Bye Bye Jay Leno

Wow - the news has been all abuzz about people leaving their TV shows in the dust. The latest casualty is Jay Leno leaving NBC, with his official last day now planned for May 29, 2009 as announced yesterday by NBC officials. Of course, we’ve known for a while that this year is Jay’s last per his original contract when he replaced Johnny Carson.

In their announcement, NBC says that Conan O’Brien will take the helm of the Tonight Show immediately following Jay Leno’s last show. And with the dominoes falling for late night hosts, the vacancy left by Conan O’Brien will be filled by Jimmy Fallon.

Even with all this movement at NBC, I have to say that I’m staying loyal to David Letterman and Craig Ferguson on CBS.

Bye Bye Ebert

So there won’t be any more “Thumbs Up” or “Thumbs Down” for TV reviews on the now changing “At the Movies With Ebert and Roeper.”

Evidently, both Ebert and Roeper have not come to agreement with Disney on their new contract terms and they have both decided to leave the show. Since Ebert and the wife of his former partner, Siskel, own the rights to the “Thumbs Up” and “Thumbs Down” trademarked catchphrase, that won’t be on whatever show Disney tries to salvage from the wreckage.

Ebert has hinted at developing a new show at a different network. “Stay tuned” for further developments!

The Pledge

Went to Sam’s Club today to pick up a few things and I always cruise the CD and DVD aisle to see if there are any bargains or if they have a new release that I just can’t live without. One of the things that aggravates me about shopping for DVD’s at Sam’s is the way they have built a locking display case around all the new releases so that you can’t just pick up what you want and go to the checkout with it. This is a huge barrier to making a sale and I can’t believe that someone in management can’t figure out a better way to stop theft and still serve their customers with this extra time and effort to buy a $20 DVD.

Anyway, over in the section where they evidently don’t give a shit if you steal these older or less popular releases, I found a new western starring, of all people, Luke Perry, as the cowboy who was done wrong and goes out for revenge. It’s called, “The Pledge” and I haven’t seen any ads for this movie but since it is a western and I could take it off the shelf without the security hassle of the other movies, I went ahead and bought it. Hope it’s a good one.

Cobalt Commercial

Funny commercial on the History Channel tonight was for the new Chevy Cobalt. The scene starts with a car parked at the gas pump. The pump hose disengages itself, reaches down and deflates the rear tire of the car. Then the words, “Gas Pumps Hate Us” show on the screen. The car’s owner comes out of the convenience store with chips and drink and goe sto get into his car when he notices the flat tire. Then the words “Chevy Cobalt . . 36 MPG” come on the screen.

Makes you stop and think, could I downsize to a Cobalt for the sake of the better MPGs?

Ice Road Truckers

Tried to get all the honey-do chores done today in time to catch the “Ice Road Truckers” on the History Channel tonight. At 7:00 is a re-broadcast of last week’s season premiere, and then at 8:00 is the new show of the series.

I’m totally hooked on this show. I am fascinated that these men take their lives in their hands to drive trucks over the frozen rivers and frozen ocean in the Arctic. They are modern cowboys with true grit.