The Jay Leno Show Episode Recap: Monday, September 14, 2009
Jay Leno
On the premiere episode of The Jay Leno Show, the Tonight Show vet's new prime-time talk show/variety show/comedy hybrid, Kanye West did some time in the chair to complete an act of contrition for bullying tender flower Taylor Swift at Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards. Jerry Seinfeld mocked Leno for not being able to get a better first guest. Leno interviewed President Obama...sort of. Dan Finnerty and the Dan Band serenaded car washers. Jay-Z, West and Rihanna performed. And then there were Headlines. So, how did it all go? Read on to find out...
Putting aside the "making television history" hubbub that the media has perpetrated in recent days (full disclosure: guilty!), Jay Leno has some lofty expectations to meet with his new show. On the one hand, he's a proven commodity who kept The Tonight Show in the fine condition in which Johnny Carson left it to him (in other words, in first place) for 17 years, so the man clearly knows his way around a boob tube. On the other hand, "edgy" is not exactly his middle name, and for a generation raised on farm-fresh yuks from the likes of Jon Stewart, Conan O'Brien, and, say, the Internet, more jokes about men hogging the remote control aren't going to cut it. Add to that the general resentment felt for the loss of five hours of scripted programming, and Leno's got his work cut out for him.
All that said, the opening of tonight's premiere is notable for its overall dated appearance. The credits display a nostalgic array of vintage photos of Leno from his salad days as an aspiring comic. A new theme song by Kevin Eubanks and the Prime-Time Band is a serviceable, implacable blues-rock riff, which, it's fair to say, is more than reminiscent of Leno's Tonight Show theme. The new set is bathed in vibrant pink, purple and orange gels that shout, "Tonight we're going to party like it's 1991!" One almost-modern touch: Instead of a parting curtain, Leno makes his way to center stage through a set of automated glass doors that would be at home in any neighborhood Costco.
But let's not judge a book by its cover... too much. Let's get to the laughs! Are you with me? (No, seriously, are you?)
"I apologize for my face being all over the place," Leno's monologue begins, acknowledging the show's inflated hype. He's been away from television for all of three months — or "rehab," as they call it in Hollywood, he jokes — and there's a lot to catch up on.
In interviews, Leno has emphasized that he's aware of the Twitteriffic world we live in and thus, he wants his first-run-only show to have a sense of immediacy — or as much immediacy as a live show that tapes around 5 each afternoon can have. So it's no surprise that his first joke addresses Kanye West's stage-storming debacle that occurred just 24 hours earlier at the MTV Video Awards in New York. President Obama has already invited West and Swift to the White House for a "root beer summit," he deadpans. In a characteristic too-far move, he adds that since Swift is so young, they have to drink root beer. Oh! Thanks!
Other jokes about various political scandals follow -- "you lie"-gate and a California assemblymen who is caught having sex with two lobbyists ("that equals three whores"), among them. He plays with the video of the Serena Williams temper flare-up to show that the line judge was distracting by her feverish texting. "I set my TiVo to record The Biggest Loser," he says, in a nod to network synergy. "I got the Lions game."
The rimshots keep coming as he closes with the aforementioned riff on men holding the remote control instead of having sex and a vaguely homophobic spoof episode of Cheaters, in which Eubanks is caught canoodling — in matching sweaters, no less — with a Leno lookalike. It's at this point that I could write "ha!," but there's really no need.
Tonight's guests are Jerry Seinfeld, Jay-Z, West and Rihanna.
In the first of what Leno promises will be frequent pre-taped segments by a diverse group of correspondents, Dan Finnerty, of the Dan Band of Old School and The Hangover fame, tests his "fascinating theory" that everything is better with music (also the sure-to-be-recurring bit's title) by serenading the patrons at a local car wash. After getting turned down by three frightened customers, one game young woman agrees to the no-extra-charge entertainment. Finnerty and Co. riff on hoses and rubdowns with their signature suggestive improvised patter, and the poor girl, rather than chuckle, appears to reach in her pants pocket to secure a tighter grip on her mace. But maybe I imagined that. It's sort of funny though, and I remain optimistic for future outings where the recipients of Finnerty's musical stylings might be more receptive.
Leno's first guest is the up-and-coming television star Jerry Seinfeld, who is wearing his best black tie for Leno's "I guess I didn't get fired by NBC" program, as Seinfeld calls it. "In the '90s, when we quit a show, we actually left," he says, "but not in the Brett Favre-Lance Armstrong double-ohs." He chides Leno for being his second choice for first guest, claiming that he heard that Oprah Winfrey was his actual first choice. He says he should have called him, because he could have gotten him Winfrey. On cue, a flat-screen pops up and St. O. is there via satellite. "Thanks for being on my segment," Seinfeld tells her after they chat for a spell about their summers. The pair of comics then discuss marriage, Gov. Sanford and Seinfeld's wife being cleared of plagiarism charges, but the real scoop here is Seinfeld's (fake) announcement that he is launching a new talk show every night at 9 on NBC. Oh, Jerry! (The correct response is: Oh... you!)
Leno has some more fun with video in which he splices himself into an interview with President Obama. As the prez deconstructs tort reform, Leno stuffs his face with a fruity pastry. Yeah, it's like that.
Next up is West, who exhibits his usual economy of language by using the sit-down segment to apologize for cramping Swift's style at the VMAs. Leno interrupts the outspoken star to bring up West's recently deceased mother: What would she think of all this? For a moment, a visibly shaken West is frozen in awkward silence. With a hand on his knee, Leno asks: "Would she be disappointed in this? Would she give you a lecture?"
West's response: "Obviously, I deal with hurt, so many celebs, they don't take the time off; I've never taken the time off ... I'm ashamed that my hurt caused someone else's hurt. ... If there's anything I can do to help Taylor in the future or help anyone, I want to..." I'm not sure, but I think he was connecting his grieving with his behavior, and well, grieving is difficult.
West puts on a black trench coat and joins Jay-Z and a veiled Rihanna on stage to perform Jay-Z's "Run This Town." It's a competent collaboration that gives each of the trio their moment in the proverbial spotlight. And it's a great song. They're all dressed in black, with the exception of Rihanna's red thigh-high stockings, which are very in right now according to TVGuide.com's new fashion blog.
I'm a big fan of surprising pairings of musicians (think Eminem and Elton John at the VMAs or Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Aerosmith at the Super Bowl), so I like the idea of these periodic groupings for Leno's new show. But I wonder if this particular performance might not have benefited from the addition of a wild card not immediately associated with the hip-hop establishment — say, Iggy Pop or Lou Reed or, you know, Yo-Yo Ma — anything that might make it the unique TV event that Leno envisions.
Leno closes the show, as he will each Monday, with Headlines. This popular segment is seen as a "hot" lead-in for the local news, the producers of which must all be crossing their fingers and toes that Leno's earlier timeslot won't get America hitting the sack before their broadcasts. Tonight's segment is typical: "fried" instead of freed journalists; Alpo on the local cafeteria menu; a guy named Dick Talkin... I admit: It makes me chuckle.
Bottom line: If you like Leno, you will like The Jay Leno Show. If you're not a regular watcher, it's unlikely you'll be swayed by Leno's new additions. (Though with legitimately funny people like correspondents D.L. Hughley, Rachael Harris and, yes, NBC News anchor Brian Williams on board for future segments, it's possible we haven't yet seen the best that this show has to offer.)
So what did you think? Will you be a regular viewer?
Watch clips of The Jay Leno Show in our Online Video Guide and follow TVGuide.com on Twitter for more breaking news and scoop
