Leno's New Gig: Familiar, Yet Still Very Funny

CLEVELAND - I've been a fan of late night talk shows for a quarter century, so when Jay Leno ended his 17-year tenure on The Tonight Show last May, I knew a great era had ended.

Until last night.

Leno, 59 debuted his new series on his old network with a familiar template, a few subtle changes and his trademark gags still firmly in place. The effort was strong, his comedy was still highly entertaining and his guests were better than expected.

But with his challenging new 10PM time slot, I hope he can last.

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld was Leno's first ever guest (on this show) and was funnier than usual. When he mentioned to Jay that in the 1990's, retiring actually meant that a person left (instead of starting a new show), it set the stage for a truly funny interview. Media maven Oprah Winfrey dropped into the conversation, via a television and actually added a little spice to Seinfeld's interview, while Leno himself played the straight man.

Gags and short sketches have long been a strength of Jay's brand, and it was no different here. His opening monologue was sharp and witty, a faux "interview" with President Obama was gut-bustingly funny at times but a car wash skit was garbage.

By the time Leno got to a previously unscheduled interview with Kanye West, (the most anticipated portion of the show just a day after his VMA meltdown), I was pretty locked into the familiar looking show. West had long been scheduled to perform with Jay-Z and Rihanna, but asked Leno for a brief sit-down to apologize further for his deplorable behavior at Sunday's award show. West, a notoriously egotistical hothead that just happens to be an awesome music producer and artist seemed contrite and was certainly at a loss for words. The incident, in which he ambushed country singer Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at MTV's Video Music Awards to proclaim that Beyonce should have won, has creating a firestorm of rage around West since it happened. This was his first public discussion about it, and he was visibly uncomfortable during the awkward sit-down that saw him apologize and apparently realize the selfishness of it.

Or maybe he was putting on a hell of an act.

Just seconds after the talking ended, West stepped onto a stage with Jay-Z and Rihanna and the trio promptly went into performing the hit single "Run This Town" from Jay-Z's brand new LP, The Blueprint 3.

Leno ended his inaugural episode with his famous "headlines" bit.

I enjoyed the "new" show and I hope it flourishes. If it fails, it won't be because of Leno; he's still funny as heck.