I tried, I really did. I’m having a bout of insomnia right now, so I decided to watch late-night talk shows, which I rarely watch. And I stayed awake for the entire Conan O’Brien show, and I still cannot understand why this guy is still on the air. I watched the show the first week he was on, and was convinced he’d tank. And now, all these years later, I still can’t find anything funny or appealling or interesting about him or his show. I didn’t laugh once tonight. And I find that Max Weinberg (?) guy to be the creepiest drummer ever… and I love drummers! Triumph the insult dog…not a bit funny…the puppy was cute, though!
But because I value the opinion of Dopers, I sat up and watched, again, because so many Dopers seem to find him brilliant…meh. I don’t think it’s my age, either, because when my daughter and I watch TV together, and she shows me some up and coming talent she loves, I most often agree with her.
I think the most interesting thing about tonight’s show was when he was standing next to his Taurus, and I thought to myself, “oh, right, I remember reading somewhere that he’s really tall…he must have trouble bumping his head on the roofs of cars, that’s why he got the sunroof!”
Haven’t seen tonight’s episode, but I generally find the show’s comedy bits to be pretty inventive (gotta love Triumph invading the fringes of society ). As for Conan himself, I appreciate his rapid-fire wit during interviews; he’s about the only late-night host who can fully resuscitate a tanking interview with a vapid starlet, usually by going on an offbeat tangent of some sort.
My current gripe with the show is that it has stockpiled a number of truly lazy, unchanging comedy bits, ones that are more suited for the pages of Mad Magazine than a TV comedy show. Celebrity Survey, SAT Questions, Kid’s Drawings, New Stamps…there’s still some comedy gold in there, but these bits are all going on ten years old and are basically the same every time. I hope he wipes the slate clean when he takes over the Tonight show in a couple years.
What I can’t stand is his deliberately lame, uncomfortable parodies of a talk-show’s schtick as he’s being introduced (and lingering long after). This is what you DO, man–making fun of it won’t make it go away. Maybe it was funny once. It’s no longer amusing (I’m talking about milking the audience applause, waving at the audience, gesturing in general–all extremely lame.)
I agree. I tried to like him too. Wanted to like, I’m not sure why. But I find him odd and dull. He’s the geek that made good, but for the life of me, I don’t see why. His ticks and faces - well, as I said, he is just plain odd.
Personally, I think the show could use a lot more of the Walker, Texas Ranger Lever. Other than that, I like it, but the TV tends to be on CBS so I just sorta autopilot from Letterman to Craig Furgeson (sadly, the only good reason to watch Letterman most nights is the Top 10, but I’m sure the “Great Quotes In Presidential History” thing will be funny the 80th or 90th time I’ve seen it. National Ventriloquist Week was a hoot though).
And I agree, Furgeson’s monologues are hillarious. Wasn’t he Drew’s boss on the Drew Carrey show for a while? “I’ve decided that I am going to let you all decide who gets laid off. It’ll be just like Survivor. But you can’t get rid of me, I’ve already BEEN kicked off of an island! HAH!”
I haven’t watched regularly for years, but Conan is the only late night guy for me. I can’t stand Jay Leno or Craig Ferguson and Dave Letterman stopped being funny years ago. I would probably like Jimmy Kimmel if I ever watched but I don’t.
Conan is a lot like The Simpsons (he used to write for them) and they have a lot of overlap in their fanbases.
For me, it’s a “what’s funny” clash. I just don’t like his jokes - he seems like a decent guy, and I’m always in favor of a tall, funny, dorky guy getting laughs, but… meh. His ad-libs and one-liners and interview-interrupting jokes just aren’t funny. He strikes me as a funny, annoying guy who is more comfortable writing than interacting.
I’ve tried watching Conan as well. I just don’t think he’s funny at all. In fact, the only times I’ll even attempt to watch are when I know Triumph is going to be on. He’s the only funny thing on the show.
