Let's face it: Conan's 'Tonight Show' stunk - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TMC · 01-16-2010, 03:04 AM

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-a...good-riddance/

Self-confessed "Cocophile" Bryan Curtis was left "utterly bored" by Conan's "Tonight," pointing out that nobody seems to be defending the quality of his seven-month stint. "When O’Brien sat down at Johnny’s desk, the gravitas seemed to throw off his balance," he says. "The show’s first week was an embarrassing celebration of all things Conan—see the opening sketch. It should have rightly celebrated the whole Conan traveling circus, from the dog to the masturbating bear."

catlover79 · 01-16-2010, 03:33 AM

Well said - I also miss the gags starring Abe Vigoda, who stayed behind in NYC.

Mr. Television · 01-16-2010, 11:06 AM

The same could be said for Leno's 10:00 show. The truth is NBC is not replacing Conan because his show stunk. They are replacing him because they didn't want to lose Leno. They forced Leno into leaving the Tonight Show when he wasn't ready and then they sabotaged Conan's show by putting Leno on before him at 10. Then they decided to move Leno to 11:30 and push Conan back to midnight. He'd still be following Leno only this time in latenight. He might as well stayed on his own show. NBC screwed this all up. It's nobody's fault but theirs.

catlover79 · 01-16-2010, 01:39 PM

^

Sonny, you called it!!!

TJL · 01-16-2010, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clint Eastwood Fan

The same could be said for Leno's 10:00 show. The truth is NBC is not replacing Conan because his show stunk. They are replacing him because they didn't want to lose Leno. They forced Leno into leaving the Tonight Show when he wasn't ready and then they sabotaged Conan's show by putting Leno on before him at 10. Then they decided to move Leno to 11:30 and push Conan back to midnight. He'd still be following Leno only this time in latenight. He might as well stayed on his own show. NBC screwed this all up. It's nobody's fault but theirs.

Conan demanded The Tonight Show during his last contract negotiation with NBC - and if NBC didn't give him the Tonight Show within a 5 year period, they would pay Conan a penalty clause which was rumored to be between 40-60 million bucks.
Greed is what created this mess. NBC didn't want to lose Conan to another network, even though thier loyal go to guy Leno was still raking in the big bucks. So that's why Leno "retired" in 2009 even though he was still on top. They could have told Conan to buzz off and let Leno host the Tonight Show forever, but they didn't want to face Conan in head to head competion.
Now it looks like that's going to happen anyway.
Word is now that Conan will get a fat settlement to walk (the money NBC didn't want to pay him as a penalty!) and will be free to host a new show by the end of this year.

TVFactFan · 01-16-2010, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMC

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-a...good-riddance/

Self-confessed "Cocophile" Bryan Curtis was left "utterly bored" by Conan's "Tonight," pointing out that nobody seems to be defending the quality of his seven-month stint. "When O’Brien sat down at Johnny’s desk, the gravitas seemed to throw off his balance," he says. "The show’s first week was an embarrassing celebration of all things Conan—see the opening sketch. It should have rightly celebrated the whole Conan traveling circus, from the dog to the masturbating bear."

Conan is the true embarassment-lol

JulieSomoski · 01-16-2010, 04:30 PM

The fact that people are saying this is all Leno's fault (including latenight talkers Letterman and Kimmel) is insane. Although Leno announced his retirement in 2004, it was with NBC's pushing. He never wanted to retire from The Tonight Show, and when 2009 came around, NBC realized this, realized his profitability, and kept him. Unfortunately, that was their mistake.

In all this, NBC and Jeff Zucker screwed this up. But, right now, Conan is the one making the biggest mistake. He let his conceitedness and pride get in the way of his thinking. All he had to do was simply move to 12:05 and keep The Tonight Show. He would have gotten a big-enough lead-in from Leno, which probably would have got him more exposure and better ratings. Now, he has nothing, and Leno will return to The Tonight Show and spike ratings right back up.

Conan's ratings did suck. They sucked badly. Luckily for NBC, they have the buzz now. So, Conan's ratings will remain up until he's done (which could be next Friday). Then, Leno will return, and his Tonight Show ratings will be up, and they'll likely remain up. Leno, who still has a good 5-10 years left in him, will take back the lead, and NBC's latenight woes will ultimately be over.

