Jay Leno Show's Mockery of Scripted Dramas Moves to the Next Level

As if The Jay Leno Show was not already a living, breathing, Headline-spewing mockery of the scripted programs like Southland that once stood a chance at nabbing a 10 PM slot on NBC, last night's episode condensed the abstract slight into an easy-to-understand sketch lampooning Leno's television rivals. In the video after the jump, watch Leno's skit called "Cops & Doctors," which inventively combines police procedural and medical drama for none of the laughs or excitement. It's just like Leno to hop on the mash-up bandwagon many years late.

The video mixes the LAPD (too soon?) with the ER for a sketch that revolves around a criminal named "Crazy H" and a patient that needs a kidney transplant. Suspenseful audio cues are thrown in so frequently (to remind audiences to laugh?) that it's hard to sit through the entire video without a headache. Leno himself makes a cameo as a goatee wearing DJ at the end. I think?

The scariest thing about the Jay Leno Show-era is the number of scripted shows that will not even see the light of day because of Leno's stranglehold on primetime. Leno's audience might not be pro-choice, but we'd like the right to choose drama a couple nights a week.

[Note: If you are having difficulty viewing the embedded Hulu video, watch "Cops & Doctors" here.]