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September 5, 2008 11:43:43 PM CDT

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Leno's Secret: He's Beloved Boy Prince of Mediocrity

Posted Jan 31, 08 11:41 AM CST in Arts & Living 

(Newser) – Despite a dearth of guests willing to cross Writers Guild picket lines and near-scab status himself, late-night host Jay Leno has still managed to trounce rival David Letterman in ratings. Not that either is that funny, but Letterman at least returned with "a fetching gray beard, and the moral high ground"—so why couldn't he steal the show? asks New York's Sam Anderson.

The "deep existential" Leno-Letterman divide is rooted in Leno's "dark magic," Anderson says. NBC's "prince of pandering" can't make you laugh, but "he’s a virtuoso of the mediocre." Leno's content to aim low, unlike Letterman, who's "a failed idealist," tragically interested in comedy. Between a rock and a hard place, fans choose Leno's "comedic temperament of an eighth-grade boy."

Source New York

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In this photo released by NBC, presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee talks with Jay Leno during the taping of "The Tonight Show" on Wednesday Jan. 2, 2008 in Burbank, Calif. The return of TV's late-night...   (Associated Press)
Jay Leno leaves at the annual Vanity Fair Oscar party at Morton's in West Hollywood, Calif., in this Feb. 25, 2007, file photo. If David Letterman hoped a deal with striking writers would help him in...   (Associated Press)
"Tonight Show" host Jay Leno gives an opening monologue in this Sept. 18, 2001 file photo at NBC studios in Burbank, Calif. A lawsuit filed on behalf of Jay Leno and other comedians that claimed a collection...   (Associated Press)
Strike picketer, Vince Waldrow walks the line outside NBC Studios near people waiting to enter "The Tonight Show" taping, Wednesday Jan. 2, 2008 in Burbank, Calif. The return of TV's late-night funnymen...   (Associated Press)
Television talk show host David Letterman walking out of The Ed Sullivan Theater during a taping of "The Late Show with David Letterman", Thursday, Jan. 17, 2008 in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini)   (Associated Press)
In this combination of two photos made available by CBS, David Letterman is shown on the set of "The Late Show with David Letterman" in New York before and after shaving his beard. In the Jan. 2, 2008...   (Associated Press)
In this photo released by CBS, a bearded David Letterman is seen at his desk on the set of "The Late Show with David Letterman, Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2008. This is Letterman's first original show since the...   (Associated Press)
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Hollywood writers' strike  • comedy  • Jay Leno  • David Letterman  • late night talk show


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