Conan O'Brien is on fire tonight!

[mccoy178]

I love his reaction to all the controversy.  His monologue was hilarious.

[Bobulus]

I'm at work and won't get to see it until tomorrow. Highlights?

I'm really rooting for him in this situation. He put in the time and effort, stuck it out for years in anticipation of achieving his life-dream, and to have it taken away after only 7 months? Really sucks.

Plus Leno hasn't been funny to me since I left middle school.

[shardian]

He was being brutal in a clever way. Gervais went way beyond though, and Conan looked pretty ticked off. Ricky....yes they can still fire Conan! If he goes too far he can probably breach contract before everything is official!

[massive88]

I'm at work and won't get to see it until tomorrow. Highlights?

http://tv.gawker.com/5447747/late-night-chaos-continues-all-hosts-go-hard-with-hate-for-nbc?skyline=true&s=x

[HanoiBoi]

I'm wondering when NBC will figure out that it isn't the time slot, it's the host.  With Leno, there's really nothing witty about him.  Not to disparage, but a monkey could do his job and I think people are starting to recognize that.

I happened to catch Conan last night.  I don't usually care too much for Ricky Gervais, but he was funny as hell last night.  Also, I don't really think Conan was ticked.  He might not have been keen on being likened to a 'bug' or told that he's so white that one could probably see his heart beating like a little baby fish.    But if he was really ticked, Gervais wouldn't have had so much air time.

Conan will be fine.  He's too funny to disappear.

Oh, and if I'm wrong about it not being the time slot, perhaps Jay would do better at a 7:00pm slot so the elderly can catch him before bed time.  

[Ginsu Victim]

The entire episode is on Hulu
http://www.hulu.com/watch/120490/the-tonight-show-with-conan-obrien-wed-jan-13-2010#s-p1-so-i0

[Ginsu Victim]

Andy Richter Controls the Universe was great. Andy Barker PI...not so much.

[shardian]

Not to disparage, but a monkey could do his job and I think people are starting to recognize that.

Really? That monkey Jimmy Fallon sure seems to be having a difficult time with doing what Leno does.

IMO, Leno proved he had the skills when he wrote his own monologues during the strike. He did a very good job.

All that aside, my current favorite late night host is surprisingly Carson Daly. He abandoned the talk show stage format, and got back to the roots that made him famous on MTV. He also abandoned the teeny bopper pop crap too. His show always has some nice interviews, and great music. He doesn't do a monologue or anything, or wear a suit. It really works well.

[Ginsu Victim]

Just watched that Conan episode. Man, that was funny stuff. I'm looking forward to checking out the Ricky Gervais Show. I'm a big fan of the podcast.

[Dartful Dodger]

Not to disparage, but a monkey could do his job and I think people are starting to recognize that.

Really? That monkey Jimmy Fallon sure seems to be having a difficult time with doing what Leno does.

Chevy Chase also failed.

Conan was funny, almost too funny, as though he and NBC were staging this whole thing.

Gervais was being mean.  I thought Conan and Andy were going to midget toss him off the stage.

[AtomSmasher]

Andy Richter Controls the Universe was great. Andy Barker PI...not so much.

Quintuplets was also in the not so great category.

[shardian]

Gervais was being mean.  I thought Conan and Andy were going to midget toss him off the stage.

Glad I'm not the only one who sensed the legitimate irritation just venting off of Conan and Andy. Gervais most definitely overstepped his bounds as a guest.

[HanoiBoi]

Andy Richter Controls the Universe was great. Andy Barker PI...not so much.

A big +1 on both accounts!  I LOVED Andy Richter Controls The Universe.  The PI show not at all.  I wanted to like it, but it seemed to fall way short of a Police Squad type of attempt.

There's a new show out now that reminds me a bit of 'Universe'.  It's called 'Better Off Ted'.  The only thing I don't like about that one is Portia De Rossi's character....or maybe I don't like her in the role.  I dunno.

I hear you guys about Jimmy Fallon and Chevy.  I guess the point I was trying to make was that Jay isn't funny (to me) off the top of his head.  Not that it's improv, but he's not real quick on his feet or too comical.  If Fallon or Chase had Jay's writer's, it could be a different story. 

I used to be a big Letterman fan back in the day (w/Chris Elliot, the man with one leg, the man under the stairs, Larry Melman, etc.) but I don't really find him amusing anymore either.

[RayB]

Leno isn't funny. His "jokes" are always too obvious.

"Hey did you hear about this airplane bombing attempt? Gives new meaning to the saying 'liar liar pants on fire'"

har har har

I just made that up, but that's his kind of humour.  Thing is, he had 4 million viewers. Conan's only got 2 mill. THe Daily Show barely cracks over a mill. What's a greedy corporation supposed to do?

[Ginsu Victim]

Leno isn't funny. His "jokes" are always too obvious.

"Hey did you hear about this airplane bombing attempt? Gives new meaning to the saying 'liar liar pants on fire'"

har har har

I just made that up, but that's his kind of humour.

Until you pointed out that you made it up, I assumed you were quoting.

[2600]

I still crack up thinking of that puppy suit.

That and having Paget Brewster as a costar can't make a show that bad.

[Ginsu Victim]

[Malenko]

Chevy Chase also failed.

$12,000,000 for 5 weeks work. That's a failure?

Where do I sign up?

[Ginsu Victim]

They'll take it on the chin for the ratings. Nothing Conan or Jay has said is enough to harm them any worse than they already are.

[Ginsu Victim]

Craigslist post from last night's episode
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/clt/1551463643.html

[Dartful Dodger]

They'll take it on the chin for the ratings. Nothing Conan or Jay has said is enough to harm them any worse than they already are.

