If Conan's first night was any indication of how The Tonight Show would be for the next few years, NBC has nothing to worry about. The new set is fantastic, and outside of a little nervousness, Conan did great.
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What did you think of Conan's first night?
- Thread starter Skynet74
- Start date
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searadiofreak
Guest
Nate Wesley said:
Agreed. The set looked great. Conan seemed mostly relaxed, (just enough tension to show this was the first show), and it is quite obvious to this viewer that they wanted Conan to be Conan.
Will Ferrell has never been a great talk show guest. No disrespect, he is very funny in scripted situations, but off-the-cuff is not his strong suit. I'll be back for night #2 tonight.
Ok, just caught all of Show #2. It wasn't bad but way way too many sketches in the monologue. Tom Hanks was pretty good. I'm not a Green Day fan but they did fantastic. Very energetic and never expected to see the vocalist/guitartist to run into the audience. And....SPOILER FOR WEST COAST VIEWERS.....They gave a guitar to Conan.
Max Weinberg and the band sounded great.
Andy Richter was ok. Great introduction for Conan. Sounds like he slightly controls the "Conan O'Brien" part so he isn't compared to Joel Godard. But Andy's laughing is annoying. Either cut his mike or put him on the sofa as the sidekick. Is it my imagination or has Andy gained a few pounds since Conan's Late Night finale.
On the very negative side, I just watched the first 10 minutes of Jimmy Fallon. That's 10 minutes of my life I'll never get back. I'm going to bed now.
Max Weinberg and the band sounded great.
Andy Richter was ok. Great introduction for Conan. Sounds like he slightly controls the "Conan O'Brien" part so he isn't compared to Joel Godard. But Andy's laughing is annoying. Either cut his mike or put him on the sofa as the sidekick. Is it my imagination or has Andy gained a few pounds since Conan's Late Night finale.
On the very negative side, I just watched the first 10 minutes of Jimmy Fallon. That's 10 minutes of my life I'll never get back. I'm going to bed now.
WMC2006 said:
Since we tend to look at the past through rose-colored glasses, hopefully I will not be a heretic by remembering that Ed McMahon's constant "Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho" laugh during the Carson years could also be very irritating,
I agree - cut the mike - and get Andy away from that podium. What's with that?
Although I'm a Letterman fan, Conan will do just fine.
Some of the criticism reminds me of Jay Leno's naysayers after Johnny Carson. Not to mention those who said Carson would never be as good as Jack Paar. Or those who questioned whether people would stay up past the 11pm news to watch Steve Allen.
Andy is more of a sidekick than an announcer. And I miss Joel Godard too.
Some of the criticism reminds me of Jay Leno's naysayers after Johnny Carson. Not to mention those who said Carson would never be as good as Jack Paar. Or those who questioned whether people would stay up past the 11pm news to watch Steve Allen.
Andy is more of a sidekick than an announcer. And I miss Joel Godard too.
Caught the first half of Conan's show last night and, although he looked a tad nervous in the beginning, I thought that he did great! Actually, I found the sketches amusing and Max Weinberg's band is fantastic! Even Doc Severinsen must approve of these guys. I have no criticisms of the set either.
The interview with Tom Hanks was top-notch, although he really couldn't ask for a better guest. Didn't make it to Green Day, but I totally believe the above observations about it going really well. All in all, Conan seems to be doing just fine with this and it's clear to me (already) that NBC made a fine choice. For once!
Leno's 10 pm (9 Central) show will be interesting to check out, that's for sure.
The interview with Tom Hanks was top-notch, although he really couldn't ask for a better guest. Didn't make it to Green Day, but I totally believe the above observations about it going really well. All in all, Conan seems to be doing just fine with this and it's clear to me (already) that NBC made a fine choice. For once!
Leno's 10 pm (9 Central) show will be interesting to check out, that's for sure.
I love Conan. I am a fan and I am biased going into his stint as host of "Tonight."
That being said, I have DVR'd both shows and both of Letterman's shows Monday and Tuesday night. Here are my thoughts --
Letterman is putting on a funnier show. Unlike when Letterman was up against Leno, Conan's show is not more vanilla (appealing to an older audience), it doesn't have a better monologue and it will not necessarily have better guests. It might be a little edgier than the Letterman of today, but Letterman was edgier than Leno in 1996...and it didn't necessarily translate into a ratings win.
I love Conan and I am thrilled that I can watch one show and tape the other to watch the next day...but as of right now (and granted, it's only 2 shows in with a lot of kinks to work out), Letterman still puts out a better product than NBC's fare...and I'm wondering if Leno's older audience might migrate towards CBS giving Letterman the edge once Conan's newness wears off. Thoughts?
