Year: 2010

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Why was the Human Target called the Human Target?

Because the Human Walmart didn’t make any sense.

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I can’t wait for the very first review that dismisses it as a rip-off of “Avatar.”

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On “The Tonight Show,” Conan just announced that he’s put a rolling suitcase with the show’s logo up on eBay. Only a half dozen or so were made. Out of curiosity I checked to see if this was legit. Not only was he serious, but I watched the bid price go from $1800 to $8200 in–no exaggeration–thirty seconds flat. God only knows what it’s up to by now. Check it out for yourself.

Rich Johnston makes observations at Bleeding Cool about my having a bit of fun regarding Shatterstar. I suppose if you accept the subtext Rich suggests, I come across as kind of juvenile. To which I would say, well, yeah, I write comic books for a living and my office is crowded with action figures. I am kind of juvenile. My friends choose to find it charming. At least they say they do. Anyway, check it here.

UPDATED at 10:07 PM–i think this quote from the issue of “Variety” that covered the announcement of the planned transition, published back in 2004, pretty much says it all:

Insiders said Leno didn’t want O’Brien to suffer the turmoil he did upon Johnny Carson’s announcement that he was retiring as host of “Tonight,” which set off a fierce war between the Leno and Letterman camps. Letterman, then the host of NBC’s “Late Night,” had assumed he would take over for Carson.

So how’s that whole Conan-not-suffering-turmoil thing going? To say nothing of what Conan’s writers, musicians, etc., are dealing with, since they won’t be getting a multimillion payout from NBC.

So I watched Leno’s show for the first time in a long time last night, and he did an interview with Jimmy Kimmel. And it was the single most uncomfortable thing I’ve ever seen. Kimmel was relentless in jabbing at Leno about his taking back “The Tonight Show” (which is, let’s face it, NBC’s plan at this point, although “plan” might be too generous a word.) And yes, Kimmel was on video screen which provided some distance, but even so, there was a certain ballsiness on Kimmel’s part saying this stuff to Leno’s face. And I thought, Well, that’s the historic job of the comedian, to speak truth to power. The court jester, after all, was ostensibly the only one who could take japes at the king…unless, of course, the king lost patience and beheaded him.

And that’s when I had a clearer vision of why the dynamics of this entire thing are off kilter, and why Leno displacing Conan is a bad idea. Not business wise, not ratings wise, but comedy wise.

The comedian is the court jester.

You can’t be the deposed king returning to power and court jester at the same time. Especially if you’re beheading the previous court jester.

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Y’know, I haven’t watched “The Tonight Show” in ages, but I’ve started tuning in since the entire blow-up with NBC. Glad I did. The bit with “30 Rock’s” Kenneth the Page last night was absolutely golden.

Personally I think if Leno’s smart–and he is–he’s gotta say at this point that he’s passing on returning to 11:30. It’s the only way out of this no-win scenario that (admittedly) NBC has gotten itself into. They should never have promised Conan “The Tonight Show” back in 2005 but, hey, they did. They should never have put Leno on five days a week but, hey, they did. From a PR point of view, from a “Can’t we all just get along?” view, Leno’s best move is to say basically, “Hey, we tried a 10 PM slot, it didn’t work, that’s the way that goes, but there’s no reason to force Conan out just because my show didn’t cut the mustard.”

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