When Conan O’Brien finally took the reigns of “The Tonight Show” this spring, many longtime fans couldn’t help but notice that he seemed uncomfortable toning down the gleefully unhinged humor that made his “Late Night” such a success. Gone were the joys of the Masturbating Bear and Vomiting Kermit the Frog and even his ritual “string dance.”
But I think Conan — and his writers — have finally grown into the new role. Several times this week, he’s had the sharpness and silliness of the old “Late Night” while managing to hold on to the more buttoned-up style “The Tonight Show” requires. Take, for example, the clip above: it’s the sort of juvenile, cheap laugh O’Brien excels at, but he lets the video do the work for him.
Naturally, this improvement won’t solve the present NBC ratings disaster caused by the Great Leno Plague, but it’s good to see one of the best hosts of late-night television grow into the show he inherited. More examples, including an excellent Sarah Palin clip, below:
“Between Two Ferns,” the Internet’s #1 talk show featuring ferns and Zach Galifianakis, is back with another awkwardly funny installment. This episode features guests Conan O’Brien (or “Conan O. Brien”) and Andy Richter, and it’s great to see Richter hand Conan out to dry for comedic effect (see video below). As you might expect, Zach and Conan fail to establish a great rapport, and early on we get this exchange:
Zach: Steve Allen, Jack Parr, Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien…
Conan: Mm-hmm.
Zach: I was just listing my favorite “Tonight Show” hosts in order.
It gets better from there, but you don’t need me getting in the way of jokes that belong to funnier people. If you need me, I’ll be where I usually am: masturbating at the public library.
Today’s the 234th anniversary of the day that the Continental Congress first issued the order for two battalions of Marines, sparking the recruiting process at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia. Since that day the Marine Corps has grown a great deal, lost the powdered wigs, and added helicopters, but the ass-kicking attitude and selfless service to country have stayed the same. To anyone who has proudly worn the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor: happy birthday.
Ordinarily, today’s the day where I take a break from relevant news to tell you about giants of the Corps like John Bobo and John Basilone and even my old classmate Brian Chontosh, but in keeping with the TV theme — and my soft spot for animals — I’ve embedded a couple clips from last night’s Conan featuring Major Brian Dennis and his dog Nubs. Dennis befriended Nubs — named because an Iraqi cut his ears off as a puppy — while patrolling the Syrian border in Iraq and helped nurse him back to good health after the dog was stabbed in the side with a screwdriver. After Dennis patrolled the area for the last time, Nubs followed Dennis and his unit back over 70 miles to the Marine camp.
If these clips don’t make you want to salute the flag while hugging a puppy, just go away. I don’t even want to look at you.
As noted yesterday, Conan O’Brien had William Shatner read Levi Johnston’s tweets, which included statements about looking to acquire marijuana. Of course, the Twitter feed was fraudulent, and Johnston’s lawyer issued a demand for a public apology. Because Levi Johnston is such an upstanding public figure, you see.
So Conan issued an awesomely insincere apology, then brought Shatner out to read actual quotes that Johnston has said that make him look like an ass. It’s delicious. He did everything but put air quotes on his apology. That’s what I always do. Gosh, I’m real “sorry” about exposing myself on that subway car, your honor.
(If you don’t like the Hulu player, the NBC player is below.) Read the rest of this entry »
A couple of months ago, Conan O’Brien brought William Shatner onto “The Tonight Show” to read Sarah Palin’s resignation speech (watch it here). Last night, Shatner appeared on the show again — this time to read selections from Levi Johnston’s Twitter feed.
As you should expect, the results are excellent. Shatner’s an actor whose best role is himself, and everything he touches is instantly better. He’s like tits or bacon that way.
(NBC video player here; best of Johnston’s Twitter here)
UPDATE: Johnston is demanding a retraction, claiming the feed is a fake. The feed in question is not one of Twitter’s “verified real” accounts.
HURRRRRRRRRR
If you woke up this morning wondering if Jay Leno is still awful in every way possible, the answer is yes. Yes, Jay Leno is still awful in every way possible.
Leno says he would have rather stayed put at “The Tonight Show” – and if NBC offered him that job again, he’d take it.
In an interview with Broadcasting & Cable magazine published online Monday, Leno hastily added that such a decision isn’t his to make. Conan O’Brien, his successor as “Tonight” host after 17 years, is “doing fine,” Leno said. [AP]
“Oh yeah, Conan’s doing… uh, fine. I absolutely want to displace him and take my old job back, but he’s doing great. Just… great. No no no — I’m not in charge at NBC. I can’t make that decision for them. It would absolutely be someone else’s decision to be an Indian giver of the ‘Tonight Show’ hosting duties, and I would never suggest that they should do that, merely that I’d be very happy if they did. Also, I recently took eight newborn babies and burned them in my back yard.”
