Agreed the show wasn't what I hope it becomes, but the first show is never going to be a typical show. Need to spend some time talking about the move, etc.

Next week we'll see more of the formula of what the show will become.

Agreed. You can't judge Conan by this one show -- this was not typical, according to him. Still..... Z

His first joke of the monologue contained a crack about GM, as he touted his impeccable timing by noting that he was on a last place network, moved to a state with a failing economy, and moved to a show whose sponsor on opening night was GM.

Yes, and it was a funny line. Z

I wish Conan "had shown more vereve" as well, but I don't mind that he went for the "safe" play as long as he goes for the smart play. In all likelihood, Conan will show more "verve" than Leno ever did (with the exception of the O.J. trial).

Conan was great and he will only get better. Ferrell had his A+ game. Pearl Jam had their D game, but we all know that they are one of the greatest bands of their generation. Conan at 11:30 will allow more people to find out how amazing he is. Conan is not about nerve. He is the loveable, super-intelligent, self-deprecating leprechaun that brought america more laughs than most people know (the simpsons, snl, national lampoons). Like with any comic, if a viewer isn't comfortable with his humor, they should just sit for a while longer and let themselves enjoy it. Conan is an incredible talent and with Andy back (he should have never left and I thought it was a bit of a slight to Conan that he did) and the band and the insult comic dog, I am looking forward to being able to watch the goofy, overly modest genius who is as tall as he is pale and as his hair is bulletproof (not his legs though), without sleeping through my alarm in the morning. The opening segment said it all. Conan is a Marathon Man of comedy. Plus he introduced the new exciting technology of television to us all!

I thought it was good, but not great. Being “safe” may not be the most exciting, but it’s understandable given the situation. More importantly, he seemed comfortable in his new setting, which will allow him to experiment and develop the show over time.

Even with the “Tonight Show” title, comparing him to Carson is pointless considering they're from completely different eras. Comparing him to Leno (or Letterman, Kimmel, etc.) is a more accurate comparison.

I’m hoping Andy Richter is put to better use. He seems a little lost in his new role and doesn’t really have the voice to be an announcer. Hopefully he’ll be incorporated into more skits and comedy bits as they move forward.

I compared him in terms of monologue, because that is so bedrock to the Tonight Show franchise. They still compare young pitchers to Jim Palmer and shortstops to Cal Ripken, even though the new players are from different eras than those two Hall of Famres. Should we just forget past standards of excellence because they are from different eras and say now is automatically best? Thanks. Z

I won't disagree with you that he used a lot of taped stuff his first show, but then again, it was Jay who really made the monologue into what we remember it as today, not Carson. You might be remembering Carson's delivery more than the actual time he spent on it.

I was trying to reference the topicality of a Carson monologue. But you are right about Jay Leno being very, very good at it as well. Z

Sounds like Zurawick just doesn't get Conan's humor and would prefer the Leno monologues which were, for the most, geared toward Middle America and included "safe" jokes on Brittany Spears and O.J." Conan's pre-tape bits have always been his strength, and despite what Zurawick writes above, this was actually a bold move to establish the type of show he will be doing. I dont' think it will work, however, as there are too many people like Zurawik who prefer the unsophisticated and often juvenile humor of Leno. Lettermen and Leno both changed drastically when they moved to 11:30 and lost their edge. Let's hope Conan remains Conan.

Conan has never been a good monologue guy, which he has often joked about, so he went with his strengths and avoided doing a long, mediocre monologue.

I agree that monolgue has never been his strength. That is why I thought he went the way he did as well. Thanks. Z

My question is will Conan be the same Conan we all grew to love (Triumph, Abe Vigoda, Will Ferrell in various stages of undress, Conan hitting on the female guests), or will he tone that down? I really hope not. I think that's what separated him from guys like Leno and Letterman.

Boring. I went to bed after 40 min of it. I guess I just don't like his type of humor. I'll watch the Tonight Show time to time to see what's up but if it stays this way I will have to do something else.

The 11:30 p.m. time slot is the "safe" hour and NBC's decision to talk Leno into relinquishing his post waaaaaaaaay before he should have will come back and bite them in the butt. Last night was a prime example.

After the initial video, Conan's inaugural show went down hill quickly. Will Ferrell, normally a safe comedy choice, wasn't even funny and Pearl Jam, a band I have followed since the 90's, didn't hit their stride either.

It will be interesting to take a look back in a year at NBC's shuffling of their late night hosts. Hope Jay Leno left his options open with ABC and Fox. Let O'Brien and Fallon fall on their NBC swords.

You know, the opening video with the cross-country run, was the one video I liked as well. A little long, but it was funny and clever. Thanks. Z

Much ado about nothing if you ask me. The Tonight Show is such an American tv institution that it's almost impossible for anyone to ruin it. The truth is that Conan brings more late night talk show experience to this job than anyone else ever has through the many years..
Carson was known mainly for his game show in his early days and Leno was and is a standup comic..
I like O'Brien..he seems confident and I would be surprised if there is any trouble.
The only problem I see is that Leno is still around..and I'm not all that sure that people will sit through him at 10 and then stay up late to do the same thing basically with Conan. Somebody may have to go.

have you seen conan that's about has good as it gets....could you let andy sit on the couch

Z, actually Letterman was pretty good last night! Also, Colbert wished Conan good luck and advised viewers that Tonight begins at 12.

Good luck to them all.

Hey Pauly, What a nice sentiment -- good luck to them all. As you know, we can use some nice around here from time to time. Thanks for supplying it today. Z

This is the deal.....Jay at 10.....then his fans go to sleep.....then Conan vs. Dave......in 2009 Dave is now tamer for 11:35.......oops....NBC loses....Dave wins........NBC should have given Carson 10pm years ago.

