now that the dust has settled, is he the greatest Tonight Show host?

>>211903512 (OP)
Absolutely.

Nah.

>Letterman
>Carson
>Conan
>Leno
That's the order, but they are all great. Jay's monologues weren't as biting as they should have been and the only bits that I would retwatch are "Headlines" and "Ask questions to people on the street".

>>211903593
muh nigga

He wasn't funny. He was only considered decent because Letterman couldn't shut up about libtard nonsense for five seconds. A lot like Jimmy Fallon today.

>>211903605
>Jay's monologues weren't as biting as they should have been and the only bits that I would retwatch are "Headlines"
Headlines was classic, I can't remember many of the skits. I considered Leno amiable and current but sort of soporific, 'Headlines' in a weird way summarises his humour so well, it's like entering a distorted dream of America.

I watched Leno. Letterman only when there was a decent guest. He wasn’t funny.

His first run was good, if very tired by the end. Perfect comedian to keep appealing to middle america like Carson did.

His second run he looked miserable and phoned it in most nights.

the bizarre thing about Leno is when you see him racing his cars or supposedly performing stunts at monster truck rallies, it's hard to square with his actual style of comedy which seems so much less involved.

>>211903512 (OP)
I don't want him to be, but probably. I wish I could say Letterman beat him, but not quite, and he succeeded Carson in grand fashion. I want to say the Carson years were better variety, but it was a little to pure, simple, sanitized accidentally. I'd also want to rate Conan O'Brien higher but he was banished to TBS. He had some good celebrity bits though. Leno mogs the fuck out of Kimmel, the brit & Fallon by a mile.

>>211903512 (OP)
For retards like you yes. Jimmy Fallon wishes he could be as corporate and retarded as Leno was. He was just not funny enough that nobody had any problem falling asleep to him.

>>211903512 (OP)
Carson was the best but Leno has had the best post-show career

>>211903512 (OP)
his standup is good, tonight show is ehhh at best

>>211903512 (OP)
I liked Headlines and Jaywalking but there wasn't anything else good on the show.

>>211906649
What the fuck are you talking about? Carson was king, and Leno was a charisma vacuum. And Carson wasn't sanitized at all, particularly compared to the modern shit.

>>211903512 (OP)
Conan’s a fag and would be just as gay and preachy as Kimmel and Colbert and Meyers if he was still on the air in 2025

>>211903593
Giving Tonight to Colbert and replacing him on The Late Late Show with James Corden really signaled the "new era" of corporate-approved slop. At least he got $8 million out of it.

>>211909309
>literally just bitching that non-illegal immigrants won't work for slave wages

Letterman > Carson > Ferguson > Leno > Conan

>>211903605
I'll never get why people think Letterman was edgy. Cause Madonna showed her tits once or he made Paris Hilton look stupid? Plus all his bits were lame. Top 10 list sucked.

>>211909309
>They are the community
Yeah, that's the problem.

>1992
>Leno beats Letterman to take over for Carson
>People accuse Leno of backstabbing, but it was actually his batshit manager Helen Kushnick pulling the strings
>He fires her like 3 months later
>Everyone still acts like he knifed Johnny on live TV

>2005
>Leno has been #1 in late night for a full decade
>Nice guy Conan says he'll leave NBC unless they promise him The Tonight Show in 5 years
>Essentially strongarms the network
>Does the exact thing Leno was crucified for, but nerds cheer because “Conan is just like us :^)”

>2010
>Leno’s ratings are still solid, aging boomers love him
>NBC forces him to step aside anyway because muh promise
>Conan finally gets the big chair
>Promptly gets absolutely mogged by Craig Ferguson
>Literal Scottish skeleton sidekick show doing better numbers

>NBC panics
>Tries to shoehorn Leno into a 10PM primetime slot
>Ratings nosedive harder than The Marvels
>Local affiliates ready to burn down Rockefeller Plaza
>They yank Leno back to 11:35PM
>Conan refuses to move to 12:05 because “muh legacy”
>Quits with a monologue full of passive-aggressive sadness and gets a golden parachute


So glad that blue blood Ivy League cunt got btfo'd. Hail Leno!

>>211910814
He was edgy by 1985-95 standards

>>211911028
TRUTH NUKE

>>211911028
Leno didn't rat fuck him. Conan's ratings were dogshit before they moved Jay to 10:00.

>>211903593
Ding ding ding

>>211903593
The King, except for when he pretended to still be Scottish.

>>211903512 (OP)
Colbert is MOTHER!