Everyone involved in the Second Late Night War got both criticism and praise. Yes, even Jay Leno got praise in some circles (just not from me). But now we've had some time to let the dust settle and take a closer look, there's a clear winner in this battle: Conan O'Brien.
Why? Well, some news from our friends at TMZ is a good place to start:
1. Conan is paying his crew himself. TMZ reported yesterday that some of the old 'Tonight Show' crew -- namely, the stage hands -- are being paid severance directly by Conan because they weren't among the staff being paid under Conan's separation agreement with NBC. According to the report, he's paying 50 staffers six weeks' worth of severance. Now, that's not going to help those staffers pay the bills until Conan comes back in September, but it's better than getting what NBC was offering, which was zero. The word mensch comes to mind when I read this story.
TVTattle dug up an old Late Night interview from 2006 with the longtime radio host warning Conan, "I don't see this guy (Leno) leaving and letting you walk in and I'm concerned about you."
Nice call, Howard. Would you also be willing to take over my stock portfolio and attend my upcoming IRS audit with me?
Earlier today we posted video of a 2004 Jay Leno telling his Tonight Show audience that Conan O'Brien would take over the show in 2009, and how it's right to hand it over to someone like Conan who is a gentleman and funny. Now here's Conan's thoughts at the same time. He thanks everyone at NBC and says that hosting The Tonight Show is something he has always dreamed about.
The Tonight Show host addressed the rumors surrounding his show last night. I'm sure you'll be happy to know that neither he nor Leno will have to take any last minute maternity leave.
Finally, there is some good news in the never-ending Jay Leno debacle and no, it's not that NBC has finally decided to put The Jay Leno Show out of its long-standing misery.
NBC just released a statement that whatever decision they make regarding Leno's show, they are sticking with Conan O'Brien.
Of course, that doesn't mean they won't make him move back to Late Night or out of The Tonight Show spot to make room for Leno. What do you think the NBC executives will do with Leno or O'Brien, other than pray to Pan, the goat god worshiped by all of the corporate elite?
It's hard to come up with a headline to sum up this new project by Andrew Secunda (Upright Citizens Brigadeand Late Night with Conan O'Brien). I love the concept, though. CBS, which is developing the show with Secunda, calls it a multigenerational comedy. The show will be about a couple in love who move in together. From there, we start to get their story in a clever way.
Through the extensive use of flashbacks to their childhoods, we'll see how they developed the quirks and habits that they're discovering about one another now as adults. We'll also see their parents both now and 20 years ago, to see how they shaped their children, and how their own relationships in the past may impact the way their children are today. Why didn't I just say that in the title?
When Andy Richter left Late Night With Conan O'Brien to establish his own career in acting, nobody knew that he'd come full circle and rejoin O'Brien years later. At the same time, nobody knew that creator Victor Fresco would do much the same thing.
Andy Richter Controls the Universe was one of those quirky shows that most people, who enjoy a dash of nonsense in their comedy, really dug. It was a very playful show about a guy working in a massive company. It featured a small ensemble with great chemistry on-screen, and had a unique look at big corporations.
A few years later, Fresco tapped that well again, and we got Better Off Ted, another comedy with absurdist tendencies set in a massive corporation with a small cast. Like Andy, it eked out a second season based more on critical acclaim than ratings. As someone who enjoys both shows, I find myself worrying that Ted will share Andy's ultimate fate, cancellation after the second season.
Does your ride lack a certain something that all good cars should possess, like brakes?
When you drive to work, do the ambulances and fire trucks pull over to the shoulder to let you pass?
Is your vehicle so old that Jesus co-signed the lease?
Maybe it's time you traded that clunker in, not for a bounced government check or another clunker some guy in a $1,000 suit conned you into buying. Maybe it's time you traded it in for two pounds of C4 and 30 spools of Primacord.
Conan O'Brien premiered on last night's Tonight Show the funniest car related sweepstakes since AMC tried to give away a Pacer: one lucky American will get to blow up their car on national television.
The world is facing a population explosion of Biblical proportions. People are procreating and reproducing faster than sustenance reserves and housing requirements can keep up with it. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have officially given up adoption for the next three Lents.
Something has to be done that doesn't involve condoms, birth control pills, or taking a hammer to certain parts of the human anatomy.
India claims they have found a solution. Television?
A lot of memories have surfaced of the good times that pop icon and musical genius Michael Jackson provided the world in the wake of his untimely and unfortunate death. However, an elephant in the room has wedged its wide butt in between the happy memories that range from "Billy Jean" to "Rockin' Robin," other than the eye-bleedingly bad Moonwalker movie.
