Bid Adieu to Conan O’Brien
Friday, February 20th, 2009
For anyone that is a true fan of performance comedy, Conan O’Brien is up there as one of the pioneers of post-modern self depreciating humor. His off kilter antics and absolute wackiness has become a staple in American culture and Late Night TV history. Tonight, that all changes. Or does it? See tonight is the last episode of Late Night with Conan O’Brien; an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O’Brien on NBC. The second incarnation of NBC’s Late Night franchise, O’Brien’s debuted in 1993 after previous host David Letterman moved to CBS to host the Late Show opposite The Tonight Show. The show was known for it’s utter randomness and charming lunacy along with it’s great picks for musical guests. With Conan now leaving to host The Tonight Show and being replaced by Jimmy Fallon, fans of the show are understandably afraid that the host will have to tone his typical behavior down in order to conform with the Tonight Show crowd. I also was cynical about this decision, until recently. See, I’ve been watching a bit more Conan than I normally do. So I’ve been catching it online to see what they’ve been doing to wrap things up. What I noticed is that he may not be the best candidate for hosting the show. However, I do think this is an opportunity for people who don’t know Conan’s humor and to evolve with it. The man is a professional and so he’ll figure out a way to make this all work and not fall into that lukewarmness that Leno has fallen into. This will not happen overnight though. I imagine the first episode to not be filled with “Chuck Norris Levers” or “Masturbating Bears.” I imagine it won’t be drop dead hilarious and it most likely will be awkward. But I’m confident that he will adapt to this surrounding and find a common ground among his viewers. Not everyone will be happy, but this is apparently the Age of Change. I think some are underestimating Conan O’Brien’s ability to make people laugh. Yes, we won’t get that edginess we’ve all come to love from Late Night with Conan O’Brien, but don’t you think it’ll be better than what’s on now?
Conan O’Brien – Blue Moon of Kentucky
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