So Conan O'Brien showed up on Jay Leno's show last night. Late Night is in repeats this week and O'Brien was out on the West Coast for some reason (maybe checking out his new studio?) and he appeared as the first guest. And it was kinda funny, but mostly dull.
I didn't expect some long discussion about O'Brien taking over for Leno when Leno steps down in 2009, but I did think they'd at least bring the topic up at some point. The only thing said about it all night was a one line joke by Leno in the monologue ("Conan O'Brien is on the show...is it 2009 already?"). Instead, O'Brien just rehashed his Good Housekeeping recipe story and told stories about the Emmys and Jerry Lewis. It was odd they didn't address the issue (and it was made even more weird by the fact that Leno did make a joke about it at the start of the show).
Video of the appearance is after the jump.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-28-2008 @ 6:23PM
Maven said...
At least Conan found someone with a higher voice.
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3-28-2008 @ 6:29PM
Paul said...
Why address it? It'd make for quite the awkward conversation, plus then Leno would have to talk about his plans post-"Tonight Show", which he probably can't do anyway (if he's negotiating with FOX, for example, it'd have to be under the table because he's still under contract until 2009 and can't move to another network until 2010).
I thought the Good Housekeeping story was a good one to bring, since I'm sure most of the people that normally watch "The Tonight Show" don't watch "Late Night".
Conan seemed relaxed, and more "normal" than he usually is on his own show -- but I really hope he doesn't bring that persona to his version of "Tonight". He's not nearly as funny or entertaining when "playing it safe".
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3-28-2008 @ 10:50PM
Will said...
this is at least the 3rd time this show has aired, Conan was out west for his week in San Francisco last year. but why should they have addressed it? i thought the whole interview was pretty good and Conan's stories were funny
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3-28-2008 @ 10:52PM
ellyodd said...
Jay Leno's contract says he's not allowed to talk about it AT ALL. So that's why.
It's a sad day when Conan takes over. Not because I like Jay (I kind of despise his humor), but because I love Conan, and I want him to stay in New York. I just can't see him in Los Angeles.
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3-29-2008 @ 2:34AM
jake said...
I think Conan's appearance solidifies how uncomfortable a fit he will be when he takes over the tonight show. This was a bad decision all around for Leno to leave and I'm pretty sure that Letterman will now beat the tonight show when conan takes over. Can't wait for Leno to do for ABC(i hope) what Letterman did for CBS.
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3-30-2008 @ 1:02PM
Justin said...
Yeah, because it's Leno that sells the Tonight Show.
Wait, it's not. It's the brand name that sells that show. Leno isn't funny, has no personality beyond his chin, and is a horrible interviewer (whereas Conan is surprisingly strong as an interviewer).
Leno won't do anything w/ ABC considering Kimmel is hip, young, and brings them the demographic they desire. If Fox does do something with Leno, I hope they're prepared to be behind Letterman, Conan, and Kimmel because no one watches Fox and no one cares about Leno. I'm glad they're finally shoving him out the door.