That being said, I have DVR'd both shows and both of Letterman's shows Monday and Tuesday night. Here are my thoughts --
Letterman is putting on a funnier show. Unlike when Letterman was up against Leno, Conan's show is not more vanilla (appealing to an older audience), it doesn't have a better monologue and it will not necessarily have better guests. It might be a little edgier than the Letterman of today, but Letterman was edgier than Leno in 1996...and it didn't necessarily translate into a ratings win.
I love Conan and I am thrilled that I can watch one show and tape the other to watch the next day...but as of right now (and granted, it's only 2 shows in with a lot of kinks to work out), Letterman still puts out a better product than NBC's fare...and I'm wondering if Leno's older audience might migrate towards CBS giving Letterman the edge once Conan's newness wears off. Thoughts?
First night I didn't like Andy as the Announcer. Second night I liked him even less. He sounds like a little kid announcing into a tape recorder. Just horrible! He is the weak link of the new show. I never thought I would see the day where Stuttering John would seem like such a great announcer. But compared to Andy he most certainly is.
I very much enjoyed Conan's first night. Mainly because I was watching something else.
The first show is almost always a wash. You get to introduce the audience to something completly new. Let the audience get to know you a little bit. Work out the kinks. Get past the nervousness.
Having said that. I consider last night's show, the First Show. CoCo was over his jitters, everyone seemed to be in their place. His interview with Tom Hanks was very relaxed, fast paced and very comical. We got to see a little bit more of the band in their new home.
If the suits at NBC think it needs more tweaking or the producers, I do not see much more they can fiddle with.
The set is awesome. The band sounds fantastic and the camera work was right on point. Very good production!
WOW, how did they get Obama to do that skit. At first I thought they had Brian Williams do his questions and then they were going to edit in Obama's answers. But no, it was real!!! Bravo!
Having said that. I consider last night's show, the First Show. CoCo was over his jitters, everyone seemed to be in their place. His interview with Tom Hanks was very relaxed, fast paced and very comical. We got to see a little bit more of the band in their new home.
If the suits at NBC think it needs more tweaking or the producers, I do not see much more they can fiddle with.
The set is awesome. The band sounds fantastic and the camera work was right on point. Very good production!
WOW, how did they get Obama to do that skit. At first I thought they had Brian Williams do his questions and then they were going to edit in Obama's answers. But no, it was real!!! Bravo!
The show is good and I have yet to see one person say they don't like the set. So props to the set designers. The only thing close to a complaint I've seen are those white tower Borders behind Conan which someone said looked a little to much like The World Trade Center. I didn't think that at all. But I will admit that those tall white borders are the one thing I wouldn't mind seeing gone. Just a completely open skyline would be good. Last night was the first night I noticed a Ferris Wheel behind the guests. Was that there on night one and two? I will have to check. I didn't notice it on Monday or Tuesday.
...they permamently lost me with the first sentence heard on the first O'Brien show. O'Brien isn't the fifth host the show has had, he's the eighth:
Steve Allen
Ernie Kovacs (did split weeks with Allen in '56-'57 using his own support cast, thus a distinctly different incarnation than Allen's)
Jack Lescoulie (first host of that magazine format version in '57)
Al "Jazzbo" Collins (second host of the magazine format)
Jack Paar
Johnny Carson
Jay Leno
Conan O'Brien
...when the network is that ignorant of the history of one of its own staple series, I refuse to take the insult to my intelligence. I'm sticking with Letterman and Ferguson...
Steve Allen
Ernie Kovacs (did split weeks with Allen in '56-'57 using his own support cast, thus a distinctly different incarnation than Allen's)
Jack Lescoulie (first host of that magazine format version in '57)
Al "Jazzbo" Collins (second host of the magazine format)
Jack Paar
Johnny Carson
Jay Leno
Conan O'Brien
...when the network is that ignorant of the history of one of its own staple series, I refuse to take the insult to my intelligence. I'm sticking with Letterman and Ferguson...
'Tonight: America After Dark" was not a talk show in the sense of every other version of the show. It was an NBC News production, basically a late-night version of 'Today', emphasizing 'light news', interviews with patrons in night clubs, and anywhere else something was going on around the country in the middle of the night. It was such a farce, nobody wants to take credit for it, and everyone at NBC since 1957 wishes the network hadn't attached the 'Tonight' name to it. So, forget TV history; this was almost as big a diaster for NBC as 'My Mother, the Car', 'Supertrain', or...anything it aired in the 2008-09 season! ;DUltimajock said:
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