I'm way beyond the preferred sales demographic, but I can't get interested in watching Leno at 10. If I do watch a drama of some variety from 10 to 11, I check WJZ to see if there is any actual news before retiring with a book.

David, do you think NBC will keep Leno on for the "two years" they originally promised? He only averaged a 1.4 in primetime last week, 0.1 less than the 1.5 NBC guaranteed advertisers his show would receive.

And what about the potential Comcast deal? If it goes through, do you think Comcast tries to dump Jay?

And what if affiliates get together and revolt by moving local news to 10, and Jay to 10:30? I know Boston threatened that, but was pressured by NBC to give up that idea. But what if many affiliates got together and tried it?

Also, what about the affiliate model overall? Do you think NBC might be the first broadcast network to ditch affiliates for a move to cable/satellite only?

Ugh. So many questions, lol.

I cannot answer them all. But NBC has kept a lid on affiliate rebellion so far. I think, in part, because when a company is as much on the auction block as NBC clearly is, everyone thinks, hey, maybeut it will soon be sold and things will get better. let's just hold our powder for a little longer. But if a sale is not obvious soon, the affiliates will rebel. Many of them cannot afford to lose this kind of money in a tight economy. late news is the big moneymaker for local stations, and NBC has severly damaged them in that regard. As for new model, nothing is slower to change than network TV -- okay, maybe newspapers. But these guys do not throw out long-time models overnight. I don't see an end to this business model, though, leno is sure making it taste ugly to the affiliates. And I don't think buying Leno out will be a big deal for anyone who steps in. Thanks. Z

I have been enjoying Leno more lately. Watched it the other night and he had the joke about Jon and Kate and a good comedian can't remember the name, but he was making jokes about the lol (laugh out loud) acronym that people are using. I think the time that it is on is just a challenge because there is a draw to watch other programs at that time.

Wow all this typing on the blog has increased my line count in my job, I might be ruining my wrists.

Why do they use 25-54 age group? Is this the advertising market they are targeting or the age group that they measure the ratings by, the age group that watches?

Why do they use 25-54 age group? Is this the advertising market they are targeting or the age group that they measure the ratings by, the age group that watches?

Oops, this might have been posted twice. Sorry.

Not enough younger viewers watch news. this is the best demographic for news. Z

Z.,

With the prescience of The Great Karnak and the panache of The Amazing Kreskin, you have seen your "Leno Factor" prediction/ theory go from a solid hypothesis, to a full-blown, stark reality. Z. have you played the Lotto lately. HA!

As you've pointed out, the current viewership stats have not been good for the long-time numero uno WBAL's late-night newscast (your Baltimore NBC affiliate), and even "The Tonight Show" w/ Conan, and Jimmy Fallon's show that follow are showing anemic, and declining ratings numbers.

Baltimore's WBAL is likely the mere tip of the iceberg in this ratings demise; one of the countless NBC nationwide affiliates whose post-Leno local nightly news broadcasts are suffering in the key 25-54 year-old demographic bracket due to the toxic "Leno Factor".

As I've opined in earlier posts re/ the "Leno Factor" scenario, I personally feel that it all comes down to just plain HUBRIS on Leno's part. Although he appears to be trying to keep up an upbeat, give-it-the-old-college-try on-air demeanor, I think it must be eating him inside that "The Jay Leno Show" 'experiment' is tanking, big-time. I believe his professional pride has been cut down a few notches over the last few months. So NBC is still raking in profits, but personal pride, trumps shekels, any day.

It seems like Jay has been just throwing sundry stuff, and schtick up against the wall and seeing what'll stick. Obviously nothing much. It's not desperation time quite yet, but let's check in a few months from now. It's all pretty sad.

NBC's genius programmers'/ upper managements' decision to basically abandon sitcoms and dramatic series in the prime 10:00-11:00 weekday time slot, and go w/ the repackaged, familiar, personable Leno as kind of a bargain-basement, 'loss-leader',
(basically a revenue saver), brings into question how much these 'home-office corporate suits' really care about their grassroots, far-flung regional affiliates.

