Since wunderkind Ben Silverman took over, critics have turned the mocking of NBC into a kind of bloodsport—and for good reason, given such mystifying programming follies as Knight Rider, Crusoe, The Baby Borrowers, and a Rosie O'Donnell variety show. But perhaps the most curious decision made by the network was its rush to hand The Tonight Show over to Conan O'Brien, which meant pushing out Jay Leno, who had reliably dominated that time slot with his funny headlines and Monica Lewinsky jokes. It seemed foolish to assume that Leno's audience would be inherited by O'Brien, whose quirky, at times surreal (and, you know, funny) sensibility could not be more at odds with Leno's tapioca.
Ah, but little did we know NBC's endgame. In what's either a brilliant gambit or the dumbest move by the network since the XFL, NBC has kept Leno on the Peacock by giving him a new talk show weeknights at 10 p.m. Rather than doing battle with Letterman and other late-night rivals, Leno's prime time slot puts him in competition with the likes of Private Practice, CSI: Whatever, and a host of other network dramas. It's a move that smacks of ingenuity and desperation: With its new shows floundering horribly, NBC doesn't have to worry about filling a full third of its prime time schedule, and it has the opportunity to get a jump on other late-night talk shows while keeping its cash cow in the fold. Then again, it could permanently anchor NBC to the bottom of the ratings barrel, alienate O'Brien, and leave viewers completely laughed out by the time they get to Jimmy Fallon.
What do you think?