Leno and O'Brien Take a Few More Jabs at Network Bosses

Jan. 13, 2010 — -- The hits keep coming for NBC. Unfortunately for the network, they aren't the kind they're looking for.

Both Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien continued to assault the suits Wednesday night as the network's programming imbroglio dragged into another day.

In his monologue at the top of "The Jay Leno Show" tonight, the host addressed the ongoing kerfuffle by announcing, "Welcome to NBC, America's most dysfunctional TV family. And you thought the Gosselins were screwed up."

In his first public remarks about the scandal in the wake of Conan O'Brien's announcement that he will not do "The Tonight Show" if the airtime is pushed back to 12:05 a.m. ET, Leno enjoyed taking a few swipes of his own at his bosses.

NBC had announced Sunday that it plans to dump O'Brien from his 11:35 p.m. time slot come February to make room for a re-jiggered Jay Leno program, which will leave its 10 p.m. prime time slot.

In a direct reply to O'Brien's Tuesday night monologue, Leno allowed that "Conan O'Brien is understandably very upset."

But he marveled at the fact that O'Brien has been host of NBC's most venerable late night franchise for seven months.

"How did he get that deal?" asked Leno. "We only got four months! Who's his agent?"

Still, Leno's jabs seemed less barbed than O'Brien's in the later time slot.

"The Tonight Show" host seemed wholly uninterested in currying favor with NBC, and even took a swipe at his in-house rival.

"Hosting the 'Tonight Show' has been a fulfillment of a lifelong dream to me," he said. "I just want to say to the kids out there: 'You can do anything you want in life -- unless Jay Leno wants to do it too."

O'Brien's first guest of the evening, the dry-witted British comedian Ricky Gevais, got in on the fun too.

"You're having a good time sticking it to NBC aren't you," asked Gervais, who will be hosting the upcoming Golden Globe Awards for the network. "What are you going to do [next]? ... You've got no discernable skills."