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Sunday, January 17, 2010
Jay's dilemma
posted by Rick Blue at 18h43
One of the great stand-ups.
I believe in travel as a cultural experience. So while in Los Angeles last week, I was eager to partake in some local culture. I went online and secured tickets to see a taping of the Jay Leno Show.
It was an unusual time to be there. The show had just been cancelled. And at the moment the problems at NBC are the talk of the town. Jay has not been drawing the numbers needed for his time slot and is being demoted to a later spot. The current holder of that time slot, Conan O’Brien, is not happy and has been vocal about it. We could feel the tension in the atmosphere.
Many of Jay’s loyal fans were in the audience. They were solidly behind him. They gave him standing ovations at every opportunity. They obviously like him a lot. And he is a very likeable guy. He came out in his jeans before the taping and welcomed us personally. He asked us where we were from and bantered with us in that classic comedy club style that he had honed to perfection through his early years as a stand-up. He was witty and quick. His humour was gentle, but sharp. He also allowed some people on stage to take a quick picture with him. I have never seen any other television star encourage that before or after a taping.
It made up for some of the other indignities of being in a television audience. After waiting for an hour and a half to get in, we were seated according to our demographic attractiveness. Young people were seated in the front, even if they had arrived later, while the old farts were relegated to the rear. NBC apparently wanted the TV watchers at home to think that the studio was packed with young people instead of the actual large percentage of retirees. I suppose this was to appease advertisers who are deluded into believing that 18- to 35-year-olds control all the wealth of the country.
Jay’s opening monologue was very funny. Then he did a “list bit” that was also amusing. But his guests were disappointing. TV “reality” stars. So we were being treated to an NBC talk show interviewing people from an NBC reality show. It is like when TV journalists interview each other. It is television disappearing up its own orifice.
But I realized that this is what television is all about; promotion, hype and sell. And L.A. is a TV town. So I accepted it with serenity. After all, as I said before I was taking in the local culture.
What you don't see at home is that the live band is a featured part of the experience. They filled in all the commercial breaks, which is a large chunk of the hour. The female lead singer left the stage and walked around the audience while singing soul classics. She even got members of the audience to stand up and sing with her. This was one of the most entertaining parts of the show.
But the band, accomplished musicians all, just sit there. And that makes it seem like they are not enthusiastic. The leader Kevin Eubanks is no Paul Shaffer. The Letterman/Shaffer chemistry is so much more convincing than the Leno/Eubanks chemistry.
The camera had spent a lot of time in our section of the studio so my son texed home to our other family members telling them to watch and see if they could see us. They dutifully started to watch but bailed after half of the show. Even though they were about to see their loved ones on prime time TV.
It seems that they were bored. And I guess that sums up Jay’s dilemma.