So far, "The Jay Leno Show" has been a great 'loss-leader'; sadly, it's the loyal local NBC affiliates like WBAL that are the ultimate big losers, the real casualties in this questionable, risky, ill-conceived prime-time 'experiment'.

NBC will likely give Leno a full-season run before pulling the plug, while WBAL and many other major affiliates will be forced to fend for themselves in the ultra-competitive, survival of the fittest, T.V. advertising-driven marketplace. I wish them, all, well.

Times, indeed, they are achangin' !

(Is the answer, my friend, blowin' in the wind? HA!)

ALEX

Boy, NBC just keeps digging its grave deeper and deeper. It is impossible to understand how the decision-makers there could have thought that the Leno experiment would be a success, or even not such a dismal failure.

I think most TV viewers could have advised them this was a poorly thought out, desperate move. Leno doesn't have the personality or the charisma to sustain a show in prime time. To be fair, I can't think of anyone who could sustain a prime time entertainment talk show. [OK. Well, Johnny Depp probably could - but I digress! :) ]

It looks like the time has come for some serious house-cleaning at NBC. Z, do you think there will be any major shake-ups there soon?

Surprising to me that the younger audience does not watch the news. Maybe they are going online. I never would have thought about the scheduling of a primetime show like Leno being moved to the 10:00 p.m. time slot affecting the local channels news. I am beginning to see how these all work in affecting each other.

Who can stay up past 11:00 pm to watch news? I have to be to work by 6am. I barely can keep up to watch news at 10:00, and often miss it. I think that Leno is going to be gone soon. And, guess what, it has been ages since I even changed the channel past TNT, BRAVO, Animal Planet and CNN. Time of the big 3 networks, over.

So why not just move Leno back to his original timeslot he was in.

Timing is everything.

I think some buyout of a network could be possible anything is possible. I just look at it differently. The White House bailed out the Big car manufacturers...maybe they will just bail out the NBC? LOL

I was in meetings just last week at the William Morris Endeavor offices on Wilshire Blvd. All the producers in Hollywood look upon NBC as a cable network, and not a very good one. They are all hoping NBC is sold so it can get back into good programming instead of a being a cheap, money-losing fiasco. It is a bonafide disaster.

25-54 is the top demographic for advertisers because of disposable income levels more than anything else.

Okay, just figured it out. Because I live in a small city we watch NBC to get our local news at 11:00. Baltimore and the other larger cities have several stations for local news. I did read about Comcast and I did not know about that becoming a possible buy-out for NBC. Interesting. Then the Today show might disappear too. Sometimes I watch Columbus channels. Guess I would go there and then CNN for other news. This made me think about the 11:00 o'clock news and NBC in a whole new way.

I still think Jay is just treading water at 10 until they finally pull the plug on Conan. While it looks like Jay is going down the tube, Conan has already been flushed. Once Conan is gone Jay can come back and the ratings will spike. But oh how I wish Jay would do a "Top Gear" type show. That is were he could truly shine in prime time, but only once a week.

Honestly I think people aren't tuning in to watch his show because there are so many other t.v. choices at 10pm (besides J&K+8).

I feel kinda bad for Conan O'Brien. Could Leno be the reason that Conan's ratings are suffering. I hope NBC doesn't fire Conan due to ratings.

Duh? No wonder Natale Morales is interviewing Kate. She just might need that Plan B if Nbc gets bought out.

Nice article. I'm not at all surprised to see Leno being a huge failure. Like mickey12, I have to be up before 6am each day so I've had to stop watching tv after 9:30 so I'm kind of out of the loop with this (although that'll change in the Spring).

That said, I have to agree with Alex that Jay will get a full seasion if because they have nothing else to show at the time. The best NBC could do is try and plug those hours with shows from USA (Psych, Burn Notice, White Collar, etc) but no one seems to care to do that.

Lauren,

Do you watch Conan? I like Conan too. I think I am out of the age demographic for Conan viewers though, but I like his humor. His humor is different from Leno.

Jay Leno retired and then came back. That was kind of puzzling anyway and probably did hurt Conan. Maybe not such a good move and NBC will have to pay Leno I guess even if the show fails.

