I’m 25. Conan’s skits are funny. His monologue is usually crap. It’s just a guy telling jokes. The jokes themselves are funny, but his delivery sucks. (and since he doesn’t write his own jokes, that’s the part he’s responsible for.)
Jay’s skits are mostly crap, but he instead uses outsides sources (like stupid people and newspapers) to make up for that. His jokes themselves wouldn’t be funny, but the way he tells them makes me laugh. Even the predictable ones get a chuckle or two.*
To me, every time I hear someone describing Conan, I think they’re actually describing Craig Ferguson. Maybe Conan used to be like Craig, but I sure never noticed.
*Those complaining about predictable jokes, how did you stand TV before, say, the 80s? People telegraphed their jokes for miles.
I’m not taking a position on telegraphed jokes either way, but this particulr question is easily answered by them not knowing any better. Might as well ask how people managed to survive before the 80s without cellphones or the internet.
Wasn’t Letterman, out of all the talk show guys, the one who refused to do his show during the strike? and shut down his production company? I beleive he might not be a nice guy, but he probably has a sense of ethics (other than sleeping around on his wife).
I thought Letterman struck a seperate deal with his writers and got back to doing the show before all other production companies got their deals done. Not sure about Letterman not doing his show during the strike though, perhaps he did.
My main problem with Conan being gone is wondering where my next Abe Vigoda fix is coming from.
Trivia: he tried to get Werner “Col. Klink” Klemperer to be his yesteryear guest star but Klemperer wasn’t interested; he did the same with Whitman “Grady” Mayo that led to a hysterical “find Grady” contest when nobody could locate him, but Whitman had moved to Atlanta and was semi-retired and either not interested in flying to NYC for the gigs or they couldn’t afford to pay him and fly/lodge him on a semi-regular basis.
Conan said the strangest experience was when he’d been in negotiations with Klemperer’s agent who tried to get Werner interested but had no luck (he apparently didn’t need the money and didn’t want the exposure- he did still act from time to time). Meanwhile Conan was filming a sketch on the street one day and, completely unscripted and completely coincidentally, Werner Klemperer and his wife walked by and said “Conan, I love the show! If I was going to do anybody’s it would be your’s!” and kept on going- in the middle of the sketch! Some thought it was a set up but he swears it wasn’t- just one of those “stay long enough on a street in downtown NYC and you’ll see everybody you know” moments.
Missed the edit window. I meant to say, ‘admirable’ ethic code. (hope I spelled that right, I’m working right now, I don’t have time for this strict ass message board’s spelling standards!)
They all shutdown during the strike but Letterman did sign a deal and went back on during the strike. Leno also went back on without his writers. The union claimed Leno broke the rules by doing that but later said what he did was allowed.
The writers union wasn’t mad at Leno for going on air during the strike, all the talk shows in late night and daytime went filmed without writers soon after the strike began after being ordered to by their networks. The WGA was mad at Leno specifically because he was still writing jokes which the hosts weren’t supposed to do. I don’t know how that rule even works and the WGA never took any action against Leno for it.
Leno said he could write jokes during the strike because the rules allowed a performer to write their own material. Eventually the union agreed with him and he was not punished.
I’d love to know what the demographics are for these late night shows, because I’m betting that most of the audience for any of them are in the 50+ age range. Basically, if someone younger is awake that late, they probably have more interesting things to do/watch. Hey look, this ratings/demographics page suggests that only 1/4th to 1/3rd of the audiences for Leno or Letterman are under 49.
As a representitive of someone at the tail-end of Gen X, I can tell you that no one my age has ever said anything about these shows in my presence, nevermind fretting over them not being reached out to by one of the hosts.
Until this season, I’ve simply ignored the existence of the late night shows in general, but this season I’ve come to loathe Leno more than the rest because he and his ego took over 5 ten p.m. spots that could have been filled by something more interesting - say, an entire season of Southland, for example.
Wanna hear my US Defense strategy? Give Jay Leno a gun, hand him a map of Tora Bora Mountains, and tell him Bin Laden is rumored to be the next host of the Tonight Show.
Honestly, I don’t blame Leno one bit. I really like Conan (check out his Twitter feed for some great laughs), I’d do the same thing. If someone took my job, I wouldn’t just step aside. I’d fight for what was mine.
Plus, Conan is a ginger and we all know that they have no souls.
Leno never wanted to do it. Even in the interviews promoting the Jay Leno Show, he seemed sad. “That’s the way things went” does not indicate great acceptance.
NBC is the one who screwed both Jay and Conan. They should have either let Conan walk 6 years ago or let Jay go. They were so terrified of one going to ABC or Fox that they tried to split the difference.
How Jeff Zucker still has a job is beyond me. He must have photos of Jeff Immelt sucking coke off a trannie’s cock (I’ve used that expression before…)
I don’t watch late night. With a DVR, I watch primetime during late night! However, were I to watch one, Craig Ferguson would be my guy. His monologue is the funniest. He gets lower tier stars, but he seems to have the most interesting conversations.
As others have said, Letterman owns his own show as well as Craig’s. Thus, he was not bound by the bargaining committee that represented the networks. However, Conan and Jay worked for NBC properties. Yet, when Dave got a deal in place, NBC panicked. New Daves/Craigs, with old Jay/Conans, could have destroyed NBC’s long term lead in the ratings. That’s why they pseudo-crossed the line. I think the union understood that and only played lip service to bashing Jay (remaining mum on beard growing, union supporting Conan).
When Leno went back with no writers his show was different. He had no skits, he just had a monologue and guests. Of course most actors boycotted his show during the strike because they are union people and saw him as a strike breaker.
