Late Night Laughs

Don't let the title of this post fool you, it's not about the fledgling LATE NIGHT and its host Jimmy Fallon. I'm more interested with the other late night hosts and how they've handled the ambiguity surrounding the future of NBC's late night lineup.
The best joke I've heard is from Craig Feguson. I don't have a link for it or remember the actual joke, but I'll paraphrase it for you...


Craig: With all the turmoil surrounding late night television, organizations like TMZ have begun following us hosts around. 'Jay, will you be moving to 11:30?' 'Conan are you taking over at Fox?' 'Craig, what are you doing with a transvestite hooker in your car?'

Hilarious, right? I don't really care for Craig's show, even though i think it is funny. My problem stems from the style of the show, which is akin to hanging out with a guy that's funny. Some people find that appealing, but I like the skits and remotes on Conan's show. My brother is a devoted follower of Craig, so take that how you will.

Some critics I listen to from SLATE magazine assert that Jay has shined amidst this controversy, which I reject. He just seems smug to me and is doing the same boring approach. "Hey, Kevin, did you see this? I'm a prick." Ok, so maybe i made that up.

Letterman must be relishing his spot at CBS right now. My belief stems from the joy on his face as he attacks NBC executives, who 17 years ago opted not to give him the TONIGHT SHOW gig.

As for Conan, he appears to be in a tricky position for now. He doesn't want to lash out, but at the same time he must want someone's blood. His attitude can be seen in his recent interview with Ricky Gervais, during which Ricky went on the attack against NBC and Conan played the role of reluctant objector. He does take legitimate shots, though, which are hilarious.

This dynamic is great for material and ratings in the short run. Although, I can't imagine Conan continuing to do his show much longer until the future of THE TONIGHT SHOW is resolved. It must be so draining to go out there and do this right now. I feel for him, especially since he moved across the country for this opportunity.

Top Chef Tonight

On Thursday's episode of THE TONIGHT SHOW with CONAN O'BRIEN the second guest was this season's TOP CHEF winner, Michael V. This just seems like a terrible idea to me, except form the standpoint that BRAVO and NBC are sister companies.
It's a bad idea because of Mike's personality, which is uber-serious. He takes himself serious. He takes his profession serious. He auditioned for a role in the Cohen brothers, A SERIOUS MAN.
Normally I'd say that Conan could just mock the way Mike carries himself, like he does of show producer Jordan. THe difference is that Jordan has no interest in being the star, which is completely contrary to Mike. I knew coming in that Mike would try to be funny, or worse, take the experience super serious.
Bryan on the other hand would have been perfect fodder for Conan. His droll demeanor would have been a perfect foil for Conan, especially since he seems to be able to take a joke. This is in sharp contrast to Mike, who I could see walking off the set.
The most striking thing about Mike's appearance was how short he was compared to Conan. I had no idea that he was this short. That means Kevin is really about 5 foot 3 and Eli fits comfortable in most oversized luggage.
The performance wasn't as terrible as it could have been, with Mike scoring, in my book at least, with a joke about premature ejaculation. I do need to give him credit for not being himself and only making the experience somewhat uncomfortable.

LOVE SPEIDI

So now i really finished the Speidi interview. A couple things....
1. You have to be 35 to be president, and not 30 like Spenser thinks.
2. George Bush spoke spanish, so calm down Seth Green
3. Andy should have conducted the interview, because Conan seemed resigned to pulling all his punches.
4. Can't believe Seth Green stayed on the couch, but I'm happy he did. His comment that he actually has a job killed.
5. There needs to be web extras!!!

Speidi sense is tingling

I have almost zero exposure to Heidi and Spenser. Never seen the show they're originally famous for, which was THE HILLS or LAGUNA BEACH. I don't know anything about them, except my own preconceived notions that I've gleaned from coverage of them in the press.
Basically they're publicity whores. They're not talented, unless you consider remaining relevant a talent. Unfortunately that's all it takes.
Anyway, they were on THE TONIGHT SHOW with Conan O'Brien, so I received my first real experience with them. From this I've decided they're an act. They might be geniuses. There is no way Spenser is as awful as he seems, or at least if he is, he is smart enough to realize that this persona will keep him interesting and keep him famous.
Case in point, he announces that he's changing his name to King Spenser. Maybe that's a gimmick to make people hate him or maybe he really wants to do it, but either way it keeps them in the news. These two posses enough self-awareness to understand why they're famous and how to hold on to that fame.
To their credit, though, they haven't done anything illegal (balloon baby family) and haven't had to release a sex tape (Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton, my soon to be released dalliance). So I applaud their ability to create something from nothing. Consequently, I am shocked by our country's intrigue in this duo. It's disgusting. Americans are in large part pathetic. We've propped up Spedi to the point where they become the couple we love to hate.
The interview is pretty painful to watch. It is very awkward and you can tell Conan wants to eviscerate them with his wit, except it would be very hypocritical since he has them on his show. It's still funny though.
That's enough time spent on these two morons.

Conan owns Tonight last night...

