Long ago, Jay Leno says, a talent agency explained why it was dropping him as a client.

He's not a guy people talk about, he was told. "They said, 'Your face is not going to be in the papers.' "

Leno was talking about that because his face is now on the cover of Time magazine — for the third time. The headline announces that "Jay Leno is the future of television."

Does he really represent the future? Only in the economic sense, he said.

Ratings keep declining. ("Numbers that got you canceled 15 years ago make you No. 1 today.") Budgets, however, continue to soar.

Two new shows (NBC's "Trauma" and ABC's "FlashForward") have scenes so massive, each closed down a freeway for three days. "Trauma" also has a spectacular helicopter collision.

By comparison, Leno mostly stands in a studio and makes people laugh. "We can do three shows for what it costs to blow up a helicopter in 'Trauma,' " he said.

Now comes the experiment: NBC is sweeping away five primetime hours that usually go to dramas. Beginning tonight at 9 p.m., all go to "The Jay Leno Show."

Leno shrugs about the impact: "NBC tried scripted programming at 10 o'clock — 'Lipstick Jungle,' 'Kidnapped,' 'My Own Worst Enemy.' Hugely expensive shows (that) didn't catch on."

That's only part of it, of course. These 10 p.m. slots are also where NBC triumphed with "ER," "Homicide," "Hill Street Blues," "St. Elsewhere" and more. Now those slots are gone.

Taking them is Leno, with his casual nature. Viewers "like that blue-collar guy," said Rick Ludwin, an NBC programmer. "They like that guy who looks like he could be their next-door neighbor."

By now, viewers assume they know him well. He's 59, grew up in suburban Boston and talks warmly of his late, Italian-Scottish parents. Married to Mavis Leno for 28 years, he has no children and almost 100 classic cars and motorcycles.

He's a regular-Joe guy, but there are a few surprises. Leno:

• Doesn't drink. He loves working in biker bars, but abstains. "I was always the designated driver in high school ... Since I was the car guy, I was always driving people and (drinking) was just not something I ever had any interest in."

• Has become a runner, but not outdoors. This summer, he started taking two turns a day on the treadmill; he's lost 12 to 14 pounds.

• Is one of those viewers who led to the decline of network TV.

Leno's favorite network? "I'm on the Speed Channel all day long," he said.

Despite talking on his show with many of the actors from ABC's "Lost," Leno had never actually seen their show. This summer, he said, he and Mavis took all the DVDs and began watching, five hours per night.

That's what has plagued the networks — people watching cable or DVDs or old shows they captured on TiVo. One solution, Leno said, works for anything from football to "Dancing With the Stars": Do something that feels timely. "Even something a day old seems too old."

So "The Jay Leno Show" will go for freshness. It will start taping at 4 p.m. Pacific time (1 p.m. Hawai'i time) each weekday; two hours after the taping ends, it will be on the air in the East and Central times. It will include:

• Some of the old elements. "Headlines" will remain a Monday feature.

• Music occasionally, often in the middle of a show, with new combinations. Current plans call for Jay-Z, Kanye West and Rihanna tonight, Eric Clapton and Bruce Hornsby on Thursday.

• Only one sit-down guest a night. That starts with Jerry Seinfeld tonight, Tom Cruise tomorrow, Robin Williams on Wednesday and Halle Berry on Thursday.

• Others who will stop in briefly. Miley Cyrus is set for "10 at 10" (a new feature) on Wednesday. And Leno says Drew Barrymore may be the first person to try a race-car track he had built next to the studio. She might do better than guys, he figures: "Driving is like sex; all men think they're good at it."

• Comedy correspondents doing field pieces. The list includes comedians D.L. Hughley, Dwayne Perkins and Jim Norton, plus newsman Brian Williams, actor Mikey Day, Internet star Liz Feldman and two people from "The Hangover" — actress Rachael Harris and singer Dan Finnerty.

• And, of course, the opening monologue.

Leno's monologue was a big draw on "The Tonight Show," but ratings slipped after the jokes ended. "I got in a bit of a rut," Leno said.

Now he plans to scatter laughs throughout the show, including a comedy bit at the end of each hour.