NBC will give $45 million to Conan O’Brien and his “staff” to leave the network so the great Jay Leno can return to his rightful place as host of the Tonight Show.

The Peacock network made the announcement on January 21, 2010.

O’Brien’s final NBC broadcast is Friday. Leno’s second debut as Tonight Show anchor is set for March 1, 2010.

“We’re pleased that Jay is returning to host the franchise that he helmed brilliantly and successfully for many years,” said Jeff Gaspin, chairman of NBC Universal Television Entertainment. “He is an enormous talent, a consummate professional and one of the hardest-working performers on television.”

O’Brien, or “Cuckoo” as his fans call him, can return to television as soon as September but NBC will retain the rights to most of his “comedy bits” (industry term). Why they want to keep them is anyone’s guess.

Many believe O’Brien will land on FOX thus causing a four-way log jam at late night (O’Brien on Fox, Jay Leno on NBC, the disgusting old man David Letterman on CBS, and Jimmy Kimmell on ABC). Land of Punt hopes O’Brien migrates to Murdock’s network because he will flat out falter and watching O’Brien fail will be funnier than Jay-Walking.

While Cuckoo has lots of support on the internet (minus this site), and from teens studying for their GED, no one watches him. He’s not that funny, he’s an elitist Harvard snob, and he’s extremely smarmy. Think Tina Fey only not as masculine.

Leno is a proven ratings winner. He’s funny, affable, and a hard worker. As long as he wants it, Leno should be host of the Tonight Show.

Cuckoo should have returned to the Late Night slot at 12:30am but he apparently didn’t want to usurp current host and fellow SNL alumni Jimmy Fallon.

LOP is flummoxed as why O’Brien displayed such a mind-numbingly, weak-willed, pathetically-puny, overtly-feminine, cowardly show of benevolence (then again, maybe he wanted that $45 million severance package).

O’Brien’s fans will argue that Cuckoo didn’t have the same advantages as Leno, namely a 10pm drama as a lead in. Also, O’Brien hosted the Tonight Show for 7 months while Leno hosted for 17 years.

Finally, O’Brien fans will point out that their guy(?) and Leno have never faced one another head to head. So saying one is a higher ratings-grabber than the other is not fair.

However, those are just excuses because the bottom line is that at 11:35pm more people watched, and want to watch, Leno then O’Brien. Leno is successful. O’Brien is not.

It’s NBC’s network and they can do what they want. Fortunately, they want to return Leno to his rightful place.

Good riddance to Cuckoo.

This entire ordeal is a moot point for Land of Punt. LOP’s late night viewing habits involve Fox News Channel’s Red Eye.

Now that The Jay Leno Show has premiered that question still remains unanswer.

Leno isn’t the problem. He’s funny, affable and very accessible. He’s probably the only entertainer in the English speaking world with enough talent and popularity to try this. The Jay Leno Show, for better or worse, is the Tonight Show on steroids. The show feels like it’s being made by people who know the boss is watching.

Some of the bits seemed to go on to long. Then again this show is a magnet for filler and segment killers. The syndrome will only get worse.

His first guest was Jerry Seinfeld who then interviewed her majesty, Oprah. While Oprah is a huge get, Seinfeld is certainly not above appearing on the Tonight Show. This is yet another possible trap for the J.L.S., will it really give fans something they can’t get someone else?

As it stands right now, Leno is the major league version of a cable show.

By the way, Leno had no desk just two comfy chairs. Was Land of Punt the only pseudo-mythological land that saw that and thought Arsenio Hall?

The show debuted with a robust 18.4 million. Then again the XFL had a great debut too. On Tuesday, Leno’s rating fell to 10.7 million but NBC still won the evening.

Leno had no competition. On Tuesday, he was up against a Patrick Swayze special and the second hour of the Big Brother finale (Jordan won by the way).

The question still remains, will people give up their dramas to watch Leno? If comedy worked at 10 P.M. wouldn’t all the network have funny shows during that time slot? From 10 to 11 P.M. people want to relax, wind down and get ready for bed. Dramas put people to sleep. Comedy wakes them up (don’t bring up late night talk shows you’ll only confuse LOP with your monkey truths).

Earlier Tuesday night, a rerun of NCIS garnered nearly 12 million viewers. If a rerun can get better numbers (granted, it’s two hours earlier) then Leno what will happen when he goes up against estalished dramas like CSI: Miami, CSI: New York, The Mentalist, Numbers and Prviate Practice.

There are a slew of new 10 P.M. dramas and maybe that will allow Leno to make some in roads. But with a show that’s not revoluntionary, rather it’s something we’ve seen before, one has to beleive that the Jay Leno Show is nothing more than something to watch during commericals.

It would be nice to know NBC’s expectations for the show. Do they need it to win the timeslot every night or are they just looking to stay competive?

Regardless, the fate of NBC rests in the success of the Jay Leno Show.

He passed away shortly after midnight Tuesday at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center surrounded by his wife, Pam, and other family members. McMahon was 86.

Doc Severinson, Tonight Show bandleader during the Carson era, remembered McMahon as a man full of life and joy and celebration.

For three decades, the 6-foot-four McMahon started the Tonight Show with his patented and much imitated chant, “And now h-e-e-e-e-e-ere’s Johnny!”

He hosted a show called Star Search in the 1980’s, long before American Idol and America’s Got Talent were even a glimmer in Simon Cowell’s eye.

He hosted a show called TV’s Bloppers and Practical Jokes with Dick Clark for over 15 years. Yes, the show was total schlock but it still worked especially the corny jokes and the forced dialogue.

McMahon was a spokesman for several companies including American Family Publishers Sweepstakes and Budweiser. He was co-host of Jerry Lewis’ annual muscular dystrophy telethon.

