On AOL today a rather large fuss was being made over the fact that Jay Leno has been hosting “The Tonight Show” for 15 years. There are various factoids on the page, but also there are the questions to the reader about Leno as ranked among the all-time late night hosts.

I ranked him at 5 out of the eight that were available as choices. The other choices were Johnny Carson, David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jon Stewart, Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, and Craig Ferguson. I don’t necessarily think these all belong in the top eight, but those were the available choices. There was no space for a write-in.

Others who had taken the survey agreed with me only on who was number one. Johnny Carson wasn’t the man who invented late night, but he certainly perfected it. My son wasn’t born when Johnny passed the baton to Leno, so he has little idea of what a difference there is between the late night of yesteryear and today. I try to find ‘The Best of Carson’ when it is on so I can TiVo it and he can appreciate what a phenomenal host and comedian Carson was. This is why he might never be equaled.

Johnny Carson was as adept at interviewing the guests as he was at doing anything else on the show. With Jay Leno, the monologue has been and will continue to be,  the jewel of the show. There is no doubt that Leno is a great stand up comedian, especially when you add in the constraints of the NBC censors. For this type of audience, Leno has only one better, and you know that’s Johnny.

Jay is a personable guy, and I’m sure I’d love to spend time with him, as I know our mutual love of the automobile would keep us talking for hours. But where the jokes end on the show, the let down starts. Jay has never been a really comfortable interviewer, and it shows. At this late date, I doubt we will see any progress in this area. The guests know, and can sense, his reticence to ask tough questions, or to attempt to see into the life behind the scenes of any of his guests. He tries to break up the conversation with laughter, but instead of making the mood light and getting the guest to open up, he just makes them laugh, and then it’s back to more uneasiness.

The other fixtures of the show revolve around his sense of humor, and although great, the Monday night newspaper foibles don’t keep interest up for the rest of the week.

Another question in the article was did NBC make the right choice with Leno, over David Letterman. Almost 90% said yes, and I must agree, but only because the decision was made with the available information of 1992. If the decision process could have gone forward in time to today, I believe we would see Letterman or perhaps someone else as host now. In 1992, David Letterman was more raw, in the unfinished sense, and wasn’t ready for 11:30. Today, he is much more at ease with himself, and has surrounded himself with great people who make him the one to watch after the jokes are over. Leno is still the better stand-up, but once seated Letterman is the master. He is more comfortable in the role of interviewer, and can make the comforting joke for any ill-at-ease guest to return to the conversation. He makes the guests realize he cares about what they say, and appears more often than not to be interested. This enables Letterman to carry the hour in a much better fashion than Leno.

My actual choice for the number two on the all-time list was only rated number 5 by the rest of the respondents. I believe he is the one who should have a late night berth when a change is made. It appears that Conan O’Brien has been chosen to replace Jay and on that day, NBC late night ratings will drop like the Hindenberg after the fire alarm. He is so variable, being funny to the extent you almost hurt from laughing, and then there will be a drought, and you wonder why you tuned in for days at a time. Not the kind of person you want after all the bad news at 11 p.m. My choice at number 2 is Jon Stewart, who is unbelievably funny and appears to be well-read and capable of deep thought. This is what we need at 11:30. Someone who can make the pain of the news go away and speak with many guests at their level. Apparently he will have to replace Letterman. 

The entire list as voted on by the visitors to the page goes as follows:

Carson [1], Leno [2], Letterman [3], Conan O’Brien [4], Jon Stewart [5], Jimmy Kimmel [6], Stephen Colbert [7], and Craig Ferguson [8].

My ranking:

Carson [1], Jon Stewart [2], Letterman [3], Craig Ferguson [4], Leno [5], Stephen Colbert [6], Conan O’Brien [7], and Jimmy Kimmel [8].

I must say I do think Craig Ferguson is being penalized by being the ‘new kid on the block’, and why Jimmy Kimmel is not last I have no clue. To my way of thinking he is not funny, and although there are apocryphal tales of intellect, it doesn’t seem to show on camera.

So it would appear that we all want Johnny back, but since that isn’t possible, Leno, for most, will have to do.

[tags]late night television, talk show, carson[/tags]