Conan O'Brien (1 Viewer)

[Kevin M]

"Camel Toe Annie" ...it takes balls to show a camel toe on network TV...

 

[Stephanie T.]

I'm going to stick my chin out here and rank 'em: Leno, Kilborn, Letterman, and O'Brien. All shows have their strong & weak points, so it always just comes down to channel-surfing & looking for interesting guests, anyway.

Leno: best stand-up, most jokes per minute, and projects a genuine working-class-hero humanity (yes, in spite of his vaunted car collection, which he at least helps maintain personally). I prefer his shtick with Kevin to Dave's with Paul (who is as much a yes-man as Ed McMahon was to Johnny Carson). Kevin gets his digs in, sometimes, anyway, and props to him.

Misc. likes & dislikes: love "Headlines," hate the Jaywalking, which causes me to wonder if it's the end of western civ, or at least American civ, as we know it. Yep, Leno's a weak interviewer, but I have as much of a problem with their guest bookings -- way too many vapid actors & ingenues, and not enough writers, critics, etc. Oh, and the body-builder skits are geriatrically lame.

Kilborn: Yes, he's smug, narcissistic, and full of himself (I think one critic once compared his show to the onanistic act itself) -- but that's a postmodern gimmick, and it works (IMHO). Unlike the very-married Leno and Letterman's all-but-asexual persona, Kilborn openly "lusts" for his B-level ingenue guests, and helped make a public cult for the likewise undistinguished Anna Kournikova. His exuberant, post-ironic embrace of cockstrutting batchelor-pad hedonism distinguishes his show as Maxim to Dave & Jay's Time & Newsweek. (That, and the camera is his friend. But how well will he, and his proudly retro style, age?) Softie interviews aside, Kilborn puts his guests on the spot with the dreaded "Five Questions," which often as not reveals the guest to be a clueless dimwit -- a la "Celebrity Jeopardy".

Misc.: props for the Wild Cherry theme and his ESPN-worthy sports fan geekness, but his stand-up is just a token bit, and weak to boot -- although that may reflect the time slot more than anything (Leno & Letterman get first crack at the timely satire, and exhaust the obvious jokes of the day).

Letterman: the postmodern Connecticut elder statesman of late night still gives some great zingers, but his stand-up is diluted by excessive mugging and dilatory self-referentialisms. Slightly more eclectic guest bookings (David Sedaris, for ex.) and superior interviewing style -- anyone else cheer when he (with some exaggerated delicacy) brought up the subject of plastic surgery with Joan Rivers last week? Wonderful.

Misc.: lots of brilliant improvisational bits, from the performance pieces in Manhattan, to sending his mother to do color reporting from the Olympics, to the Stupid Pet/Human Tricks in the studio. And offhand, I'd give him the edge in musical guests over Leno's, but I'd have to give that more attention to be sure... But the first half-hour of the show is generally bogged down in excessive repetitious mugging and self-referentiality, and I for one am sick of it.

O'Brien: Boy, do I miss Andy Richter, the rapport they had, and those crazy Staring Contests. O'Brien's basic shtick is like the inbred bastard son of Letterman's worst tendencies, as amplified by a rare chromosomal neurological disorder. I can't even enjoy his stand-up anymore. Previous posters hit the nail on the head re. his time-hogging "interviews," although I'll have to pay closer attention to detect whether he allows favored guests to speak more.

Misc.: some great comic bits (Triumph, Pimpbot, and the Masturbating Bear) and possibly the most interesting musical bookings of them all, although I usually don't stay up late enough to appreciate it.

 

[Scott Kriefall]

I prefer Conan over Leno and Letterman. I really should start recording it every night; then I could watch it more than once (Friday night) each week! Better yet, how about swapping time slots with Leno .
All three (Conan, Letterman, Leno) of the aforementioned shows are better than Craig Kilborn's, IMHO. And that's coming from a fellow Minnesotan...

 

[Gregg Shiu]

Conan's the best period. I just wish I didn't have to stay up late waiting for Jay Leno to be over with first.

 

[MickeS]

Is Conan on as early anywhere else as it's on here? A while back, they started showing it at 11:35 PM, right after Leno.

/Mike

 

[ThomasC]

it's great that comedy central is showing the same show from the previous day on nbc at 7pm so i don't have to stay up until 1:35am to watch the whole show.

 

[Tom Meyer]

Leno's the absolute worst. Period. End of story. Lame skits. Lame jokes. Lame monolog. Lame interviews. Lame band. Lame everything. Ugh ugh ugh.

Give me Dave any day.

On that note, did anything see the "Thanks for Dave" marathon on Trio over Thanksgiving weekend ? Pretty interesting seeing Teri Garr as the uber-guest once again.

 

[Graeme Clark]

Is Conan on as early anywhere else as it's on here? A while back, they started showing it at 11:35 PM, right after Leno.

Well, in most markets Leno is on at 11:35, after the news. But I'll assume that there's a time zone difference there. Conan is supposed to be on right after Leno, but some affiliates delay it until later in the night, or don't even show it at all (airing infomercials or other garbage instead).

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Leno is on here at 11:35 EST with Conan on at 12:35.

Leno sucks. He has personality, but his comedy sucks. Conan and Dave are funny because their comedy IS their personality.

 

[MickeS]

Actually, it's not a time-zone difference, it's just that prime time is an hour earlier here and in some other markets.

They used to show "Extra" after Leno, so Conan used to start a little after midnight, but now they've gotten rid of that. Good move I think, I bet more people watch Conan than that lame "Extra" show.

/Mike

 

[Rich Malloy]

I stopped watching Letterman years ago (8 years ago?), and never cared for Leno. Recently, my daughter turned me onto Conan, and I'm hooked! Nearly as hilarious and goofy-subversive as Letterman once was.

 

[Matthew_Millheiser]

What the hell happened with Leno? When he used to guest-host for Carson every Tuesday and during an occasional week stint, he was hysterical. He owned the place. Since taking over, he became middle of the road, safe, unfunny, boring, and IMHO very, very lame. Weak stuff suitable for little old ladies.
I've watched Letterman for almost 17 years now, and he's a far cry from what he what was, but when he's got it, he's on fire. I think Chris Elliot should return to the show, though. Good God, those were the days.
Kilborn's "fratboy" appeal/approach is so blatantly unfunny that it barely warrants a mention.
Conan rules the pack. His show consistently pushes the envelope in many, many humorous ways. Yeah, I miss Andy as well but he's acquitted himself well as a solo player.
It's not the Chevy Chase show, though. Ah, the salad days of 1993...

 

[Scott L]

Gregg you go to GMU too? What year are you?
Another big Conan fan here. His show and Letterman's are the only reasons I watch TV anymore. Hopefully I'll get to see Conan again when I visit in a couple weeks (standby or otherwise). Here's hoping..
btw- Last night's show was easily the best one I've seen in months! Bruce Springstein rocked the house. It will re-run tonight at 7 or 7:30pm on Comedy Central, or again on NBC Wednesday night of next week at 3am. Be sure to TIVO the Santa skit.

 

[ThomasC]

just saw the comedy central rerun...

wow, springsteen really rocked the joint! what was with the booing after the "merry christmas, baby!" song? if it wasn't booing, then it sure sounded like it...

it was great to see conan playing with the band!

 

[ThomasC]

BRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!
that's what i heard, then. they need to pronounce those consonants! yeah yeah, the bit was probably cut off before the fans could finish with "CE!!!"