So, last night was the FIRST night of the new Conan era at NBC’s The Tonight Show and I was happy with the results. Many critics, talk show hosts, pseudo-news reporters have been questioning whether Conan would dumb down (I mean, soften) his humor for the boring 11:30pm crowd. I’m not even sure what that means since most elderly people were fast asleep by 8pm and anyone with kids probably passed out around 10pm, but I guess the viewing numbers don’t lie. While the show wasn't Late Night, I think the new set and the opening bit proved that Conan fans have nothing to worry about. First shows are always going to be a little more subdued and vanilla, but I think enough of the old Late Night was retained to give us a glimpse of what future shows will hold once Conan gets more comfortable with the new show and some of the pressure is off.
The set design was vastly different from Jay Leno’s bright colorful set, as this one had evening colors and looked a lot more like Conan’s New York City show, yet bigger and a bit more polished. I read a comment posted regarding another Tonight Show story (I always get up by 4am and read all newspapers for stories I want to plagiarize) where the person said that Conan’s old sidekick, Andy Richter (who is back) now resembles the late Chris Farley. I have to say, that was a spot on observation and every shot of Andy kind of freaked me at the time, but I couldn’t understand why. Now, I know it was because my eyes thought they were seeing a ghost. Not sure why he looks or acts more like Farley now, but let’s hope that changes. It’s creepy. Right now, Andy is an awkward fit with the show's flow, but I'm sure in time it will evolve. I also kind of miss Conan’s old announcer Joel Godard and I’m wondering what the suits at NBC did with him.
Overall, the show had some very funny skits and showcased Conan’s oddball humor. Yes, it wasn't Late Night...but again, we couldn't expect Conan to be that way in the first week...probably not in the first few weeks. But, it wasn't Jay, which is great news. Unfortunately for Conan, there will probably be less viewers, because greedy Leno will siphon some off at the 10pm spot and let’s face it, people have more channels to watch and the networks will continue their large loss of viewers at all hours. Let’s just hope NBC doesn’t freak out, kill Conan in some bizarre Universal back lot accident, and rehire Jay when his 10pm show fails. NBC needs to know they made the right long-term move by keeping Conan. As his younger viewers age, they will stick with him and he will introduce more youth to NBC’s extremely long running show. While Jay was okay, Conan is much more original and better suited for the late night gig. I give the new Tonight Show a Spork Rating of:
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