NBC hype was what an “ambitious and expensive” cold open this was. You judge:
VIDEO: Conan’s ‘Tonight Show’ Debut
By NIKKI FINKE | Monday June 1, 2009 @ 10:26pm PDTTags: Late Night TV, Video
This article was printed from http://www.deadline.com/2009/06/conan-obriens-tonight-show-debut/
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Loved it. Funny, sweeping, and with just the right gag at the end. Of course, I’m a big Conan fan…but I feel like it was a suitably broad, accessible opening. Couldn’t have asked for more.
Like Kimmel, Conan is not a funny comedian unfortunately. The show might do okay though b/c Letterman has not been good since he was off the bottles.
he met with affiliates all over the country, it probably wasn’t that expensive if they shot this at the same time.
I would watch Conan run anywhere.
I love how casually these sorts of comments get tossed about. “Oh, so-and-so just isn’t funny.” Right. Sure you don’t mean that you don’t find him particularly funny? How much have you seen? I find it unlikely you’d find absolutely nothing to laugh at.
If a certain brand of comedy isn’t your cup of tea most of the time, hey, whatever, but let’s drop the exaggerations, or the silly notion that any of these people are ever simply “not funny.” Even the ones I don’t care to watch are reasonably funny.
Remember, kids: just because you CAN be snarky doesn’t mean you HAVE to be. Sheesh.
Funnier than anything Leno did during his entire tenure. Hilarious. The entire show was spot on. It was nice to see a Tonight host who actually listened to his guest’s response after asking a question. And I am NOT a huge Conan fan, per se. Well, I am now. The old show as on too late, when you have a 6 year old.
I liked it; it was amusing. It also brought to mind that the host from Amazing Race, Phil Koghan (sp?) did this journey for real–in reverse CA to NY–on a bike just this past summer.
Now I don’t have to waste my time staying up late. That was not even in the least bit amusing….and 5 minutes of that?
It’s amazing how he’s really grown from verge of cancellation to the perfect choice.
It’s sad to see Leno go, but O’Brien really is the only deserving person for the job
Great Opening.
Good Luck Conan.
Conan is just silly. He has that unbridled zest that is contagious. He’ll do great with The Tonight Show.
ugh.
maybe i’ll watch again -in another 17 years.
They forgot to add “long” and “not funny” to describe the opening.
I like Conan though. So I will keep watching tonight’s episode to check it out.
Already more laughs than Leno’s entire tenure.
Personally, I found it entertaining and humorous. It was a great way to convey the enthusiasm and style which Conan O’Brian is approaching this show, which is what long-time Tonight Show viewers want to see.
It was a good show, even though I found Pearl Jam to be disappointing. Really looking forward to Tom Hanks tomorrow night, that should be fantastic.
On a subsequent note, Jimmy Fallon is really coming into his own as the host of Late Night. Tonight’s episode and last week’s were quality television, by nearly any standard.
The opening was really funny. And a little odd and charming as all hell. Conan.
The show itself was strong. The only complaint is that they don’t seem to know what to do with Andy yet. Max already covers the spot of “guy Conan can make fun of” (as does the band) or just chat with about how the show is going. Andy just seemed to get in the way in that spot, and seemed a barrier between Conan and the audience (one that subtracted more than added to the show.) They’re a smart bunch, though, and Andy is talented, so I’m sure they’ll find a better way to use him soon enough (maybe send him out to do remote stuff? Sketches?)
Otherwise I thought it was a great start (one other tiny quibble — could they have done the mix on Pearl Jam so we could hear Eddie’s voice over the roar of the band? His voice is still their biggest selling point.)
Welcome to L.A., Conan. We’re glad as hell to have you.
A great debut that really showcased Conan’s dynamic, free-form, improve style. He’s retained his irreverence while appropriately maturing his brand of comedy for the new time-slot and audience. Its a welcome change from Leno’s staid punchlines, and in very stark contrast to the angry, grumpy old man over on CBS.
Meh. Bring back Alan Thicke.
I saw a few minutes of it, Conan is usually funny and this show was no different but I didn’t see a difference between his old show and the tonight show. Same stuff.
Andy was never funny. Conan was so much better after him. Why they brought him back I’ll never know.
Unlike Carson or Letterman or Steve Allen he could have made a couple of decent movies. There’s a lot of Danny Kaye there. (Meaning zero sex appeal.) These are human Looney Tunes and he’s been doing them for years. The expense is justified I suppose by the cinematic values applied to the Inter-net…but again this is Zucker building the deniable cart while comically spurring on the broken down nag. As for success…I see a drop in the ratings…and, as with Leno, it’s all about access to the guests. Will it get recorded by the Baby Boomers which is the new 11:35 audience? Maybe. As always though it’s the material that’s funniest. Great comedy writer, great comedy editor…in a way it’s a shame he ever went down the hosting path. Still stuck in that Baby Boomer Pop Culture Seventies (Cheap Trick; and this is not a good sign.)He doesn’t have the accessibility that Leno has; I’m not sure he ever had any likeability per se to begin with; close-ups make him look like the Joker’s Ivy League cousin; not the broadcaster that Letterman is; misses the Stewart/Colbert “relevancy” boat. Will he take down Kimmel like a Maxim back-issue? What’s to take down? Will people be all “talked out” by 11:35? That’s my guess but that it will not be a disaster. But he’s always been competitive so you can never count him out. And again the material has always been priceless fun – the “found humor;” the sketches – all the written stuff. I’ve always found Conan improvising in any way has always been cringe inducing and makes me wanna change the channel in order to spare him the embarrassment. (A decent ad-libber I suppose but too smug about it.) The problem is, and has always been, either the sensibility is your cup of tea…or it just isn’t. ABC should counter-program with a Dick Cavett – an opportunity to make news; just as Inter-net applicable in terms of torquing up the cash value of buzz; less expensive and therefore practical. Would be a natural follow-up to Stewart and Colbert for viewers who watch those shows rather than any of this which I think is the real untapped audience. You push Kimmel back to “compete” with Carson Daly which is where Kimmel belongs – chasing down college students with the “munchies” just back from the library combined with lunch bucket “night shifters” sitting their fat asses down to watch a little original TV before the sun comes up. Like me every now and then.
No winners here though. Just an ever-widening “Winners’ Circle” with the idea of a “favorite” horse having been put down long before the start of this race. In theory hype is all. But I’m not sure there’s anything worthwhile on TV to even hype anymore. Merely “hair of the dog.” That’s what all hype feels like to me these days.
it reminds me of how Jeff Probst in Survivor used to travel from a tropical island to New York City in a matter of minutes
Not funny at all… Letterman must be happy. He will be leading the ratings again shortly.
Does anyone know the music used in the piece?
I didn’t see the show last night, but I loved this clip of the opening. Conan came on way to late for me to stay up and watch. But I may try to tune in for future installments. I laughed all the way through this. Good job!