Has anyone seen Jay's show lately? I watched it briefly while flipping the other night - I have to say that it's not remotely funny. In fact, I think it's embarassingly awkward to watch. Maybe my sense of humor is too dry, but I can't recall ever watching his show and wanting to laugh. It lacks any semblance of creativity.

Sherry T.,
Yeah, I watch Conan now and also when he was on after Leno. He's not as quirky funny now and I think it's due to being on earlier and the demographic for the Tonight Show.

I feel like when I watch Conan I wonder what kind of stress he is under due to the low ratings. You can almost see it in his face. I hope things turn around for him and his show.

Isn't the Sun a media parter with WJZ? If so, shouldn't that be disclosed?

Hi, the media relationship has been and is regularly disclosed in each day's paper with the WJZ weathercasters and online with WJZ video. We also have such a partnership with WBAL Radio and WYPR-FM. Thanks. Z

Yes, I have seen WJZ disclose, just not you in this article where it would seem important.

I was not talking about WJZ disclosing in response to your last comment. I was talking about the the Sun disclosing in the paper and the Web site every day its relationship with WJZ. We disclose all of our relationships, which also include a partnership with WBAL Radio, which is owned by Hearst, the same company thaat owns WBAL-TV. As I said, we have a media partnership with the Hearst-owned WBAL radio, just like we do with the CBS-owned WJZ-TV. Such relationships are neither unique nor secret. Thanks. Z

gueman,

Jeez! "Pull(ing) the plug on Conan" and bringing back Jay to the "Tonight" show, for me, (and more significantly,Conan), would be 'the unkindest cut of all'. Say it ain't so, gueman?

Like Sherry T., Lauren and I suspect legions of loyal night-owls out there on our fine blog, I'm a huge Conan O'Brien fan, and have been for many years, going back to his earlier incarnation on his own late-late time slot on NBC, following Jay on "Tonight".

Frankly, I rank him as one of the brightest, zaniest, most original, daring, physically animated, and engaging late-night talk show hosts/ comedians in the T.V. biz today.
Basically, he appears to have continued his signature off-center, quirky style, and flexible format of his earlier eponymous late-late show, but maybe pulled back the bizarro, over-the-top elements, a tad; adjusting to a perhaps older-skewed, slightly less liberal demographic.

He still has his nutty (Labamba comes to mind), but very talented in-studio house-band, led by veteran drummer Max Weinberg (Bruce Springstein's go-to tour drum-guy) and he still gets to do those kookie off-beat, broad comedy sketches, demonstrating his superb slap-stick, physically-comic chops.

( About three weeks back, as some folks may recall, while taping a Thursday evening show, Conan accidently took a hard pratfall while chasing actress/ guest Teri Hatcher on the Universal studio set, losing his footing and falling backwards and slamming his noggin on the stage floor. (The video footage of the incident went viral on the Net.) Like a performance trooper, Conan valiantly tried to instinctively save the skit w/ some
'improv' schtick as stunned Hatcher kind of cradled a visibly out-of-it Conan doubled over on his knees. Within a minute, or so, on-set medics came to Conan's aid, realizing he was badly injured. Turns out he suffered a mild concussion, but amazingly he only missed completing that night's show, NBC ran a Conan rerun on the Friday, and Conan was back in the saddle, alive and well for his Monday taping. Pull the plug on this guy.... no way, Jose! )

For me, Conan deserves a good shot at a long "Tonight" show run (despite the early mediocre ratings), and it would be a travesty, if as you speculate, gueman, that Jay would return to his old, familiar gig, and time-slot, while Conan would be cut loose.

I agree w/ blogger Dan , who finds it difficult to even muster a single laugh w/ Jay's current stale, "awkward", seemingly desperate attempts at humor, and concur w/ Dan's observation that Jay truly "lacks any semblance of creativity" these days.

Conan, on the other hand can often be just gutbustingly funny, and there probably isn't a more spontaneously creative, conversationally sharp talk-show host out there than this string-bean of a cut-up. I particularly love his ease at self parody and self-deprecating humor, especially w /guest celebs who are willing to play along w/ his feigned sexual magnetism, or faux macho adonis schtick, ever-playing on his 'animated' shock of carrot-red, bouncy hair, his lanky 6'X4" frame, and his typical Irish-American sickly pallor. It all works so well, and makes Conan a more endearing, very real and human guy, even though his on-air persona reeks of irony, silliness and pure camp.

