Did anyone else watch? We flew home last night from our SLC trip and I rushed home to see the premiere. I forgot to DVR it. I love The Tonight Show and was really interested to see how this one was going to go.
In truth, I love late night shows because I enjoy watching the monologues. I will tivo them and watch them, skipping the guest interviews almost entirely. Great monologues are peppered with fast topical anecdotes, one-liners, and political humor. I have seen great ones and some really awful ones.
Leno was at home doing the monologue. Letterman's monologues have improved over time. You can compare the late night monologue skills with those of really polished guys like Carlin, Seinfeld, or Robin Williams. And of course, the master....Lenny.
Truthfully, Conan's monologues have always been horrible. He isn't a stand-up comic, which is why he doesn't project well. He seems to lack confidence, he is always over-acting, his affectations annoy me, and he isn't focused. So I was really wondering whether he would basically destroy the Tonight Show.
A few thoughts:
The set: what an amazing set. An art-deco masterpiece. Looks awesome. They did a really nice job. Also, it is nice to see The Tonight Show command such a massive sound stage, as opposed to those tiny closets they use for filming in NYC.
The intro credits: I liked the approach they took. The intro for Conan's old show was literally an animated cartoon. This intro is a wonderful montage of old and new Hollywood, with nods to more offbeat stuff like the Cinerama Dome and
The hook: I really liked how Conan did the transition. Very clever having him run across the country to get to LA and for whatever reason, Cheap Trick's Surrender wound up being a perfect choice for accompaniment. The Wrigley Field bit was priceless stuff and showed a great effort to plan on the part of his writers. This was obviously something they have had in the works for awhile. I wold have had Conan run past a few more recognizable monuments (Rushmore, Grand Canyon, etc...also, was that Utah red rock?) but overall, that was a really cool way to bridge the gap between the NY and LA shows. I have watched it twice already this morning. For those that did not see it, you can check it out here:
http://www.thetonightshowwithconanobrien.com/
The monologue: Unfortunately, Conan lived down to expectations. I can't stand his delivery. His timing...everything seems very sophomoric. At one point, he resorted to his silly dancing, physical humor stuff that I find off-putting. I am really hoping that he improves this section of the show over time. It would be enough to make me stop watching, although I surmise that plenty of others will tune in. He has brought his entire band and his announcer, yet he has said that he doesn't want Tonight to be a Late Night retread. If he is serious about changing things up, he needs to start with his monologue.
Overall, I really enjoy Conan. He is funny. And he has potential to be the host for a LONG time. Now that he is in LA, he has a literal endless supply of guests. His challenge will not be to book his show. It will be to see what he does with the intro. The first 25 minutes of the show. I just hope he can change things up a bit and ditch some of the stuff that is funny when you are in 17 or 18. Leave that to Jimmy Fallon. That is his job, now.
In truth, I love late night shows because I enjoy watching the monologues. I will tivo them and watch them, skipping the guest interviews almost entirely. Great monologues are peppered with fast topical anecdotes, one-liners, and political humor. I have seen great ones and some really awful ones.
Leno was at home doing the monologue. Letterman's monologues have improved over time. You can compare the late night monologue skills with those of really polished guys like Carlin, Seinfeld, or Robin Williams. And of course, the master....Lenny.
Truthfully, Conan's monologues have always been horrible. He isn't a stand-up comic, which is why he doesn't project well. He seems to lack confidence, he is always over-acting, his affectations annoy me, and he isn't focused. So I was really wondering whether he would basically destroy the Tonight Show.
A few thoughts:
The set: what an amazing set. An art-deco masterpiece. Looks awesome. They did a really nice job. Also, it is nice to see The Tonight Show command such a massive sound stage, as opposed to those tiny closets they use for filming in NYC.
The intro credits: I liked the approach they took. The intro for Conan's old show was literally an animated cartoon. This intro is a wonderful montage of old and new Hollywood, with nods to more offbeat stuff like the Cinerama Dome and
The hook: I really liked how Conan did the transition. Very clever having him run across the country to get to LA and for whatever reason, Cheap Trick's Surrender wound up being a perfect choice for accompaniment. The Wrigley Field bit was priceless stuff and showed a great effort to plan on the part of his writers. This was obviously something they have had in the works for awhile. I wold have had Conan run past a few more recognizable monuments (Rushmore, Grand Canyon, etc...also, was that Utah red rock?) but overall, that was a really cool way to bridge the gap between the NY and LA shows. I have watched it twice already this morning. For those that did not see it, you can check it out here:
http://www.thetonightshowwithconanobrien.com/
The monologue: Unfortunately, Conan lived down to expectations. I can't stand his delivery. His timing...everything seems very sophomoric. At one point, he resorted to his silly dancing, physical humor stuff that I find off-putting. I am really hoping that he improves this section of the show over time. It would be enough to make me stop watching, although I surmise that plenty of others will tune in. He has brought his entire band and his announcer, yet he has said that he doesn't want Tonight to be a Late Night retread. If he is serious about changing things up, he needs to start with his monologue.
Overall, I really enjoy Conan. He is funny. And he has potential to be the host for a LONG time. Now that he is in LA, he has a literal endless supply of guests. His challenge will not be to book his show. It will be to see what he does with the intro. The first 25 minutes of the show. I just hope he can change things up a bit and ditch some of the stuff that is funny when you are in 17 or 18. Leave that to Jimmy Fallon. That is his job, now.
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