Leno / Conan / NBC / etc.

[Guest Jules]

So Jay's running to Oprah. Nice.

[Guest Speed Racer]

Did you see that bit on Conan last week where one of his guests (I forget who) was telling him all he needed to do was go on Oprah and get a hug from her, and all would be well?

 

I thought his final show was fantastic. I love Tom Hanks, and I thought he made an excellent final guest. As for Free Bird, I've heard worse versions from Lynyrd Skynyrd. I'm glad Conan went out doing what he loves.

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

Yes, the last episode was wonderful. I watched it fraiday night, and again over the weekend. I've said this before, but he really showed a lot of character. Great speech, great Hanks interview, great Neil Young performance, and such a fitting ending. I think the Free Bird performance was a better way to end the show than a speech. Wonderful as Conan's farewell speech was, it would have been too sad of an ending.

 

It'll be interesting to see what happens when he's allowed to host a show again. Obviously NBC is hoping his support dies down, but we'll see. It would be so great if Conan gets a FOx show, and builds it up over the next few years, beating NBC in the process.

[Guest Speed Racer]

I really, really appreciated the part of his speech where he thanked NBC for supporting him for nearly 20 years, not to mention the part where he talked about how he hated cynicism. His final speech was full of grace and gratitude, and I really admired that considering that no one would really blame him for something a little more biting.

 

I love how his height makes all of the guest musicians seem so puny. I know that Jeff is short, so the contrast between him and Conan is especially dramatic, but I didn't know that Neil Young was that much short than Conan.

[Guest Jules]

I thought Hanks sucked, and the ending performance didn't go over very well either. The Farrell bit is old.

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

I really, really appreciated the part of his speech where he thanked NBC for supporting him for nearly 20 years, not to mention the part where he talked about how he hated cynicism. His final speech was full of grace and gratitude, and I really admired that considering that no one would really blame him for something a little more biting.

 

I love how his height makes all of the guest musicians seem so puny. I know that Jeff is short, so the contrast between him and Conan is especially dramatic, but I didn't know that Neil Young was that much short than Conan.

Oh yeah, definitely. I was expecting him to transition from "I can legally say whatever I want" to an NBC rant. But he didn't. He was already the good guy in all of this, but the fact that he went out thanking NBC says a lot.

 

It was so far from the bitterness I think a lot of people expected from his last show. But he seemed 100% sincere, and I gained a lot more respect for him after that.

[Guest Runaway Jim]

I thought Hanks sucked, and the ending performance didn't go over very well either. The Farrell bit is old.

 

Wow, you're fun.

 

I didn't think it was the funniest thing ever, but it was a good show. Tom Hanks is hilarious - I don't get why more people don't see that. So is Will Farrell.

 

I too appreciate Conan's little speech. I'm glad he took shots at NBC for 3 weeks but then thanked them. Both were deserved. I like that he said that if you work really hard and are kind, amazing things will happen to you. Speaking from personal workplace experience, kindness is not often a valued quality. I was glad he said that.

[Guest Speed Racer]

Wow, you're fun.

 

 

I thought Ferrel was pretty restrained until the end (I really do hate when he goes apeshit, not least of all because I find his restrained comedy much funnier), but I was pleased that the cameras pretty much stayed on Conan, with Ferrel coming in and out of the shot intermittently.

[jimmyjimmy]

I really, really appreciated the part of his speech where he thanked NBC for supporting him for nearly 20 years, not to mention the part where he talked about how he hated cynicism. His final speech was full of grace and gratitude, and I really admired that considering that no one would really blame him for something a little more biting.

 

So did I. A very graceful exit.

 

 

I thought Hanks sucked, and the ending performance didn't go over very well either. The Farrell bit is old.

 

Blunt, yes..but I happen to agree.

 

BTW. Many of you guys are aware how Conan has supported the White Stripes over the years and how often they appeared on the old LNw/C.O.

 

As a fan of both I was kinda hoping they'd somehow come together for Conan's final Tonight Show.

 

Jack White plays an old sixties Silvertone 1485 amplifier; (only guitar geeks know this obscure stuff, so bare with me here a moment). A 'large-ish" silver-grey thing w/ aluminum panels and sparkly grill cloth that looks like an old 60s radio set on steroids. You don't see them around very often. So it was with more than a bit of astonishment that I noticed one, there sitting on the stage in the dark behind Neil as he played.

 

With that said, I was a bit disappointed with the whole "Freebird" thing.

[Guest Jules]

Wow, you're fun.

 

I didn't think it was the funniest thing ever, but it was a good show. Tom Hanks is hilarious - I don't get why more people don't see that. So is Will Farrell.

 

Thanks.

 

I just thought it could have been better. We've all seen this Farrell bit a million times. It was kind of a waste.

