TVSquad

• Don't worry, says NBC. Jay Leno will be out, Conan will be in, in 2009.
  
• The pending writer's strike could mean a surge in demand for reality tv. That is the only reason I can think of why they might be giving Coolio his own reality show.
  
• Kid Rock won't be charged for that "brawl" he was in at the VMA's.
  
• Ellen DeGeneres will be the first celebrity "briefcase babe" on Deal or No Deal.
  
• Court TV will change its name January 1st.
  

Like Paul, I don't watch the Tonys, which isn't saying much because I don't watch the Oscars or the Emmys, either. The only award show I'll watch is the People's Choice Awards, and only because I didn't figure out until recently that the winners aren't all chosen by Nia Peeples. I just have a lot of respect for her opinion, I'm not sure why.

Anyway, Late Night with Conan O'Brien's resident insult dog puppet, Triumph, was as the Tony Awards (equipped with his Gaydar 4000), and as usual when Triumph crashes an event, the results are freaking hysterical. I want so badly to list all of my favorite lines from the bit, but since I don't want to ruin it for those who haven't seen it, check out the video below.

Can you believe Jay Leno has been hosting The Tonight Show for fifteen years? Believe it, mister. On May 25, 1992, Leno stepped onto the stage as the new host, following in the footsteps of the legendary Johnny Carson.

Fans can go to this page on The Tonight Show Web site and create their own montage using clips and audio from the last fifteen years. I've been scouring the site and have not found an option that allows you to insert Carson back into every episode that has aired since his retirement, which is what myself and many others would like to do.

It was also announced about three years ago that Leno would be stepping down as host in 2009 and that Late Night host Conan O'Brien would take over as the new host. Given the mercurial nature of television, it will be interesting to see if that remains the case in two years.

(Left to right: Scott Adsit, Jay Johnston and Dino Stamatopoulos)

Dino Stamatopoulos has written for some of the funniest cult comedy series in the last ten years, including Mr. Show, TV Funhouse, Tom Goes to the Mayor, and most recently Moral Orel, an oft-misunderstood stop-animated cartoon created by Stamatopoulos himself. He's also written for other series, including Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and Mad TV.

With the new second season of Moral Orel starting November 12, Stamatopoulos and I spoke on the phone about what fans could expect in the new season, and about TV comedy in general.

There's a cool little interview with Moral Orel creator Dino Stamatopoulos over at the Adult Swim site. Before Moral Orel came along, Dino was a writer for both Conan and Letterman. He also worked on The Ben Stiller Show, Mr. Show, and TV Funhouse. The most interesting thing in the interview, besides confirmation that there will be a second season of the series, is that despite its aesthetic, Moral Orel is not really influenced by the pious Davey and Goliath cartoons of the 1960s. Instead, Dino took a script he had written for Iggy Pop (in which Iggy would play a twelve-year-old boy) and turned it into a cartoon. The result was the "Waste" episode. Dang, now I really want to see that Iggy Pop show get made. He's not too old yet, is he?