Tonight Show w/ Conan O'Brien

[venture]

Gave him about 15 minutes and just got bored with the show and turned it off. Maybe some other day.

[jstanthrnme]

Gave him about 15 minutes and just got bored with the show and turned it off. Maybe some other day.

ouch...

Have a drink next time!

[BailJumper]

I tuned in as well. I like Leno but feel no need to go out of my way to watch his show. However, being on earlier might change that. I think the move is good. Leno doesn't have to beat the competition at that time slot to be a success. They say his show costs far less to produce than one hour Drama's like CSI. In the end, top ratings or not they will make more money.

Conan is okay, but I think I'm just too old for his style.

[USG '60]

I watched the whole thing and actually laughed 4 or 5 times. I was surprised as I didn't expect to crack a grin. I will say this, whatever it is that makes him not funny to me, Jimmy Falllen has a little bit more of it. There is nothing funny watching someone laughing at his own...uh...er uh...jokes(?). Sadly pathetic.

[drumsncode]

Gave him about 15 minutes and just got bored with the show and turned it off. Maybe some other day.

That's exactly what I did!

Everything about Conan is boring. His timing is awful, especially the way he just drags everything out, keeps going back kicking a corpse of a joke, the whole thing.

His opening trip across the country was funny for about 1 minute, but in typical Conan style, it just dragged on and on and on and on and on and on (just like that sentence you just read).

This guy would not last two rounds on "Last Comic Standing", not a chance.

[Steve]

They need to let Conan be Conan. I watched last night and it was borderline uncomfortable. The chemistry between Conan and Andy was gone, the vibe of the old show was gone, and the audience and set all reeked of LA phoniness. I really wish they let Conan stay in NY.

[OKCisOK4me]

Yep, as by this thread, you can tell it's an age thing. I'm sure some of us know how old others on this board are. Try posting, 'like' or 'dislike' with your age next to it. I guarantee you it's a new generation thing...

[Karried]

Well, I wouldn't say I'm in the young category any longer and I LOVE Conan! I used to think he was too slapstick, tried too hard ...but now is comfortable, has found his stride and makes me laugh more than any of the others.

But, I feel young and refuse to grow up ... so maybe that's why.

I truly cannot stand to watch Jimmy Fallon.. he is the most uncomfortable host I've ever seen. It borders on being painful to watch him.

[venture]

Hum...do I really seem that old? I'm not even in my mid-30s yet. LOL

Now Craig Ferguson...I think he is hilarious. He has some dry nights, but he has a lot of really good ones. And you can't go wrong with singing puppets. The skits are pretty funny as well. The other thing I also like about him are the interviews are all improvised right there. He has questions but tears them up at the start of everyone and just lets the conversation go naturally.

[Karried]

Hum...do I really seem that old? I not even in my mid-30s yet. LOL

whoa. I thought you were much older.. I don't know why.

[oneforone]

I give Potatoes O'Brien 6 months before he is replaced with someone else.

[TaoMaas]

I could be wrong, but I think NBC has screwed up. I think they only gave Conan "The Tonight Show" because they were afraid of him jumping to another network, as Letterman did. But the difference between Letterman (when Leno was named as the new host of The Tonight Show) and Conan is that Letterman's show was MUCH bigger at the time. Conan faces an uphill battle. He needs to bring his former audience along (which is going to expect edgy comedy), while retaining the current "Tonight Show" audience (which is more traditional in tastes). If I were a betting man, I'd bet that Leno's new fall show will be a lot more successful (and profitable) than anyone thought and Conan will struggle as host of The Tonight Show. I think Conan will eventually pull ahead, but not before a period of equal ratings with Letterman and a consequent revamping of The Tonight Show.

[Matt]

I give Potatoes O'Brien 6 months before he is replaced with someone else.

A lot of people said the same thing back in '93. . .

[SoonerDave]

No predictions here about the longevity of any late host, but I will say the dynamics of late night TV are radically departed from those of the end of the Carson era.

That was back when you had the choices of two late night talk shows and Nightline. Not anymore. Carson was the unchallenged king of late-night TV, and Leno had no hope of capturing the same status. I used to be a huge Letterman fan, but have barely watched him in the last, oh, five years or so. Heck, my wife and I prefer to watch reruns of Frasier on KOCB..

And the best thing they could do to increase Conan's appeal is to, well, get rid of Conan entirely. I watched him a few times on his old show, and that was a few times too many...its a shame he's not half as funny as he *thinks* he is...alas...

[Bunty]

So how does it work? Coservatives hate Conan, while liberals love him?

[fuzzytoad]

So how does it work? Coservatives hate Conan, while liberals love him?

what's that make people who think Craig Ferguson is the best of the bunch?

[venture]

what's that make people who think Craig Ferguson is the best of the bunch?

We are sick and tired of how stupid and bitter the world has gotten and just like to laugh. :-P

[Karried]

We are sick and tired of how stupid and bitter the world has gotten and just like to laugh. :-P

Yep.........

[jsibelius]

So how does it work? Coservatives hate Conan, while liberals love him?

It may be that way for some, but I suspect for many (as it is for me), the problem with Conan is not so much what he's making jokes about as it is the manner in which he creates humor. It's his comedic style - it's not for everyone. It's hard for me to describe it except in parallels. Last Christmas, I received a Jeff Dunham DVD. I watched it with my parents. They didn't laugh once, I couldn't wait to find another one. However, they still think Jerry Clower is laugh-out-loud, fall-out-of-your-chair funny, while I only laugh occasionally at his humor. I run into several people during the course of my day who think Dane Cook is wonderful, but I don't like his humor at all. And last, Monty Python's the Holy Grail generally is funniest when viewed with larger groups, and is barely funny at all when viewed solo.

So I guess what I'm thinking is that it's part generational, part evolutionary entertainment, and part personal taste. But I doubt political leanings have much to do with which late-night comedian you follow.

[kevinpate]

Label me one as of those old enough to still enjoy hearing old Clower stories and Tom T hall music, and young enough to actually roll off the couch laughing with Dunham and his gang. I thought I might have torn something inside over Achmed's "WT<bleep> is poliosis?" routine.

I don't see me ever becoming a Conan fan though, and it's rare I catch more than a brief bit of Letterman. A lil' music and cpap suit me better most nights.

[jstanthrnme]

Conan just had a sketch about OKC. Regarding our low unemployment numbers. It should be on Hulu tommorow. I thought it was pretty funny.

[dalelakin]

Did anyone catch the one the other night with "Oklahoma Redneck hops"? I think it was something to do with the Officer and the EMT debacle I didn't see all of it just caught it out of the corner of my eye.

[drumsncode]

Since this thread rose up again, I've been meaning to give Conan some slight kudos. His show is getting better, at least his opening monologue which is all I watch. His jokes seem better and his timing is speeding up slightly. There may be hope for this guy yet! I accidentally laughed a few times over the past week (although I'd never admit to that in public!) ;-) Still, I await Jay Leno with the greatest of enthusiasm! :-)

[westsidesooner]

I saw it by accident last night. I never have caught on to his style of humor and have been watching letterman instead. Last night I just hadnt turned the channel in time and caught it. Anyone have a link to the other skit mentioned??

Hulu - The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien: Everyone Works In Oklahoma City!

[FritterGirl]

I missed that one, but have seen the William Shatner reads Palin poetry. Classic!