I know my mother loved Jay Leno and wouldn’t even think of watching Conan. I did watch him a couple of years ago and thought his show was offensive and not funny. So it’s Dave for me, and Craig Ferguson. (Don’t know what Mom is watching - South Park?) Saying that, I think a) Dave is going way downhill, b) I remember when Conan got his show years ago everyone piled on him saying “you stink!”, and he made out all right, and c) Conan is a very very very funny writer. So success is within him.
Conan’s ratings have already turned around, and have been climbing again in the second week. He’s beating Letterman again. But in the most important demographic - people 18 to 49 - he’s absolutely crushing him. He has more than twice as many viewers in that demographic. In fact, he has the highest ratings in that group since the premier episode of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno 17 years ago.
He’s doing just fine. Great, in fact.
Enjoying Jay Leno but not finding Conan funny is a reliable indicator of old age. You’d have to be in a nursing home to find Jay Leno funny.
They should replace Conan O’Brian with Conan the Barbarian. I’d pay to watch that. 
I’m 27 and if I were forced to watch either, I’d probably pick Leno.
I do like what I’ve seen of Ferguson.
I liked Leno’s monologues, they were the tv equivalent of comfort food before going to sleep. I never got Letterman’s shtick at all (even though he has a typically NY style of humor like Conan) but I enjoyed his whole McCain episode a few months ago.
I was a huge fan of Conan at 12:30 but I just don’t think he looks natural or comfortable doing the Tonight Show. I do like the look of the stage though, much more like the Carson set I remember when I was a (really little) kid. I really hope he grows into the 11:30 slot because I know he has mainstream appeal when he’s relaxed (remember him hosting the Emmy’s a couple of times?).
I haven’t watched Craig much but I always liked him in films. Jimmy Fallon is hit or miss but I can’t help but recall the freshness of Conan’s show in the early 90s when I watch Jimmy. Jimmy always looks like he’s having fun, Conan has aged a LOT in the last few months.
http://debonairdebacles.wordpress.com/2009/06/08/conan-surrenders/
Conan beat Letterman’s ratings in his second week as well, despite Letterman getting a big ratings bump from the Sarah Palin controversy. And he’s almost doubling Letterman’s audience in the key 18-49 demographic, which has got to have NBC jumping for joy. This demographic is becoming increasingly important because it is the group that builds mindshare on the internet, through Youtube, message boards like this, etc. NBC would consider Conan a big success even if Dave was beating him handily in the ratings, so long as Conan held onto the lead among 18-49’s.
Colin Cowherd made a very plausible argument for Conan O’Brien’s rating tumble: The Stanley Cup playoffs were killing NBC’s ratings, and costing him much of his lead audience.
Outside a few Northern markets, there just isn’t much of an audience for hockey, even when it’s championship time.
I never liked Conan much, but he’s done a pretty good job of aiming at the mainstream while retaining just enough of his trademark weirdness. I doubted whether he could become a mainstream success, but I now give him a decent shot at pulling it off.
People like my wife make a good test case. She’s not shutting him off automatically, as I once thought she would. If anything, Conan risks losing his OLD devotees by being too “normal.”
Agreed. And usually he kept them mercifully short, as if he knew this. He’d tell three to five jokes, then go over to the desk for a much funnier comedy segment. CoCo’s a funny guy, but just standing there telling lame topical jokes is not his forte.
Then the news hit that he’d gotten the Tonght Show and he started expanding his monologue on Late Night, I assume as part of the transition, because heaven forbid the Tonight Show not start with a lengthy monologue.
I also miss comedy segments between guests. Don’t front load all the funny, man!
Ha…CoCo…
I have always loved the entire late night lineup of Leno then Conan. Conan’s “new” show is fine with me. It’s about the same as his old one, so I’m happy. I’ll tell you what I miss though…his banter with Max. I understand that Andy is back, and he is great don’t get me wrong, but I really miss his back and forths with Max.
I’m so over the top 10 lists. I thought they were funny when I was in high school… and I graduated in 2001. Now they’re just bs posturing. He’s resting on his laurels and not doing anything new… or funny for that matter.