(Mike Hirshon | Student Life)

Man walking on the moon…the fall of the Berlin Wall…the premiere of The Jay Leno Show? Okay, so maybe that last one isn’t quite as monumental, but it’s revolutionary nonetheless. Late night television has always been just that—late at night—yet now one man has dared to cross over into that unknown realm of lore: primetime.

It all began back in 2004, when NBC announced that Jay Leno, host of The Tonight Show since 1992, would hand over the reins to Conan O’Brien in 2009. I was disheartened at the time (as I’m sure others were), but figured the actual transfer of power was so remotely distant that it wasn’t worth fretting over. Additionally, Leno seemed very upbeat about the whole thing, like someone who’d had his moment in the sun and was ready to move on, and the apparent amicability between him and NBC erased any suspicions I might have had.

By 2008, however, the tension was palpable, as Leno’s days on The Tonight Show quickly diminished and rumors ran rampant of a potential move to ABC, FOX, or even syndicated television. Late night television seemed destined for some kind of shakeup, but in December there came perhaps the least expected announcement of all: Mr. Leno was going to primetime.

From NBC’s perspective, this made perfect sense. After all, they were mired in last place, and with the days of Brandon Tartikoff and “must-see TV” far in the rear view mirror, Leno was perhaps the network’s biggest (and one of its few) assets. Though NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker is largely responsible for the network’s collapse, he deserves at least some credit for salvaging the fractured relationship with Leno. Of course, Jay himself came out of the whole fray as the obvious winner, both from the outcry of public support he received and the loyalty he showed by staying at the network that had given him his big break.

So now Jay Leno is back, and for NBC it is not a moment too soon. Ratings for The Tonight Show have plummeted since Conan took over, and when you add in a weak fall lineup, it’s not hard to see why some have said the network is banking on Leno to save it from total ruin. These are incredibly lofty expectations, but if anyone can do it, it’s Leno.

His always-humorous material and on-the-money delivery are reason for optimism, but those aren’t what will make or break The Jay Leno Show.

No, it’s going to be Jay himself, and whether or not people want to watch him. Most network primetime shows require at least a degree of regular viewing to comprehend them, and to shift viewers to what is almost a carbon copy of the The Tonight Show at 10 p.m. will be no easy task. I’ve watched the first episode, and while it wasn’t bad (a typically hilarious opening monologue and the always laugh-out-loud “Headlines” segment stood out), I didn’t sense that there was enough to make people tune in on a consistent basis. It’s one thing when you’ve got Kanye West the day after he makes a fool of himself at the VMAs, but where does Leno go from here? Sure, he’s stacked the register this week with a bunch of big names, but will avid viewers really abandon their longtime favorites in favor of this? Right now, I just can’t say.

In 1968, a relatively unknown high jumper named Dick Fosbury made waves in the sporting world when he won an Olympic Gold Medal using a revolutionary new technique he had developed. Though initially it was scoffed at and dismissed, the “Fosbury Flop” is today utilized by virtually all high jumpers. Will we look back in a decade, when the entire primetime slate is filled with what we now call late night television, and recall how the “Leno Leap” made it all possible? Only time will tell.