Members pumpcat Posted January 22, 2010 Members Share Posted January 22, 2010 Craig Ferguson is 10x more entertaining than Leno or Letterman ever were, and Conan has been on a slow, steady decline for years. Poor little Jimmy Fallon is just painful to watch... I really feel sorry for him, he obviously got in way over his head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dessalines Posted January 22, 2010 Members Share Posted January 22, 2010 I normally don't vote in these things if they matter, but, obviously, this doesn't meet that bar.I basically hate all three of the biggies. Leno, Connan, Letterman. There's something unique to hate about all of them -- and none of them are funny. +10,000... This whole brouhaha is about wealthy men fighting with other wealthy men about how they all stay wealthy. Conan was actually quoted as saying he was protecting the integrity of the Tonight Show. I wasn't aware that it has any integrity and if you've seen Conan's idea of humor that statement is absurd... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kurdy Posted January 22, 2010 Members Share Posted January 22, 2010 +10,000... This whole brouhaha is about wealthy men fighting with other wealthy men about how they all stay wealthy.Conan was actually quoted as saying he was protecting the integrity of the Tonight Show. I wasn't aware that it has any integrity and if you've seen Conan's idea of humor that statement is absurd... Yeah, it's pretty obvious a lot of it is just for show. Besides a huge amount of money for both Leno and Conan, all the late night guys are getting publicity, not to mention a ratings boost out of this, and they are milking it for all it's worth. Everyone benefits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bp Posted January 23, 2010 Members Share Posted January 23, 2010 No Triumph, no bp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members techristian Posted January 23, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 23, 2010 Tonight on his last night, Conan had Neil Young on. Neil Young sang "Long May You Run" ....... Ironic, because Conan You Are Done. Conan got choked up as he said his goodbyes to NBC. Then he played some guitar ????? Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rasputin1963 Posted January 23, 2010 Members Share Posted January 23, 2010 OK, I'm curious as to exactly what "pre" and "post 9/11 sensibilities" are. It's like Louis Armstrong and his definition of Jazz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ornjbird Posted January 23, 2010 Members Share Posted January 23, 2010 You never saw chipmunks smoking pot before 11:30pm until leno started at 10... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members elsongs Posted January 26, 2010 Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 this might be a generational thing, because I'm one of the 3 people on this forum under age 40 , but for me it's Conan All The Way. I've been watching Conan ever since his first 'Late Night' in 1993. This struggle is purely a generational one; Most Conan fans are under 45, most Leno fans are over. Conan O'Brien got to interview lots of famous people, and in 1995, I got to interview Conan O'Brien: My Feb 1995 interview article with Conan O'Brien in the USC Daily Trojan newspaper Audio recording of my phone interview with Conan O'Brien Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kurdy Posted January 26, 2010 Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 this might be a generational thing, because I'm one of the 3 people on this forum under age 40 , but for me it's Conan All The Way. I've been watching Conan ever since his first 'Late Night' in 1993. This struggle is purely a generational one; Most Conan fans are under 45, most Leno fans are over. Conan O'Brien got to interview lots of famous people, and in 1995, I got to interview Conan O'Brien: My Feb 1995 interview article with Conan O'Brien in the USC Daily Trojan newspaperAudio recording of my phone interview with Conan O'BrienThat's awesome that you got to interview him. He's originally from around the are where I live. Not my town specifically, but same region. I understand people's criticisms of Conan. A lot of times, he tries to make jokes, and they don't really go anywhere, so he over-compensates by acting over-the-top and wacky. He's definitely not a first-rate comedian. Although, some of the skits and scripted gags on his show are funny. I'm glad he brought Andy Richter back; for years, it seemed like his show was missing someone to play off of, and to provide that back and forth banter. Leno isn't funny at all. He makes jokes that don't really go anywhere, and doesn't even try to compensate; he just lets them hang there. His monologues are painful to watch. But I don't think his show overall is that bad. He comes off as an affable, friendly, regular guy, and I think that's probably a big part of his appeal. I will kind of miss the Jay Leno show being on the air. I'm not a big fan of hour-long dramas, so it provided a light, mindless alternative for me to put on at 10pm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CalfeeJones Posted January 26, 2010 Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 I've enjoyed seeing Leno @ 9 (central time). But let's look at this whole thing. 