I am – Hercules!!


Stephen King, writing in this week’s Entertainment Weekly:

Leno is a nice guy, but his prime-time showcase was flavorless pabulum […] At 11:30, when most of America has gone beddy-bye, this kind of semi-comatose entertainment is fine (and viewers searching for something at least marginally less acerbic can always switch to Letterman), but in prime time? Oh, God, please no. My delight at the Leno Show’s failure sprang from a bone-deep conviction that it would not fail, that it would in fact turn into a ratings monster and spawn what network TV does best: imitations. And, nice man though he is, you could add together the entertainment value of every single episode of Mr. Leno’s prime-time venture and it would still come up short next to a single episode of The Good Wife.

There are those who suggest Jay Leno’s popularity at 11:35 p.m. was due to women finding David Letterman too mean and hard-edged; they preferred “nice guy” Leno, who as host of “The Tonight Show” was soft, harmless and immaculately inoffensive.

But as I watched Oprah talking to her mostly female studio audience about Leno, I wondered if maybe the perception of the ambitious funnyman had hardened among the ladies holding the bedroom remotes.

While Conan O’Brien’s ratings shot though the roof as he closed out his days hosting “Tonight,” recent episodes of “Leno” aren’t even scoring as well as recent “SVU” and “The Office” repeats. The show's last full week appears to be its worst ever:

The Jay Leno Show in 18-49; older shows in parentheses; repeats in gray
1.1 (1.2) (1.3) (1.6) (1.5) (0.9) (1.6) (1.5) (1.4) (1.2) (1.4) (1.4) (1.2) (1.2) (1.3) (1.4) (1.5) (1.5) (1.7) (1.8) (5.3) Mo
---- (1.9) (1.8) (1.8) (2.1) (0.9) (1.5) (1.8) (2.9) (----) (1.9) (1.9) (1.9) (2.0) (1.8) (1.8) (1.8) (2.1) (2.3) (2.5) (3.4) Tu
1.2 (----) (1.2) (1.6) (1.5) (1.3) (1.1) (1.6) (1.3) (1.5) (1.6) (1.4) (1.4) (1.4) (1.5) (1.5) (1.8) (1.7) (1.9) (2.0) (3.5) We
1.1 (1.2) (1.4) (1.3) (1.4) (-----) (----) (1.7) (1.6) (1.5) (1.5) (1.6) (1.6) (1.6) (1.5) (1.6) (1.8) (1.7) (1.6) (1.7) (2.7) Th
1.2 (1.4) (----) (1.3) (1.4) (1.0) (1.1) (1.4) (1.4) (1.2) (1.0) (1.3) (1.2) (1.2) (1.2) (1.4) (1.3) (1.4) (1.4) (1.6) (2.2) Fr

This of course is likely why NBC is ending “Leno” early and substituting repeats of “SVU” and “The Office” at 10 p.m. over the next two nights. Also, Leno always does best when he follows “Biggest Loser,” so NBC is probably hoping to prevent its old/new late-night star from exiting primetime at an all-time ratings nadir. Still, we’ll see how new installments of “White Collar” and “Teen Mom” manage tonight against tonight’s sure-to-be-headline-making 10@10 with NBC sportscaster Bob Costazzzzz.

We’ll also find out if Leno has the same late-night ratings magic when he returns to hosting “The Tonight Show” March 1.

In the meantime, as you decide whether you want to watch NBC’s short-track speed-skating and other Olympics coverage over the next two weeks, I remind fans of late-night comedy that supergenius NBC Sports chief Dick Ebersol recently decided to publicly label Conan O’Brien “gutless.” Smart move, Dick.

10 p.m. Tuesday. NBC.

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