I hate Conan O'Brien
There. I've said it. Of all the late night talk shows, Conan is my least favorite. In fact, I much prefer Craig Ferguson to Conan. That's how much I dislike Conan.
When it was announced that Conan would be taking over for Leno in 2008 I trembled in fear. Leno's Tonight Show is my favorite of the late night fares. I usually enjoy Jay's monologues, and some of the skits/stuff he does is fun, and I like how he interacts with his guests.
Conan just flops and flares his hands around, shakes his head a bit, and calls that comedy. It's not funny to me. (And if I wanted to see a comedian dance, I'd watch Ellen Degeneres, who'd be a much better host than Conan.)
(And I'm sure half the people reading this hate every word I write.)
I bring this up today because tvguide.com reports that NBC is eying Jon Stewart. Yes, that Jon Stewart of the Daily Show. Which, compared to Conan, would be a delight for me to watch. (I'm pretty sure that network people are out squashing these rumors, and the chances of any of it coming to pass are slim. But one can dream.)
This is the year to figure out what'll happen on late night tv in 2008. I wouldn't mind if Leno stayed on. I don't watch Letterman that often (though a college roommate practically worshiped him) and can I really write about late night and not mention Jimmy Kimmel? Jimmy I like.
Related Posts
Similar
- Zinzinny - more than TV
- Dexter Season Two DVD
- Will You Watch a Battlestar Galactica TV Movie?
- As The World Turns Gay Pride
- America's Got Talent 2008 Premiers Tonight
- Is Horatio Dead? Who's Leaving NCIS and Criminal Minds?
- So You Think You Can Dance - Nigel and Sex
- Criminal Minds May 21, 2008 "Lo-Fi"
- Holy Crap! American Idol 2008 Winner
- NCIS May 20, 2008 "Judgment Day"
Comment Information
Jul 28, 2007
10:23am
I agree, When jay Leaves i leave. Conan is the worst!!!
Comment Information
Jun 20, 2007
10:59am
Misguided thoughts, indeed.
You're entitled to your own opinions obviously... but Conan is a wonderful comedian! He is not just a man who flails about and acts silly, and if you actually watched the show (for more than five seconds) maybe you'd realize that. He is very quick witted and a great interviewer, he always brings out the best in his celebrity guests. He's also very intelligent... Conan graduated from Harvard, magna cum laude. Now I'm not a gambler but it would be a safe bet to assume that he's smarter than Jon Stewart.
His writers write the most absurd sketches, and often they're the actors in them. Many of the jokes are obscure and bizarre ideas born from the quirkiest of minds, and I think it's great that they can be brought on the stage of a national television show. It's a high brow take on low brow comedy.
When Conan does "on location" type bits it's always 100 times more hilarious than anything Leno has ever done. Hopefully when he get the Tonight Show there will be more of this.
And finally Conan is not afraid to take a shot at himself, something rarely seen from any of the other comedians that you mentioned. The rest of them just like to take shots at other people, Conan can laugh at himself. Which is a great quality not only in someone who entertains, but in a person in general.
Comment Information
I agree with Shannon Conan IS great. Jay Leno is hard to watch. His jokes are obvious or lack the panache of a late night comedian. Conan wrote some of the funniest Simpsons shows ever! His quirky wit is more able to shine late night..."Triumph the insult dog" and "The masturbating bear" re classic!!
Comment Information
Jun 22, 2007
9:08am
Yeah! I think you are crazy to believe that Craig Ferguson is better that Conan, and basically all of his sketches are always hilarious! And of course, it is your opinion but frankly.... you're crazy! And it's true he can laugh at himself which is a good quality in.... well, anyone frankly.
For me, it is a ZANY coincidence that I LOVE Conan, because there are all these things that, you know, match up an make sense to me why I would be a fan of his.
Comment Information
Sep 18, 2007
5:43pm
I agree. When I found out that Conan would be taking Lenos spot, I was angry, Conan is not entertaining nor funny in anyway.. I firmly believe that when Conan takes over that this will be the fall of the Late Show. I do not understand the fascination with Conan, his looks and antics are quite annoying.
Comment Information
Oct 18, 2007
3:35am
Conan does SUCK big time!! Craig Ferguson is way better!
Conan is just a ugly stupid never funny and never will be person. Craig Ferguson and Ellen Degeneres is the best in my opinion!!
Comment Information
Oct 22, 2007
6:14am
Conan is the funniest man on late night television.
Comment Information
Jan 10, 2008
3:07am
he's not stupid, you freak. Unlike you (obviously), he had an education. he graduated from Harvard MAGNA CUM LAUDE.
Comment Information
Jan 25, 2008
4:35pm
horribly without his writers. He is even worse. He will be the downfall of the Tonight Show. It will be a sad day. Just because he is a college graduate does not mean he is funny. If we forget to turn off the television after Leno and accidently see Conan, my husband and I just look at each other in disbelief that this nut has his own show.
Comment Information
Feb 8, 2008
7:02am
ARE YOU CRAZY? CONAN IS AWESOME! Hes the funniest on TV!
#12Possibly
Comment Information
You are not crazy ^^, I can't stand him either nor I really find Conan funny at all, anymore. Somehow TV isn't what it used to be.
Comment Information
Mar 29, 2008
7:14am
Mannn, is it this year? Bye NBC late night, better try to keep Jay. Conan will not even let his guest comment he talks too much about silly things, and he is still not funny. I don't care what school he went to.
#15WHAT??
Comment Information
Mar 29, 2008
5:12pm
You laugh because he is simple not funny. Even his skits are dumb, you heard birds of a feather....
