(Thumbnail Image: NBC)
“I’m Jay Leno, your host at least, for a while. Gotta admit I’m a little bit nervous, not ’cause it’s my first night back, ’cause I know Dave and Oprah are watching.”
Jay Leno has made his leap back to late night. For his first episode back at his old home, "The Tonight Show", Leno interviewed big names like Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn. But his return is getting mixed reviews.
“From the opening title sequence to the freshened-up theme song, everything about the new 'Tonight Show' with Jay Leno seemed to project the fervent energy his short-lived primetime show lacked. Leno will have to maintain that kind of energy for months if he wants to keep the crowd devoted to him and reclaim the late-night crown.”
Some are not so confident in Leno’s liveliness. USA Today says "The Tonight Show" is now a lazy fusion of its old format and the failure that was "The Jay Leno Show".
“… he’s not particularly straining to keep the job now that he has it again. Monday's opening monologue, supposedly Leno's strong suit, was tired, lame and unfunny.”
People Magazine agrees, calling Leno’s opener, a dream sequence, stale.
“Monday's hour started with a predictable joke: a sepia-toned riff on the last scene of 'The Wizard of Oz' ... Well, Mr. Leno … Everyone knows that 'The Tonight Show' is the Technicolor Oz, the dream destination. A lot of flying monkeys were shot down from the sky before you could return.”
And ABC says Leno needs to look out for Letterman.
“But will the audience come back? Not if Leno’s longtime rival has anything to do with it. Letterman’s staff is said to be busy booking big-time guests, hoping to maintain CBS’ late-night lead.”
But a TIME magazine blog argues that Leno’s return to routine is a deliberate decision that will deliver.
“Leno is betting that America will respond to a show that's comfortable, familiar and pretty much unchanged. And Jay's easiness behind the desk can be an asset …”
Even with Leno’s talent for tradition, CNBC says NBC needs to be cautious of costs.
“The peacock has a lot at stake. To replace Leno at 10 is expensive. The cost of producing shows for 10 p.m.: a one-hour drama can cost $3 million per episode. Leno’s 10 p.m. show cost just $500,000.”
And we leave you with The Squawk Box’s punchy prediction.
“Joe Kernen: I have two words for you.
Carl Quintanilla: What’s that?
Kernen: New coke.
Quintanilla: Can you explain?
Kernen: Yeah – they try, it doesn’t work. Get back to old coke quickly.
Quintanilla: Coca Cola classic?
Kernen: Go back to old coke. Yes. Exactly. That is what we’ve done. We’ll see what happens. We’ll see how old Dave feels about this in about two months when it becomes clear again that he’s losing to Leno.”
Writer: Lauren Zima
Producer: Charlie McKeague