[drop dead ed]

In the world of TV isn't it the peoples decision to keep a show on? Was Conan's demise the fan's fault? I love Conan to death, but I never got around to watching him, so it's in part my fault and every fan's fault for not tuning in.

 

NBC did make a bad move in letting Leno do another monologue before his show. I guess the cards weren't dealt for Conan in the correct fashion

[cryptique]

In case anyone is still wondering why I think Leno is a douchebag...

[Guest Speed Racer]

(Quick synopsis for those unable to watch at work and too impatient to wait until we get home?)

[u2roolz]

He says that he is handing over The Tonight Show to Conan in 5 years and that's it. He doesn't want a repeat of the Dave-Jay "Late Night Wars" over the Tonight Show in 92.

Then he said that Wilco is an amazing band.

 

Edit: (Personally, I don't put much stock into what is said here 6 years ago. The equivalent would be someone being interviewed and videotaped and saying that they would vote for Obama again in 2012. And then in 2012 they go the other way due to what has happened in the time in between.

 

It's an interesting watch, but I don't think Jay or Conan expected this brouhaha in 2004.)

[Atticus]

(Quick synopsis for those unable to watch at work and too impatient to wait until we get home?)

 

he talks about how Seinfeld quit his show when it was on top, then "I'm proud to say this show has been no. 1, we will keep it no. 1, then in '09 I'll say 'Conan, take it over, it's yours'"

 

"this show is like a dynasty--you hold it, then you hand it off to the next person... Conan, it's yours, see you in 5 years"

 

he also talks about how friendships were ruined back when he took over, doesn't want to see that happen again, and a bunch of fighting in the press, etc.

[Sir Stewart]

I really, really appreciated the part of his speech where he thanked NBC for supporting him for nearly 20 years, not to mention the part where he talked about how he hated cynicism. His final speech was full of grace and gratitude, and I really admired that considering that no one would really blame him for something a little more biting.

 

Yeah, that don't give in to cynicism bit was fantastic. It really came across that it was very important to him.

[Guest Jules]

What's he thanking them for? That was a pussy move.

[Sir Stewart]

What's he thanking them for? That was a pussy move.

 

Oh I don't know, for plucking him from obscurity and giving him what was at the time one of the most high profile jobs on television, sticking with him through the lean times when nobody watched and everyone expected failure, and continuing to support and employ him for a couple of decades?

[Guest Jules]

I still say fuck em. They set him up to fail. So you burn a bridge. Have some balls.

[caliber66]

I still say fuck em. They set him up to fail. So you burn a bridge. Have some balls.

If NBC didn't stick with him in the early years of him doing Late Night, he wouldn't be in the position to be screwed by them (and walk with $45 million). Doesn't mean he doesn't have balls if he thanks him for 25 years of good times and two weeks of bad.

[Guest Speed Racer]

They set him up to fail.

 

Yes, absolutely. When they first hired him two decades ago, they were just scheming to pull the rug out from under him the first chance they got. Their only regret was that it look so long. Fuck integrity, fuck grace, I say if you can't act childishly, it's not worth acting at all!

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

Thanking NBC took more balls than any insult he could have thrown out.

[Guest Jules]

If NBC didn't stick with him in the early years of him doing Late Night, he wouldn't be in the position to be screwed by them (and walk with $45 million). Doesn't mean he doesn't have balls if he thanks him for 25 years of good times and two weeks of bad.

That's all fine. I still think it was a shitty use of his last show to bend over like that. It almost made it seem like he was at peace with the whole thing, which he obviously is not.

 

Yes, absolutely. When they first hired him two decades ago, they were just scheming to pull the rug out from under him the first chance they got. Their only regret was that it look so long. Fuck integrity, fuck grace, I say if you can't act childishly, it's not worth acting at all!

That's not what I said. I just wish he would have said what was really on his mind. He clearly didn't do that.

 

Thanking NBC took more balls than any insult he could have thrown out.

This I really don't get. It was the easy way out.

[caliber66]

That's all fine. I still think it was a shitty use of his last show to bend over like that. It almost made it seem like he was at peace with the whole thing, which he obviously is not.

 

 

That's not what I said. I just wish he would have said what was really on his mind. He clearly didn't do that.

 

 

This I really don't get. It was the easy way out.

We're going to have to agree to disagree on this one, then. To me, the easy way out would be to do what everybody expects and light into NBC.

[Guest Speed Racer]

That's not what I said. I just wish he would have said what was really on his mind. He clearly didn't do that.

 

So you happen to know exactly what he was thinking? Seemed to me to be pretty genuine. And yes, thanking the people who are firing you, for the excellent experience you had with them prior to your disagreement, is taking the high road. NBC already knows he's pissed off; telling them he is also still very grateful to them is a decent thing to do.