Leno on breaking the picket lines (sub. rqd.)

Here is his post-strike explanation of why he crossed the picket line:

We were just trying to keep the lights on so the guys would have a job and a show to come back to,' Leno said. 'We weren't trying to be heroes, but there are 160 other people who work on this show who would have been put out of a job if we hadn't come back. Some could have lost their homes.

As far as keeping the show from getting cancelled for the sake of the writers, give me a break. It is the flagship of NBC, and had a $50 million profit last year. The lights were going to stay on until the guys came back. I understand why he would want to go back to work if NBC told him to, and that workers not on strike--like those on strike--had bills to pay. Still, if you are Leno, there are better options out there for helping your people than crossing your writers' picket line. He could have been a hero if he had wanted to--obviously, he can do what he wants. He has developed a reputation as a nice guy, but his comments here are weak.

Aside from what Leno might or might not have done, as important as the show is to NBC, it would have been in its best interest to ensure that employees didn't have to be in danger of losing their homes. Sure, it was fun to try to make the writers look bad by promoting the idea that they screwed their coworkers (a tactic which Leno's lame excuse has the unfortunate side effect of enforcing). But NBC needs the Tonight Show, bottom line, and putting the entire crew out of work forever and starting over from scratch would have been counter productive.