I love Conan O’Brien. There’s something in his juvenile (yet intelligent) brand of humor that just gets me. Maybe because he reminds me of practically every guy I ever dated in the swirl of the Chicago comedy scene. He seems like just a real guy having real conversations. I like him a lot.
So … then comes this news. Jay Leno is passing the torch to Conan.
I remember when Jay Leno used to be a regular on the David Letterman show, and he would wear leather biker jackets, and Dave loved him, and he was absolutely hysterical.
I find Leno’s Tonight Show humor, though, to be … well, not humor at all. I can watch the Tonight Show the entire way through and not laugh once. It’s made for morons. It’s mediocre.
So … I fear that the same watering-down will happen to Conan. That … his special brand of anarchic juvenile STUPID humor, which I find so charming, will somehow disappear … to please the masses.
Please, Conan. KEEP YOURSELF YOURSELF. DON’T CHANGE!!
NBC picking Leno over Letterman as Carson’s successor was a mistake of epic proportions (ratings notwithstanding); I’m glad they didnt’ make the same mistake again.
As Conan’s fellow Brookline High School alumnus, I think your fears are unwarranted. For good or ill, our personalities tend to be fully-formed and practically impervious to outside changes: I mean, just look at Mike Wallace.
heh heh heh heh
I love Conan too. he makes me laugh till my stomach hurts and I’m crying. I also hope that they make him tone down for the Tonite Show. That would be terrible. I know they will too. well, we’ll see in 5 years I guess.
The problem seemed to be that Leno suddenly seemed more like an employee rather than a comedian – Carson obviously never seemed like an employee, he owned that show. So I hope Conan doesn’t go that route.
I’ll trust your Brookline judgment, Dave J. :)
ok I noticed a typo- i meant to say I hope they don’t make him tone down for the tonite show
I know, mere. Conan just makes me LOSE it.
Just as an aside here, I’ve never really considered Conan that funny.
I totally dig the big sword and the Boris Vallejo babes and stuff, and I definitely think that some good old fashioned “..drive your enemies before you..” type monologues would be cool on late night tv, but as a humorist, Conan leaves me dry.
Oh wait, O’Brien…
Nevermind.
Conan O’Brien reminds me of all the wacko guys I knew and hung out with in Chicago. Juvenile self-deprecating humor, ridiculous … not intellectual, or clever …
Humor is so specific.
I remember when Billy Crystal came to my school for a seminar, and he said that his father used to basically tutor him in comedy.
Like: You will like Abbott & Costello. You will like the Marx Brothers. You have no choice.
Billy Crystal was like, “My dad had really good taste.”
Pretty funny.
It’s a very valid fear. Many people were thrilled to hear Conan is getting the Tonight Show; I was not one of them. Don’t get me wrong; I love Conan and wish him the best. It’s just that I feel the Tonight Show is not the best for him. I fear that what makes him great will be watered down and emasculated. Do you really think we’ll see Masturbating Bear at 11:30?
It’s akin to the relief I felt when Letterman didn’t get the Tonight Show. I didn’t feel that would’ve been right for him either. The Tonight Show has decades of tradition behind it, while Dave and Conan have always been seen as fresh and ground breaking. They’re the young punks who came in and did their own show and did it better. (Yes, I know Letterman has been on for 25 years; that’s not the point.) It always felt to me that the Tonight Show producers had an agenda. It became the number one forum to push their craptacular NBC stars.
Maybe my fears stem from the fact that Leno made the show so damn bland. The show was built on such talents as Steve Allen, Jack Paar and Johnny Carson. Maybe Conan has the ability to squeeze out from under the thumb of his cruel NBC masters. One can only hope. At the very least, it’s still an improvement from the milquetoasty goodness of Leno.
When Conan got his current gig, I could have cared less. Never heard of him.
But an article appeared a short time later in the LATimes about Bill Maher, and the ugly little dwarf did nothing but whine and complain about how HE really deserved the Late Night job. HE paid his dues. HE was a real stand-up. Who is this Conan ANYWAY? WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Gave me an excuse to watch Conan. If the suits were smart enough to pass over a whiny little puss like Maher, then big red couldn’t be all that bad.
Scotter, I’m just reminded of the article in The Onion, “Bill Maher Argues Politics With Prostitute.” What a tool.
Of all the Late Night hosts, Conan is definitely my favorite. He just doesn’t give a shit how dorky, how juvenile or how silly he looks. He is such a natural, his humor is just as good unscripted as it is scripted, it’s just so genuine. I adore his style, and I pray it doesn’t get compromised to appease the NBC big shots.
Im a Conan fan as well..have been since day one…Alex disagrees..she doesn’t think he’s funny..its a constant source of conversation in our home…anyway..he kills me…he has been very kind to some of my friends and their moms..so i love him more…but i think its a very very bad fit for him at the earlier time..remember in the midwest its on at 10:30…im afraid we will lose Triumph the Insult Comic Dog(next to Don Rickles he’s my fave). But the brookiline comment is well taken…Derek went to Brookline and he’s not mellowed one bit!
Damn. At first I thought you meant Conan the Cimmerian. Then I’d have something to offer.
Ash, that joke has already been used in these comments…so let’s beat it to death, shall we? ;-)
…or the crown of late-night. You know, whatever works.
I’m curious as to whether he’ll do the “masturbating bear” skit at 11:30 pm EST. Pimpbot?
Steve