TV News and Reviews

Now that’s how a President does a late night talk show. Tonight President Barack Obama visited The Tonight Show and met with host Jay Leno for an informative, intelligent, enlightening, and entertaining interview. After all the news reports, rumors, editorials, and water cooler talk, Obama gave Leno and the audience a succinct and easily understandable summary of current concerns, including the AIG bailout and subsequent bonus scandal. For every issue, Obama gave an explanation of what caused it, what the result was, and what was going to be done to fix it.

It’s so refreshing to sit here and watch the President on TV, and be interested in what he has to say, and be impressed by his answers. The current President also proved he’s got a great sense of humor and great comedic timing. He proved that you can be clever, good-natured, and give and take a joke–all while still maintaining respect for the Office.

One of the points that President Obama made about the AIG bonuses is something that really hit home for me. He spoke of the long time trend in the financial district of a sense of entitlement–of individuals feeling they are all-important and actually deserving of these million or multi-million dollar bonuses. I think this extends far outside the financial district, into many areas of business in the entire country. There’s no sense of accountability, or responsibility for others or to the community as a whole. Rather than trying to do what’s best for the customer, everyone’s out to just make a buck, no matter what the ethics or consequences.

In the interview, Jay Leno asked Obama what it was like to ride on Air Force One, and they spoke of all the grandeur of the Office. While it was all done with a tinge of humor, you could tell that Obama was a little in awe of the privileges of being President. Rather than taking it for granted and not even noticing, or being cynical about it, he was respectful and appreciative.

When President Obama spoke of the economy crisis and other issues, he said ultimately it was his responsibility to make sure things got fixed. He didn’t put us in this situation, but it was his responsibility to fix it.

Obama said that one of the main things that needs to change in the country, in order to help prevent future recessions like this one, is the return to accountability and responsibility. It was also clear that being appreciative of what one has, rather than having a brash sense of entitlement, was also necessary. What makes his words meaningful is that he’s leading by example.

When it really counts, Jay Leno steps up to the plate and gives good solid interviews. This was one of those cases. He asked a good balance of serious and light questions, was respectful but also kept the President on his toes. The two had a good rapport and it made for an enjoyable TV event. I think if Obama went on The Tonight Show once a year, it would be a nice way to connect in an informal setting with the American people.

Watch The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on NBC, weeknights at 11:35/10:35c. Here’s a clip of some highlights from tonight’s show:

(If you can’t see the video, go here.)

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PHOTOS: President Barack Obama and Jay Leno, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, March 19, 2009 screencaps, c2009 Big Dog Productions, NBC Studios.
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Tomorrow night is Conan O’Brien’s last show in the 12:35/11:35c  late night timeslot. Jimmy Fallon takes over his spot on March 2. Later this year, Conan will replace Jay Leno as The Tonight Show host at 11:35/10:35c slot, while Leno will move to his own primetime show in the 10/9c spot. Anyone confused yet? This is almost as tough as deciphering Lost…

Here is a great clip of Jimmy Fallon on Conan O’Brien’s Late Night show on February 11 of this year. The two actually have great rapport–sometimes two comedians on a talk show gets awkward as they step all over each other’s jokes, but these two make for a great partnership. *WARNING* Just so you know, there’s a bit of a graphic clip towards the end of the video, because Jimmy filmed his recent eye surgery. The clip is short, but I just wanted you to be aware it’s there in case you find it squicky.

I’m happy to see Fallon more energetic and slightly more at ease in this format. I can remember seeing him in interviews where he was huddled up in the chair, nervously bouncing his legs like a teenager. I’ve been wondering how he’s going to handle conducting interviews–especially since his first guest on the show will be Robert DeNiro. Maybe DeNiro’s loosened up in his later years, but I can remember him being extremely reticent and not exactly thrilled at being on talk shows. I’m not sure who decided that would be a great first interview, unless they’re hoping it will be completely insane. It is the past midnight spot, so zaniness has always been part of the territory. We’ll have to see how it turns out!

Watch the Late Night with Conan O’Brien show this week at 12:35/11:35c on NBC. Then watch Jimmy Fallon take over on March 2.

The lovely Simon Baker, star of hit show The Mentalist, was a guest tonight on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The handsome Australian was a bit more shy than I had expected, but still funny and charming, and like his Mentalist character Patrick Jane, a little bit quirky. Of course this combination is lethal when being interviewed by Jay Leno, who tends to make fun of everything a person says and deliberately misunderstand their stories or jokes until they feel completely flustered, stymied, or embarrassed. This is particularly true if the guest is ridiculously handsome, as Simon Baker is, and not scary enough to intimidate Leno. I’ve been actually looking forward to Conan O’Brien taking over The Tonight Show–sure, Conan is insane sometimes, but he doesn’t seem quite as obsessed with making himself look superior to his guests.

(I’ll always be grateful to Wanda Sykes for gushing over Jude Law in front of Jay Leno, dismissing Leno’s pouting by saying Jay was cute, but when Jude Law walked down the street, buildings fell down, cars exploded…she just went on and on about the sheer force of his beauty, while he sat adorably blushing next to her and Leno tried to look as if he found it all amusing.)

But I digress. Simon Baker did get to tell an awkwardly funny story about a charity offering he made for his son’s school — surfing lessons to the high bidder, which he assumed would be one of the kids whose parents donated to the cause. Turns out the bidding had been opened nationwide, and a 32 year old woman from Texas won. He was completely stunned, and after some putting off, finally went and offered his surfing lesson to a gal who was probably completely euphoric at having won a day with Simon Baker–who actually picked her up in his car and all. He’d thought it would be a quick lesson, as surfing isn’t easy and wears newbies out quickly, but he described the woman as “quite fit’ (and no doubt running on endorphins of being so close to Baker). She lasted three hours, until Baker himself was so tired he joked that he’d started trying to get her doused by bigger waves so she’d wear out. He then apoligized to her on national TV for his evilness.

Honestly, I give him credit. He neatly dodged questions from Leno about the lady’s attractiveness, in deference to his wife and respect for the lady. And a three hour lesson is a lot to ask of an actor who’s just doing a charity stint, especially since he thought it would be for a child. Actors can be wild and crazy, but a lot of them are just regular people like the rest of us, and the strange situations they sometimes get placed in with media and fans must be tough to get used to.

And speaking of strange situations, Simon Baker was actually nice enough to stick around for the entire show, though he wasn’t rewarded for it (except perhaps for his own amusement). Jay’s follow-up guests were Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt from the “reality” show The Hills. I have to say they were not as obnoxious as I’d thought they’d be, but I always judge a guest by how they treat the other person sitting on the couch–and Heidi and Spencer ignored Simon Baker completely. Here’re two actor wannabes, sitting next to an actual TV and movie actor and after saying hello, they completely forget he exists. I’ve always enjoyed when performers stick around during other interviews–you often get a different sort of interview and some funny interactions. Not this time. Simon Baker was there, but never made it on camera during their entire interview.

I’ll definitely be poking around the Net for video of Simon Baker’s other interviews. Jay wasn’t actually at his worst here, but I’d be interested to see if Baker’s more relaxed with other hosts.

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Simon Baker screencaps, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, February 9, c2009.

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