Familiar Host, Familiar Spot
Better than Ambien: Jay Leno returns to late night
Jay Leno returned to the late night hour Monday and proved that not much has changed since he left last year for an ill-fated prime time venture.
His first show back as host of The Tonight Show opened with a funny parody of the classic movie, The Wizard of Oz. Leno played the Judy Garland role in waking up to discover everything in the past was just a bad dream — until Betty White showed up to complain that NBC had really skimped on the surroundings. The only problem: Leno relied on a 71-year-old movie as a basis for the joke.
After that, the show returned to familiar ways, as Leno did lame jokes about Wall Street, Tiger Woods, Dick Cheney, Toyota, and Chocolate Cheerios. In a too-long bit, Leno went door-to-door looking for a new desk, since he had given up his previous desk in his move to prime time, and welcomed guests Jamie Foxx, (who couldn't sit still), Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn (in a gold-sequined mini-dress and six-inch heels), and Brad Paisley (in his familiar white cowboy hat).
It all seemed oddly familiar, but I have no doubt Leno will regain success in the late night hour. I could barely stay awake to the end.
When it comes to getting a good night's sleep, an hour of Leno is better than Ambien.