His final Tonight show was very entertaining and emotional. Not quite as much as Johnny Carson's final show, which I also saw, but it was very good. Thanks for all of the years of fun, Jay.

His final Tonight show was very entertaining and emotional. Not quite as much as Johnny Carson's final show, which I also saw, but it was very good. Thanks for all of the years of fun, Jay.
I think NBC has made another mistake by not keeping Jay Leno. I doubt the Jimmy Fallon ratings will be anything like Jay's. I wish Jay the best, and hope he will be back on tv again soon.

I doubt you've been a regular watcher of Fallon in that case. I was slow to his camp but once I made it there came to the realization that he is a fully-rounded entertainer like has never before hosted late night. Funny, sure. But also a performer himself, brilliant at the way in which he involves his guests, very creative, with exceptional musical taste.

Most of all, he's different from every other current host in that he almost never brings snark or negativity to the program. In that way, he is closer to being cut from the same cloth as Carson than Jay every was. The current late night hosts - especially Jay, Dave and Jimmy Kimmel, but even at times Conan - rely heavily on negativity as their currency. There is not a mean bone in Fallon's body, and it's pretty refreshing to watch.

The New York location - combined with Jimmy's fresh take and appeal to high-wattage celebrities and a young audience alike - is going to be a real shot in the arm for a tiring franchise. I predict his numbers are going to be VERY high; probably eclipsing Jay pretty quickly.

As much as I liked the first half of his shows, Leno at some point a few years ago started seeming burned out on doing the interviews portion of the show.

Loved the classy ending - good luck, Jay.

I'm a big, big Fallen fan and agree he's a huge talent. That being said, I think you're off the Mark in trashing Leno the way you did. His has been a very popular show and there is a difference between snark and negativity. Wish Fallen the best and think he has a good shot at capturing the older audience as well as the young. That matters to some.

Never been a huge Leno fan...I agree he started phoning it in years ago. But he has always been a class act. I never understood the hate directed towards him even before the Conan O'Brien fiasco, which I pin mostly on inept management at NBC anyway. And he was usually number 1 in the late night ratings; only at NBC would they try so hard to get rid of something that was succeeding.

Now I really do enjoy Jimmy Fallon, but to be perfectly honest I think he will have an uphill battle. He has a show now with a nice niche, but will that appeal to the masses? Can't say. His brand of comedy is very positive and unique, but unfortunately snark sells. This country in general is in a pissy mood and has been for some time. I can see him darkening his routine a bit.

And Fallon's present youth appeal will be hard to corral in a more mainstream setting. Whereas Leno's audience was much older (and loyal) and was really only competing with Letterman, Fallon is squaring off with Jimmy Kimmel, Daniel Tosh, Conan O'Brien, Steven Colbert, John Stewart, Key & Peele, and a host of other shows on cable that attract a young audience. And then there's all the youtube shows and whatever Netflix is planning on pumping out. There is a reason why my generation is a marketer's nightmare.

I wish both men the best. But it will be an interesting few years in the late night comedy wars.

I'll miss Jay Leno on the Tonight Show, but rest assured, he's not going away. We'll see him again doing some fresh material of some kind.

Leno took a lot of heat after the Conan left the show for what was a network decision. Adaniel, your right, he took a lot of crap way before then as well. Being called "twofaced", a "sell out" an "ass kisser" and a "yes man".... All for doing what he loved and what every comedian would dream for ... To host The Tonight Show. And he was #1 for years. Only NBC can screw that up.

I've skipped the late night wars for years. If I am up that late, I'm probably watching something on the DVR that was recorded while I was taking a before,after or in lieu of dinner nap.

Yeah, way past my bedtime. I TIVO Letterman, fast forward to the interviews I'm interested in or bits like stupid pet tricks and see if the music guests are any good.

Wife added last night's Leno and I haven't seen it yet. I've been completely over him for quite a while. I might add Fallon to the TIVO list now though.

I'd be happy if Jay coming on at 9pm and Conan with the Tonight Show had clicked to this day.

