Showing posts with label Conan O'Brien. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Conan O'Brien. Show all posts

A Comparison of Conan O'Brien vs. NBC and Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon

By Jake 

Jay Leno physically removing Conan O'Brien from The Tonight Show had fans siding with Conan, making him a TV folk hero. Today, NBC announced a buyout of $45 Million ($32 Million going directly to Conan). The whole O'Brien/Leno/NBC situation reminds me of another high profile, big money TV feud: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon.

The way Conan O'Brien and Steve Austin attacked their bosses (verbally and physically) gave the working class American something to strive for-- being popular enough to beat up on their boss and get away with it. Who hasn't dreamed of throwing a red cup full of beer into their bosses face? Well Steve Austin sprayed an entire truck's worth of beer at Vince McMahon. Who hasn't wished they could publicly criticize their boss on a nationally broadcast talk show? Conan has been doing that for the last two weeks.

These two American icons are everything the common man strives to be: a beer guzzlin', boss hating, redneck with a chip on his/her shoulder. I'm not sure why, but a justifiably angry person is always more respectable than a calm person. Nobody ever thought Alan Thicke was a hero, and nobody ever would. The guy is too relaxed and his money is probably still piling high from royalties for writing the Diff'rent Strokes theme.

When Steve Austin got into a scuffle with Mike Tyson, it's a lot like Conan getting into a war of words with Jay Leno. It might be a bit of a stretch to compare Jay Leno to Mike Tyson, but it's similar nevertheless. Sure Austin may have given Vince McMahon a Stone Cold Stunner every now and then, but fighting with Mike Tyson was the last straw. After that the gloves came off, and that can similarly be applied to O'Brien's situation. Once Jay and Conan started taking shots, NBC scrambled to break the fight up.

As tempers flared, the audience was drawn into the spectacle. The ratings soared. Much like when Steve Austin left WWE, Conan's departure from NBC is going to cripple the network's already poor ratings. Nobody can identify with Jay Leno and his 800 classic cars. I wouldn't be surprised to see Comcast (soon-to-be owners of NBC) cast Leno to the side for a younger, funny person to replace him on The Tonight Show.

With only two more shows left to air for O'Brien, could NBC try to screw Conan? If what Vince McMahon did to Stone Cold Steve Austin at King of the Ring 99 is any indication, then Friday's show could be a very rocky one. I'm not exactly sure how NBC could screw Conan any more than they already have, but if I know NBC, they'll figure out a way.

Debate: Should Jay Leno Return as the Host of The Tonight Show?

By Jake and Glenn 

Jay Leno's prime time show may have been a huge failure, but his run on The Tonight Show was very successful. There were a million people watching for every Judge Ito that graced the stage with a choreographed dance routine. Conan O'Brien has not been unsuccessful during his run on The Tonight Show. While critics don't necessarily have kind words for Conan, he's still getting similar ratings to Leno's version of The Tonight Show. NBC has announced that they are removing Leno from the prime time slot, but want to keep him on the air. Conan has said that he will not go on after Leno. It basically comes down to either letting Conan keep hosting The Tonight Show or replacing him with Leno. What decision will NBC make? Who is going to win this controversial debate? Find out at the end!



Jake (Pro-Conan): Jay Leno is an old man. He probably doesn't even know what Twitter is, and Conan's show revolves around it. If Conan has a problem it's that he's too hip. He's like a beat poet.

When Conan first took over The Tonight Show I was really excited and watched the entire first week of shows. There were some funny moments, but overall Conan didn't seem comfortable. Andy Richter, who returned to the show as the announcer, seemed out of place and he still does, just a little less so. What I'm saying is that Conan needs some more time to get comfortable living in LA and being on earlier. My would guess that NBC has a very hands-on approach to The Tonight Show. I can't imagine that it's the show Conan and Andy want to be putting on.

If Leno gets The Tonight Show back I'm going to drown my sorrows by drowning myself!

Glenn (Pro-Leno): Jake, don't despair. Conan will be replaced by Jay and all will once again become right in the world. Those of us who are too busy embarrassing ourselves at bars while we hit on members of the opposite/same sex have noticed that uneasy feeling ever since Jay moved to 9pm and Conan to 10:30. It's a sinking feeling that we thought was gout but turned out to be the wrong host of the Tonight Show. Conan just hasn't worked out. Like Jake, I was excited for Conan to take over but unlike Jake I never even bothered to watch the entire first week. I'm basing my opinion on seeing very little of Conan's show and even less of Jay's but that's what this country is about - doing what feels right not what will make NBC the most money. Fortunately moving Leno back will do both!

