Day 855: Conan’s a Barbarian!

REF:  Conan/Leno

CONAN!  My friend!  I’ve missed you so much!  It feels as if an empty void in my heart has been filled… .

Did anyone else watch Conan’s triumphant return to television earlier this month?  Oh man!  Conan’s premier was the highest rated comedy to air on TBS since they stopped airing ‘Gilligan’s Island’ reruns during Braves rain delays.

Seriously though… Conan’s ratings rocked the house.  Conan pulled 4.2 million viewers!

So, NBC fired Conan seven months into his stint hosting ‘The Tonight Show’ and gave it back to Jay Leno.  Which begs the question: How did Jay Leno do?  Well, Leno only received 3.5 million viewers and Letterman only received 3.4 views. 

Conan couldn’t have asked for a better return. 

It’s going to be very interesting to follow Conan’s rating over the coming months.  4.2 million viewers will be very hard to maintain and this number will probably drop rather quickly and fall in line with Leno and Letterman… however, unlike Leno and Letterman who merely maintain the audience they already have, Conan is in a place in his career where he will generate a new audience base and grow… which is what NBC wasn’t patient enough to wait for. 

In the end, only one thing is certain: NBC will rue the day they let Conan go.

Day 657: Leno vs. Conan – Part 5

So… why in the world have I been prattling on for the last 5 days about Conan?  This is old news, right?  Well… not really. 

Conan was recently selected as one of Time’s most influential people of the year.  Although this could seem like a dubious honor, I think Conan’s nod is significant.  I think his final words on the ‘Tonight Show’ were moving, inspirational, and ultimately, influential.  And well… I’m obviously rooting for the guy. 

Last Sunday, Conan was on ’60 Minutes’ giving his first interview about the situation.  What did he have to say?  Nothing we didn’t know already… Conan doesn’t feel like he was given a fair shot… and well… he wasn’t… case closed.

But again, Conan showed his unending class.  When asked, “Did you get screwed?”  (Honestly, this is a pretty low brow question for ’60 Minutes’), Conan replied, “No, I didn’t. I’m fine. It just didn’t work out”.  And this seemed to be his attitude throughout the interview… although he did send off one legitimate dig.  Referring to Leno’s “final” Tonight Show episode, Conan said that he, personally, couldn’t do what Leno did.  He couldn’t stand up in front of America, publically hand-off the show, and wish the new host luck, only to eagerly take it back six months later.  “Everyone’s got their own, you know, way of doing things… But that’s me, you know?”  Class.

And finally, Conan has announced his triumphant return to television… on TBS… TBS?  At first TBS seemed like a crazy choice.  Growing up I remember TBS for 3 things: Braves Games, Andy Griffith Reruns, and Gilligan’s Island Reruns.  TBS was a nothing network… but that was the TBS of my childhood.  Now… I look at TBS and… well?  I don’t really see a whole ton of different, HOWEVER, I have noticed that TBS as been dabbling in original programming.  And some of their more resent endeavors have been quite good.  Did you ever see ‘My Boys’?  It was REALLY good. 

It seems to me that Turner Broadcasting has been slowly rebuilding their stations.  And so far they have been pretty darn successful.  Just look at TNT.  They have completely rebuilt the stations into a Cable Drama powerhouse.  TNT airs, “The Closer”, Saving Grace”, and “Southland” which was also recently acquired from NBC.

Now, it looks like Turner Broadcasting intends to do the same thing with TBS, except in the comedy genre.  And honestly, I can’t think of a better way to launch this new direction than becoming the new home for Conan.  It could be a very interesting November on TBS.  I think he will have a lot of success… Lord knows he has the fan base.

However, that said, I don’t believe for an instant that TBS will become Conan’s permanent home.  Sure, he will have a few successful years, but I ultimately see Conan returning to network television when the time is right… and the time I am thinking about involves David Letterman’s retirement.

Day 656: Leno vs. Conan - Part 4

Continuing, yet again, with yesterday’s theme, Conan’s maturity and resilience amazes me.  When Leno started posturing for his old job, Conan dug in his heels and took a stand for what he felt was right.  Although, it didn’t ultimately go his way, in my opinion, Conan still came out the big winner.