Jackson's life outside of the recording studio and in the blood-soaked pages of the supermarket tabloids provided a lot of fodder for comedies and comedians that turned the man into a punchline just as fast as the radio waves turned him into a legend.
A lot of dissecting and exploratory surgery has been done on the jokes that David Letterman made about the Palin family. Even after Dave apologized and Palin accepted, people still want to perform a comedy autopsy to figure out what Dave's intent was and why Palin was so vocal in her reaction to it.
The problem is it's an unnecessary surgery and it fails to attack the root of the problem while the real cancer spreads like a California wildfire. E.B. White once said about such procedures that, "Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog. Few people are interested and the frog dies of it." The only reason this frog hasn't died is because someone wants to keep it alive and no one has dared to touch the heart.
This is the side I will debate in the never-ending Letterman vs. Palin "Joke-gate" controversy while our very own John Scott Lewinski will offer a rebuttal later in the day that a public figure's children should always be off-limits.
You gotta love the ol' rumor mill. It sleeps less than Amy Winehouse.
Conan O'Brien hasn't even finished his first week as the new host of The Tonight Show and the insiders are already churning out rumblings about Jay Leno's new show.
Some sources close to the network and The Jay Leno Show told Kim Masters of The Daily Beast that Leno is slowly growing unhappy with his new time slot and the changes that are being made to the new show by the network. There are even concerns that the stress of the situation is starting to take a toll on the host's health.
Conan O'Brien's return to late night television as the fifth host of NBC's The Tonight Show (six if you count comedy genius Ernie Kovacs) felt like a jogger who is pacing himself for a long marathon.
That might sound like a bad review. But compare that to Conan's constant high energy Late Night and that makes The Tonight Show a Jack Russell Terrier on at least three Starbucks espressos.
Conan put aside the puppets and characters for his opening night on the Universal Studios lot for a very enjoyable transition to the new Tonight Show that's sure to get better in the months and years to come.
Have you been anxiously awaiting the return of Conan O'Brien and company to late night television? Are you tossing and turning each night because you are lacking your nightly dose of string dancing? Do you find it impossible to get through the day without knowing if Conzie will return to television as the Conzie we all know and love and are thinking of seeking professional help?
Thankfully, I've got the cure. Seek professional help. Make sure he prescribes some strong brain juice for you too, something you have to inject with a syringe.
A recent Ain't It Cool Newsreport says that test shows of Conan's new Tonight Show are underway this week. And the reviews are overwhelmingly positive if you're a big fan of Conan's old Late Night show.
The world's armchair TV executives proudly proclaimed that the only way Conan O'Brien's cavalcade of foul-mouthed puppets and surreal pop culture mechanes could work every night at 11:30 p.m. is with a potent injection of Ritalin (present executive included).
O'Brien noted, however, that television has broken the time barrier.
"I think especially now, people don't watch an episode of Lost when they are supposed to watch it," he said during a recent conference call. "DVRs changed everything. The Internet has changed everything. People are getting it off Hulu and watching shows on their iPhone. What's most important to me with The Tonight Show is it needs to be funny so people can experience it at 11:30 or watch it the next morning while they're eating their oatmeal."
Everyone involved in the Second Late Night War got both criticism and praise. Yes, even Jay Leno got praise in some circles (just not from me). But now we've had some time to let the dust settle and take a closer look, there's a clear winner in this battle: Conan O'Brien.
You might have wondered why 
Finally, there is some good news in the never-ending Jay Leno debacle and no, it's not that NBC has finally decided to put 
It's hard to come up with a headline to sum up this new project by Andrew Secunda (Upright Citizens Brigade and Late Night with Conan O'Brien). I love the concept, though. 
Does your ride lack a certain something that all good cars should possess, like brakes? 
The world is facing a population explosion of Biblical proportions. People are procreating and reproducing faster than sustenance reserves and housing requirements can keep up with it. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have officially given up adoption for the next three Lents.
A lot of dissecting and exploratory surgery has been done on the jokes that David Letterman made about the Palin family. Even after 
You gotta love the ol' rumor mill. It sleeps less than Amy Winehouse. 
Have you been anxiously awaiting the return of Conan O'Brien and company to late night television? Are you tossing and turning each night because you are lacking your nightly dose of string dancing? Do you find it impossible to get through the day without knowing if Conzie will return to television as the Conzie we all know and love and are thinking of seeking professional help? 
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