Jake: Jay isn't going to make NBC any more money than Conan would. Conan and Leno get pretty comparable ratings at that 10:30 timeslot. Leno doesn't appeal to the younger demographic, which is what nearly every TV show is targeting. I'm sure the dust will settle on this soon (hopefully not before this gets posted) and we'll know if O'Brien is in or out. I think NBC would be making a huge mistake restoring Leno to The Tonight Show. Not just because Leno isn't as funny as Schindler's List, but because Conan can give them more years than Jay could. Jay Leno is an old man and he's going to die soon. If you want to watch a dead man interview Tom Hanks, then that's your prerogative. I like my talk show hosts like I like my children: alive.

Glenn: I'm not sure what you were admitting with your last statement, but it made me and roughly a third of our readers uncomfortable. Conan, however, makes many more late night viewers uncomfortable. That's why NBC is going to replace him with a proven ratings getter. Leno's viewership does skew old, but old people are the engines of this economy. The oldest person in the world, Alan Greenspan, literally controlled our economy for several years in the 90s and 00s. He loves Jay Leno. Another big Leno fan? The Pope! Not the current one who was forced to join Young Nazis for Freedom, but the other one who helped liberate Poland. Conan's biggest fan is a young person, as Jake stated. It's Paris Hilton. Virginia Tech killer Seung-Hui Cho also ranted and raved in his tapes about how edgy Conan's humor was. Perhaps too edgy - it set him off. NBC would rather have the former as viewers than the latter.

Jake:: Old people just don't matter. They're going to be in heaven soon having tea with Elvis and Mussolini. The future is our nation's young. They're literally going to be in charge of this country some day. Why shouldn't TV programs tailor to these people? If I was a TV Executive, I wouldn't want to hire an old person. I'd exclusively hire young people. I would have an 12 year old hosting the tonight show and his band leader would be a cartoon shark. That show would get some big ratings! Leno doesn't get big ratings, on the other hand. He usually draws around a 1 share, which is what Conan also gets. The problem with prime time Leno is that he was getting the same ratings. That is why his show got canceled. He should spend his days waxing his fleet of classic cars and interviewing Mavis. Jay Leno should never be on TV again.

Glenn: I don't know what "share" means but I guess that's why I don't run NBC. No one does. It's a non hierarchical organization where decisions are made collectively. Everyone has input. So ultimately who plays at 10:30 lies with all the citizens of NBC. Personally though I just feel like Conan's been given his watch. You only get one chance in life and this was his. He blew it. He had fucking Gallagher as a guest - and he didn't even let him smash watermelons! Granted Jay would have Gallagher as a guest too, but then he'd make him answer some questions everyone should know. That's akin to Jaywalking - the famous bit. Conan doesn't have any famous bits at 10:30 besides ruining my life and that's not a bit. It's just sad fact. Please bring Jay back to 10:30, NBC. IT's where he belongs.

Tuesday Debate: Is Jay Leno Funnier than Conan O'Brien

By Jake and Glenn


Nothing has happened more shocking in the past few days than the murder of Dr. George Tiller. However, this weekly debate series wasn't created just to debate the hottest issue of the times. Sometimes we have to address the simmering undercurrents of television entertainment, and no dish has been simmering longer than the recently boiled over transition of the Tonight Show from Jay Leno's steady hand to Conan O'Brien's wacky hand. Their comedic styles are as different as their DNA. When Leno took over the Tonight Show from Johnny Carson in 1992, the inevitable comparisons between them surfaced. Last night Conan O'Brien debuted as the host of his new Tonight Show and rather than shy away from the comparisons, we tackle them head on. Is Jay Leno funnier than Conan O'Brien?


Jake: I'll come clean, I'm not what you'd picture when you close your eyes to do a meditation exercise visualizing the ultimate late night talk show fan. That's right, I'm not a huge talk show fan. That being said, I am a fan of Conan O'Brien. I think his characters and bits are usually very funny, his interviews are usually decent and his musical guests are often not bad. Jay Leno, on the other hand, is a dreadful comedian, terrible interview and has bad musical guests (unless you consider Ricky Martin good). Glenn, who is an advocate for both Leno and Ricky Martin will lead you to believe that Leno is the king of late night, and perhaps ratings-wise he is. I have yet to see the new Tonight Show, but I don't need to to know that Conan is better than Jay.