I'm still not hooked on Conan having a 'sidekick', namely writer/ comic Andy Richter, who I understand has been both a close friend and fellow-writer w/ Conan for many years. Seems like the NBC late-night programmers are trying to recapture a bit of that earlier Ed McMahon/ Johnny Carson magic dynamic, which in my view, they never will. They broke the mold on that one. (Richter's occasional laugh in response to a Conan gag, usually seems forced, whereas w/ Ed McMahon his laughing responses seemed very natural, and genuine. He and Johnny appeared to have such a great, seamless 'sympatico'. Ed was the ultimate straight man, par excellence.)

For my slightly warped taste, I feel transplanted Glaswegian, Craig Ferguson, who immediately follows "Letterman" on CBS, is the best of the bunch. He's outrageously hilarious when he wants to be hilarious, and deadly serious, when he want to be serious, and his fans love him either way. Craig is one of the most intelligent, open, daring, direct, honest, take-no-bull-crap performers on T.V. today. He has the uncanny skill of putting his celebrity guests at total ease, and gently cajoling them to let down their emotional guards, and reveal 'secrets' they would normally never divulge. He especially has great fun w/ his lady guests (he's a bit of a latter-day, ersatz Lothario) often getting a tad bawdy (lots of suggestive innuendo), and personal, but never really crossing the line into the realm of bad taste , or blatant lewdness. (The FCC is still watching.)

Craig is also a gifted character actor/ comedian, and has developed an odd-ball cast of 'personalities', that he periodically portrays in little low-budget, hilarious skits on his show. He does a super Sean Connery, a slightly sauced, drinking-glass-in-hand, urbane, spot-on Michael Caine, and a completely over-the-top, foppish Prince Charles.

For me, Ferguson is the complete entertainer, and a real hidden late-night gem. I'm sure many of my hardworking, 9-5 fellow bloggers never, or rarely catch "The Craig Ferguson Show", as they're likely sawing ZZZZZZZZZZs by that ungodly hour. DVR him. You won't regret it.

Z., the "Leno Factor" is definitely for real, and its 'toxicity' vis a vis the NBC affiliates can only increase going forward. It will be interesting to see if NBC makes a major 'correction', now that what was once a major NBC Network T.V. juggernaut (The Tonight Show)......... is just NOT..... any longer. (More like the Titanic. HA!)

Stay tuned folks.

ALEX

ALEX and Lauren,

I must have missed the one with Conan and his accident. You're not joking right? Have seen that happen before. Not a pretty sight. Happened to a girl that I was with on a retreat once. Worried about her head all night long. I liked Conan and have been watching more Leno lately. Conan is very animated, that is what I like about him. I hope they keep him around. The move seemed with Leno and Conan seemed to be a bad thing for both of them.

I agree Lauren Conan seems to have lost some of his quirkiness, which is what made him so funny.

...

Anyway, to whoever has been driving NBC into the ground...job well done!

I don't just mean the short term flubs like panicking when Leno hadn't lost all of his viewers yet and Conan basically plateaued in popularity before the ink was dry. NBC knew Leno was losing touch, that's why they wanted him out. How do you then go and stake your whole future around him??? The 10pm shows were some of the best shows on the network and they've been cancelled or neutered to where the edge is gone (Conan too for that matter).

So now, any show that would be the future of the network when America collectively tunes out the Law & Order franchise has been cancelled for Leno. Life, Southland, Trauma...all gone. Local news is worried about 2009, but what about 2011? Sure NBC will have new shows signed on, but they will be unproven new shows on a network that will be completely irrelevant other than The Office and Football Night in America.

Normally I'm a baseball poster and this is like the Orioles releasing Wieters, Tillman, Bergesen & Matusz so they could afford to keep Melvin Mora another 2 years.

With management like that, I really hope GE doesn't run any nuclear power.