Conan’s best trait is is willingness to go completely off the wall and try something outrageous that he thinks will be funny. For example, the show that aired on Halloween this year was filmed in ‘Skelevision’ - they took the audio from a show from a few months ago, then completely reshot the video using full-sized skeletons instead of humans. By itself, that wouldn’t necessarily be funny, but you had to see it. The attention to detail just made it hilarious at times. And at least it was something different on TV.
And nowhere else on late-night TV will you see a ‘Hello Kitty’ commercial - as directed by Leni Riefenstahl. Man, I wish I could find that video somewhere on the net.
I agree. He’s the only late night I watch anymore. I used to love Letterman, but he’s gotten pretty boring. Conan replaces Letterman’s spot in my late-night lineup, and I don’t bother with any of the other guys.
O’Brien reminds me of the tall, nerdy kid in Grade 11 Dramatic Arts who didn’t really have a lot of talent but acted out a lot because it was how he hid his insecurities.
His chops as a writer cannot be questioned - he didn’t just write for “The Simpsons,” he was the head writer in the show’s best years. And his show does have some funny bits. But as a host, he’s pretty mediocre; his monologues are poorly delivered and his interviewing skills are mediocre at best.
Absolutely agree. Ferguson is the best late-night monologuist to come along since…well, maybe forever. Generally, Conan’s comedy bits and interviews are better, but I won’t waste time with his monologues any more. They are always 90% the same lame, recurring self-depricating references, and the “topical” jokes are undistinguishable from those of Letterman, Leno and the like.
I’m convinced that anyone who says they won’t watch Ferguson haven’t actually listened to one of his monologues. They are truly unique in the talk-show world, in that they are funny.
Last show of his I saw (some time back), he was interviewing Mariska Hargitay and she mentioned her brother Zoltan (apparently an extremely tough-guy name in Hungarian).
O’Brien: Sounds like a Republic serial villain. So, how’s his takeover of Earth coming along?
I thought it was amusing, thought not quite hilarious.
And now, this is really, really shallow of me, but he’s just not nice to look at. Neither Leno or Letterman are gorgeous guys, but they have nice expressive faces. Conan is not an attractive man. His face has (at least on my crappy TV…perhaps he looks better on a quality set) a bland putty-like look to it, and there are no interesting shadows or lines…it’s like watching a plasticine toy at times. Add to that the underlying hostility, and he’s not a guy I’d like to sit and talk to at a party.
And I am a Simpson’s fan, to boot, especially the early years!
I will have to check out Craig Ferguson…unless he’s on cable, then forget it.
To the OP: You may have caught Conan on an off night; some nights are better than others. But I think it’s mainly that different people find different things funny; if your sense of humor doesn’t happen to mesh with his, you won’t enjoy his show. (I’m curious to know who/what you do find funny, and maybe also what other popular comedians leave you cold.)
And you’re right about Max being creepy: that’s part of his persona. In fact, much of Conan’s comedy has a higher-than-normal creepiness factor: he’s trying to make you squirm a little while you’re laughing. And if you’re not into that kind of humor, that could help explain why you don’t like Late Night.
You also mention that you don’t normally watch any of the late night shows, and that it was thanks to a bout of insomnia that you tuned in Conan. I wonder if the late night comedy shows in general appeal to a particular personality type—if there’s such a thing as “late night” humor—and that if you’re not a night person, you’re not in their target audience and you’re probably not going to like them.
I do agree with The Shroud’s assessment:
I think Late Night with Conan O’Brien was at its best towards the end of the Andy Richter years.
Oh, that makes a difference! He’s trying to be creepy and weird! That makes me feel better! Max, I mean. See, I usually find musicians, especially drummers, fairly sexy, and Max is not, not not. Even the odious Paul Schaeffer (sp?) is sexier than Max. With a better personality. But if it’s all an act, well, then…nope, still creeped out.
While I can’t come up with names right now, I like fairly snarky, dark humor. I love satire, and nastiness, and brilliant wordplay. I used to watch late night shows all the time…just have really been cutting back on TV watching in the past few years.