After Hours Drivel

Maybe the best approach for NBC would be to cut its losses and start all over again: replace all three late evening or early morning gab fests with reality series based on soap opera and talk show addicts. Even better and more interesting would be reruns of the best of K-Tel  infomercials.
Let’s recap. Jay was 42 when he was handed the reins to the Tonight Show in 1992, not yet middle aged; however, he always appeared much older and of course he represented the leading edge of the Boomers. So they followed along.  Ten years or so later, NBC decides Jay - now 52 -  may be getting a bit long in the tooth. Not only that, the audience is moving along the age spectrum and could be hitting the sack at 11 PM with the television turned off and the lights out. So how is NBC going to capture a younger demographic?
Brilliant notion! Move Leno to 10 PM  and we’ll catch the old fogies before they succumb to the sandman. Give the 11:35 slot to Conan sometime in 2009 when he is only 47 years old. Wait a minute. Isn’t that 5 years older than Jay was when he was given the Tonight Show?  Yes, the perfect age to entice a younger group to waste an hour a day  watching a steady stream of movie stars etc. pushing films, Cds or whatever. I suppose the executive in charge at NBC felt goofy Conan with the weird hairdo would appeal to the target audience - not sure what they were looking for, possibly insomniacs who eat a lot and take pills. Someone whose main shtick is pulling his hips with invisible strings could be just the answer for the grade school crowd or the grand children of the Boomers.
Now Jimmy Fallon (who I have yet to watch), age 35,  might have been a better choice, especially as the long time host of the Tonight Show - Johnny Carson - was only 37 when he began his 30 year stint as the king of late night. At least Jimmy can probably get through the afternoon shoots without a nap!
Just as I went to post , I came across this NYT article which shows how NBC plans to make everybody happy, in particular, Conan who may be paid $30 million not to work for 6 months before he moves to Foxland.