Hi James, Thanks for the comment, and I am a huge Orioles fan, so I love the last metpahor. PS I edited first paragraph, because I thought it could be taken as insult to other commenters, and we all try to be nice to each other at this blog even when we disagree. Maybe I just misinterpreted the first paragraph. If so, I apologize. Z

ALEX,

I watched Craig Ferguson quite a bit for awhile. His interviews with Hugh Laurie were some of the funniest I have seen. They play off of each other very well. Yes, I agree he really is the best. I need to go back and watch. Too many things to keep our attention and I spas out trying to keep up with it all. I'm going to catch a Craig Ferguson again. Even if on YouTube,

Sherry T.,

Obviously you survived yet another Halloween. HA! Your two girls are a bit beyond the tricker-treat age, no? They're in their mid-teens, right? It was pretty slow, house-to-house Halloween traffic in my neighborhood on Saturday night, even w/ that great waxing, almost-full moon, and balmy evening temps. I think the lousy economy has even put a crimp into the Halloween spirit.. I have quite a few of those tempting mini-Kit-Kat bars left over.

Regarding Conan O'brien's unscripted pratfall; it never did air (too scary), but video footage was picked up, toute suite, by the likes of Entertainment Tonight, Show Biz Tonight, as well as the omnipresent YouTube on the Net.

I was really astounded that Conan rebounded so quickly, w/ just three days on the mend. I'm familiar w/ the old live-theater adage of "Go break a leg", but "Go break a skull" ........not. I think maybe Conan's thick mass of rusty-red hair may have helped to inadvertently cushion his head-blow; hence just a minor concussion. (Frankly, no concussion is minor, so I take that back.)

As to Conan kind of losing his quirky mojo, a little, w/ his new "Tonight" show gig, as both you and Lauren have observed, I agree that he's likely intentionally toned down his off-the-wall quirkiness, but not because he's necessarily losing his wacky comedic edge, but more because he's been obliged to adjust his humor to an older, less open-minded, less 'hip' audience demographic than he's been used to playing to in the past.

I'm sure Conan realized that he couldn't just keep his late-late Conan O'Brien show virtually in tact, and simply brand it , "The Tonight Show", merely changing the show's marquee, but not the content. At the later hour he could get away w/ a lot more goofiness, and push the comedic envelop to the max, whereas "The Tonight Show" traditionally demands a more straight, more structured, less 'improvy' approach in that 11:35 PM--12:35 AM time-slot.

Sherry T. I'm curious, have you checked out The Craig Ferguson Show yet? I know he airs awfully late for you, but I strongly suggest you DVR, or Tivo him.

Not only is Craig an accomplished late-late-night T.V. talk-show host, but he's also authored two recent books, a novel titled "Between the Bridge and the River" (2006), and his 2009 memoir."American on Purpose". As an admitted recovering alcoholic, celebrating some 18 years of sobriety, and a recently sworn in, very proud U.S. citizen, you will be totally smitten by
this guy's genuine charm, intelligence, wit, transparency, and frankness, and begin to seriously wonder why this cool, most entertaining fellow has been buried in the CBS Network grave-yard shift of late-night T.V. for so long.

I , for one, see a bright, perhaps a prime-time, future for this likeable and charismatic Scotsman.
He grows on you like Caledonian moss, or West Highland heather. He is, indeed, "A jolly good fellow." ....... and a real hoot to boot.

(Read in today's on-line L.A. Daily News that if offered the option to return to the "Tonight" show, Leno would jump at the opportunity. (Well, duh!) Interestingly, in almost the same breath, he claimed that he has been enjoying the role of being " the underdog". Sure Jay. You're not crossing your fingers (and toes) on that one, are you?)

Hope you, Sherry T., Lauren, Irene, Marie and all the loyal "Z on T.V." clan's 'usual suspects' (including you, Z.) have a fabulous, fun, loving and productive week.

Fall is definitely in the air, and I can almost smell that Thanksgiving turkey, and savory stuffing wafting thru my studio. Have to settle for a few Kit-Kat mini-bar, Halloween leftovers, I guess. HA!

ALEX

It's just an old saying my dad used to tell me that came to mind. Not so much meant as an insult as just saying an argument based on rumor always loses to an argument based on facts (unless it's politics and John Kerry may disagree with me there) and that you happen to have the facts on your side. All the best tonight.

