in terms of local broadcasting, "celebrity" as we tend to think of it, is, actually, mostly, an illusion.
Not that you could tell from all the noise made inside the hallways and offices of general managers, program directors and various and sundry water cooler hanger outers.
But travel five hundred feet in any direction from the building and you'll spend a lot of precious time trying to find one person who knows, let alone cares, that "Mike in the Morning" has become "Milt in the Morning".
Unless, of course, you happen to run into Mike.
In which case you'll find somebody who knows and cares a lot.
And the radio business, on a small scale, just like the television business, on a larger scale, is filled with folks who spend an inordinate amount of time, energy and/or resources wasting time, energy and resources on something that the average listener and/or viewer couldn't possibly care less about.
What in the world happened to Mike?
If he's a pro, he's sucked it up and moved on to another market to replace "Mickey in the Morning".
If not, he's hanging around in the market, scratching out a living doing voice overs and emceeing any local event that wasn't able to book a current on air, waiting for his loyal listeners to rise up, in numbers too staggering to ignore, and storm the station with placards of protest, convincing station management that he should be returned to his rightful place as the single most important thing to happen to broadcasting since Marconi first rigged some wires.
It's usually a long wait.
Because those loyal listeners have other, more pressing things to care about.
Like how to feed their families, keep their kids safe, pay their mortage....
...and if they're running late for work.
Information that they can easily get....from Milt.
The British have an expression that applies here.
The king is dead.
Long live the king.
Leno is done.
Fallon is next.
Good luck, Jimmy.
Jay, seriously, dude, let it go.
Yo, Mike....you, too.
People couldn't have liked your shows more.
But they couldn't care less.
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