The final weeks of the Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien was some of the most riveting television I’ve watched in a long time.  Although Conan would talk about being a husband and a father on the show previously… it wasn’t until this NBC debacle that America finally got a glimpse of Conan’s heart.  And his heart is amazingly strong.  He has a heart that America can’t help by root for.

Some people seem to think that Conan was too whiny or too harsh on his way out the door, but I do not agree with that assessment at all.  Here is a guy who hosts a daily comedy show in which he mocks the topical headlines… and then, one day, the headlines are about him.  How could he not wear is heart on his sleeve?  How could he not mock the situation he was in?  However, in a situation that could have easily gotten nasty and bitter, he held himself up with class and dignity. 

Throughout it all, Conan stayed relevant and, most importantly, funny.  Every day of the “scandal” Conan and his team continued to put out quality work… until the day the studio went dark.  That is talent.

Conan is the third Tonight Show Host I’ve seen say good-bye (although Leno’s good-bye doesn’t count anymore), and I have to say, Conan’s farewell moved me more than any of them.  I wanted to share a video link of his closing statements, but I think NBC has removed them from youtube.  So I would like to share a transcript, it’s lacking the emotional delivery and the incredibly moving moments when Conan tries to pull back tears, but it’s really great, enjoy:

“Before we end this rodeo, a few things need to be said. There has been a lot of speculation in the press about what I legally can and can’t say about NBC.  To set the record straight, tonight I am allowed to say anything I want. And what I want to say is this: between my time at Saturday Night Live, the Late Night show, and my brief run here on The Tonight Show, I have worked with NBC for over 20 years.  Yes, we have our differences right now and yes, we’re going to go our separate ways.  But this company has been my home for most of my adult life.  I am enormously proud of the work we have done together, and I want to thank NBC for making it all possible.

Walking away from The Tonight Show is the hardest thing I have ever had to do. Making this choice has been enormously difficult. This is the best job in the world, I absolutely love doing it, and I have the best staff and crew in the history of the medium. But despite this sense of loss, I really feel this should be a happy moment. Every comedian dreams of hosting The Tonight Show and, for seven months, I got to. I did it my way, with people I love, and I do not regret a second. I’ve had more good fortune than anyone I know and if our next gig is doing a show in a 7-Eleven parking lot, we’ll find a way to make it fun.

And finally, I have to say something to our fans. The massive outpouring of support and passion from so many people has been overwhelming. The rallies, the signs, all the goofy, outrageous creativity on the Internet, and the fact that people have traveled long distances and camped out all night in the pouring rain to be in our audience, made a sad situation joyous and inspirational.

To all the people watching, I can never thank you enough for your kindness to me and I’ll think about it for the rest of my life. All I ask of you is one thing: please don’t be cynical. I hate cynicism — it’s my least favorite quality and it doesn’t lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.  As proof, let’s make an amazing thing happen right now.”

Day 655: Leno vs. Conan – Part 3

As I said yesterday… I can feel a change in late night dominance on the horizon.  Who will it be?  I’m not sure yet… but Letterman and Leno will certainly fade into the mist quicker than you think.  Do I really think Kimmel and Ferguson will be new faces of the late night “war”?  I hope not.  Nothing against them… I’m just… well… you know… I’m on team Co-Co.    

I have always been a fan of Conan.  Sure, he’s sophomorically lame and nerdy… but so am I.  And as I’ve grown… so has he.  In fact, I think he has become increasingly more accessible over the years.  And if you think about it, over the last 17 years America has watch Conan mature into someone who isn’t just talents… but someone who is remarkably mature and magnetic.

Folks, Conan was only 30 years old when he started hosting ‘Last Night’ in 1993.  30 years old!  And, at the time, he wasn’t secure enough in his own talent to go it alone, so he insisted on having his best friend Andy Richter co-host.  Eight years later, Andy left the show, proving Conan could bring the funny all by himself.  Two years later Conan got married… a year later he became a dad… and two years after that he became a dad again.    Over the last 17 years we’ve seen Conan mature.  We’ve watched as he’s achieved more personal triumphs than professional triumphs.  And as he’s grown he relates to his guests on a much deeper level.

