You've come a long way, Conan. It's tough to believe you stepped in as host of NBC's late night almost fifteen years ago, but you did, and you know what, for a first timer I think you did okay.
Conan is so comfortable in his role as host now that it's somewhat endearing to watch his first show after all these years. He's not nearly as animated and spring-loaded as he is now. In fact, he appears downright humbled to be stepping into Letterman's timeslot. Of course, after a few years I don't think many of us even look at Late Night as Dave's old show anymore. It's all Conan's game, now, baby.
Anyway, one of our readers, Adam, sent us a link to the entire first episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien. I found it quite funny, actually, though I'm trying to remember if I found it as funny when it originally aired, or if, like many viewers, it took me awhile to tune into Conan's sense of humor.
The scene with Bob Costas interviewing both a Munchkin and a tree from The Wizard of Oz was by far my favorite.
Also, I miss Andy Richter, even if he didn't do much in this first episode.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-29-2007 @ 4:54PM
IN Mike said...
I can't see the video here at work, but I watched that first show, and i seem to remember some old guy in the audience taunting him about not being able to be as good as Dave. Do I remember that right? I'll find out when I get home.
Also, more than 15 years ago? He premiered on 9/1/93, so not quite.
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5-29-2007 @ 5:19PM
Brody said...
Shaggy haired Max, ha ha ha
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5-29-2007 @ 5:47PM
Bash said...
Seems like audiencemembers crying wasn't invented by Sanjaya fans ^^;
And it's unbelievable how long the end credits run... wow. Nowadays you have a hard time figuring out all the cast and crew when you stop-pause the credits :-)
Reminds you that Tony Randall has been dead for three years now... time flies...
I remember the days when I just started University and Late Night was on NBCEurope every night at 10pm. 9 years that flew by...
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5-29-2007 @ 5:49PM
Tina said...
Can't see the video either, but I remember the show. There was a running joke about how he wasn't going to be as good as Dave, and for those first shows, he really wasn't -- he's a funny guy but it took him quite a while to learn how to use that as a performer on a talk show. He was really awkward, and in the beginning the show didn't always have the kind of guests who could help him out. I remember just feeling sorry for the guy, and am glad he figured it out.
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5-29-2007 @ 7:14PM
IN Mike said...
Ahhh, the old opening credits! I loved how the floating Conan head winked just for me.
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5-30-2007 @ 1:54AM
Paul Little said...
I remember watching this when it first aired. Of course, I would've been pushing 12 at the time, so I probably shouldn't have been watching late night television. But I was hooked right from the beginning (totally wasn't aware of the bad reviews it got at the time -- I was only 11!). I'll never forget the image of John Goodman and George Wendt leg wrestling.
Thanks for posting this. I've been looking for this episode for years and years. This seriously made my week!
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5-30-2007 @ 4:09PM
jen said...
IN Mike - false! Late Night With Conan O'Brien premiered September 13, 1993. =)
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8-08-2007 @ 5:56AM
TheMightyCrow! said...
to the other comment - it doesn't say "more than fifteen years ago", it says "almost fifteen years ago."
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