Wow, what a cluster-fuck. Let me break down the incredible comedy of errors made by NBC and their late-night programming.

1. For better than 15 years, Jay Leno's Tonight Show was the #1 rated program for NBC in the 11:30pm time slot, easily beating David Letterman on CBS and ABC's Nightline with Ted Koppel. What did they decide to do? Force him out while at the top gambling that longtime Late Show host Conan O'Brien could be plugged in without losing a step, and at the same time bringing in more younger viewers.

2. Install Jay Leno as a 10pm lead-in show that would carry over many of the same comedy bits and the general format of the Tonight Show, but with more of a subdued, conversational style while giving extended airtime to a single guest.

3. After ratings suck for both shows, the network shockingly announces they are removing the Tonight Show after just 7 months with O'Brien from its traditional 11:30pm slot to awkwardly make room for some fucked up 30 minute Leno show.

Analysis: Fucked up ideas galore. O'Brien lost NBC's hold on 1st place almost immediately, as many traditional Tonight Show viewers didn't care for his sillier style of humor and either switched to Letterman or just tuned out altogether. To be fair, the show needed time to find itself, learn what would work from his previous show and what would flop with the 11:30 audience.

One terrible mistake was using Conan's witty, dry-humored, former set-up man, Andy Richter, as a pitiful, cartoonish "yes-man" inexplicably stashed out on a podium in the middle of the set. For the network to shockingly then announce they were removing the Tonight Show with O'Brien from its traditional 11:30pm time slot to midnight in order to awkwardly make room for some fucked up 30 minute Leno show - after just 7 months on the air - defied all reason.

Of course, Leno's show was a total and complete mess. The format combined awkward discussions with celebrity guests seated next to Jay in overstuffed armchairs and no desk, with poorly conceived skits that never really went anywhere. In short, it was dull as a shit, uninspired, and unwatchable.

Fact of the matter: Celebrities are not very entertaining or interesting when engaged in long-format conversation, and his attempt at the toned-down, dry-humored, intellectual style of 70's talk show host Dick Cavett totally flopped. His ratings sunk and the show had to be mercifully put to death.

To Conan's credit, he told NBC to eat shit. Leno, fairly or unfairly, has ended up looking like the evil old curmudgeon, pushing out O'Brien in a coup to take his old show back. Latest reports have suggested Leno is irate at how this went down and is considering leaving the network rather than have his reputation ruined.

So, what does NBC do next? Will Jay leave the network? Conan? Both? Neither? to early to tell, but if they were smart they'd team up and take all the leverage away from NBC. Jay should say he wants Conan to keep his Tonight Show gig and refuse any show that interferes with the Tonight Show. Conan should tell NBC that they need to make Leno a spot in a reality series called America's Next Talk Show Host, in which he judges potential late night hosts who have no previous network experience. The winner will get to host his own show at a to-be-determined time.

What do you think about this shit?

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Oh lord, it's hard to be humble, when you're perfect in every way. I can't wait to look in the mirror, 'cause I get better looking each day. To know me is to love me, I must be a hell of a man. Oh lord, it's hard to be humble, but I'm doin' the best that I can.

I think the logic in the move to begin with was to "promote" Conan because I believe at the time his contract was up, and they didn't want him running to another network. Jay being the classy guy he is, stepped down to make way for Conan.

Conan, somewhat predicably failed to appeal to the older tonight show audience despite being funnier than Leno. Admittedly the Richter move was not a good one either.

NBC probably should have let Conan walk to another network to begin with if Jay was willing to continue on with his show. No one would have touched Leno ratings-wise, even Conan.

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

andy richter is awesome. whats up with conans MC's? first he gets dicky barret (lead singer of the mighty mighty bosstones) then andy richter. he gets the best MC's ever.

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Conan was dubbed as Leno's successor 6 years before Leno stepped down. Leno wasn't forced out at all.

NBC is the big time asshole here. They were content with Leno's lower ratings because even at the lower numbers, they still made money off the show since it's cheaper to produce than scripted shows. They didn't plan for the backlash from their affiliates though. Apparently the 11pm news on most affiliates depends on a good 10-11 lead in, and Leno was killing that off. None of this shuffling happened until NBC affiliates started threatening to put their own programming on at 10p, which would have sunk Leno's ratings below the break even line.

NBC wanted to cheap out, and it backfired. Now they're fucking Conan over without giving him enough time to work in an audience.

