After waiting in the rain from 4am-10am, I received standby ticket #51.
It was cold out there- but not nearly as frigid as a conf. call between Jeff Zucker and Comcast.
Zucker being the mad genius that accidentally put late night television back into the public interest.
Too bad he can’t bring the public interest to NBC airwaves.
Oh well, NBC.com and Hulu will have to suffice. (Shame their revenue structure won’t.)
I’m digressing…
Let me admit I cut the line by about 50 people somewhere around 7am. Shame on me, but hey none of this mattered in the long run.
You see, years ago I was an NBC page for Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show”- I had major intelligence on the process. I knew there was a way I could get a ticket and guarantee myself entrance into this bittersweet television moment. My 6 hours in line was a mere insurance policy, one I might add, that would have paid off.
Well over 60 people from the standby line gained access.
It was however my encounter with a sweet couple from Valencia that yielded me the golden ticket. (Literally a gold ticket.)
I traversed the line of actual ticket holders around Noon, seeking one of the many couples whom requested the maximum 4 tickets from NBC in the mail. Chances are there was at least one couple that ordered 4 and only had a need for 2 or 3.
Enter the nice couple from Valencia.
So within hours, yes hours, I was inside the studio, it was awesome!
But here’s the deal, the show ran long as amazing as it was. One bit among the many cut stood out in my mind.
At one point during the top of the show, Andy and Conan had a very real moment.
Andy asked Conan if he had heard from Jay in the last few weeks. Conan said they had not spoken since September. Now, recently Jay eluded to the fact that he spoke with Conan. I should say, Jay tried to sell that notion to the public but a discerning ear could hear the truth.
Other little bits were cut, such as a rambling story by Tom Hanks and an accompanying musical bit.
This “Jay” exchange between Andy and Conan lasted just a quick moment but it was never seen on NBC.
Was this cut for time? Was this the network’s attempt to protect Jay’s image? After-all, Leno didn’t air a show Friday night, a first in his four month run.
Perhaps Jay didn’t want to reference Conan’s exit. Instead a “Dateline” aired.
Now doesn’t that feel just a little Zucked up?
January 29th, 2010 by 
Lenny 
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