Hi ALEX:

Yes, I want to check out Craig Ferguson just as soon as I can. I miss watching it. I will try to record some in my box and get back with you.

My girls are 16 and almost 15, so yes they are out of the trick-or- treat stage and the church we go to currently does not do Halloween, but don't tell anyone we handed out candy. And, I will take some of your left over Kit Kats, those are my favorite or peanut M&Ms. Yes, with the economy slower than usual many might not participate. My 83-year-old mom managed to participate, I think she likes seeing the little ones and she lives so far out of the city limits they combine three or four roads.

Maybe Conan's hair did cushion the fall. haha That is not funny though. And no concussion is minor really. Glad he was okay in the end. This girl on our retreat who cracked her head probably had one, but the people we were with would not take her to the hospital. I was a new EMT then, we woke her up every couple of hours all night long. Not something to mess with.

Hey Z, you and ALEX and everyone have a wonderful week too. I will trade you some Thanksgiving turkey for the Kit Kats.

Z, hope Jon and Kate viewing goes well.

Man Alex I pity you a little bit. Let me send you a recipe for "no bake turkey pot pie" man it is awesome and anyone can make it. I had it Sunday at my work. A lady made it from the back of a stove top stuffing box.

Leno must be trying to promote. He is coming to Beau Rivage in Biloxi this month. Maybe he is searching for a Plan B.

All I can say is that I'm tired of paying nearly $100.00 a month for what has turned into a large percentage of reality television, including Leno and the like.

I want to see more House, more than 6 episodes a year of Saving Grace, and a whole lot more Dexter. Am I the only person alive who is having withdrawal from actual scripted television? And what do I need to do to improve this sad state of TV?

In all my years I've never been so completely disillusioned and disgusted by contemporary television. Maybe I'm just getting older and turning into my own mother, but I'm just not loving TV like I used to and it saddens me.

Irene,

Thanks for you concern re/ my turkey woes, but earlier I merely alluded to the subject to get our fellow bloggers into that warm and fuzzy Thanksgiving mood, as if they weren't already conjuring up that famous, quintessential, almost utopian, Rockwellian Thanksgiving scene of old. Hmmm... do kids these days even know who Norman Rockwell is?

(I reckon, as familiar as Grant Wood's much parodied painting of that austere, dour, elderly farm couple, pitch fork in hand, "American Gothic" is, you could probably count on a couple of hands, and maybe a foot, the number of everyday average American folk who could identify the name of this popular work, let alone the artist who painted it. I could see Jay Leno asking those air-heads he manages to corral on his old "Jay Walking", at large, segment. There's Leno's hinting......."Grant....Grant".....and the clueless 'jaywalker' blurts out," ah.....ah......Hugh Grant?........Lou Grant?.......Amy Grant?", as Leno chuckles away, sarcastically. Irene, was it Leno's intent to illustrate that most adolescent Americans are as dumb as a post when it comes to the most basic general knowledge. Sorry if I inadvertently insulted any "posts" out there. Oh well,I digress.)

Let's talk turkey!

Irene, living here in LA LA Land, I'm spoiled rotten in terms of eateries in which to savor delightful fresh turkey fare; all year round, no less. We have the venerable, slightly high-end family-style California-based restaurant chain of Marie Callanders, which serves as one of their chef 'specialties', their incredibly sumptuous turkey (or chicken) pot-pie; a steamy-hot, mouth-watering melange of fresh veggies, roast turkey chunks, 'secret' seasonings, and I would venture to guess, copious amounts of butter and an ample measure of corn starch, all nestled in a sizable white bone-china tureen, and blanketed in a fluffy, buttery golden crust. (WARNING!!! Do NOT dive in right away, or you may require major lip reconstructive surgery afterwards. Just saying.) The Marie Callanders turkey pot-pie 'experience' is not to be missed, and gets my nod as the best of its genre west of the mighty Mississippi, bar none.