Conan O'Brien Says He Will Not Host "Tonight Show" in Later Time Slot
FOXNews.com
O'Brien released a statement Tuesday saying he would not accept the move to 12:05am proposed by NBC.

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Conan O'Brien said he will not host the "Tonight Show" if it airs at 12:05 a.m.

The comedian, who has hosted the show for seven months, released a statement Tuesday saying he would not accept the time-slot move proposed by NBC.

"Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the 'Tonight Show' to 12:05 to accommodate the 'Jay Leno Show' at 11:35. For 60 years the 'Tonight Show' has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the 'Tonight Show' into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting," the statement said. "'The Tonight Show' at 12:05 simply isn't the 'Tonight Show.'"

SLIDESHOW: "Late Night" Bits We'd Like to See Return.

However, O'Brien left some wiggle room for staying with the network.

"There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next," he said. "My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work."

Some TV insiders have said a move to FOX could make sense as the network does not have a late night variety show, despite repeated attempts. But Broadcast & Cable reports that several Fox affiliate executives have expressed reservations with such a move.

These executives told the trade magazine their stations already have syndication contracts or 11 p.m. newscasts in place that would make introducing a new late night show tricky.

FOX411 Survey: Conan Should Dump NBC for FOX.

NBC decided to end the experiment moving Jay Leno to prime time when some of its affiliates started talking about dropping the show.

NBC Universal Television Entertainment Chairman Jeff Gaspin said Leno's nightly prime-time show will end with the beginning of the Winter Olympics on Feb. 12.

NBC wants Leno to do an 11:35 p.m. show each night, a return to his old time slot, necessitating O'Brien's proposed move to 12:05, and Jimmy Fallon's move with "Late Night" to 1:05.

FOX411: Conan O'Brien's Full Statement Rejecting the Timeslot Move.

O'Brien addressed this in his statement as well.

"If I accept this move I will be knocking the 'Late Night' show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot," he said. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy."

O'Brien ended his statement, which he started with the salutation, "People of Earth," with his trademark, ridiculous flair.

"Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it's always been that way."

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"Tis The Season, Fa la la la la LaFontaine" - Rick Jeanneret

Late night TV is going to have to change at some point.

The younger generation is the group of people that are staying up later to watch TV now. We don't find humor in the same things that those who watch the Tonight Show do.

Until a network grows some balls and comes up with some originality, late night TV is going to dwindle.

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Wheelhouse

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FIGHTER OF THE NIGHTMAN

"on the ice now for buffalo, looking for the pass, and gets it, afinogenov, couldnt get the shot away, now HE DOES, HE SCORES!!!! HOLY MACKEREL ROLE THE HIGH LIGHT FILM, MAXIM AFINOGENOV, WHAT A MOVE!!!!.... thats not fair... that was unbelievable"
-R.J. and Lorenz

NBC really looks idiotic on this. Conan hasn't even been the host for a year and they're already pulling the plug on him? With a switch of a long-term host like that, I believe that it's going to take a little time for the show to find its audience, which is why it dropped in ratings.

What is NBC really doing? They need to look toward the future. Is Leno going to be hosting the Tonight Show 10, 15, 20 years down the line? Conan reaches out to a younger audience and I believe if he was given the chance like he was supposed to, he would find his audience and the Tonight Show would climb back ontop of the ratings.

Leno really looks silly, first he says he's going to retire, but then he changes his mind and gets his own prime-time talk show. And now NBC wants to bring him back to the Tonight Show? It's pretty ridiculous...and it's completely unfair for Conan, who had to move his family across the country to take this job.

I think it's time for Leno to finally pack it in. He's had his ride, but that ship has sailed. It's time to look forward to the future for the Tonight Show and Conan is the rightful host.

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"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hockey Night in Buffalo

i never liked leno. he always had this smug, "im better than you" vibe. conan, on the other hand, is hysterical. the early 90s simpsons episodes he wrote were hilarious. conan will get a show on another network, and fast. and itll be good.

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NBC didn't give Conan a fair chance to sink into his new time slot.

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"...they came down into the stands and asked if I knew how to do play by play. I said...No. But. I'll take a shot at it if you want".- Rick Jeanneret

NBC was dead to me when they dropped Scrubs...I hope they go fucking bankrupt but seriously, FUCK YOU NBC, you took Sarah Chalke out of my living room for 1 night a week.