Glenn: Without getting sidetracked, I do want to point that although he hasn't enjoyed success in America since Livin' La Vida Loca, Ricky Martin keeps churning out the hits for his Latin audiences. This is not unlikely Jay Leno who, despite not receiving the "critical" acclaim of people like Conan O'Brien, is one of the hardest working and consistently funny men in show business. You see, even Jay Leno's friends (though we've never met, I include myself in this group) will admit that he's a work horse. He does five comedy shows every week and has since 1992. Conan O'Brien has only done it since 1993. It's almost beneath me to present Tonight Show bits from the past seventeen years as a defense of Leno but we all know and love: the Dancing Itos, Jaywalking, Headlines and anything involving Howie Mandel. I'm not arguing that Conan O'Brien isn't funny at all, but rather that Jay Leno is so popular so he must be doing something right.

Jake: Jay Leno is not funny. His monologues are like death rattles from Auschwitz. I'm not going to stand here and lie to you and tell you that Conan's monologue are great, but O'Brien is not a professional comedian, but Leno is. Neither Leno, nor Conan are a hard-hitting interview, but Conan has the ability to make his guest seem funny. Leno cannot make anything seem funny. I don't understand the decision for him to move to an earlier time slot, but given NBC's desperation it makes sense, I guess. Conan moving to the Tonight Show, which is a smart move. His audience is getting older and has to go to the office in the morning, they need his show so they have something to discuss during their lunch break. Also, as Glenn knows, the Dancing Itos haven't been on Leno since August 13th, 1997.

Glenn: The worst part of living on the East coast, besides everything being expensive, the pervasive rudeness and the emminent threat of a terrorist (by that I mean right-wing domestic terrorist) attack, is that the Tonight Show is on at 11:30. Most people in DC have one to two hour commutes and have to be awake at 5am. If you think these hard working, white Americans are going to stay up until 12:35 to see the musical guest on the Tonight Show, you're insane. But back to Leno. If he's so bad, why was the only time a sitting President has gone on a talk show earlier this year, to be interviewed by Jay Leno? Obviously our PRESIDENT thinks that Leno is a good interviewer, and felt safe enough in his Burbank studio to visit and answer tough questions about the problems facing our country. Kevin Eubanks, who I have not mentioned for fear of the racial undertones Jake will now employ, is the Joe Biden to Jay Leno's Barack Obama. Together they are an unstoppable comedy team. On the last episode this past Friday, Jay heartfeltly thanked Eubanks for being there to help him when jokes bombed, on the rare occasion that they do. As a professional stand-up comedian, Jay knows that not everyone joke will hit but it's about fighting through the bad ones until you socre one about Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. I always liked those.

Jake: Everything about Conan's version of the Tonight is superior to Leno's. Andy Richter is better than Stuttering John. Max Weinberg is better than Kevin Eubanks. I'm sure that Conan is not going to get the calibur of guest that Leno was able to with his softball questions and non-threatening style. Conan is slightly sarcastic and a goofball. Jay Leno is a piece of shit. If I woke up tomorrow as Jay Leno, I'd walk up to Mavis, give her a kiss and then blow my brains out all over my old car collection. I would not want to be that guy for more than 20 minutes. I don't care about his money or his fucking cars. I'd love to be Conan. I know this debate is not about who you'd like to be more. I mean, Leno is old and probably suffers from aches and pains, at the least. Who would want that? I'd find this debate more difficult if we had to discuss who was funnier between Conan and Letterman.

Glenn: Conan is funnier than Letterman. I'm also with you on who I'd rather be. As a tall, reddish haired man of Irish descent, I already feel like O'Brien sometimes. Plus we're both funny! I guess, deep down, I'm arguing Jay Leno is funnier than him because I also think he's funnier than me. That might seem like a ridiculous justification, but it's no less ridiculous than the idea of a bunch of murder trial judges dancing for no particular reason. I've yet to hear you acknowledge how funny some of the Headlines are, but I'm done waiting. I'll acknowledge them on your behalf: they're great! Ultimately we'll never know who is funnier until Conan gets his shot at the Tonight Show for seventeen years. In 2026, I make a vow to return to this website - which at that point will probably be the only site legally allowed on the internet - and acknowledge that Conan O'Brien is funnier. But not a day before.