I would DVR Jay on nights with Headlines. Will miss that. I sent him a few.

I used to love the Headlines and Jaywalking segments too . . .
Sometimes his opening monologues were pretty funny.
Too bad most of his invited guest celebrities were such duds.

(he was the funniest standup comedian I ever saw in person. at Joker's. I think when it was over at Britton and May, but it might have been after it moved further south on May).

...That being said, I think you're off the Mark in trashing Leno the way you did. His has been a very popular show and there is a difference between snark and negativity...
Wait...I trashed Jay? I did no such thing. The only way I even mentioned him was in lumping him in with the other hosts (all of whom I enjoy and watch occasionally, BTW) when I said late night in general relies too much on negativity and snark these days:


...Most of all, [Fallon is] different from every other current host in that he almost never brings snark or negativity to the program. In that way, he is closer to being cut from the same cloth as Carson than Jay ever was. The current late night hosts - especially Jay, Dave and Jimmy Kimmel, but even at times Conan - rely heavily on negativity as their currency. There is not a mean bone in Fallon's body, and it's pretty refreshing to watch...

It's only contrasting two styles of comedy, and most every poster since seems to agree. For what it's worth Kimmel and Letterman go to that well far more than Jay did. How do you see that as singling Jay out or "trashing" him? Sensitive much?

I'll sure miss Jay Leno. His background in stand-up comedy shined on The Tonight Show. He goes out on top (#1 ratings) after 22 years. I wish Fallon well.

Jay was good but I never really got interested into watching him. Craig is the only one I really watch (and DVR) but he has Jay on there quite a bit lately and they play amazingly well off each other. Doesn't hurt they are good friends, granted that seems to be the case more than not between Craig and the people he has one.

Best of luck to Fallon. I never really cared for him, but he isn't a bad guy at all.

I rarely watched his entire show but usually enjoyed his monologue and some of the segments that immediately followed. Watching the rest of the show depended on who the guests were. I like Fallon and will certainly give him a chance. I absolutely hated Conan and refused to watch it when he was there.

My problem with Leno was Johnny Carson. I watched Johnny from 1965 till he retired and when somebody replaces the "King of Late Night tv", it's tough. In retrospect, Jay Leno is very good, and I enjoyed him when he was the guest host for Johnny. I had seen Conan and didn't care for his comedy, he just didn't "float my boat". As for Fallon, I have no idea, I have never seen him.
C. T.

The thing I enjoyed about Carson was that he had real conversations with his celebrity guests because he had a relationship with many of them outside of the show. Now days guests on a late night show are just plugging for whatever their latest project is. Many of their "stories" that they tell are bits and you can hear them tell basically the same thing on different shows.

I used to enjoy Letterman back in his NBC days and at the beginning at CBS but Letterman long ago became the cranky old man shaking his fist at young whippersnappers to get off his lawn. He's no longer funny, just cranky. And I feel he's been phoning it in and not caring for quite a while. He needs to change his production company from World Wide Pants to Cranky Pants.

That's one of the reasons I like Fallon. He does more with his guests than just interview them. There are a lot of skits they do and they spend a lot of time off that stage doing activities. He understands that it is those relationships that will keep him at the top. I don't see others really doing it at the scale he is.

Craig has been doing that since he started 10 years ago. Of course his show isn't like the others and he considers it more of a deconstruction of the late night format. He has fun with what he does and most of the guests enjoy themselves. Movie plugs are typically "So you are in a movie, great...bet its good. So about..." and that is usually the end of it.

He isn't for everyone. He has it in his contract that he gets first rights to the Late Show once Dave retires, but honestly I don't think he will give up the 12:35/11:35 time slot. He can get away with soooo much more at that hour, which is a good with a guy that speaks his mind and can be a bit vulgar at times.

I loved Jay Leno. He was such a class act. Letterman is too angry for my taste almost to the point it was like watching Bill Maher. I love Fallon and think he will do a great job. It will take him some time to build his audience. However, once Fallon gets on top he'll stay on top for many years.