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"She's like plan C after an 18 pack"

Squanto 7/27/2010

Just to play devil's advocate, this controversy caused so much buzz Conan's ratings skyrocketed the past couple nights...so, one has to wonder if this could have been an orchestrated stunt.

Sometimes all it takes is a big splash of publicity to change the game...remember how Leno took over the ratings lead back when Hugh Grant appeared after being busted with the cheap ho? After that night, he never lost that lead again until he was replaced by Conan 15 years later.

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Oh lord, it's hard to be humble, when you're perfect in every way. I can't wait to look in the mirror, 'cause I get better looking each day. To know me is to love me, I must be a hell of a man. Oh lord, it's hard to be humble, but I'm doin' the best that I can.

I dunno. There have been grumblings about Leno killing 11pm news ratings for months. I think this has been building for some time, and is finally coming to a head.

The canceling Leno part was no stunt...but his show was a cheap afterthought anyways. The Tonight Show is the giant that needed to be awakened, and maybe the Leno talk about 11:30 was just the boost Conan needed to get Tonight Show viewers interested again.

Not saying I believe these execs are that smart, but if one wanted to put on their tinfoil hat of conspiracy theory here's the opening.

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Oh lord, it's hard to be humble, when you're perfect in every way. I can't wait to look in the mirror, 'cause I get better looking each day. To know me is to love me, I must be a hell of a man. Oh lord, it's hard to be humble, but I'm doin' the best that I can.

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"Go out and run 'em."
- Lindy Ruff, 23 Feb. 2007

My thoughts:

NBC signed Conan to take over for Leno six years ago to prevent him from bolting to take an 11:30 pm gig at another network (FOX). Leno was good with that timeline, but changed his mind in the last few months and NBC panicked that he'd take over a late night gig at FOX and beat Conan in the ratings.

To prevent this, they accommodated Leno with that horrendously ill conceived 10pm show, and kept Conan at 11:30 on the Tonight Show. Well, as we now know, the ratings for Conan have been very weak, and the ratings for Leno's disaster absolutely pathetic. So bad that he had to be canceled under threat of affiliate mutiny.

Now, it is my belief that Leno wants out of NBC to take over a show at FOX, or get his Tonight Show gig at 11:30 back if Conan walks. NBC isn't sold on O'Brien yet, especially if Leno joins the competition at a rival network, and is hoping he'll go away because of the insulting move to 12:05pm, and thus keep Leno.

However, the outrage over their willingness to throw O'Brien under the bus after just 7 months is palpable, and plugging Leno back on that show would create too much bad blood among viewers to succeed. Leno is smart enough to know that without likability he'll get zero viewers and fail, so he really doesn't want the job.

In the end, simply NBC must hitch their wagon to Conan, let him work through the kinks for another year, at least, and hope he can hold on to acceptable ratings even if Leno joins the crowded 11:30 battle with his own FOX show.

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Oh lord, it's hard to be humble, when you're perfect in every way. I can't wait to look in the mirror, 'cause I get better looking each day. To know me is to love me, I must be a hell of a man. Oh lord, it's hard to be humble, but I'm doin' the best that I can.

isnt the show still going on, but several of the main protagonists simply didnt want to continue on with the show?

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Yeah it's still going, they have a bit of new cast, Zach Braff, and Sarah Chalke are doing 8 episodes a piece this season, then next season they are going total new cast, minus keeping John C McGilney, and Donald Frasion on cast.

It's not a bad show, but it's just not the same.

The new cast is pretty funny, minus the one frat boy character they have on there. He just annoys me.

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"She's like plan C after an 18 pack"

Squanto 7/27/2010

http://abc.go.com/shows/scrubs/index
yeah i was going to say ABC picked up the show.

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"Tis The Season, Fa la la la la LaFontaine" - Rick Jeanneret

COLE!? i fucking love him, i hated him at first, but the last couple episodes, hes really won me over. it's james franco's lil brother, have you seen the "acting with james franco" videos with them two?

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FIGHTER OF THE NIGHTMAN

"on the ice now for buffalo, looking for the pass, and gets it, afinogenov, couldnt get the shot away, now HE DOES, HE SCORES!!!! HOLY MACKEREL ROLE THE HIGH LIGHT FILM, MAXIM AFINOGENOV, WHAT A MOVE!!!!.... thats not fair... that was unbelievable"
-R.J. and Lorenz