Conan to NBC: Drop Dead

[julesrules815]

Team Coco!! I watched the Tonight Show last night (I think its the indefinite final show for Conan, right?) and it was so funny and sad at the same time. I think he did a good job of joking about it in a classy manner. Jay Leno tends to come off mean spirited with his jokes, where as Conan is just sort of being goofy. So I really hope Conan is able to find a good, new home for his show because he really deserves it.

 

[auxt]

Having enjoyed Late Night for years, I thought I'd finally get to see a taping with Conan in Los Angeles -- hosting the most prestigious talk show no less.
Sad to say his days seem numbered.

http://www.tonightshowwithconanobrien.com/video/clips/cold-open-of-the-first-show/1116061/

 

[raj]

I love Coco....I was really angry when I found out NBC screwed him over like this. I use to stay up until he was on later, and I was so happy that he got "The Tonight Show". I blame Leno...he isn't even funny. He's always screwing people over just like the way he did to Johnny Carson and David Letterman.

 

[Spiral1532]

IMO, Leno is definitely the funnier of the two. Conan's jokes are typically so bland that I find myself changing the channel after a couple of minutes.
However, what the network is doing to Conan is simply cutthroat. So, I wish him luck with whatever happens from here on out.

 

[Decalion]

IMO, Leno is definitely the funnier of the two. Conan's jokes are typically so bland that I find myself changing the channel after a couple of minutes.
However, what the network is doing to Conan is simply cutthroat. So, I wish him luck with whatever happens from here on out.

Agreed.

 

[ElleLesley]

I don't even typically watch these Late Night Shows, etc nor am I American but uhhhr, NBC, I hope you fail miserably. Conan seems to be far too classy to deal with this otherwise s***-fest NBC has going on currently.

 

[Bella_Lass334]

IMO, Leno is definitely the funnier of the two. Conan's jokes are typically so bland that I find myself changing the channel after a couple of minutes.
However, what the network is doing to Conan is simply cutthroat. So, I wish him luck with whatever happens from here on out.

I couldn't disagree more (about Leno being funnier). Leno's jokes are mindnumbingly stupid. You can see the punchline coming a mile away, there's no effort or thought process with his "humor" at all. Conan on the other hand, while he doesn't have the best jokes, is funny purely on his own; he doesn't need to have great jokes or skits because the comedy comes from his own spontaneity. The most hilarious stuff happens when it's unscripted and Conan runs with it because Conan is smart and sharp to come up with a witty retort. With Jay, they always rely on the band playing a bass line and have Kevin Eubanks (who I find as charming as a bag of poop) to fake laugh.

People complain Conan's humor is too juvenile because they only see him jumping around, but if you watch his interviews or all those moments in between when he makes some witty comment, that's the golden stuff, and THATS what makes him ten times better than leno.

Sorry I didnt mean to write that much, and I hope I didn't come across as attacking you personally, but I've been a Conan fan since I was 10, I've met him, and I've gone to a taping of Late Night so I'll defend him to the end.

I will NEVER watch NBC again after Conan's last show on friday. Im just gonna have to watch 30 rock on flickpeek from now on.

 

[melfreya]

^^I wholeheartedly agree In my opinion the best Conan shows were the ones during the strike, without any writers..those shows were golden tv history..and you could see how Letterman and Leno couldn't even stand straight without their writers during the strike..they were really awkward and stupid. And I must add that Conan simply shines when he interviews his guests, he is the most invested host of all in this matter, for example Letterman just seems so bored when he interviews. I love Coco what can I say!

 

[Erin]

I was driving up in N. Hollywood yesterday and drove past Universal - gobs of people/fans were standing in the rain, protesting for Coco.

 

[Spiral1532]

I couldn't disagree more (about Leno being funnier). Leno's jokes are mindnumbingly stupid. You can see the punchline coming a mile away, there's no effort or thought process with his "humor" at all. Conan on the other hand, while he doesn't have the best jokes, is funny purely on his own; he doesn't need to have great jokes or skits because the comedy comes from his own spontaneity. The most hilarious stuff happens when it's unscripted and Conan runs with it because Conan is smart and sharp to come up with a witty retort.

While I do agree that Conan is more of an "impromptu" comedian (and is indeed good at coming up with a witty retort), I consider Leno the more entertaining one of the two. In fact, Conan's nightly opening monologues have actually gotten interesting NOW that he's on the verge of leaving his show. Prior to this whole NBC bru-ha-ha, the first several minutes of Conan's show on a typical night were a snoozefest.

 

[ponytrot]

Again, no offense - but I despise Leno.

