Dashed Hopes

Oh, how I loathe him.

You can imagine my excitement when I read the following headline in the New York Times: "New Gag for Leno: Keeping Mouth Shut". It seemed logical, enough to me. The producers of The Tonight Show had obviously come to the same conclusion as I did several years ago: an hour of dead silence would be infinitely less painful than listening to Jay Leno speak for any length of time. But sadly for the state of American comedy and television, the article is merely about Mr. Leno summoning others to tell jokes when the monologue turns to the Michael Jackson trial. Pretending that his possible inclusion as a witness precludes his commenting on the case, Leno calls in such comedic legends as Brad Garrett and Dennis Miller to make jolly on the subject of child molestation. Apparently this tasteful topic has been occupying a large segment of his opening monologues. After the Michael Jackson jokes have been dispatched, Mr. Leno can once again take over and crack wise about Robert Blake murdering his wife. Let the hilarity ensue!