There's no place like home.
Such was the sentiment Jay Leno voiced in a sepia-tinted sketch heralding his return Monday as host of The Tonight Show after a whopping nine-month...hiatus.
"Some of it wasn't so nice," a worried-sounding Leno said as Kevin Eubanks, Ross the Intern and John Melendez crowded around him. They even threw in Betty White, "checking in on little Leno," for good measure.
"Look at this rattyass barn! I can't believe you're doing your show from here!" the resurgent Golden Girl exclaimed.
Ha, don't worry, Betty...
"Thank you very much!" Leno said as he made his way back into the spotlight. "It's good to be home. I'm Jay Leno, your host...at least for a while."
"I'll admit I'm a little bit nervous," went the monologue. "Not because it's my first night back, but because I know Dave and Oprah are watching."
First guest Jamie Foxx showed up in the spirit, encouraging everybody to get up and cheer and say "back" to his "welcome." He then popped open a bottle of bubbly, gave the first couple of rows a little shower, took a swig and finally handed the bottle off to a lucky guest, who unfortunately was only 18.
"I just got the show back; don't screw it up for me again," Leno quipped.
And with that, he was back in business.
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