I couldn’t watch it last night (thanks, digital television!) but I just saw the highlight reel on YouTube and it made me laugh out loud a couple of times. Maybe I’m just easy that way. It also made me kind of wistful for the early days of Late Night with David Letterman.
My favorite sketch was when Max Weinberg was about to leave for a tour with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Weinberg’s drum kit was on a motorized riser with a driver hidden within. As Conan bade farewell to Max, his riser made its way out of the studio and off the Universal lot with Weinberg riding on top continuing to play his drums. There was then a filmed shot of Weinberg’s riser making its way through the streets of L.A. on its way to the airport. Weinberg stopped at a drive-thru for some fast food before making his way to his plane, drumming all the way.
I remember completely losing it at that sketch. Absolutely hilarious.
I got the premise, I just kept waiting for the funny. It was a sight-gag without a punch line. Driving a drum set through a drive-through is a sight-gag. Sock-puppet dog with a cigar. Classic Conan. I hope he reunites with himself on the next go round.
It had sight gags: swimming through the river, being chased by security in Yankee stadium, stopping at the doll shop, forgetting his keys back in LA and locked out of his new studio. It’s cool if you didn’t find them funny, but there were most definitely gags.
Anybody know what NBC is showing next week?
Well, Conan repeats at 11:35 and Jay’s show at 10:00.
Why exactly did Conan resist The Tonight Show being moved half-hour later? Was it as he said, because he thought it would destroy the show?
Was the issue purely the time change? Or was it out of fear that many people would tune in for a half hour of The Tonight Show Lite with Jay Leno before turning the TV off for the night and going to bed? Or did he fear that Leno would just be a poor lead-in?
I’m inviting speculation obviously.
Also, I mentioned up-thread that Conan’s style would fit well with Comedy Central, but that CC would not have enough cash to pay him and promote the show properly. Was that a valid assumption or could CC get enough cash together?
The Tonight Show has been on at the same time each night for the last…how many decades? Change the time, especially to later in the evening, and you lose the viewers. It’s a little like the comics page of the newspaper in that regard; it remains largely stagnant because the readers would throw a fit if it ever dared change too much.
It actually wouldn’t be a good move, I think. Conan does mesh well with CC, and had fun with Stewart and Colbert during the writer’s strike. But the problem is that CC has Stewart and Colbert, who fill much of the same role as Conan. Conan on CC would be overkill, I think, and there’d be competition for time slots. Plus it’s basic cable, which has fewer viewers and less money.
Conan would work best on Fox, honestly. He has a history with them, with his years of writing for the Simpsons, and his humor matches theirs.
I tend to agree that Conan on CC would be overkill. Three shows in a row could be a bit too much. However, I am not sure that Fox would be an ideal move either. That would make what, four talk shows (counting CC) all at the same time? Are there really enough viewers available to support all of these shows?
The real irony, of course, would be if a Conan show on Fox was the source of the destruction of The Tonight Show.
NBC’s basic cable, Comedy Central is not 
Sorry? NBC is broadcast TV, while Comedy Central requires cable or satellite. Jon Stewart frequently makes references to his show having a shitty budget because it’s on basic cable.
Or am I whooshed?
It is in my turf.
Money shouldn’t be a big factor short term as any additional money made is taken out of his payment from NBC.
Hmm, I thought I had to pay for Comedy Central before…at any rate, NBC is part of every Basic Cable plan I’m aware of.
What’s the distinction you’re drawing?
“Cable” means you have to pay for it. “Basic cable” means it’s included in the bare-bones cheapo package. Comedy Central is in the basic cable tier for all cable companies. IIRC, around 90 million homes have basic cable.
“Broadcast” means it’s broadcast free over the open air, meaning you can plug a tv with rabbit ears into any electrical outlet and watch that channel. IIRC, there are around 130 million total homes. Broadcast channels are also (obviously) included in basic cable packages.
NBC is a broadcast network. Comedy Central is on basic cable.
Wait, and NBC isn’t? NBC has been part of every Basic Cable plan I’ve subscribed to…
ETA: n/m, I guess what was throwing me off was Bosstone’s original statement of “Plus it’s basic cable, which has fewer viewers and less money.” I suppose had he/she said “Basic Cable only,” I wouldn’t have been confused. If I understand correctly.
Right, but they’re also broadcast over the air. Meaning you don’t have to pay to see NBC. Comedy Central, OTOH, is on basic cable meaning you have to pay for at least basic cable in order to see it.
Put it another way, there is nothing you can do to prevent yourself (or your young children) from having access to NBC, which is the main drive behind the idea of the FCC. As opposed to Comedy Central, where if you’re offended by it you could cancel your cable package and your kids wouldn’t be able to watch it no matter what. (General you, of course.)
New technologies like the internet and parental controls that come with most cable services mean the previous paragraph isn’t strictly true, but it does convey the conceptual difference.
EDIT: Another way to spot the difference is if your cable goes out, while waiting for it to come back you could slap some rabbit ears on the tv and watch NBC. But there is no channel on your tv set that will tune in Comedy Central via rabbit ears.
Right, I’m familiar. It just seemed weird to me to be using “basic cable” as a derogatory term when the same term, in the context I’ve heard it used throughout my life, would have also applied to NBC.