5 years ago NBC wanted to keep Conan during contract renewal so they promised him the Tonight Show in 2009. Along comes 2009, so NBC parks Leno at 10 and the gives Conan the Tonight Show. In the meantime they keep Leno and save a lot of money on prime time programming (they claim that many of the primetime dramas cost more that 1 million per episode). So they have 4 months of primetime savings at maybe 20 million a month (about 80 mil?). Then they decide Conan hasn't gotten his audience, so they pay him 45 mil for him and his staff to leave. It looks to me like NBC came out saving about 30-35 million. YMMV, but it IS one way to look at it! - Calfee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kurdy Posted January 26, 2010 Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 It's like Louis Armstrong and his definition of Jazz. OK, so who is an example of someone with a post-9/11 sensibility? Jimmy Kimmel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rasputin1963 Posted January 26, 2010 Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 OK, so who is an example of someone with a post-9/11 sensibility? Jimmy Kimmel? Yes, or Jon Stewart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jotown Posted January 26, 2010 Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 This struggle is purely a generational one; Most Conan fans are under 45, most Leno fans are over.I don't completely agree with that. Many of Conan's fans are over 45 and many of Leno's fans are under 45. This is a purely financial business issue. Conan isn't delivering the numbers that Leno was. Leno was smart enough to get a contract that guaranteed his return to 11:30 if they pulled the plug on him within 12 months. Conan walks away with 32 million dollars which was his choice. He could have stayed on at midnight and inherited the show again when Jay really does retire for good. Conan has nothing to cry about here. It is show business after all, and thats why he got the big bucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kurdy Posted January 26, 2010 Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 Yes, or Jon Stewart. +1 on John Stewart. He is excellent. Frequently, his quips are so right on, I find myself laughing out loud, and not just figuratively. You could make the argument, he simply has great writers, but I remember that whole period during the writer's strike, where he was going totally off-the-cuff, and he was still excellent. I was almost sorry to see the writers come back. Same can be said for Stephen Colbert too. But those guys' specialty is topical humor, which I suppose is what you might mean by post 9/11 sensibility. I prefer that type of humor too. Part of the reason why I think SNL is so inconsistent is because frequently, their skits are about absolutely nothing. And I don't mean in the Seinfeldian observational sense--I mean many of their bits are just plain idiotic and make no sense. But when parodying politics, pop culture, and current events--that's when they are at their most memorable. I think the best comedians take something that everyone is already thinking, and say it in a way that makes people go "Yes! That's absolutely true." Most of the late night guys touch on current events, but they just make a stupid joke and move on. I think part of the reason for that is the networks. Leno was already a popular stand up comedian before he got the Tonight Show gig. But I think the networks may put a tighter rein on what the hosts are allowed and not allowed to say on TV, depending on who their audience is. Becuase Leno's show caters to an older demographic, he has to be as polite as inoffensive as possible, so as not to anger any viewers, not to mention the sponsors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted January 26, 2010 Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 Jon Stewart is great!!! Agreed on Kurdy's points! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Anderton Posted January 26, 2010 Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 I don't think it's a generational thing, except for Leno being on longer, and therefore older people who've been following him for a long time feeling some degree of loyalty. I think where Leno shines is in the things that aren't monologues (Tivo is GREAT) - things like Headlines, "Country or Maury," and the Dan Band that does those outrageous musical skits. When he relies on writers, he doesn't fare as well. When he does concept pieces, he shines. Conan, on the other hand, IS a writer - that's how he got his start. So, he's got that end down but he doesn't have the smoothness of delivery that Leno has. I suspect that some people who don't like Conan on TV would like him with the same material, but on radio. Optimum combination: Conan writes, Leno delivers. But that'll never happen now. At least NBC brought back Chuck. Whether you like the show or not, it shows that a determined fan base can have an impact (as happened before with Star Trek). That's encouraging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted January 26, 2010 Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 Jon Stewart is great!!! Agreed on Kurdy's points! Stewart and Craig Ferguson... let's face it, Scotts are inherently funny people. (I'm a quarter McIntosh, myself, so that accounts for why I'm funny about 25% of the time I'm trying...) [And ket's just get Groundskeeper Willie out of the way, now... ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted January 26, 2010 Members Share Posted January 26, 2010 Usually, I`ll do some Yoga or meditate, then go to bed or even read a book. I honestly have no use for TV. I will do yoga stretches and almost always read before bed. But sometimes beforehand, I might watch a basketball game, and sometimes catch "24". I don't watch either Leno or Conan and consequently don't have any real opinion about either. I met Leno once briefly and he seemed super super friendly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rasputin1963 Posted January 28, 2010 Members Share Posted January 28, 2010 I know what it is. I've figured it out. It's the suit. The coat and tie. We Americans love a coat and tie, and are ga-ga about the snob appeal it seems to imply. If a man came on TV in a smart coat and tie, and told us to felch an otter and {censored} needle-nose pliers, we'd do it. That...that....SUIT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rasputin1963 Posted January 28, 2010 Members Share Posted January 28, 2010 To quote the man himself: "My last name's not really Stewart. My real last name's, like, something really Jewey." His words, not mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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