Mr. Television · 01-16-2010, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JulieSomoski

The fact that people are saying this is all Leno's fault (including latenight talkers Letterman and Kimmel) is insane. Although Leno announced his retirement in 2004, it was with NBC's pushing. He never wanted to retire from The Tonight Show, and when 2009 came around, NBC realized this, realized his profitability, and kept him. Unfortunately, that was their mistake.

In all this, NBC and Jeff Zucker screwed this up. But, right now, Conan is the one making the biggest mistake. He let his conceitedness and pride get in the way of his thinking. All he had to do was simply move to 12:05 and keep The Tonight Show. He would have gotten a big-enough lead-in from Leno, which probably would have got him more exposure and better ratings. Now, he has nothing, and Leno will return to The Tonight Show and spike ratings right back up.

Conan's ratings did suck. They sucked badly. Luckily for NBC, they have the buzz now. So, Conan's ratings will remain up until he's done (which could be next Friday). Then, Leno will return, and his Tonight Show ratings will be up, and they'll likely remain up. Leno, who still has a good 5-10 years left in him, will take back the lead, and NBC's latenight woes will ultimately be over.

The Tonight Show is an 11:30 pm show and everybody knows that. It's been that way since the Steve Allen years. If Conan excepted that, he'd be practically back in his old timeslot but just with the Tonight Show name. And in time, NBC would expand Jay's show to an hour and everything would be back to the way it was before. NBC should have let Conan walk 5 years ago if he was insisting on the Tonight Show and NBC should have let Jay walk last year because having a 5 night a week primetime talk show was doomed to be a failure. I'm not so sure that Jay is going to get all his audience back. I've been reading a lot about this and many people are angry. I agree that it is not Jay's fault because he never should have been forced out to begin with. I think Zucker likes the way people are taking sides because it takes the blame off of him. As for ratings, Jay's ratings weren't all that good when he replaced Carson but he was given time to grow.

Adamantium · 01-16-2010, 09:45 PM

Conan is standing up for himself and “The Tonight Show.” He will not be NBC’s bitch. Unlike, say, Jay Leno. Conan refuses to push the show back which also affects Jimmy Fallon’s show, something Jay doesn’t care about. Just like he didn’t care about pushing Carson and Letterman out of the way back in 1992. Jay will return to The Tonight Show and people who don’t mind watching a classless guy who gladly screws late night peers over will be sure to watch. I, for one am glad I’m not a Leno fan.

It was great seeing Jimmy Kimmel give it to Leno on his own show. The audience was laughing at Kimmel’s jokes even though they were bashing the fan’s beloved Leno. I loved it.

Leno may have his show back, but he doesn’t have the respect - Conan does.

As I’ve said before, the reason this is Jay’s fault is because he never left. Back in 2004, Jay Leno announced he would be leaving The Tonight Show in 2009 and handing it over to Conan O’Brien. A gracious move. We should have known it was out of character for Jay. But then just before Conan’s Tonight Show debuted, Jay announced he was doing a new show at 10 o’clock. So why would Leno fans bother to watch Conan’s Tonight Show? They would still have their guy just at an earlier timeslot. This prevented some potential Conan viewers from watching his show. Then when “The Jay Leno Show” debuted, ratings for Conan went down. This was because of the crappy lead-in of Jay, a reason the affiliates wanted NBC to drop his show. You have to remember, when Jay Leno took over The Tonight Show, it took him three years to beat Letterman. Conan’s had seven months. Plus Conan’s had to replace a guy who came back. Leno replaced a guy who left and stayed gone. PLUS Leno always had dramas at 10 o’clock, which resulted in higher ratings for the news and ultimately for his show.

No Julie, it’s not “insane” to blame Leno. Some will and some won’t, but there’s at least a reason to. We’re not just making stuff up out of thin air to blame on Leno. And Leno’s acting like he doesn’t know what’s going on, telling the audience in his monologue “I guess we were cancelled” and “No one knows what’s going on.” Yet the other hosts are all talking about what’s going on. Leno just doesn’t want to look like a douche bag… too late, buddy.

True some people don’t “get” Conan and never will, but he still didn’t get the chance to let his ratings grow for those who would eventually come around. He didn’t get the proper chance. And NBC will forever be a joke because of this.

Adamantium · 01-16-2010, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhilaEaglesHater

Conan is the true embarassment-lol

How so?

Leno's the one coming out of this with a tarnished reputation, not Conan.

catlover79 · 01-16-2010, 09:53 PM

I still think the "brain trust" at NBC are the main ones to blame for this mess. It would serve Jeff Zucker right if both Jay and Conan split.

