Or is it one of the funnier things Jay’s done in a long time?

Still smarting from the reviews he got from his MC-ing the White House Correspondents Dinner over the weekend (it’s never a good sign when the MC makes the remark “Wow, tough crowd.”) Jay Leno took aim at nemesis and former Late Show host Conan O’Brien and his fans last night.

How?

By showing failed Times Square bomber Faisal Shaza’s fake Facebook page,  which among other things listed groups he belongs to including Al Qaeda, Pakistan Frequent Flyer’s Club, and Team Coco.

Cue the outrage.  Also?  Hee! 

Looks like Jay’s finished worrying about how he’s perceived by non-fans and taking off the gloves.  I didn’t think he had it in him.

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Not on NBC’s Dateline?  SHOCKING!

Breaking his silence regarding the whole Tonight Show drama, Conan O’Brien was interviewed by 60 Minutes to give his thoughts and his side of the story (much  like Jay Leno did with Oprah earlier this spring).

No major earth shattering revelations were made in the interview, although it appears that while Conan walked away with a $32 million buy out, had Leno left, it would supposedly have cost the network almost five times as much. 

Suddenly, NBC’s decision regarding the Tonight Show and Jay Leno makes a lot more sense.

As for Conan,while he did say he’d occasionally get a major case of the sads following his departure, ($32 million notwithstanding) going on The Legally Prohibited From Being Funny On Television Tour over the next few months and returning to late night on TBS this November has probably been pretty therapeutic.

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So much for those FOX rumours. 

Turner Broadcasting Systemshas signed on Conan O’Brien (everybody’s favorite shafted ginge) to return to late night this November.

Conan’s new gig will air from 11 to 12, which is bumping George Lopez’s talk show Lopez Tonight to the midnight slot in order to make room.  Ironic, no?

Before the fifty or so of you who actually watch George’s show start to organize a “Team Lopez” grass roots campaign, you should know that George says he’s actually fine with the move, since having Conan as a lead in will increase his ratings.

In a statement Conan said, “I’ve gone from network television to Twitter to performing live in theaters, and now I’m headed to basic cable. My plan is working perfectly.”

Should be interesting to see how Conan does airing opposite national news programs, then Leno and Letterman.

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Deciding that sitting at home counting his multi-million dollar severance package was getting kind of boring, as was sending Tweets out describing said boredom, Conan O’Brien is taking his show on the road for the Legally Prohibited From Being Funny On Television Tour.

Best.  Tour.  Name.  Ever.

Forgoing the usual press release or announcement via spokesminion, O’Brien announced the tour this morning via Twitter, saying “Hey Internet: I’m headed to your town on a half-assed comedy & music tour,  I repeat: It’s half-assed.”

Few details have been given but here’s hoping the Masturbating Bear makes it into the show, half-assed or not.

The tour begins April 12 in Eugene Oregan and ends June 14 in Atlanta.  You can also visit  TeamCoco.com  for a complete list of tour dates and venues.

Can’t wait to see if Leno and Letterman chime in on this development.

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Jay Leno returned to his 11:35pm spot on the Tonight Show with the words “It’s good to be home.  I’m Jay Leno your host, at least for a while“.

It’s not going to be easy for Jay, he’s got some damage control to do, a brand to rebuild and a new band leader to hire However, since he only fell a place or two in a recent poll of most popular celebs, these aren’t impossible tasks.

Jay’s first guests were Jaimie Fox, Olympian Lindsay Von and singer/songwriter Brad Paisley.  Sounds kind of dull, but that seems to be Jay’s shtick, which up until last year worked well for him.

I’ve always been more of a Letterman fan myself, who was back to poking fun at his arch-rival by starting his show with ”My name is David Letterman, same time, same host.”

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And so the Jay Leno Show Deathwatch ended not with a bang or a whimper, but a “Your Fired!” from none other than wildy entertaining yet pompous gas-bag Donald Trump (there to promote the 80th season of his show, Celebrity Apprentice)

Fitting, although it could be argued that the Donald should have said that to some NBC execs for creating this situation in the first place.  Yes, Jeff Zucker, we’re looking mostly at you.  

Leno will have some image rebuilding to do as rumours are flying that he pressured NBC to get his old job back (which he sort of admitted to Oprah he never really wanted to leave in the first place) and hasn’t been particularly honest about it.

Should be interesting to see if Leno’s ratings suffer after inital curiosity abates or if he had trouble booking guests.  Guess all will be answered in about three weeks.  

Leno returns to The Tonight Show March 1st.

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Oprah’s made it pretty clear during her interview with Jay Leno today that she’s neutral in the whole Team CoCo vs Team Leno debate.  The mighty Opes explained that she found it amazing what a polarizing issue this has become for people and requested interviews with both Leno and O’Brien (O’Brien’s team deferred, saying the time wasn’t right.  Oprah says her offer still stands).

During her show Oprah indicated to Jay that she found some of  his behavior during the mess perplexing and beneath him, referring to his taking shots back at David Lettermen on his show (the two have always feuded with one another) and not washing his hands of NBC saying that being fired twice by the network “seems like the ultimate in disrespect to me“.

Given Leno’s explanations in context, it’s easier to understand where he’s coming from.  He’s certainly an example of grace under pressure, given some of the things that are being said about him at water-coolers and the media (and yes, here too). 

Is he being somewhat disingenuous with some of his answers?  Probably.  Staying with NBC instead of actually retireing and taking a 10pm late night talk show was almost guaranteed to cut into The Tonight Shows ratings.

Is he egotistical?  Jay’s a successful comedian in television, it’s almost a given. 

If anything, the Oprah interview confirmed that NBC created a total cluster-f*ck by asking Leno to give up The Tonight Show to O’Brien in five years back in 2004 as a bargaining chip when they were deep in negotiations with him to renew his contract with them.  This all probably could have been avoided if NBC execs instead promised The Tonight Show to O’Brien when Jay decided to retire or if the ratings started to go downhill. 

Jay told Oprah he hopes that he’ll be able to get back on top once The Tonight Show reverts back to him starting in March.  Considering that he’s number 3 on a list of top TV personalities in a recent poll, he’ll probably get his wish.

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