Jay Leno and Conan- National TV

[joshzz]

Fallon was better

I agree. He's been doing a much better job than Conan & Leno as of late.

Leno's jokes are just old and worn. Kind of like listening to an old record you heard a million times. You recognize the tune and may be comfortable with it but it's time to switch the record.

Conan's like Leno has too much of an ego. I can't watch him anymore. josh

 

[Skynet74]

No I didn't say that Fallon was better than Conan or Leno. I said that on Friday night Fallon was better than FALLON usually is.

 

[ShawnHill1]

It was a pretty classy send-off by Conan last night, and he certainly had the ample opportunity to take more pot shots at NBC. I'm not a big fan of Conan, and I'm certainly not a fan of Jay Leno, especially after this fiasco. But I will say that whatever flack NBC and Leno catches from this from here on in, they sure as hell deserve it.

 

[TheBigA]

Interesting article regarding Fox affiliate reaction to the possibility of Conan going to Fox:

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/zontv/2010/01/conan_obrien_fox_fx_futrure.html

 

[LKellerIII]

Interesting article regarding Fox affiliate reaction to the possibility of Conan going to Fox:

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/zontv/2010/01/conan_obrien_fox_fx_futrure.html

A good concise article. Unfortunately, Conan on Fox will meet up with resistance from Fox affiliates that want to keep all the advertising money they are currently getting in late night hours. And whether I personally understand Leno's popularity or not (I don't), Jay will likely be either #1 or #2 in the ratings in late night, with Letterman taking the other position. Jimmy Kimmel has a strong show too, and Nightline has grown stronger, so Conan would have his work cut out for him.

As strong as Conan's last couple of weeks on Tonight were, the preceding few months were weak, so he'll have to come up with some compelling differences with his late night competition if he wants to succeed.

So even if the affiliate problem is solved, a Conan O'Brien Show could end up being the third in a line of Fox late night embarrassments. I'm sure both Conan and Fox tremble at that prospect. Conan may decide he has better prospects doing a show with some other format on basic cable. Look how far Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert have come.

I do agree with ShawnHill above, Conan's last show was a class act.

 

[TheBigA]

As strong as Conan's last couple of weeks on Tonight were, the preceding few months were weak, so he'll have to come up with some compelling differences with his late night competition if he wants to succeed.

If he chooses to go the late-night network TV route.

Jon Stewart hosted a late night show on ABC. It failed. After a few years, he went to Comedy Central, where he reinvented himself. He did something different, in an area where there is no competition or preconceived ideas.

Focusing on 11:30 network TV pretty much sets him up for failure if the goal is to beat Leno and Letterman. It ends up being a waiting game until one of the two retires.

Doing something different, in a category where there is no competition, has a better shot at success.

 

[cspotrun]

this will probably go down in TV history as this, Conan got screwed.
but you have to admit NICE parting gifts!

 

[TheBigA]

this will probably go down in TV history as this, Conan got screwed.
but you have to admit NICE parting gifts!

That may be the way some will record it, but it wouldn't be true.

Conan could have kept the Tonight Show and his history with NBC. He would have had a better lead-in, and it would probably have gotten him off the hook with the affiliates, who were never sold on him. But he chose to move forward. Playing the martyr can sometimes be worth more than playing the good soldier. He strengthened his fan base, who were only lukewarm to his stuffier presentation when he moved to 11:30. He had a looser show at 12:30, as did Letterman. The biggest mistake Conan can make is to take an 11:30 show at another network. He should learn from Jon Stewart.

 

[film@11]

this will probably go down in TV history as this, Conan got screwed.
but you have to admit NICE parting gifts!

That may be the way some will record it, but it wouldn't be true.

Conan could have kept the Tonight Show and his history with NBC. He would have had a better lead-in, and it would probably have gotten him off the hook with the affiliates, who were never sold on him. But he chose to move forward. Playing the martyr can sometimes be worth more than playing the good soldier. He strengthened his fan base, who were only lukewarm to his stuffier presentation when he moved to 11:30. He had a looser show at 12:30, as did Letterman. The biggest mistake Conan can make is to take an 11:30 show at another network. He should learn from Jon Stewart.

Very well said! Not too many people saw it that way but I couldn't agree more.

 

[Biffstunt]

As strong as Conan's last couple of weeks on Tonight were, the preceding few months were weak, so he'll have to come up with some compelling differences with his late night competition if he wants to succeed.

If he chooses to go the late-night network TV route.

Jon Stewart hosted a late night show on ABC. It failed. After a few years, he went to Comedy Central, where he reinvented himself. He did something different, in an area where there is no competition or preconceived ideas.

Focusing on 11:30 network TV pretty much sets him up for failure if the goal is to beat Leno and Letterman. It ends up being a waiting game until one of the two retires.