Not just for this debacle (which is as much NBC's fault as anyone's), but I absolutely despise Leno's brand of humour: its crude, dumbed down, and caters to the lowest denominator.

His pieces depend on mocking the stupidity of the american people and in doing so making himself look smart by comparison. As a younger viewer in the 19-40 demographic (which the advertisers seem to covet), I feel insulted by the anti-intellectualism of Leno's material and the fact that it is just...so...naff.

Conan appeals to me because he IS witty, he is smart and so is his material. It isn't blunt and obvious like Leno's, it treats his audience like they deserve - as intellegent, thinking beings.

Frankly, I found Leno and HIS monologues an absolute snoozefest and would do my best to avoid him as much as possible.

 

[Bella_Lass334]

While I do agree that Conan is more of an "impromptu" comedian (and is indeed good at coming up with a witty retort), I consider Leno the more entertaining one of the two. In fact, Conan's nightly opening monologues have actually gotten interesting NOW that he's on the verge of leaving his show. Prior to this whole NBC bru-ha-ha, the first several minutes of Conan's show on a typical night were a snoozefest.

Well, different strokes for different folks. Watching paint dry is more entertaining to me than Leno.

 

[Bella_Lass334]

Again, no offense - but I despise Leno.

Not just for this debacle (which is as much NBC's fault as anyone's), but I absolutely despise Leno's brand of humour: its crude, dumbed down, and caters to the lowest denominator.

His pieces depend on mocking the stupidity of the american people and in doing so making himself look smart by comparison.

Exactly. And ironically the people he's insulting doubles as his audience.

 

[STYLEOClDE]

I will NEVER watch NBC again after Conan's last show on friday. Im just gonna have to watch 30 rock on flickpeek from now on.

Seriously. If Conan goes, I go.
Leno is so ...he NEEDS those cue cards to be funny, ugh. As with Conan, you can tell he goes with his witty humor and charm.
Why can't Leno just retire?
I agree with melfreya, Conan's best shows were the ones during the strike.

 

[Ochi Chernye]

NBC: Conan O'Brien reaches $45M exit deal

NEW YORK (AP) -- NBC said Thursday it has reached a $45 million deal with Conan O'Brien for his exit from "The Tonight Show," allowing Jay Leno to return to the late-night program he hosted for 17 years.

Under the deal, which came seven months after O'Brien took the reins from Leno, O'Brien will get more than $33 million, NBC said. The rest will go to his 200-strong staff in severance, the network said in an announcement on the "Today" show.

His final show will be Friday, with Tom Hanks scheduled to appear as well as Will Ferrell — the first guest O'Brien welcomed as "Tonight" host last June — and musical guest Neil Young.

Leno will return to "Tonight" on March 1.

msn.com

 

[Spiral1532]

^$33 million? Damn.
I guess that people can now drop the whole "Save Coco" nonsense. Coco is leaving a happy man...

 

[ScarlettLover]

^ha ha that's very true, as far as things go that's a sweet way to go out. But still....I'm sad, Conan is is wayy better, I enjoy his humor more than Leno.

 

[ponytrot]

^$33 million? Damn.
I guess that people can now drop the whole "Save Coco" nonsense. Coco is leaving a happy man...

I don't really get that rationale. Look back a few pages - Conan in his open letter said (paraphrasing here) that no-one should feel sorry for him, and that he's been extraordinarily lucky.

He's certainly not asking for fan's pity.

The objection people have, and the reason for the indignation is the fact that he was professionally screwed over. The same job dynamics apply - someone going about his business was backstabbed by bosses who couldn't care less, and were more concerned about the short term cash flow problem than about respecting the heritage of The Tonight Show.

This "Poor Conan nonsense" isn't coming from his fans because he's out of a job. Its also very much coming from the creative community, particularly of comedians and writers, because Conan had such a huge respect for the craft and because this whole debacle was a professional betrayal.

How simplistic to say that Conan's supporters should stop supporting because he's rich. That's not the point here.

Besides, the main reason the negotiations got so ugly and went on for so long was precisely because Conan was negotiatiating terms for his STAFF, so that THEY could benefit from a good severance package as well. One of the main issues here wasn't just that Conan was out of a job, but that his entire staff of some hundred would ALSO be out of work.

Yes, how awful of Conan, barganing for more money so that he could ensure that his staff was looked after.

 

[melfreya]

^^very very well said!

 

[Spiral1532]

Ponytrot, who said anything about fans feeling sorry for him?
It's just that from their behavior, one would think he's being thrown out on the street.
With $33 mil, he's set for life.
And the whole "his staff would be out of work" thing previously happened with Leno also. Leno stayed with the network primarily because of not wanting to leave his staff out of work.