CONAN
NOVEMBER 8, 2010-PRESENT
This weeks kudos go out to Conan O'Brien. I was never a huge fan of O'Brien's when he was on late night @ NBC. I was always to lazy to change the channel so i watched as he followed the tonight show with jay Leno. There was something innocently funny about his presentation even though the jokes were anything but innocent. Since i am also a red head i think its written in the red headed contracts that you must support. So i watched.
When he moved to the tonight show i like others felt his comedy was more late night material. Surprisingly, in my opinion, he seemed up for the challenge and did a great job. The rest of America tuned in regularly but the numbers began to drop off. Let me make a note right here jay Leno was at the top of his game when they pulled him from the tonight show. At this time Conan is caught between declining viewership and the higher power of NBC. NBC as with all the other network stations has not really made the best decisions lately. See my gripe week 12/19/10 as i delve into CBS and their prejudice towards woman on criminal minds.
Conan takes a break from television and tours the country with the legally prohibited from being funny on television tour which was highly successful and all shows sold out. The settlement with NBC barred him from being seen on television. That did not stop him from pursuing other avenues. His fan base grew as people felt he got the shaft by NBC. This increased his popularity and everyone wanted to give him support and see what else he was hiding up his sleeve.
Conan debut on November 8, 2010 on the cable network tbs. He learned a lot about the time slot and make a few subtle changes. His humor still runs rampant throughout the show and he maintains a high level every night.
The difference is his ability to conduct an interesting interview. One late night this past week i was watching an infomercial for a new dvd set of the tonight show with johnny Carson. This is when i realized what Conan and Carson had in common. The ability to ask a question and then give the stage over to the guest to answer, be funny or just tell a story. An interviewer who constantly interrupts while the guest is answering a question should not be allowed to interview a rat. The art is in giving the limelight over to the guest not trying to upstage or talk over while they are answering. Conan O'Brien has the capability to hand over the stage and be the great listener. For Hollywood types that is a hard thing to ask. "what, give up the stage?" this is where Conan's east coast heritage comes into play.
Tbs has given new life to Conan O'Brien and it is a pleasure to watch him every night. I want to add this little note. The bands that have been performing on Conan as well as Lopez tonight have been out doing any musical guest on Saturday Night Live. SNL had become the one place to see musical acts perform live and get a glimpse into what their tour would bring. Since MTV just sucks for musical experience. Conan is bringing bands into the public eye that may not get a chance to get seen on television. They are good bands with extreme potential. I hope as Conan gets bigger he still brings on these acts and give us something fresh to listen to in late night.
5 thumbs up to Conan!!!!
RUSTY
11/8/10