A good American, McMahon was a fighter pilot during World War II. He served in the Korean War flying 85 tactical air control and artillery spotting missions. In 1966, he retired from the Maries with the rank of colonel. He was then commissioned as a Brigadier General in the California Air National Guard.

Such a television icon, McMahon inspired the character of Hank “Hey Now!” Kingsley seen in the HBO comedy The Larry Sanders Show.

He was then reintroduced to an entire new generation of fans thanks to Phil Hartman’s rousing impression of him opposite Dana Carvey’s Johnny Carson on Saturday Night Live.

Recently McMahon faced hard times. With his health prevented him from working, McMahon’s financial situation to worsen to point where his house was in jeopardy of being foreclosed. This prompted McMahon to make a sad and depressing appearance in a Cash 4 Gold commercial which aired during Super Bowl XLIII.

Hopefully a poor and broken McMahon won’t be our last memory of the man.

In the wake of his passing, many eulogizing McMahon are focusing on his run with Johnny Carson that made him the greatest sidekicks of all-time. He certainly is that, in fact McMahon is the quintessential side kick. However, Land of Punt believes he was so much more than that.

McMahon had an effable personality. He was a welcoming and a non-offensive figure. His presence was a comfort. You couldn’t help but like him. During his heyday he was as much a part of television as the volume knob.

Ed McMahon was America’s Spokesman.

Then in about six and half weeks the show becomes indolent. Hosts start reading headlines cut out of newspapers and producers send mildly amusing staffers out on the street with a camera crew. Ah yes, it’s broadcast laziness at its finest.

The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien debut June 1st on NBC. His guests were Will Ferrell and Pearl Jam.

Conan O’Brien’s Tonight Show debut on Monday was anything but lazy. The host was featured in several funny videos, including one where he ran across country and another that saw him leading a Universal Studios tour.

His 16-year tenure on Late Night prepared O’Brien well. He seemed calm and comfortable during his first Tonight Show and at times was even funny. However, O’Brien did seem to reek of that boyfriend who tones down his personality when he meets her parents.

While the show was packed with pre-produced attempts at comedy, Will Ferrell and Pearl Jam, it did seem to drag in places. Not what you’d expect from the only time a weekday talk show is actually exciting, but at least this reveals that O’Brien won’t have any trouble settling in.

“I have to admit I think I’ve timed this moment perfectly. Think about it: I’m on a last-place network; I moved to state that’s bankrupt; and tonight’s show is sponsored by General Motors.”

Andy Richter was on hand as the show’s announcer. LOP couldn’t figure if he was just an announcer or a side kick or a hanger-on. Is Richter permanent (what else does he have to do anyway)? Whatever his relationship is, or will be, to the show, can someone please prevent him and O’Brien from talking at the same time—it’s the single most irritating thing that can ever happen on television.

The ratings for O’Brien show were tremendous. In fact, his debut attracted higher ratings than any program in prime time on Monday and that includes CBS. It was the highest rated Tonight Show since the 2005 tribute show to former host Johnny Carson.

It can be argued that any host in their first show would have garnered those numbers, but regardless of whether or not the high ratings were conciliatory, O’Brien absolutely had to get them and he did.

Now that the debut is out of the way, Land of Punt can’t wait for that Tuesday show in the middle of summer where O’Brien has to save a show with Sarah Chalke, Vern Yip and musical guest Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Let’s see his ratings after a slug like that.

Ultimately, O’Brien is a stalwart choice to replace Jay Leno and carry on the Tonight Show banner. Even after one show it’s obvious that he’s an adequate fit. It’s one of NBC’s rare good decisions.

BTW, Andy Richter is a permement fixture on the Tonight Show. Richter has stated he’s looking forward to a steady paycheck and the opportunity to not work with laggard production companies.

The Tonight Show is in the Land of Punt as well as Leno’s predecessor Johnny Carson–the coolest comedian of all-time. However, Jay Leno is not in the Land of Punt.

Jay Leno returns to NBC this fall with a comedy show on Monday through Friday at 10pm.

LOP always thought Leno was competent but lackluster. He was never someone you got excited over. Still, he’s very funny (funnier than most people think he is) and extremely likable (probably the most affable person in entertainment). The grace he’s exhibited during his Tonight Show run, especially its conclusion, is very commendable. Leno is a class act.

He’s also hosted the Tonight Show for a very long time. In a fact that’s guaranteed to make those who remember Carson feel old, Leno has hosted The Tonight Show for 17 years.

“When I started here, my hair was black and the president was white,” Leno joked.

To close his final show, Leno introduced the 68 children that had been born to “The Tonight Show” staffers during the show’s 17 year run. Leno called those offspring “the true legacy” of the show. Eh. A little sappy but what are you going to do.

LOP thought it would be interesting to document some of the major events that have transpired while Leno was host of the Tonight Show.

Miley Cyrus is born.
The Monica Lewinsky Scandal.
The O.J. Simpson trail.
9/11
Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Barack Obama becomes first black President of the United States.
New England Patriots win three Super Bowls
A task force from Alpha Quadrant Seti visits Earth.
A capybara is elected Bishop of Organic Chemistry.
Glop becomes the number one food for kids with leprosy.
Elvis Presley and French naturalist Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton record their second album together.
Nebraska.
World War II starts performing their one-man show, “I Got A Hair In My Bra!” on Broadway.
The letter “M” becomes a prime number.
Jackine Chan makes two movies…wait, three.
Monkeys overthrow the government of West Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide. U.N. goes bananas.
Cell nuclei prohibited in western California and parts of Denver.
Eleven people.
The Draupner wave in the North Sea in Norway is detected, confirming the existence of freak waves.
Snorting is monetized.
Tarja Halonen is elected the first female president of Stipe Mesic.
American Idol debuts on Fox.