david letterman. >> most of us thought letterman got i, jay leno got it. >> when we found out leno wasshow." we were depressed and we felt we were being punished for making fun of them and not cooperating and not being as collaborative as we could have been. >> by all rights, david letterman should have taken over for johnny carson. >> we are going to really control all of great night. it is going to cause you a fortune and they put their backs to the wall. >> it has been an honor and a privilege to come to your home all these years and entertain you. i bid you a very heartfelt. good night. "the tonight show" without johnny carson as a regular host made its debut. jay leno stepped into the big shoes. >> letterman asked for leno advice. >> letterman always took johnny's advice. >> the late night words are about to begin in earnest. david letterman is now headed to cbs. cbs lured him over with a salary four times than leno, giving him the 11:30 time slot. >> there was a talk show war. >> the late night race is about to begin. >> on monday, david letterman's new show debuts here in cbs, a

because he came out gangbusters, and he was beating jay leno in the ratings. >> there's some people whobig programming mistake. >> it was a shaky start. a really, really shaky first season start. >> it's true confessions time for actor hugh grant who is trying hard to put his recent encounter with a hollywood prostitute behind him. >> when hugh grant was arrested, it was big, live action news. and hugh grant was supposed to do "the tonight show" that night. >> what the hell were you thinking? [ rim shot ] [ cheers and applause ] >> it all came together in that moment and everyone saw it, and that's it. we were never number two again. >> hey, hey! >> for us it was the fun experience. we got our own theater, we got an unlimited budget, we've got access to every star in the business who wants to do the show. >> somebody bring me the jaws of life! >> so, i think going to cbs was heaven-sent. it really was. >> good night, everybody! utterm. but this month's spotlight stack is a patriot. fresh, sweet and full of freedom. new red, white & blue pancakes. this month's spotlight stack. see you at

first of all of course it 10 year. 30 years as the head of the tonight show compared to 22 per jay leno and six so far for jimmy fallon. the tonight show is the longest-running entertainment show in the united states. started in 1954 at the dawn of television. even though he has long been off the air the late night format fields -- is built a lot the way cars and buildup in terms of an audience carson had an audience of 50 million people. that's an astonishing number for his time and for hours. jimmy fallon the tonight show which ranks third has less than 2 million viewers a night on average. a lot of that has to do with the rise of the internet were audiences have splintered that make no mistake about it it's an astonishing difference. johnny carson was also a gold lined for nbc. >> "the tonight show" was generating 17% of all the profit for nbc and that's an astonishing share of income for one, 90 minute show after prime-time. no show ever make more money per carson was well paid for his efforts particularly in his later years but nbc made a great deal of money off of carson. i also w

[screaming] >> hi, i'm jay leno. all: hi, jay. >> hi, everybody. how you doing? this one's a death trap. >> oh, i see, because-- >> because it's dangerous to ride. >> and motorcycles, and well, anything that rolls... like driving a two-story building. oh, my god, strong as an ox! explodes... i love the smell of napalm in theorning. yeah! or makes noise. >> you ever run a dragster? >> no, i haven't. [engine revving] this is "jay leno's garage." >> start your engine.

[yelling] hi, i'm jay leno. >> all: hi, jay! >> hi, everybody, how you doing?res squealing] >> ah! >> explodes... i love the smell of napalm in the morning. >> yeah! >> or makes noise. this is "jay leno's garage." [tires squealing] >> get out of the car, sir. >> [bleep] >> tonight... hey, we don't need no trial. we got our own law in this town. let's go get 'em, yeah! >> [all cheering] >> come on, yeah!

jay leno is going by, i think. [ laughter ] okay. you feeling in the zone? i'm warm for sure. >> arsenio: okay. you're always warm, always warm. i think this is going to go really well. okay. i also forgot to mention, this is not an ordinary basket. this is -- [ evil laugh ] [ cheers and applause ] >> arsenio: we've introduced four levels of hell designed to distract you and annoy you. this is the "grim rim" which rotates 360 degrees. [ cheers and applause ] the deathly defenders will rise up to reject you, lebron. the horrifying hades blasters. and some folks that you may be familiar with, the "space jam" goon squad. [ cheers and applause ] you'll have three chances to make the shot. and here to officially start you off is el diablo himself! [ cheers and applause ] >> guillermo: hi, are you ready? let's do this. let's play hell hoops! >> all right. ♪ >> arsenio: oh, that was so close. unbelievable. [ cheers and applause ] he made it! yes! that was amazing. oh, boy. congratulations. that prize. this creepy doll! you can take that home. thank you, lebron. "sp

>> on "jay leno's garage"... [tires squealing] how many times you heard someone say "cool car"?der the hood? this car has the v12. rarity? >> there aren't any others like this. >> tonight... [pad beeps] an investigation. >> welcome. we get a first look at the latest aston martin--the db11. if for no other reason than the james bond films. and i'll test it with ben collins. >> yeah, i drove the aston martin dbs in "quantum of solace." >> oh, that's the one that went off the cliff, yeah, yeah. i'll ride shotgun with jazz legend herbie hancock in a car he bought 'cause he was told he couldn't

. ♪ [horn honks] - tonight on "jay leno's garage"... to deliver our technology ahello, hello.ger-than-life vehicles... a volkswagen with a hemi. what's better than that? and collectors. - i'm a big american car guy. - from gas-guzzling dinosaurs... - oh, my god, look at this! - oversized oddities... what could this thing possibly be? and truly big stars. look at that, ladies and gentlemen, brad garrett. we find out, do girls really care how big a guy's car is? okay, this could constitute harassment. tonight, i head out on a training mission with the marines and their enormous v-22 osprey. then we'll work up an appetite

. - tonight on "jay leno's garage"... - on your mark, get set, go!nes revving] - you watch young people like me... - like me... - like me... - do things that most grownups can't. - what's the fastest you've driven on a track? - 175 miles an hour. - we'll show you that it's never too early to start doing something dangerous. - yeah, more throttle. yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! - when we meet the car world's next generation of rock stars. - don't let their age fool you. these kids are real racers. - oh! [indistinct]