Comment Information
Apr 2, 2008
11:53pm
Specially the things he does to "fill in" I am sure for empty spaces on the program, and I have seen it, like the manatee or those cartoons, are really jokes that insults intelligence. Please do not let Jay leave, he is very inventive, like the Headlines and the Photo booth, they are hillarious.
Comment Information
Oh my god! His show has started to be transmitted in Brazil and he really sucks.
I like a lot american talk shows, their variety are admirable, but Conan O'Brien ... well...
#19Conando
Comment Information
Apr 22, 2008
6:20am
Well written David.
I disagree with you over wether or not Conan is funny though, personally I find most of his bits range from incredibly amusing to laugh out loud funny, partly for their often genius stupidity and partly for their sadistic nature.
However, I do agree that Conan is a poor choice to replace Jay Leno on the Tonight Show, Conan just doesn't seem terribly interested in letting the guests talk, zany off the wall comedy is great, but not while someone's trying to get a word in edgewise.
Craig Ferguson interjects constantly as well, but he seems to go about it in a much friendlier manner, Conan often demands that the guests let him speak, which can make for incredibly amusing banter, but more oft than not strikes me as overbearing and not so much fun for the guests
One of the things, I enjoy the least about Conan, and wouldn't want to see come to the Tonight show is that the host is sometimes cruel, usually at the expense of his employees, makes you feel bad for whoever's being belittled, I could name a half dozen examples off the top of my head, but for instance that fellow in the band with the mustache, I'm amazed he still works there for the level of abuse that's heaped on him, which while I'm sure is in jest, isn't very funny. In contrast, Leno often makes fun of his coworkers, but in a good natured way.
Despite that, I'm still a fan of Conan, I watch for the Self-Deprecating over the top personality and hit or miss bits from his writers that have produced so many amusing recurring skits, (The Interrupter, Si Conando, the list goes on.), but not for real interviews, I watch the Tonight Show for those, and would like to continue to.
(Lol, Jon Stewart would make an excellent host for the Tonight Show, "JOHNNY HUNGRY, JOHNNY WANT SPITZER!")
Comment Information
There's a very controversial debate not about just Conan being stupid but about All Americans being stupid over at RiledUp. Do you thing they're all stupid? Chime in at http://riledup.com./debate/1594/are-americans-stupid
Comment Information
Dude, you can't call millions of people dumb just like that!
Comment Information
Jul 8, 2008
1:39pm
youre absolutely right-conans a piece of shit. letterman is still the king oif late night, lenos watchable -everything else is crap.
Comment Information
Jul 21, 2008
11:24pm
Call me the craziest person in the world, but i always found Conan 'O Brien to be the best late night host. I always always always found his random sense of humor admiring. I always adored how he was never afraid to break the fourth wall. Jay Leno can't even construct a joke correctly, and it's not funny when he screws up. However Conan is hilarious when he screws up which he does often. Maybe it's just me, as far as i can tell i'm the only person who enjoys the style of random humor and the only person who doesn't take things way too seriously enough to goof off when things aren't going the way they should. When something goes wrong on the set of the show, Conan would always know just what to do and he's not afraid of doing it either. And don't get me started on Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. David Letterman is basically just that average talk show that invites celebrity guests with the most controversial status and do a Dateline like interview with them, last time i checked Dateline was not funny. I mean when you watch it, do you hear any laughs out of the audience? Another thing I love about Conan is that most of the time his show makes no sense whats so ever. I mean masturbating bear, moose nurse riding that machine thing, Sears Tower dressed in sears clothing, all of those Grand Theft Auto spoofs, making fun of the budget of the show and even admitting that the show sucks, and it doesn't. That kind of senseless random humor is what i call creative comedy. But what do we know about creative comedy when things like Hannah Montana, Zack and Cody and all those other cheesy shows are getting so many high ratings, and not just from kids. But then again maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm just too different. I will never understand todays "proper" sense of humor that requires the constant CONSTANT!!! use of the "F" word and so much unnecessary sexuality. Am i the only one who finds that crap offensive. I just wish there were more people like Conan 'O Brien. I wish there was more people out there who had that kind of random, make no sense (but not annoying), crazy, outgoing sense of humor that Conan does. But that's just me. Maybe if you people talking crap about him actually saw his show, then you would appreciate that kind of humor creative comedy.
I was watching a You Tube video of Puddle of Mudd performing their song "Blurry" live. I immediately recognized the set they were performing on and shouted "HEY! it's Conan 'O Brien" but then i read the ignorant comments and thought, man, i guess i'm the only person who watches this show.
#24What Abuse?
Comment Information
Jul 21, 2008
11:40pm
What abuse? You're saying it like they take that stuff (his cruelty) offensively. They have being doing this since 1992, how do know they don't enjoy being made fun of. I'm pretty sure they don't take it seriously, they enjoy messing around with each other, it's what they do, it's called comedy and it's for your enjoyment and entertainment. It's not like he physically beats them on set, and even if he did it's all for the laughs and they know that, otherwise they wouldn't have been on the show for so long. And that fellow with the mustache has a name, LaBamba. Why would you think he's being abused? Every time Conan refers to him he makes that classic face and it's all for the sake of laughter, not abuse. Unless you worked on the set you can't make it seem like Conan has confrontation with his employees just by watching the show on tv.
Original Content (c)2005-2008 David Hodgkins with exceptions of comments and other postings by others. Images owned by others (tv shows, etc.) are used for illustrative or promotional purposes only.