For me, the primo (ersatz, quasi) Thanksgiving turkey dinner w/ all the fixins that's served all 365 days of the year, has to be the roughly $8.95+Tax, hot open-faced, oven- roasted turkey sandwich at famed Mel's Diner--- five to six generous slices of turkey on plain white bread, drenched in steaming, made-from-scratch brown gravy, w/ sides of savory bread crumb-based stuffing, assorted steamed seasonal vegetables (like broccoli, summer squash, carrots), a dollop of mashed potatoes, and as much jellied cranberry sauce(canned) as you can handle, on the side. Yum!

And if you're real lucky, at my Mel's Diner in The Valley (Sherman Oaks) you might have the good fortune to get their ancient, quirky waiter, the self-proclaimed, " The Old Goat", to serve you in his deadpan, gruff, old-school, no-fuss-no-muss, yet amiable manner. (He actually has a name tag on his lapel reading, "The Old Goat". And yes, he does have a little pointy goatee. HA!)

Mel's Diner, of course, has some great history going for it; the original location from back in the '50s being prominently featured in George Lucas' first commercial feature hit movie, "American Graffiti". Back in the day, they had waitresses zipping around on roller-skates from kitchen counter to car and back, when it had more of the classic drive-in car-culture ambiance of the era. But today, the few remaining franchises are strictly sit-down, counter-and-booth fare, yet they still retain remnants of the old days w/ working mini-jukeboxes at every booth, and their tasty french fries served up in a cute cardboard scaled-down Cadillac convertible, circa 1950s; a little take-home memento for the kids. Sodas, shakes, malts, NYC egg creams, burgers and hotdogs are all still a major draw. But that hot roast turkey sandwich has got MY number on it, every time. HA!

Well Irene, much to Z.'s chagrin, I've managed to completely skirt the blog topic at hand (The "Leno Effect"), but it was fun allying your fears that I was somehow suffering from turkey deprivation. Talk about quitting 'cold turkey'.

Better get back to my post-Halloween Kit-Kat stash.(Yes Sherry T., I can share. HA!)

Irene, between turkey and sausage, we seem to be awfully focused on food, of late?
Well it's a nice interlude from the Kate Gosselin buzz, no?

(By the way, I've really enjoyed your hilarious musings, and in-depth, intrepid analysis (deconstructing?) of the whole Kate G. mess. I so admire when my fellow bloggers on Z.'s site have a little fun w/ this stuff. If we can't laugh once in a while, what's the alternative? Irene, w/ those 8 kids of your own, you are truly a multi-tasking phenom. (Hubby gets credit too.) Actually, I ordered you a Super Woman outfit, (cape, tights, tiara, the whole bit), for this Halloween, but I heard rumors that some dastardly cross-dressing UPS guy ripped it off, and put it on for the occasion. HA! That basic brown has got to get pretty boring after a while.....can't really blame him.)

Irene, just keep informing and entertaining. You are truly a force of nature, and along w/ the many other loyal, and vocal bloggers out there, you make Z.'s blog a delight to peruse each and every day. Thanks!

ALEX

Hi ALEX. I enjoyed the the turkey talk. I love turkey, and hearing about all the turkey options in LA made my mouth water. Z

Does Leno have Wanda Sykes (from New Christine) on every night? Seems as though everytime I go to watch, she's there again and I turn the television off. I don't think she's funny.

Hey Z,

After reading this, I come to the conclusion that we do not care who does the news because we are not changing the channel at 11pm. It would appear that news anchors are only as popular as their lead-in.

People still watch local news? Why? You get more timely news, less BS and less "teasers" from the internet. You also don't have to watch some fools trying to banter back and forth or take several minutes to give a weather forecast that should take 30 seconds tops.

I was really looking forward to Leno, but it's the time slot that ruined the magic for me. Leno picked up on a time slot that was a historical icon for late night television. It was Johnny's and many other's before that. America got use to watching a show, crime/drama/comedy in series format, but having Jay do his late night format at 10 pm was a big mistake. People are winding down around 10 pm to watch the 11 pm news. The news can be a downer and knowing that you could watch Leno after the news was that last little smile on your face before you went to sleep. Conan is not my favorite because he's just too all over the place, too much energy for winding down. I'd rather have Jay back after the news.