Actually after the long run across the United States and the Universal bus tour I fell asleep. They were too long and I didn't make it to the interviews. Probably already exhausted from the back to back Jon and Kate.

Dave: All I care about is one thing: Did Conan rock like Rain Man during his monologue?
Marty
Chickaboomer

Ha...all this nonsense....

Conan is King. His monologues are hysterical and his taped bits are just as gut busting. I caught the last half of the show and thought it was a great first run. Perfect? Maybe not...But just wait.

With Carson, didn't the monologue define the show to a large degree because there was no other daily source for topical humor? By 11:35, viewers looking for the newsiest humor have already finished watching Jon Stewart on The Daily Show. And although Carson and Leno defined the show through stand-up, the monologue has never been O'Brien's strong suit (filled as it has been with diversions like string dancing and cooling down his babies.) With Leno, the monologue is his strength-- he's a stand-up guy who delivers a lot of jokes (because so few of them are funny).

But Conan comes into the Tonight Show with 16 years of experience on Late Night being funny on location, looking to the future with Richter or a guest (all the way to the year 2000), or as the straight man to Robert Smigel (as Triumph the Insult Comic Dog or in the Clutch Cargo setup.) So expecting him to do a monologue-heavy show seems odd, because that's neither his strength, nor the kind of segment that's going to generate watercooler buzz in the YouTube/Hulu era. Because the entire show is online, the segments that are going to be shared as links or played in the office aren't going to be the setup-punch jokes of a monologue, but the sketches and situations that defy a simple retelling.

Conan was fantastic.

henry smith - i agree and i think it will work for conan at 11:30 because the younger gen is now going to be the audience. the baby boomers will be asleep

Conan never did more than 4 jokes in his monologue on Late Night. He's a writer, not a stand up comedian. I don't think he needs to be something he's not just because he's on the Tonight Show. Go with what got you there!

Personally, I loved the opening montage ("It's cornsilk!) and the Universal tour prank was epic. The Ford Taurus video, not so much. Looking forward to the focus group skit Conan teased on Friday.

I hope Conan uses Andy Richter alot more.....don't waste a funny talent that's right there for you......I agree, Andy had the look of "What am I supposed to do?" last night. Why not put him on the couch?

I agree the monologue has defined the Tonight Show, which is why the show has been pathetically safe and boring since Jay took over. This is the "cutting edge" comedian that still works in Clinton jokes. The monologue is something that dates from the show's inception, when tv was a lot different. I don't think doing it "because it has always been done" is a great reason to keep it alive. As Jay's fans start to die or get put into retirement homes I think Conan's challenge is not to keep them, but to bring along the younger audience he has grown over many years (the same one that is not watching a whole lot of network late night tv these days). He has a different audience with a different type of show. While I do not declare it to be genius, a lot of people my age (30ish) find the masturbating bear and in the year 2000 to be a lot more entertaining than hack comedy like Jaywalking.

Hi Adam, Good point, and I am sure it is one the execs at NBC and Conan have thought a lot about. They might well agree with you, but don't forget, the audience gets older as the time period gets earlier. So, maybe Conan will have to play to both audiences. Thanks. Z

The video tour of the Universal Studios lot was too embarrassing to watch. That's when I bailed.

Conan doesn't do much topical humor aside from his usual monologue. Don't expect a laff-a-minute about GM or the supreme court or whatever.

[i] I compared him in terms of monologue, because that is so bedrock to the Tonight Show franchise. They still compare young pitchers to Jim Palmer and shortstops to Cal Ripken, even though the new players are from different eras than those two Hall of Famres. Should we just forget past standards of excellence because they are from different eras and say now is automatically best? Thanks. Z [/i]

The monologue may be bedrock of the Tonight Show, but it’s not the bedrock of Conan. The weakest part of Late Night was his monologue. They were smart enough to recognize that and by the end were only doing 3 or 4 jokes before moving to the desk. The strongest part of his past show was his interactions with Andy/Max and the comedy bits, which is where he appears to be keeping the focus during the new show. That’s not to say that he can’t grow and experiment, but after 16 years, the monologue is clearly not his strong point.

As for comparing him to the past standards, I agree that the past is important. But you can only go so far back. Babe Ruth was hitting more home runs than entire teams. That would never happen now, so comparing a player from today to Ruth is almost impossible. I’m not saying that “now” is the best, but it certainly allows for a more accurate comparison.

The one aspect of Conan that is comparable to Carson is when a joke fails. Their ability to ad-lib around that is wonderful. Leno would typically just move on to the next joke as if he were running a conveyer belt.

ChickaBOOMer: Conan the Barbarian
http://chickaboomer.blogspot.com/2009/06/conan-barbarian.html

ChickaBOOMer: Conan the Barbarian
http://chickaboomer.blogspot.com/2009/06/conan-barbarian.html

Echo...Echo...no intimacy. Pearl Jamuffled. Not funny. Conan runs like Tom Brady at the combine. Will Ferrells song was a bad omen. Time to say Goodbye.

I've pretty much grown up watching Conan...and sadly my bedtime has gotten earlier as I've left college and moved on to a real job...now I can finally stay up to see the genius of Conan w/o recording it on DVR and watching it a day later. Jay was terrible. I question anyones sense of humor who thinks that Jay is funny.

Agree. Very boring.

If it ain't broke, it don't need no fixin'.
The universe was in perfect alignment with Jay at 11:30 and Conan at 12:30.
Why did the suits change perfection?
No wonder NBC can't turn a profit.
I will continue to watch Jay no matter what time he is on, but Conan is a perfect reason to get to sleep early.
Sadie Sadie Married Lady...

I think that Jay Leno should hang his chin up and retire. Connan has alot of years, jokes, and comments left in his career. I also think that Connan is funnier than Jay.