I was channel surfing last night, and happened upon the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Since I wasn’t in the mood to be challenged neither by intelligent humor or conversation (Leno’s interviewing skills are the worst), I decided to stick around a watch a couple o’ minutes. Headlines, at the very least, are always fun on Monday nights.
As I watched, the opening seemed a bit different; instead of the standard shots of "Jaywalking" and those anonymous folks shooting billiards, there was a very simple "curtain" effect as the announcer introduced the evening’s line up. Tom Hanks, Brian Ross, and Delbert McClinton were the featured guests. I simply assumed that the good folks at NBC had decided to change formats, possibly in preparation of the transition to new host Conan O’Brien, which is supposed to happen sometime next year.
Then Jay stepped out. Holy crap! It was a show from 1992. I haven’t seen shoulder pads that big since Arsenio retired. And Jay’s hair was still mostly dark with a shock of white (it has long since reversed). Here’s the funny thing; other than the dated clothes and hairstyles, the opening monologue actually sort of worked. There were lots of jokes about President Bush and Iraq, Clinton, the upcoming election, and natural disasters plaguing California. And, of course, wacky headlines (some things never go out of style).
If the TV writer’s strike stretches on, maybe NBC will consider bringing back Night Rider. Oh wait, they’re already planning to do that. How about American Gladiators. Dang, they’ve beat me to the punch on that one, too. Not every crap TV series from the past three decades deserves a second run, people.
– Greg
gregsedwards 