DAVID LETTERMAN - LENO HE'S HEARD THE NAYSAYERS BEFORE

LENO HE'S HEARD THE NAYSAYERS BEFORE

Jay Leno is taking a been-there-done-that attitude toward negative media reaction to his new 10 00 p.m. variety/talk show. "I've been through this a number of times," he told Broadcasting & Cable magazine. He said that when he took over from Johnny Carson, the reaction from the media was "'You stink, you suck, we hate you.' Then you go along, and 'You're great.' From last January to May, I was a genius. I get it, I understand how it works. I really don't take anything too personally. ... I enjoy being the underdog. ... Right now we've reached a level [and] we're not going below that." Leno suggested that success often comes simply from longevity. "The one thing about TV is the longer you're on, the longer you're on. If you get past an initial point, then you're there, and people get used to it and they fall into a certain pattern. And I think that's the real trick." He said that after he replaced Carson on the show and the ratings tumbled, he thought, "They're going to fire me and replace me with Dave. That was much worse. This is like a walk in the park compared to that." Leno said that he would have preferred to have been able to remain on the Tonight show -- but that was like winning the America's Cup. "You won it, they can't take it away from you. So now you try this and you see what happens. Do I enjoy the battle? Yes. ... Sometimes going against insurmountable odds and making a little progress is maybe more satisfying than going into a situation where you're going to win no matter what." When the trade publication observed that Leno's relationship with the critics has been "different" from David Letterman's and suggested that the media is giving Letterman a "free pass," Leno responded, "I wouldn't trade places with Dave now for anything! I don't think he's getting a free pass."

02/11/2009