TV Reality

I'm not sticking my neck out by saying that the whole NBC Jay Leno/Conan O'Brien and, to be fair, Jeff Zucker mess is playing out as slow motion train wreck. This is worse than when Jay took The Tonight Show from heir apparent David Letterman -- and look who's having the last laugh on that one:



and for analysis:



What Dave's referring to regarding Conan's smarts is the statement today by O'Brien that he won't be going along with any plan by NBC to put Leno back at 11:35pm and push The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien back to 12:05pm, where it is only sure to suffer further in the ratings. For the best analysis of Conan's statement (and some pretty good user comments) I refer you to Time magazine TV writer and blogger James Poniewozik.

For what's happening in Conan's corner behind the scenes, per the acid-keyboard of Nikki Finke, they are getting ready to rumble:

I've learned about a meeting that began at 1:45 PM at NBC Universal about The Conan War: On one side of the room -- NBCU bigwigs Jeff Gaspin and Marc Graboff. On the other -- O'Brien's reps: manager Gavin Palone, WME agent and board member Rick Rosen, and the newest member of Team O'Brien, Hollywood litigator Patty Glaser, who was hired on Sunday and is WME's legal shark of choice. I wouldn't want to be Gaspin or Graboff right now: Gavin can be as mean as a rabid dog, Rick's agency reps 60% of the TV talent, and Glaser is a pitbull. This is bloodsport.

Remember, the head of the new William Morris Agency/Endeavor merged company is Ari Emanuel, the most powerful agent in Hollywood, the model for Jeremy Piven's character on Entourage and the brother of the White House Chief of Staff.

Slow motion train wreck?

Or demolition derby...