firejeffzucker.com

Four Years Later... Jeff Zucker Leaving NBC

It seemed like a few people knew Zucker was a disaster years ago, like us. This week we learned the higher-ups at Comcast are smarter than any that came before them and Zucker is leaving before any merger takes place. He still gets a multi-million dollar parachute which is kind of gross, but at least he's gone from messing around with what once was a terrific network.

Yay, us.

Conan Officially Done, Can’t Slam Zucker

The news is out and by now you probably know Conan is officially signing off tomorrow night as the host of The Tonight Show.

One really interesting tidbit in the deal is a “disparagement” clause where Conan won’t be able to poke fun at the network and I’d assume Jeff Zucker. Well, that stinks. Here I was waiting for a call from Conan’s people to takeover the site and poke fun at Zucker 24/7. Sigh.

Well, what’s next for us? Probably not much blogging. I’m going to post something prior to Leno returning asking folks to boycott the show for its first 7 months back on the air and see how that impacts Leno’s job.

Conan's Best NBC Joke?

Not sure if it is, but as a music fan it’s hilarious. Plus, afterwards you get to watch a great performance by Spoon. The joke and caliber of musical guest are why I’ll miss Conan and won’t watch Jay…not that I ever did.

Jeff Zucker on Charlie Rose

You can check out the whole 30 minute interview on Charlie Rose’s own website which uses a non-embeddable video player.

I love how Rose opens up with that “NBC is in shambles.” Zucker corrects him on some points about how well the news is doing, but does admit their primetime lineup is beyond lacking.  

"NBC Entertainment is responsible for 5% of the bottom line and 95% of its perception” Zucker says, and that’s why he still has a job. The company is successful in spite of the failures of the peacock. That’s just astonishing.

It makes me think that if I told my bosses that my department was only responsible for 5% of the income so it can be less than mediocre. Yeah, I’d still have a job. Or that a task that takes up 5% of my time is acceptable for failing. That's just unbelievable. 

Forget Conanonfox.com

TMZ is reporting that Fox may have registered the domain name Conanonfox.com in advance of a possible deal that would bring The Tonight Show host to the 11 p.m. hour.

While that may be all and well for the network, I still think it would be funnier to have Conan use www.firejeffzucker.com as an interim online home.

Firejeffzucker.com Featured in DailyHerald

A lot of new visitors today are coming from a story about me in today’s Daily Herald newspaper. My family and friends were a bit surprised, as was I, to see my mug on the front page.

I want to welcome all the new readers and please feel free to comment away.

How Long Will Conan vs. Jay Go On?

This exchange between Jimmy Kimmel and Jay Leno from last night's Leno show (I don't even know what it's officially called) is hard to watch. Some of the jokes were definitely set-up but others leave the audience gasping in disbelief that Kimmel uttered the words. But they are the words the country is thinking about this whole debacle. The big question is though, how long will NBC and Zucker allow these public drubbings continue?

Conan O’Brien: You can have our url

While I’d sell www.firejeffzucker.com to Gawker or another media company, Conan O’Brien, you my friend can have it for free.

Seriously, our disgust for the mismanagement at NBC turned to apathy a few years back, so instead of letting this site gather dust you can have it to do with what you will.

Post embarrassing photos of your boss on it, or former boss. Heck, make your own version of FunnyOrDie under this banner if you don’t want to jump back into TV. It’s all yours.

You can contact me at dave @ deadlinepublishing.com

Gawker: Want to buy www.firejeffzucker.com?

Alex Pareene from Gawker.com just penned an excellent manifesto about the current state of NBC brought into the light by the whole Conan O’Brien and Jay Leno fiasco.

Recently we posted to support "Chuck," so it was given time to develop an audience. Low and behold someone at NBC decided to keep "Chuc"k around and it is clearly the most anticipated show of the winter. BUT NBC also kept it at 8 p.m. on Monday…against "How I Met Your Mother" and "House." That spells success.

Anyway, Gawker points out all of Zucker’s miscues and his unlikely ascension up the ladder. It’s a good read so check it out and know that there have been those of us who called for Zucker’s head years ago.

And for perfect synergy below is a clip of Chuck’s Zachary Levi on last night’s Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.

We're Back to Save Chuck

We’re dusting off the cobwebs here at Firejeffzucker.com to protest NBC’s potential canceling of Chuck.

We stopped penning this blog mainly because one of us stopped blogging about entertainment to focus on a career blogging about cars and being a dad.

 Still, Courtney and I love TV and we watch a lot of NBC programs. Right now, hands down the best show on NBC, if not all of scripted TV, is Chuck.

This is the one show that just brings a smile to my face for its wit, plot and lovable characters. With the loss of the 10 p.m. time slot next year to Jay Leno (which we’re almost OK with) Chuck somehow could be on the chopping block.  

We know that Jeff Zucker has actually been promoted since we started way back in June 2006. He’s now the really big boss at NBC Universal and we should be picking a fight with Ben Silverman. But dammit, this show is important enough for this blog to resurface and land on Zucker’s RSS feed! Yeah, you know he’s got to have his own name Google Alert-ed.  

So if you’re a blogger, a TV critic, a mad as hell Twitter-er please leave a comment below in protest. Just check in and say “Save Chuck” to voice your support for the show.  

Also check out ChuckTV.net who supplied the banner above and has hints on how to help save the show.