Adamantium · 01-16-2010, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

I still think the "brain trust" at NBC are the main ones to blame for this mess. It would serve Jeff Zucker right if both Jay and Conan split.

It would serve Jeff Zucker right if both Jay and Conan left NBC. But Leno would never do that. He’s right where he wants to be and screwing over a “friend” is okay in his book. As long as he hosts The Tonight Show.

I agree that Jeff Zucker is to blame as well as Leno. But Leno didn’t have to go along with all of this in the first place.

Marvo301 · 01-16-2010, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

I still think the "brain trust" at NBC are the main ones to blame for this mess. It would serve Jeff Zucker right if both Jay and Conan split.

Your right Monika! It was Jeff Zucker and the other suits at NBC who made every bad decision and every bad programming move that led to this terrible mess. They're the one's to blame.

Marvo301 · 01-16-2010, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adamantium

It would serve Jeff Zucker right if both Jay and Conan left NBC. But Leno would never do that. He’s right where he wants to be and screwing over a “friend” is okay in his book. As long as he hosts The Tonight Show.

I agree that Jeff Zucker is to blame as well as Leno. But Leno didn’t have to go along with all of this in the first place.

If anyone screwed someone over it was Conan O'Brien when he insisted in his last contract negotian that he be made host of the "Tonight Show". Somebody else already had that job at the time. It is totally unprecedented in the history of the "Tonight Show" for that to happen. In every other instance a new host was chosen only after his predecessor had chosen to leave. Only Conan has been arrogant and egotistacal enough to plot a hostile takeover. In my opinion that makes him classless. And I think he got what he deserved.

JulieSomoski · 01-16-2010, 10:14 PM

Adam, you can't seriously be this angry at Jay Leno for this entire debacle. The guy enjoys what he does, and you're telling me it was his responsibility to step aside? He didn't want to end his career yet. He still has 5-10 years, if not more, left in him, and he should be allowed to keep his job and his audience as long as he wants to. It's not our faults Conan's ratings have been terrible since week 2 of his Tonight Show reign. It's not our fault Conan has failed to build an audience, but has instead further lost it since June. It's not our fault NBC's little experiment just didn't work out. But to call Leno NBC's bitch, to say that he's a classless guy who should be blamed for all of this is crazy.

Hey, you're a Conan fan. I understand that. I, to a large extent, am not, but I still find the guy funny at times (the porno names bit this week was hysterical). I just think you're going way overboard with placing the blame on Leno. It's not like he's been bashing Conan or any other latenight host since all of this started. The guy just wants to keep on working. He's going along with everything because he wants to keep doing what he enjoys doing. To suggest that he should have stepped down is just something that never would have happened. Leno has been trying to avoid this, as evident in his show. He doesn't want to follow in the footsteps of the other latenight hosts and bash them or take advantage of the situation. Sure, he makes his cracks here and there, and sure, he bashes NBC here and there, but I applaud him for not making it the basis of each and every show.

Furthermore, Conan's Tonight Show was terrible, as the article suggests. It was unfunny, and Conan managed to turn it into a complete joke. Now, don't get me wrong. I've been laughing at some of his bits all week. And sadly, I have never seen Conan more tame and more funny than he's been this week. Of course, it took him 7 months to do so. If he would have started out the show just like he was this week - calmer, more relaxed, more connected to the job and his audience - then I bet we wouldn't be having this conversation. But, too little, too late.

Let's put it like this. When it was time for Leno to step down, he stepped down. NBC just happened to give him a 10pm primetime show. If they hadn't, Leno probably would have ended up at ABC or FOX anyways. The man was never going to retire. After his primetime show failed, NBC was the one left scrambling. They were the ones who gave Leno 11:35 back. If they had just let Leno go, and keep Conan on at 11:35, then I bet Leno would once again have ended up at ABC or FOX. Everyone knows what a big asset he is to the latenight talkshow industry, which is essentially why NBC sees no losses letting Conan go. Just because he can bring in ratings and Conan cannot doesn't mean Leno should be made out to be the ass in all of this. Whatever your opinion is, bottomline, Leno's reputation may be tarnished now, but people will soon forget. He will get his audience back at 11:35, and he will lead NBC right back to #1 in latenight, something Conan managed to do the complete opposite of.

