The folks at NBC's Salt Lake affiliate are cautiously optimistic about Jay Leno's appointment as the new host of the "Tonight Show."
"I think it's a very good move," said KUTV-Ch. 2 station manager Maria Smith-Moore. "It's really exciting to have a comedian who has built his reputation on clean, wholesome, sometimes wicked but never mean humor."He doesn't tell dirty jokes. He pokes fun at people without going overboard."
Of course, what Ch. 2 is really happy about is that Johnny Carson is calling it quits on May 22. The fact is that Carson's ratings in Utah aren't good (the station would do better with sitcom reruns), and his audience is overwhelmingly older - an audience advertisers aren't willing to shell out the money for.
"We were very glad to hear the announcement of Johnny Carson's retirement," Smith-Moore said. "We are looking forward to what Jay Leno can do in terms of bringing in a younger audience. We have been concerned for quite some time about Carson."
Only time will tell whether Leno can brighten up KUTV's post-late-news blues.DAVE'S MAD: Reports indicate that David Letterman is more than a little bit peeved that he was passed over for Leno in the "Tonight Show" derby.
That brings up a few interesting questions:
1. How much longer does Letterman's contract with NBC run? (The network isn't saying.)
2. Would ABC, CBS and/or Fox be interested in luring Letterman away? (Let's put it this way - are TV networks interested in making money?)
3. Could Letterman end up competing directly with Leno on another network? (Now that would be an interesting late-night battle.)HE'S BAAACK: Pat Sajak's late-night show on CBS failed, but he'll be back - temporarily.
Sajak, the Master of the Wheel, will sit in for a vacationing Bob Costas on "Later" next Monday through Thursday.
Well, Merv Griffin, Dick Cavett, Joan Rivers and a host of other late-night failures survived to talk another day, too.SLIDING SOAPS: OK, soap opera fans, brace yourselves. Ch. 2 is shifting a couple of longtime soaps on Monday, June 24.
"Another World" will slide from 2 p.m. to 9 a.m., and the popular "Days of Our Lives" shifts from 3 p.m. to 2 p.m.
"Soap operas are always the most difficult kinds of change to make," said Ch. 2 station manager Maria Smith-Moore. "But we've spent months researching this and we're going into it with our eyes wide open."
Both shows are moving to time periods when no other soap operas air on other local channels, and Ch. 2 is obviously hoping the time changes will improve their ratings.
"We know this will probably cause a lot of viewer comment," Smith-Moore said. "We're hoping people will then return to watch their shows. We think the new time slots will be better."
Also affected by the change is the "Joan Rivers Show," which will be moving from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
But if you're a fan of Joan's, you'd better make a point of watching her this summer. KUTV's contract to carry the show expires in September, and the station will replace it with a new talk show hosted by Maury Povich (who used to host "A Current Affair").YES, NO, MAYBE: Various sources have indicated that "thirtysomething" will return as a two-hour movie next season to wrap up all those loose ends.
No less than Kim Reed, vice president of MGM/UA (the studio that produced the show), said a deal has been struck.
But all ABC spokespeople will say is that the network has entered into negotiations with the studio for a TV movie. They maintain no deal has been finalized.
And Marshall Herskovitz, co-creator and co-executive producer of "thirtysomething," said all this comes as news to him. And he's not sure when or if such a movie could be pulled off.
ABC is also maintaining that no way, nohow will "thirtysomething" return as a series. At least not at the moment.
Somehow all this ambivalence, confusion and whining seems entirely appropriate.STILL IN THE FAMILY: Even after 20 years, "All In the Family" is still a hit.
A repeat of the series' January, 1971 pilot last Sunday finished No. 10 in the ratings (up from No. 11 in earlier, erroneous CBS figures).
And, not surprisingly, the network has announced it will add even more episodes to the six already scheduled.
Of course, CBS isn't quite as happy with "Sunday Dinner," the show that preceded "Family." It finished 20th in the ratings - a full 1.5 ratings point behind the Bunkers. (That's a difference of almost 1.4 million homes.)NOT NAKED GUN: If you're a fan of the off-the-wall humor of Det. Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen), this summer's big-screen feature "Naked Gun 21/2: The Smell of Fear" won't be your only chance to chuckle.
CBS is going to air the original six episodes of "Police Squad" in July.
You may not recall this, but way back in 1982 the show aired on ABC - and bombed. It wasn't until the first "Naked Gun" movie that Lt. Drebin and Co. found success.
These shows are a hoot. Just the thing for the midsummer doldrums. REGIS & KATHIE LEE: With Regis Philbin and Kathie Lee Gifford as the hosts of this year's Miss America Pageant, the contestants are assured of a couple of things:
1. Next to the loud, obnoxious Philbin, every contestant is certain to appear sweet, demure and refined.
2. Next to the bubble-headed Gifford, they'll seem like Phi Beta Kappas.