OK, it's time for me to wrap up my Leno watch.
For its first three weeks, I've been dutifully watching each "Jay Leno Show" and offering an instant critique. (Please read the previous ones; also, please add your comments.) Now I'll end that.
OK, I'll still watch sometimes -- especially on Mondays, which include "Headlines," my favorite. And this Monday (Oct. 5), I'll follow up by watching and reviewing the debut of "The Mo'Nique Show," a daily talk show at 11 p.m. weekdays on BET.
Still, it's time for a Leno summary. Here are the show's elements, starting with the best and using tonight as an example:
-- Wonderful: The opening monolog,. which is always good. Tonight, Leno said he wasn't surprised that Chicago lost its Olympic bid. ("It's October; Chicago never wins inb October.") With Halloween coming up, he said the most popular costumes are pirate suits. ("All you need is a little briefcase, a suit and tie and a Wall Street name tag.") Most of all, however, I liked his notion that politicians should be like NASCAR drivers, openly wearing the names of people who gave them money. "At least you'd know who the sponsors are."
-- Quite good: Any time a comedian can just look at the camera and be funny. Jim Norton (in a sitdown bit) was very funny; Tom Papa and, tonight, Dan Ahdoot, were pretty good. Adhoot explained that he's Iranian and Jewish, "one of those classic combinations, like peanut butter and cat." He also said that his grandmother always identifies herself when she leaves a voice message, "as if I have all these random old Middle-Eastern ladies calling me."
-- Mixed: The various efforts at correspondents and other "found comedy." Tonight's, surprisingly, was excellent; it made very clever use of a fake-automated voice in a free photo booth. Others have tended to range from OK to awful.
-- Mixed: The occasional stabs at desk-type comedy. "Headlines" is great but a "Celebrity Pets" was weak. Tonight, Leno tried to have a rushed variation of "Politically Incorrect," with subjects discussed by Jim Norton, Arianna Huffington, Meghan McCain and Stephen Baldwin. Together, they were about one-fourth as much fun as Norton alone.
-- Weak: The musical duets. They're fine when it's a genuine interchange, such as Emmylou Harris with Vince Gill. Nothing is added, however, by simply having a second celebrity there. Brad Paisley and Sheryl Crow alternatef verses in a one-person song; Eric Clapton did a few ordinary riffs in a Bruce Hornsby song. Nothing was gained from the addition.
-- Gread and bad: Some of the interviews (Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, etc.) have been terrific; some (Halle Berry) have been bad. When it's time for "Earn Your Plug," however, every one -- except Bill Maher -- was disappointing. Skip the gimmick and let them talk.
-- Awful: The "10 at 10" doesn't work. Most people -- talking on a screen via satellite -- think they have to be amusing with every answer; that leads to failure, especially for Mel Gibson and Chris Matthews.
-- Pointless: OK, I still don't understand why we're supposed to watch a celebrity drive two laps on a race track. Leno loves cars, but nothing about this race is interesting. If they're looking for target audiences, this seems targeted for Italian-Scottish guys in the 55-60 age bracket who have lots of cars, lots of motorcycles and their own primetime talk show.