An actor from an NBC sitcom about producing a TV show appeared in character on Conan's show.  He was pretending to be giving a tour through Conan's set explaining how it was going to be used for storage.

It didn't look like NBC was taking it on the chin, it looked like NBC was throwing the punches.

[Bobulus]

Eh, Conan's actually being let go, last I heard. You'd think if this was a rating grab attempt, that he wouldn't be 'helping' the people who just fired him.

Plus, Kennith used to be a bit-part player on Conan's Late Night show, so him appearing again for a bit-part is not automatically suspect.

[shardian]

Eh, Conan's actually being let go, last I heard. You'd think if this was a rating grab attempt, that he wouldn't be 'helping' the people who just fired him.

Plus, Kennith used to be a bit-part player on Conan's Late Night show, so him appearing again for a bit-part is not automatically suspect.

The guy who play's Kenneth also has a recurring role on Yo Gabba Gabba.

[SNAAKE]

when is conan not on fire?? conan and his crew is like 5x funnier than leno will ever be. deon cole is pretty hilarious too.


personally I think this "problem" is a publicity stunt. he's not going anywhere or changing time slots.

[shardian]

personally I think this "problem" is a publicity stunt. he's not going anywhere or changing time slots.

I doubt it. Local affiliates are legitimately pissed because Leno is killing the local NBC news ratings. For instance, our local NBC affiliate has had their 11 pm news broadcast viewership cut in half. They are pissed, and are among the many affiliates threatening to pull Leno from their market on their own.

NBC is terrified of cutting loose Leno because he'd go to Fox. I suppose they consider Conan more expendable.

[Malenko]

When Johnny Carson retired, he retired.

[hypernova]

Is Leno really FOX material, though?  Conan is much more suitable to FOX than Leno is.

[Malenko]

http://www.fancast.com/blogs/2010/tv-news/conan-close-to-40-million-deal/?cmpid=FCST_tvnews

[shmokes]

Leno is an ass.  I can't believe that he has so little respect for The Tonight Show as an institution.  The show has been on the air for over 50 years, hosted by the likes of Jack Paar, Johnny Carson and now him (someone else before all them but I forget the name).  It is a staple of American culture.  And as soon as Leno is done with it he's perfectly ready to destroy it so he can have The Jay Leno show.  Ass.

[Dartful Dodger]

On the radio this morning they were playing the speech Leno gave when he took over for Carson.

He was talking about hard feelings and friendships being lost over the transition and that he's learned from that experience so when it's time for him to pass the torch it will go smoothly and he explained how they would do that.  Then the DJ dissected Leno's speech and line by line pointed out how Leno did the exact opposite of everything he said he was going to do.  It was funny.

Jokes aside, I don't think anyone is to blaim.  NBC needs to do what makes them the most money and the most ratings.

I like Conan more than Leno, but I can count the times I've seen the show with Conan on one hand.

[AtomSmasher]

On the radio this morning they were playing the speech Leno gave when he took over for Carson.

I guessing your actually talking about the speech Leno gave when he agreed to give up the show to Conan, which can be seen here:
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/6d1caacad1/jay-s-2004-announcement?rel=player

[Dartful Dodger]

Yeah, that's the speech.  On the radio they edited it to exaggerate the points he was making, because it wasn't that long and I don't think he mentioned Conan by name.

[shmokes]

NBC needs to do what makes them the most money and the most ratings.

A #1, that's not necessarily true.  But B #2, it ain't so cut and dry as that.  Somebody at Warner Bros. had the same idea when they decided to milk the Batman franchise for all it was worth.  The problem is that they were only concerned with the current year's financial statements.  They completely destroyed the franchise.  Of course, thanks to Christopher Nolan, Batman rose like a phoenix from the ashes with Batman Begins, but that's atypical.  Usually when intellectual property has been mistreated like that it cannot be (or at least never is) resurrected.

The Tonight Show is a brand.  It is an institution.  If NBC is unable to look past the current fiscal year's bottom line and recognize their role as stewards of an important chunk of American culture, they should at least have the wherewithall to consider how valuable The Tonight Show could be in the long run.

[shardian]

Bugatti mouse + Stones music = HILARIOUS!!

[Ginsu Victim]

^$1.5 MILLION!

[Ken Layton]

Conan agrees to a contract buyout. He gets 33 million for the time that remained on the contract. His crew gets 12 million.

Non-compete clause will keep him off tv for 6 months.

[shardian]

I think he has roughly a 200 person staff IIRC. If I'm wrong, please correct me.

Anyways, if you divide 12 mill among 200, that isn't very much (60K) considering they relocated across country and banked on having a job for the next 10+years. At least they got something though.

[Malenko]

I think he has roughly a 200 person staff IIRC. If I'm wrong, please correct me.

Anyways, if you divide 12 mill among 200, that isn't very much (60K) considering they relocated across country and banked on having a job for the next 10+years. At least they got something though.

200 sounds excessive. I was thinkin more like 40 or 50 but I cant seem to locate that data anywhere. can someone PM chad to google it for me?

[ChadTower]

there you go

[massive88]

I think he has roughly a 200 person staff IIRC. If I'm wrong, please correct me.

Anyways, if you divide 12 mill among 200, that isn't very much (60K) considering they relocated across country and banked on having a job for the next 10+years. At least they got something though.

200 sounds excessive. I was thinkin more like 40 or 50 but I cant seem to locate that data anywhere. can someone PM chad to google it for me?

Ive heard the 200 number quoted before, but surely that would include a lot of local people hired on to help with the show, carryovers from Jay, and straight up studio people who arent going anywhere.