Yesterday was Conan O’Brien’s first night at the helm of The Tonight Show, and while there were no astounding surprises—it just felt good, ya know? Like Bush leaving office, the blase darkness of Jay Leno was suddenly washed away by someone who actually deserves the job. Here’s the opening sequence from last night’s show, which may not be fall down funny, but it’s certainly goosebump inducing, and will make you sigh with affection and relief.
Conan O’Brien: He’s a Pretty Fast Sprinter!
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I can’t wait to finally be able to watch more than 5 minutes of The Tonight Show without dozing off.
I hope someone in the transition has told him his interviewing skills are crap.
@2. Nobody cares about what celebrities say in interviews. It’s all programmed bullshit. It’s the jokes and wit exhibited in the show that is the good part, and Conan always had the ability to mix things up or do the unpredictable… Hopefully he doesn’t get tame for the new show.
@3: I’m all for jokes and wit. Carson found jokes and wit in the context of an actual conversation. Conan can’t even carry on a conversation because he’s too busy looking for his next chance to talk about himself. If that’s what passes for jokes and wit, I guess I’m old. (Leno was only slightly better, but I couldn’t get past his constantly slapping the desk.)
Any late night host could certainly take interview cues from Jon Stewart… or Colbert, though obviously he comes at it with more schtick.
am i the only one who finds conan awkward and unfunny?
@4. Well, you’re comparing everybody to Carson, who was apparently incomparable (I never saw him). From the hosts I’ve seen, Conan is the best right now because everybody else is so formulaic and bland. It’s oat bran, every day. And while I get that having a show on every night makes it difficult to be original, at least Conan would do absolutely crazy shit on his show sometimes, like set his desk on fire, or allow crazy writers to run with crazy ideas.
@5, yes, Stewart and Colbert are great interviewers, and actually make me enjoy what they get people to say. They are better than Conan on—pretty much every front.
@6, No, not at all. Conan will drive many of the under 40 and the last remainders of the over 40 crowd to Letterman, who will stick around and discover the genius of Craig Ferguson. With O’Brien and Jimmy Fallon, NBCs late night will soon spiral to below ABC. Andy Richter did not help, btw.
@7: I do like that stuff. Conan’s shows when the writers were on strike were especially brilliant. Just not the interviews.
My favorite Conan thing ever was the Walker Texas Ranger Lever.
For some reason, after watching that I want to go home and play Guitar Hero 2.
I’m torn on this move. Before, the choice between Leno and Letterman was clear, now the choice between Conan and Letterman not so much. I’m not a huge fan of Craig Ferguson though, so at least I will be forced to go to bed at 12:30.
i would watch this if he brought back Andy Richter.
I hope he doesn’t lose his penchant for off the wall characters like FedEx Pope or Robot On The Toilet.
And, of course, maybe his finest creation, Vomiting Kermit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biT1JGJTB…
Oh yeah, what a great idea, he should bring back Andy Richter. Brilliant! If only someone had thought of that!
I think Conan is hit or miss. Some of his jokes just fall to the floor, DOA, but when he hits… he can really smack it out of the park. Some of his stuff has had me in pain from laughing so hard.
I love Conan being Conan – because who gives a fuck about celebrity interviews that aren’t written by Adrian!?
@ 14 and 16
Andy Richter is back on the show.
If Conan weren’t awkward he wouldn’t be Conan. It’s one of his character points.
I’m fascinated to see how it works out. I’ve been watching him off and on for 15(15!!!) years so I have a lot more patience than many.
His random bits are genius. <3
I’m not sure why Conan needs to have good interviewing skills. Stewart and Colbert frequently interview important people about interesting subjects. Why does Conan need their skills to interview some dumbass celebrity?
KiLE: Don’t even include my comment # in that! What, did I need to add a row of emoticons to make it clear that was sarcasm?
Sorry leek. I got the sarcasm (that you aren’t enthusiastic about Andy Richter), but I didn’t catch that you knew he was back on the show. If I could edit and remove your number I would.
I don’t find Conan O’Brien even a little bit funny. Any random night of Jon Stewart is funnier than anything Conan O’Brien can come up with all year.
KiLE: I’m neutral about Andy; the sarcasm was all directed at the fact that someone so apparently passionate about him wouldn’t know he was on the show. But now I that I reread, I can see how it might have come across as pure Richter hatred instead.
How weird is this: I got all defensive about comments I’d made in two Slog threads and got two apparently sincere apologies. I believe this to be a first in Internet communication and would like it to be celebrated forever after. Hurray!
oh, by the way, those aren’t celebrity interviews, they are plugs surrounded by babble.
Back in the day, Conan was an incredible genius. Now he’s more miss than hit. Still some good stuff, but definitely past his prime. I’ll always have a soft spot for him, but that doesn’t mean I’ll necessarily watch him.
Craig Ferguson has his weak points, but his monologue is amazing (usually). Way better than the lame sequence of one-liners that seem to be de rigeur. Plus, he is so obviously an intelligent guy.
I watched the opening bit and felt neither affection nor relief.
He still can’t do a decent monologue, which is the art form that defines the Tonight Show. The video bits were funny, sure, but he’s not going to be able to rely on that many set pieces every night.
He’ll be on for years. He’ll be passed by Letterman by mid-2010.