By FRAZIER MOORE
AP Television Writer
NEW YORK – Jay Leno had been absent from the nation’s TV screens for less than a month, but he returned Monday night with renewed purpose.
“It’s good to be home,” he told his “Tonight Show” audience as he began his monologue, a transcript of which was provided by NBC before airtime. “I’m Jay Leno, your host. At least, for a while.”
Leno is reclaiming his old job at NBC’s “Tonight Show” just nine months after giving it up to Conan O’Brien, and only 19 days after NBC pulled the plug on Leno’s own prime-time misadventure.