The NBC Late Night Saga, Part 1

For years, NBC has prided itself on dramas airing in the 10:00 pm slot. Now, that has returned in an unexpected form: the goings-on between Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, and the network. On Sunday, January 10, NBC announced that it will cancell Leno's prime-time series, ending on Feb. 12, the day the 2010 Winter Olympic Games will start. As part of that plan, Jay would move back to late-night with a half-hour show at 11:35 pm, with The Tonight Show beginning at 12:05 am and Fallon at 1:05 am.
Monday passed with all sides staring down at the deal, with the other networks and those involved making note of the situation. Both Jay and Conan made jokes at the expanse of NBC and their plans. Those on the other networks also made their notes, with Letterman making the best puns of the night as one of his jokes involved the fact that things were so bad at NBC, they were considering hiring him back.
On Tuesday, Conan released a statement, saying that he will not accept the network's plan to move him to 12:05, saying that he would not participate in what he believed to be the show's destruction and would fight to stay at 11:35 pm. NBC went quiet on the remarks. Those involved seemed quiet on the subject as well, althought the jokes continued. On Conan's show, the comic has been jokingly going over his options. On Tuesday's show, he brought in Howie Mandel, who took Conan through his options Deal or No Deal-style, complete with briefcases and girls to match.
Today, it remains to be seen NBC's reaction to Conan's statement on not moving to make room for Jay's return to late-night. Many real options exist for the network, including replacing Conan on Tonight, sending him to another network. Jay also has his options, which include a move to a rival network who would love his services. FOX has been the leading contender to scoop up Conan or Jay so they may have a late-night show of their own.
I have my own suggestion for what to do. It will concern keeping Jay in prime-time. Now, Thursday is comedy night on NBC, as seen by the successes any show there has. So, my suggestion would be to have Jay doing his show once a week, Thursday at 10:00 pm. That way, his comedy will seem fresh for it is coming only once a week and that his views will be spread out more, covering larger events with ease. Also, it would give Jay four fantasic lead-ins. For now, it's just an idea and can stand up to opinion and tinkering.
All in all, the title of this posting says it all. This is part one of a battle that has been fought with the best comedy on television. Part two will bring the answer to the problem and will see if a late-night institution will be destroyed. Keep the Olympics, I'll take this, for as a interested viewer, the next move keeps me moving on. Until the next posting, see ya later!