Doing something different, in a category where there is no competition, has a better shot at success.

Jon Stewart's show was never on ABC. He had a show on MTV, then went syndicated, picking up a lot of Arsenio's affiliates after he finished "The Arsenio Hall Show." Once the syndnicated Jon Stewart Show failied, he became a guest host for Tom Snyder's "Late Late Show" on CBS, which was eventually taken over by Craig Kilborn, who had hosted "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central...which was given to the current host, Jon Stewart. It was like a lesser-known late night love triangle.

 

[Biffstunt]

this will probably go down in TV history as this, Conan got screwed.
but you have to admit NICE parting gifts!

That may be the way some will record it, but it wouldn't be true.

Conan could have kept the Tonight Show and his history with NBC. He would have had a better lead-in, and it would probably have gotten him off the hook with the affiliates, who were never sold on him. But he chose to move forward. Playing the martyr can sometimes be worth more than playing the good soldier. He strengthened his fan base, who were only lukewarm to his stuffier presentation when he moved to 11:30. He had a looser show at 12:30, as did Letterman. The biggest mistake Conan can make is to take an 11:30 show at another network. He should learn from Jon Stewart.

I think Conan did the right thing. The Tonight Show shouldn't start at a time later than 11:35. Also, Conan's monologue is weak - Leno's is strong. Leno's 11:30 show would have likely started with a 10 minute monologue. 20 minutes later, we would see Conan's weak monologue. His strong suit has always been his sketches and his interviews. Exposing one of the best monologues in late night, followed by one of the weakest within 20 minutes would be hard. He also indicated it would be unfair to Jimmy Fallon to move him to 1:05. I don't know if that was sincere or not (I tend to believe it was), he's right. While Ferguson and Conan (and Letterman almost 20 years ago) all have given us reasons to stay up until 12:30 to watch some fun on late night television, would Fallon be able to give us that reason to stay up until 1?

I think Conan's move was a good one and I think his move to Fox would be fine. He could likely do the same show that he did at 12:30 on NBC an hour and a half earlier on Fox. If he has the 12:30 comfort zone and the 12:30 freedom, he will do just fine at Fox, especially if he gets the headstart over the competition.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Before ending the show with a song, O'Brien said the following from his desk:

"Before we end this rodeo, a few things need to be said. There has been a lot of speculation in the press about what I legally can and can't say about NBC. To set the record straight, tonight I am allowed to say anything I want. And what I want to say is this: between my time at Saturday Night Live, The Late Night Show, and my brief run here on The Tonight Show, I have worked with NBC for over 20 years. Yes, we have our differences right now and yes, we're going to go our separate ways. But this company has been my home for most of my adult life. I am enormously proud of the work we have done together, and I want to thank NBC for making it all possible. ...

Walking away from The Tonight Show is the hardest thing I have ever had to do. Making this choice has been enormously difficult. This is the best job in the world. I absolutely love doing it. And I have the best staff and crew in the history of the medium. ... But despite this sense of loss, I really feel this should be a happy moment.

Every comedian dreams of hosting The Tonight Show and, for seven months, I got to do it! I did it my way, with people I love. I do not regret one second. ... I've had more good fortune than anyone I know and if our next gig is doing a show in a 7-11 parking lot, we'll find a way to make it fun.

And finally, I have to say something to our fans. The massive outpouring of support and passion from so many people has been overwhelming. The rallies, the signs. All this goofy, outrageous creativity on the Internet, and the fact that people have traveled long distances and camped out all night in the pouring rain ... to be in our audience - you made a sad situation joyous and inspirational.

To all the people watching, I can never thank you enough for your kindness to me and I'll think about it for the rest of my life. All I ask of you is one thing: Please do not be cynical. I hate cynicism- it's my least favorite quality and it doesn't lead anywhere.

Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen. As proof, let's make an amazing thing happen right now. Here to close out our show, are a few good friends [Billy Gibbons, Beck, and Robert Randolph], led by Mr. Will Ferrell singing "Freebird"…

A very good way to end it.

 

[TheRover]

Jon Stewart's show was never on ABC. He had a show on MTV, then went syndicated, picking up a lot of Arsenio's affiliates after he finished "The Arsenio Hall Show." Once the syndnicated Jon Stewart Show failied, he became a guest host for Tom Snyder's "Late Late Show" on CBS, which was eventually taken over by Craig Kilborn, who had hosted "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central...which was given to the current host, Jon Stewart. It was like a lesser-known late night love triangle.

After The Tnoght Show with Johnny Carson.....

my next favorite Nightime Talk Show was....

The Late Late Show with Jon Stewart

I liked that show better than any Leno, Letterman, and Conan shows.