After an endless summer of promos, The Jay Leno Show finally debuted on Monday night.
Prime time Leno wasn't much different from Tonight Show Leno. There was the monologue and the comedy bits and Kevin Eubanks, nothing we hadn't seen in his previous 17 years as host of the Tonight show, nothing groundbreaking.
The most significant changes:---It seemed that Leno didn't get a haircut during his time off.
---The familiar desk - chair - couch set-up was replaced by just chairs during the celebrity interviews.
---"Headlines" came at the very end of the show rather than following the monologue, after the first commercial break. Leno sat behind a large desk for that segment. He looked like a receptionist.
Jerry Seinfeld was Leno's first guest. He was wearing a tux to mark the occasion. The two men sat in chairs. Leno looked a bit uncomfortable without the desk.
I kept thinking, "Where's the desk? Bring out the desk."
In addition to Seinfeld, there were musical guests Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Rihanna.
How lucky can Leno get?
The Kanye West - Taylor Swift incident that generated so much talk in the previous 24 hours was such a gift. Leno had the West interview.
Actually, instead of having the feel of a typical interview, it felt like the "celebrity apology" segment, when celebrities throw themselves on the mercy of the court of public opinion, explaining themselves and asking forgiveness after the wrongdoing.
We seen this sort of "celebrity apology" dance before, but usually in those situations, the apology is made and then followed by other conversation. This was all apology, all "Dr. Phil."
Video.
Transcript, from The Live Feed.
JAY LENO: Welcome back, everybody. We're thrilled to have Jay-Z, Rihanna, and Kanye West here tonight. But before they perform, this really wasn't planned; we did this kind of last minute. Kanye wanted to talk, so please welcome Kanye West.
(Applause.)
Have a seat, my friend. First of all, let me say thank you for honoring this commitment. A lot of times, people -- things happen. They kind of back out at the last minute, or they have a publicist or someone call and say, "Oh, I'm sorry, my client's not available." So thank you for coming and doing this, in light of all the things that have been going on.
Tell me about your day. Have you had a tough day today?
(Laughter.)
KANYE WEST: Yeah, it's been extremely difficult. I just -- just dealing with the fact that I hurt someone or took anything away, you know, from a talented artist or from anyone, because I only wanted to help people. My entire life, I've only wanted to give and do something that I felt was right. And I immediately knew in the situation that it was wrong, and it wasn't a spectacle or just -- you know, it's actually someone's emotions, you know, that I stepped on. And it was very -- it was just -- it was rude, period.
And, you know, I'd like to be able to apologize to her in person. And I wanted to --
At this point, I wondered if Swift would make an appearance. It seemed like the cue was given for her to come out. Thankfully, it wasn't.
JAY LENO: So when did you know you were wrong? Was it afterwards? As you were doing it? When did it strike you, 'Uh-oh'?
KANYE WEST: As soon as I gave the mic back to her and she didn't keep going.
(Laughter.)
JAY LENO: Let me ask you something. I was fortunate enough to meet your mom and talk with your mom a number of years ago. What do you think she would have said about this? Would she be disappointed in this? Would she give you a lecture?
West was silent, as if fighting back emotion. Sincere? I couldn't tell. It seemed believable, but I don't know.
KANYE WEST: Yeah. You know, obviously, you know, I deal with hurt. And, you know, so many celebrities, they never take the time off. I've never taken the time off to really -- you know, just music after music, and tour after tour. I'm just ashamed that my hurt caused someone else's hurt. My dream of what awards shows are supposed to be, 'cause -- and I don't try to justify it because I was just in the wrong. That's period. But I need to, after this, take some time off and just analyze how I'm going to make it through the rest of this life, how I'm going to improve. Because I am a celebrity, and that's something I have to deal with. And if there's anything I could do to help Taylor in the future or help anyone, I'd like -- you know, I want to live this thing. It's hard sometimes, so --
That was kind of awkward and rambling.
It was part excuse, part justification, part "feel sorry for me," part plain old bizarre.
"My dream of what awards shows are supposed to be"?
Meaning what? West picks the winners?
This idea of taking time off to analyze how to make it through the rest of his life might be helpful. I suppose West could benefit from "Help me, I'm a jerk" rehab.
It's so hard to tell if a celebrity apology like this is really coming from the heart or coming from a desire to smooth things over with the public, a self-serving damage control exercise.
Leno concluded the segment:
JAY LENO: Thanks for coming here, and thanks for doing that.
(Applause.)
You're going to sing? Give it a shot?
West shrugged his shoulders in an "I guess so" gesture.
What a trooper!
Jay-Z, Rihanna, and Kanye West have a combined total of 20 Grammys, have sold over 70 million albums. They are tremendously talented. Tonight they're performing "Run This Town" from Jay-Z's critically acclaimed CD "The Blueprint 3." Please welcome Jay-Z, Rihanna, and Kanye West.
Then it was time to perform a song, though the real performance was West's apology.
UPDATE, September 15, 2009: Apology #4 -- West calls Taylor Swift after "View" appearanceIt looks like Kanye West has finally given a personal apology to Taylor Swift.
Representatives from "The View" say West called the country sensation after her appearance on Tuesday's show. During the broadcast, the 19-year-old singer said West had yet to contact her to apologize for hijacking her acceptance speech on the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday.
"He has not personally reached out or anything but if he wanted to say hi (I would)," said Swift.
After Swift's comments, West called her and the two spoke, according to a statement from "The View."
"After the show he spoke personally to the country music superstar via telephone and has apologized to the 19-year-old singer. She has accepted Mr. West's apology. The contents of the phone call are to remain private," it read.
The West drama certainly added to the drama of the debut of Leno's prime time comedy show.
I have no predictions as to how Leno's non-Tonight Show, Tonight Show will fare.
I'm sure they'll tweak things here and there.
It's really very familiar, but there's nothing wrong with that. When Leno ended his run as host of the Tonight Show, he left in first place.
Why mess with success?
____________________
Reviews of Leno's return to network TV
Washington Post: New 'Jay Leno'? Nah. And That's the Silver Lining
New York Times: For Jay Leno, Timely Guests on a Familiar Show
Los Angeles Times: 'Jay Leno Show' stays on familiar ground
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 'Leno' feels familiar, down to topical apology from West
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