Re: The Tonight Show w/Conan O'Brien
Did anyone watch the premiere tonight? I loved the opening with Conan literally running across America. It took on the biggest criticism of Conan -- that he only appeals to the sophisticated audiences on the coasts with his college boy humor and would lose Jay's flyover country viewers -- head on by championing the Tonight Show brand as a national fixture, in a typically goofy Conan way.
His set may be my favorite in the history of late night sets. Big and bright like Jay's old set, but far more snazzy and sophisticated like Rockefeller Center; I absolutely love the art deco style. The returned prominence of the opening curtain is an added bonus that makes it really feel like the Tonight Show; I never understood why Jay did away with it.
Max Weinberg's role got scaled back since Conan's got Andy Richter back to spar off of during his monologue again. I don't think Max's microphone was even turned on at Late Night, though, so I'm not sure that's such a loss. Love that his drum set gets a platform with its own spotlight.
If anything, Andy was funnier tonight than Conan was. If Conan had a problem tonight, it was that he was TOO comfortable with the show. He lapsed right back into his Late Night schtick without giving the larger Tonight Show audience an introduction to his persona. There were a few concessions to Jay's style in the monologue, the Joe Biden gag for instance, but those who went into tonight's show weary about Conan probably weren't reassured.
However, he's always done remotes better than Jay and the two in tonight's monologue proved it. His 1992 Ford Taurus never gets old, and seeing him cruising around L.A. soaking up the admiration was hilarious. The tram tour was almost obligatory and started rough, but I loved the finale with him buying cart loads of crap from the 99 cent store.
Once the show got to the interviews, it settled into the Tonight Show formula and Conan did great. He actually listens to his guests and gives them the breathing room to speak in depth. I never feel like Letterman's sincere in his interest, and Jay asks too many short, obvious questions for his guests to actually say anything.
Pearl Jam was rather terrible, even though I love the way they utilize the space behind the curtain as a stage that reaches out into the main set. I was shocked how quickly the hour went, though; the show feels faster than both Jay's Tonight Show and Conan's Late Night. Maybe it'll settle down once they get back to a normal monologue.
For me, the best part is not having to choose between Conan and Craig Ferguson now. I can watch the Tonight Show, flip over to Craig for his monologue, and then go to bed.
