I wasn’t going to weigh in on the whole NBC late night mess, but I had to after reading a few blogs today, especially from Mindy Monez of TWoP. She said one good thing about having Leno back in late night would be so we could all go back to ignoring him again.
Years ago, when I wrote sports for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, I got grief from my fellow writers for liking Leno’s jokes better than Letterman’s monologue.
While I had to agree that Leno wasn’t nearly as edgy and hip as Letterman, I had numbers on my side. Leno regularly killed Letterman in the ratings. Why? Because he gave middle America what it wanted — steady humor, good interviews and great guests.
And while I almost always stayed up to catch Conan O’Brien (and, by extension, Triumph and “In the Year 2000″), I felt that COB was in his proper slot. His humor was edgier, but directed at a more precise audience. Leno’s viewers, many of whom grew up watching Johnny Carson, liked broader, cleaner humor.
I’d like to remind everybody that this is America — home of the brave, land of the free. There is room for everybody.
Mindy Monez might not care for Leno, but a lot of people do. She can’t assume that everyone thinks like she does. A rather large portion of America seems to be getting fed up with all the stuff being put out on Facebook and Twitter and with all the reality shows like “Jersey Shore.” I think they want something mild and entertaining as a counterweight.
Sure, “South Park” and “Family Guy” are edgy, but many people still watch “The Simpsons.”
“CSI: Miami” and “NCIS” are tops in the ratings, but a large percentage of the viewing public still enjoys the “Law & Order” franchise. They want good drama, but maybe they don’t want all the violence and gratuitous sex and immorality shown on “Saving Grace” and “Sons of Anarchy.”
Those shows have loyal followings. They co-exist with L&O. There’s no need to can L&O to put more shows like “SoA” and “Saving Grace” on the air.
To sum up, a trip to Bruster’s or Braum’s will show people buying chunky chocolate and pistachio and white chocolate truffle, but it’s no accident that the best-selling flavor of ice cream year after year is vanilla. With all the new “edgy” and “hip” flavors coming and going, it’s nice to know there’s an old standby just waiting for everyone.