On one of his finally Tonight Show episodes, which Serena and I watched religiously, Conan gave some unsolicited advice to a young starlet who had just gotten married, “Not that you asked or even care about my opinion and I don’t know if you are planning to have kids, but you should, kids are great… but I’m going to tell you what I tell all of my friends.  Wait.  Give yourself a little time to be together just the two of you.  Just take some time and walk through an airport hand in hand as a couple a few times.  My wife and I started our family right away… and we haven’t walked through an airport with dignity ever since.”

This line floored me and I completely understood where he was coming from… and it was hilarious.  And this is just one example of how Conan has grown as a comedian.

Day 654: Leno vs. Conan – Part 2

When it comes right down to it NBC claims their problem with Conan was all about the ratings… but I find this odd.  When Jay Leno took over for Johnny Carson, his initial ratings were a fraction of Johnny’s.  In fact, it took Leno over a year to build a new audience base. 

In turn, when Conan took over for Leno… his initial ratings drop was proportional to Leno’s when he took over.  Due to the similarity, one could argue this is a mathematical trend which would suggest, if given the time, Conan would have rebuilt his audience in a proportional amount of time.  However, NBC was extremely impatient and Leno wanted his job back. 

Programming wise, this is a major problem for NBC.  Late night programming has ALWAYS been about long-term investments not short-term goals.  And right now, NBC does not seem interested in making that investment, an investment in a younger audience.  When a network switches hosts they make a commitment to a young generation in order to develop a new audience base.  It’s a cycle.  And NBC has broken the cycle… which will most likely be their undoing.

Food for thought:  Leno’s rating NOW is not any better than Conan’s was.  The only time he has beaten Lettermen in the ratings is when CBS airs repeats.  This illustrates the root of problem because Leno is no longer in a position to cultivate a fresh audience base.  Sure, Leno has his faithful, but I don’t see any signs of his faithful growing.

Over the next few years, as my generation becomes the foundation of the late night audience, I predict Kimmel and Ferguson will slowly climb in the ratings, which should make for a very interesting battle.     

Day 653: Leno vs. Conan – Part 1

I know this is old news, but is anyone else as floored as I am about the whole Leno/Conan debacle?  The whole thing was and IS totally ridiculous and I don’t believe for an instant that Jay Leno will ever FULLY recover as an entertainer now that America has seen his true colors.

He was playing dumb just like he did with the whole Letterman thing years ago.  “I have no idea what’s going on”… “You know what NBC stands for?  Never believe your contract… Har-Har.”  No, if Jay Leno had an ounce of dignity he would have taken his licks, moved on, and supported Conan… as he did before his 10pm experiment failed. 

No, instead Jay simply played dumb until the smoke cleared and jockeyed to get his old job back.  Throughout the ordeal, Leno referred to himself as being “fired” from his old job as Tonight Show host.  On one occasion, addressing the cancelation of his Prime Time show, Jay said something like, “They fired me from that other show and now they’re firing me from this show”. 

This quote really bothered me because Jay was not fired from the Tonight Show.  He retired.  In fact, he announced his retirement in 2004.  At which time, to avoid embarrassment similar to the Letterman debacle, NBC announced Conan as his successor.  That’s right, 2004! 

The truth is this.  Back in 2004, ABC wanted to enter the late night talk show market.  Not only did they want to compete with Leno and Letterman, they wanted their show to appeal to a younger demographic.  Conan ultimately turned this offer down and the show went to Jimmy Kimmel.  Why did he turn it down?  Because NBC promised he could take over the Tonight Show in five years.

Follow me?  When NBC caught wind that Conan might leave… they scrambled.  NBC had invested 10 years in Conan and saw him as Leno’s replacement… however; Conan was obviously ready to move on to a better time slot.  So, NBC executives went to Leno, explained the situation and asked one very simple question, “how much longer do you see yourself hosting the Tonight Show.”  Leno said, “No more than 5 more years.”   

In the end, Conan decided it was worth waiting 5 years to host the Tonight Show… and the deal was made and Leno even announced his 2009 retirement date publically.  

But he changed his mind.  Can you say “bait & switch”?

The version of the story I shared with you was the version shared in 2004.  However, as you will see below, Jay Leno is telling a different version of the story today:

And here is a very interesting rebuttal on the situation from David Letterman: