# Leno/Conan Shakeup at NBC **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 7, 2010, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073 "2010-01-07T21:31:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 34
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/661 "2010-01-22T16:05:01Z")
Many times when TV shows FB games they are CFL games since they don’t have to pay much to air those clips. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/662 "2010-01-22T16:13:02Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > The one thing that I learned in the last two weeks, though, has nothign to do with Conan. I learned that Craig Ferguson is a really, really funny guy. I had watched him a couple of times before, but never really paid much attention. This week I watched a bunch of late night shows each night to see what they were all saying about Conan, and Ferguson hooked me. He’s brilliant. Almost a performance artist rather than a talk show host. But he’s also a great interviewer. The Late Show with Craig Ferguson is now my favorite late-night talk show. By far. > > If you start missing Conan, seriously give Craig Ferguson a try. Craig Ferguson is leagues above the other late night crowd. Conan was doing great at poking fun at NBC. It was LOL funny. But it has quickly turned bitter and he’s sliding into a Lenny Bruce sign off. The Robin Williams bit was something akin to a drunk parent yelling at a referee. And Barry Manilow? I thought it was a joke at first and he was going to create something witty. Thursday’s show was painful to watch. ---
**Author:** ![stolichnaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@stolichnaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolichnaya)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/663 "2010-01-22T16:42:03Z")
Barry Manilow looks like the shapeshifter from Deep Space 9. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/664 "2010-01-22T16:50:16Z")
> [@stolichnaya](#): > > Barry Manilow looks like the shapeshifter from Deep Space 9. HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa. OMG, he does. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/665 "2010-01-22T17:19:09Z")
> [@stolichnaya](#): > > Barry Manilow looks like the shapeshifter from Deep Space 9. Yes he does. I love that you just stated it so matter of factly like that. ---
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/666 "2010-01-22T18:33:33Z")
Holy crap, that’s the same thing I told my wife last night! That’s exactly what Odo would have looked like if he’d participated in those holosuite games everyone else played. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/667 "2010-01-22T18:42:29Z")
> [@stolichnaya](#): > > Barry Manilow looks like the shapeshifter from Deep Space 9. That’s exactly right. I was going to say I’ll never be able to look at Barry Manilow again without laughing, but I already can’t look at him without laughing. The Robin Williams thing… well, it was kind of funny to hear someone curse that much on the Tonight Show and I liked the dancing, but the song itself didn’t go anywhere. It’s Robin Williams and you get whatever you get. I think it’s cool that the last musical guest will be Neil Young, but I continue to hope Bette Midler sings to Conan. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/668 "2010-01-22T18:52:11Z")
Some of us have been watching Craig Ferguson and praising him here for years. Why were we watching? Because Conan stopped being watchable many years ago. Ferguson’s books are also worth reading. And I love the final guests on the last couple of days of the show. Robin Williams. 58 Barry Manilow. 66 Tom Hanks. 53 Will Farrell. 42 Neil Young. 64 Boy, that’ll show all the boomers that the younger generation has a monopoly on the teh funny. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/669 "2010-01-22T19:07:01Z")
BTW , Carson had no guests on his last show. The audience was all invited guests and family. Bette Midler was on the next to last Carson Tonight show. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/670 "2010-01-22T19:55:30Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I continue to hope Bette Midler sings to Conan. Eh, Simpsons did it. > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > And I love the final guests on the last couple of days of the show. > > Robin Williams. 58 > > Barry Manilow. 66 > > Tom Hanks. 53 > > Will Farrell. 42 > > Neil Young. 64 > > Boy, that’ll show all the boomers that the younger generation has a monopoly on the teh funny. You do know Conan is in his late 40s, right? ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/671 "2010-01-22T20:04:39Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > …You do know Conan is in his late 40s, right? Ssssssssshhhhhhh!! Don’t tell that to the Millennials, it’d blow their skulls. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/672 "2010-01-22T20:14:47Z")
I doubt it. They seem to love Ferguson, who’s roughly the same age and frequently jokes about how old he is. (I actually thought he was 50, but IMDb says otherwise.) It’s not about chronological age as much as it is comedy styles and interview technique – and, arguably, talent. ---
**Author:** ![BMada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/96bed5/32.png) [@BMada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMada)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/673 "2010-01-22T20:17:25Z")
damn i missed thursday’s Tonight Show, anyone got a decent recap of the funny Conan brought? ---
**Author:** ![BMada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/96bed5/32.png) [@BMada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMada)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/674 "2010-01-22T20:30:22Z")
Artie Lange predicted Conan O’Brien’s NBC demise - 11/11/08 [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/abraham/detail?entry\_id=55799](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/abraham/detail?entry_id=55799) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/675 "2010-01-22T20:46:11Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > You do know Conan is in his late 40s, right? And that he’s in fact a boomer himself. And that the 18-49 age grouping that is all that advertisers care about - weekly Variety reports the top tv shows of the week only in order by viewership in this demographic, not overall ratings - includes three years worth of boomers. I’m only pointing out that the references to evil boomers here and elsewhere are just silly. I watch Ferguson and Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, who are all around the same age as Conan, because they’re still funny. Conan wasn’t. He wasn’t funny in the months before Leno went on the air and his ratings reflected that. Leno wasn’t the problem. Evil boomers weren’t the problem. Conan not being funny enough even for his fans to watch him was the problem. Letterman had a long spell in which he wasn’t in the least bit funny and then he finally came back by replacing the repetitions and meta-jokes with humor. His fans never seemed to notice either way. That said the same worshipful things about him throughout. Fans are like that. Sometimes it’s funny to read the silly things fans on saying on this topic and sometimes it’s irritating. Right now it’s irritating. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/676 "2010-01-22T20:54:11Z")
But who made it about the age of the entertainers? I don’t see a huge clamor for Jimmy Fallon or Carson Daly to take over Tonight. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/677 "2010-01-22T20:56:30Z")
Yeah, the person who brought up the baby boomers mentioned it was about the age of the audience, not the entertainers. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/678 "2010-01-22T21:11:06Z")
Speaking of Fallon CNN asks - is he next in line for Tonight? [Is Jimmy Fallon next in line for 'Tonight'? - CNN.com](http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/TV/01/22/jimmy.fallon.nbc/index.html?hpt=T2) Also, Oprah is going to interview Leno for her show next Thurs. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/679 "2010-01-22T22:04:40Z")
> [@BMada](#): > > Artie Lange predicted Conan O’Brien’s NBC demise - 11/11/08 Not all that prophetic, really. IIRC, before Leno’s scheduled departure from _The Tonight Show_, there was talk that NBC might just keep him on as \*Tonight Show \*host and pay Conan the 40 million that they would owe him for not giving him the show. It was just rumors, I think, but Artie Lange was just regurgitating that. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073/680 "2010-01-22T22:28:11Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Yeah, the person who brought up the baby boomers mentioned it was about the age of the audience, not the entertainers. Conan lost advertising money, period, end of story. He’s no different then any other entertainer on television. If you can’t generate the numbers, you get replaced. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073.md?page=33) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leno-conan-shakeup-at-nbc/524073.md?page=35)