I have fond memories of The Tonight Show. Growing up, I remember so well lying in bed at night (trying to fall asleep) and hearing my parents laugh out loud (and very loud at that) at The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. In the dark of my room, when I may have been scared of what lurked under my bed or what prowled in my closet, it was always so comforting to hear my parents just down the hall laughing so heartily. It made me feel like all was well and good with the world, and it was safe for me to fall asleep. When I was old enough to stay up past 10 o’clock, I would join them in watching the opening standup of the show. By this time, Johnny Carson had retired, and we had switched to The Late Night Show with David Letterman. I loved how goofy David Letterman would act. I loved how he would always do crazy things, like throw a turkey off a building, play the game “Sink or Swim”, or do “Stupid Human Tricks”. His humor to me (and my family) was so funny! Jay Leno’s humor, on the other hand, not so much. He just didn’t have the comedic abilities Letterman so clearly had. (I say had when referring to Letterman because he is too cynical and political on his show for me to watch it now).
Then, I discovered Conan O’Brien. I was probably a junior or senior in high school when I started staying up to watch the opening acts of Conan. It was probably only in the summertime that I was able to watch him because he came on so late. I have distinct memories of me laughing out loud (hoping I would not wake up the rest of the house) while watching it by myself. I have been a big Conan fan ever since. Conan’s humor is a lot like David Letterman’s. He is an extremely goofy, off the cuff kind of comedian, and sometimes the funniest moments with Conan are the times when his jokes bomb.
You can only imagine how excited I was when, finally, Conan took over The Tonight Show. Nathan and I get all comfy, ready for bed, and turn on Conan. Now we are the ones up watching and laughing. We love our Conan time!
If you have watched the news, late night shows, or SNL at all in the past few weeks, you know the NBC executives are giving The Tonight Show back to Leno and Conan will no longer be with NBC…………………. What the heck?!?! Leno has been the Tonight Show host for 17 years, and it is high time he moves on. Years ago, he (somehow) beat-out Letterman for The Tonight Show… and now he is taking it back from Conan. Seriously people, he is not that funny. Nathan put it perfectly when he said, “Leno is only as funny as his writers allow him to be”. Watch the two shows and compare the two. Conan has real talent! I am not saying that Leno’s show is a complete bore or that he does not have good segments (i.e. Headlines), but the beginning stand up and interviews with the guests create many LOL moments with Conan and not so many with Leno. I feel like the real bad guys in this whole situation are the NBC executives and a little bit Jay Leno. Therefore, I choose to boycott The Tonight Show when Leno takes it back over. I invite others to join!!! I sincerely hope The Tonight Show bombs in ratings, Conan moves to Fox, his ratings are amazing, and he starts a new late night legacy there.
Ahh… that would make me happy.
I am so boycotting too. I think I might grieve a little when Conan is gone. I hope he gets picked up VERY soon by another network. The man is stinkin' hilarious!!!
ReplyDeleteThis week, since all the hoopla, Conan has been at his best. Leno stands on the outskirts of a shadow when comparing the physical comedy to Conan. I do, however, feel the NBC execs were mostly to blame. Leno didn't ask for the changes that have been apparently forced on him. Who among us at 50+, with a staff of almost 200 people, would say oh I think I'll give it all up for the red headed guy. Leno is not ready to call it quits...however, having said that, I will not be a Leno regular. He has lost the edge...if he ever had it. For that reason alone, I will find another interest at 10:30, hopefully Conan!!
ReplyDeleteI just want to say that I love the new prettiness of the blog!
ReplyDeleteI agree and I agree! Though when given the choice, I almost always choose Leno over Letterman because of exactly what you said about Letterman's increased politics and cynicism and sometimes downright crudeness, its certainly not because of Leno's humor. His jokes are clearly forced, and even when funny, HE himself is just not that funny to me! I think Kevin Eubanks is the only one who laughs! lol. However, Conan is certainly one of the goofiest and genuinely hysterical people in late night TV (aside from Jimmy Fallon and Chelsea Handler--whom I love but I think I just totally ruined my 'crudeness' argument from a minute ago) and I hope this situation, though neither he nor Leno asked for it, will cause him to succeed instead of fail.
ReplyDeleteAll that being said, I don't get to watch much tv, even late at night because I'm such a zombie by then, but I wish the whole situation had been handled dif by NBC, who clearly made a bad call in this decision! Ratings or not, Funny RULES and should be respected! lol.