First off I want to say that Conan’s first night at the helm of “The Tonight Show” was a success. He introduced himself to America (he likes dolls and self-deprecating humor), while also finding time to reassure his devoted followers that he knew to leave well enough alone.
Conan appeared a little weathered at the start of the show, as if he’d been writing jokes until air time, but he still looked better than Andy Richter. Richter, who opened the show in place of the immortal Joel Goddard from “Late Night,” looks like he gained about twenty pounds and just happy to be getting a steady paycheck (There will be more Andy bashing later).
When Conan walked on stage it seemed to be business as usual, with an abbreviated version of the string dance, some random tangents, and a little bit of adlibbed physical comedy. The back and forth with Andy was strained but watchable, although the lack of banter with Max was upsetting. One can only hope that the true star of the E Street Band gets adequate camera time tonight.
I loved the shot he took at his network being in third place and being sponsored by General Motors. A corporate hack following the directions of Jack Donaghy (watch 30 ROCK!!) might not have been so reckless, but Conan showed that his balls didn’t get lost on the transcontinental flight. Part of this risk was accompanied by an overall theme throughout the episode, which was that he’s not an establishment comedian, but rather an outsider with a relatively unknown past that the audience doesn’t know and should stick around to get acquainted with.
My favorite part of the episode was the remote he shot with the tour guide. This kind of improv humor is what comedians do great, and these segments were my favorite part of “Late Night.” Leno didn’t do a ton of remote segments, and maybe that’s why the few he did were enjoyed so much more. Maybe know that Conan is uber famous his remotes won’t be as effective and they’ll become more sporadic, but I hope, and am inclined to believe that he’ll keep up the steady output at a very high level of comedic genius.
The biggest downer of the night was that Conan’s usefulness as a lead would be wasted on Jimmy Fallon, who had a commercial air during “The Tonight Show” that left me with a bad taste in my mouth that I was only able to wash away with a handful of late night skittles from my brother. I also munched on cookies and pepperoni, for a real trifecta of health based snacks.
I loved the awkwardness when Conan addressed having Jay Leno as his lead in the fall. Couldn’t really gauge how he felt about the whole situation, but he handled it gracefully. The reality of the situation, though, is that Conan needs to establish a base during this period or people won’t stay up past the local news in the fall if they’re simply content with Leno.
On that note, I think Conan’s numbers will spike for about a month, but then he’ll start losing ground to Dave Letterman and the “Late Show,” until CBS finally overtakes NBC in late night television. Speaking of Dave, he sort of toned down his comedy after leaving the 12:30 time slot. From time to time you see him push some of the edges, but not really. Hopefully Conan doesn’t become trapped like that.
There was also an advertisement for “The Listener,” which won’t be on in the fall. That doesn’t really have anything to do with Conan, but I thought you should know not to get emotionally invested into this summer show that will not survive long.
Conan was very deferential during the interview, which was fine since Will Ferrell was hilarious. Ferrell will actually be on the Discovery channel tonight, as he takes part in an episode of “Man vs. Wild.” The trailer looked hilarious for it, and I recommend people tune in tonight.
I don’t think last night’s show is a good indicator of how interviews will go, so I’m not reading too much into the rapport Conan had with Ferrell.
Skipped the musical guest because I’m not a Pearl Jam, and instead caught part of the movie “Brick” on one of our numerous HBOs. It’s a great movie that is essentially a 1940s crime drama set in a modern High School, which has the effect of blowing one’s mind.
Anyway, I’m excited for tonight’s Conan, but I’ll have to DVR it since I barely could stay up last night. Apparently I’m not on college time anymore, except for the weekends when I have a few drinks…

Napping now for a late night

Conan O’Brien returns to late night television tonight as host of “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien,” and I’ll have more on this show, as well as others from the first few weeks later on, but for now I just want to voice a few questions about the big change.
Will Conan alter his style for the new time slot and show? He addressed this issue in the close of his old show, and was adamant that it would basically be the same show. I’m hesitant to say it will be vintage Conan, simply because he’s already retired characters and skits that aren’t suitable for the mainstream audience at 11:30.
While acknowledging that reality I still don’t think the show will feel noticeably different. Conan only works when he gets to be Conan, and to try to be something else will end in failure. The network knows this, and obviously recognizes that they’re not getting the next Jay Leno, which is why I think they’ll give Conan room to operate.
Overall I think he may have to pull some punches in terms of his skits, but the bigger changes could come in terms of the interviews, as he’ll know have to deal with more A-list stars that might not be keen on his style of humor. That means a little more kissing up and a little less, well whatever it is that Conan normally does with his guests.
Will Conan draw viewers from Colbert Report? In the past I loved television from eleven to midnight, and then a half an hour later until one thirty in the morning. That lineup included “The Daily Show,” “The Colbert Report” and “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.” Now someone will have to get DVRed, because the “Tonight Show” comes on at eleven thirty against is frenemy Stephen Colbert.
I feel like I’m not alone in this predicament, as the pairs fans are usually the same. Personally, I don’t see Colbert fans skipping their truthiness for what they think will be a toned down version of Colbert (I watch “Daily Show” and “Colbert Report” the next day on Hulu, so I’ll probably watch Conan live.) Thus, if Conan can’t bring the younger viewers with him, it makes it even more important that he holds on to Jay’s (how do I put this politely?) older viewers? And if he can’t hang on to the geriatrics, will they finally switch to Dave or will they just take their Viagra earlier?
Will people stay up for Conan when Jay comes on in the fall at ten? This is moot point for now, but in the fall it could become dicey. That’s why Conan needs to establish himself right away as a credible replacement, but also as a perfect complement so that people will tune in for Jay and want to stay for a nightcap with Conan.
A sidekick?!?!?!?!? Apparently Andy Richter will be back only as an announcer and will appear in various sketches. I know this means he won’t be a sidekick, but I wish he was off trying to start another failed sitcom instead of stealing air time from Conan, who always seems so awkward sharing the limelight.
Anyway, I hope it all goes well and America gets to know someone I think is funnier than Leno on his best day.