Saturday Night Live (SNL) didn’t have the real Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien on, but they did have a skit about the drama than has engulfed bumbling NBC. The skit centered around a mock Larry King Live interview with David Letterman making a guest appearance, not the real Letterman.

NBC executives who are responsible for this debacle are really feeling the heat.

Jay Leno had Jimmy Kimmel on Jay’s now cancelled 10 p.m. show. Jimmy made no secret of the fact he doesn’t like Leno taking back The Tonight Show from Conan O’Brien after passing the torch to him personally.

I won’t be watching The Tonight Show until Leno leaves. Instead I’ll be watching Jimmy Kimmel at 12:05 am weeknights on ABC. Reports say Conan won’t be doing anymore shows after Friday of next week.

I have a lot of respect for Kimmel after he said what most other people are thinking, but wouldn’t say directly.

There are a lot of negative feelings towards NBC and Leno now. It is a big mistake to get rid of Conan under these circumstances. Hopefully The Tonight Show audience will abandon NBC until they get rid of the executives that made the decision to fire Conan.

A report a few days ago said Leno was talking about leaving NBC because of what they were doing to Conan. Really? His show was cancelled, but he is still under an exclusive contract, so it’s not like he was going anywhere. I guess Leno doesn’t mind doing The Tonight Show since it’s better than traveling around the country doing comedy shows, and collecting NBC paychecks. I guess Leno also doesn’t care what people think of him for helping NBC do this to Conan.

Howie Mandel came on The Tonight Show to have a live Deal or No Deal to help Conan O’Brien decide what his next career move will be.

The whole skit was like a Top Ten list. This whole controversy has made Conan’s show a lot funnier. Some people perform better under pressure.

Jimmy Kimmel dressed up as Jay Leno, and then brought on Chevy Chase dressed as Conan O’Brien, and they discussed how wrong NBC is for screwing Conan. Chevy said he thought Conan would stay exactly where he is.

David Letterman also weighed in and threw his support behind Conan, and said sarcastically the executives at NBC wouldn’t be there if they didn’t know what they are doing.

Everyone thinks NBC is making a mistake, except NBC, and Jay Leno.

Conan O’Brien is taking his case to the people (below) with the hope to force NBC to leave him and The Tonight Show exactly where it is, and Leno anywhere,except in a show that starts at 11:30 p.m. O’Brien points out his show was not given a chance to build a lasting audience:

People of Earth:

In the last few days, I’ve been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I’ve been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I’ve been absurdly lucky. That said, I’ve been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.

Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over The Tonight Show in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.

But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my Tonight Show in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime-time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.

Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the Tonight Show to 12:05 to accommodate the Jay Leno Show at 11:35. For 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t the Tonight Show. Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the Late Night show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.

So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn’t matter. But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more.

There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work.

Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it’s always been that way.

Yours,

Conan