01-16-2010, 03:33 AM	#2
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,376	Well said - I also miss the gags starring Abe Vigoda, who stayed behind in NYC.
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01-16-2010, 11:06 AM	#3
Mr. Television 23 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,133	The same could be said for Leno's 10:00 show. The truth is NBC is not replacing Conan because his show stunk. They are replacing him because they didn't want to lose Leno. They forced Leno into leaving the Tonight Show when he wasn't ready and then they sabotaged Conan's show by putting Leno on before him at 10. Then they decided to move Leno to 11:30 and push Conan back to midnight. He'd still be following Leno only this time in latenight. He might as well stayed on his own show. NBC screwed this all up. It's nobody's fault but theirs.
	__________________ Sonny

01-16-2010, 04:30 PM	#7
JulieSomoski Roseanne Reboot - March 27! Forum Veteran Join Date: Nov 06, 2004 Location: Michigan Posts: 7,558	The fact that people are saying this is all Leno's fault (including latenight talkers Letterman and Kimmel) is insane. Although Leno announced his retirement in 2004, it was with NBC's pushing. He never wanted to retire from The Tonight Show, and when 2009 came around, NBC realized this, realized his profitability, and kept him. Unfortunately, that was their mistake. In all this, NBC and Jeff Zucker screwed this up. But, right now, Conan is the one making the biggest mistake. He let his conceitedness and pride get in the way of his thinking. All he had to do was simply move to 12:05 and keep The Tonight Show. He would have gotten a big-enough lead-in from Leno, which probably would have got him more exposure and better ratings. Now, he has nothing, and Leno will return to The Tonight Show and spike ratings right back up. Conan's ratings did suck. They sucked badly. Luckily for NBC, they have the buzz now. So, Conan's ratings will remain up until he's done (which could be next Friday). Then, Leno will return, and his Tonight Show ratings will be up, and they'll likely remain up. Leno, who still has a good 5-10 years left in him, will take back the lead, and NBC's latenight woes will ultimately be over.
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01-16-2010, 03:04 AM	#1
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 125,742	Let's face it: Conan's 'Tonight Show' stunk http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-a...good-riddance/ Self-confessed "Cocophile" Bryan Curtis was left "utterly bored" by Conan's "Tonight," pointing out that nobody seems to be defending the quality of his seven-month stint. "When O’Brien sat down at Johnny’s desk, the gravitas seemed to throw off his balance," he says. "The show’s first week was an embarrassing celebration of all things Conan—see the opening sketch. It should have rightly celebrated the whole Conan traveling circus, from the dog to the masturbating bear."

01-16-2010, 01:39 PM	#4
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,376	^ Sonny, you called it!!!

01-16-2010, 09:45 PM	#9
Adamantium TVAdam No More Forum Veteran Join Date: Sep 11, 2002 Location: Springfield, Ohio Posts: 7,828	Conan is standing up for himself and “The Tonight Show.” He will not be NBC’s bitch. Unlike, say, Jay Leno. Conan refuses to push the show back which also affects Jimmy Fallon’s show, something Jay doesn’t care about. Just like he didn’t care about pushing Carson and Letterman out of the way back in 1992. Jay will return to The Tonight Show and people who don’t mind watching a classless guy who gladly screws late night peers over will be sure to watch. I, for one am glad I’m not a Leno fan. It was great seeing Jimmy Kimmel give it to Leno on his own show. The audience was laughing at Kimmel’s jokes even though they were bashing the fan’s beloved Leno. I loved it. Leno may have his show back, but he doesn’t have the respect - Conan does. As I’ve said before, the reason this is Jay’s fault is because he never left. Back in 2004, Jay Leno announced he would be leaving The Tonight Show in 2009 and handing it over to Conan O’Brien. A gracious move. We should have known it was out of character for Jay. But then just before Conan’s Tonight Show debuted, Jay announced he was doing a new show at 10 o’clock. So why would Leno fans bother to watch Conan’s Tonight Show? They would still have their guy just at an earlier timeslot. This prevented some potential Conan viewers from watching his show. Then when “The Jay Leno Show” debuted, ratings for Conan went down. This was because of the crappy lead-in of Jay, a reason the affiliates wanted NBC to drop his show. You have to remember, when Jay Leno took over The Tonight Show, it took him three years to beat Letterman. Conan’s had seven months. Plus Conan’s had to replace a guy who came back. Leno replaced a guy who left and stayed gone. PLUS Leno always had dramas at 10 o’clock, which resulted in higher ratings for the news and ultimately for his show. No Julie, it’s not “insane” to blame Leno. Some will and some won’t, but there’s at least a reason to. We’re not just making stuff up out of thin air to blame on Leno. And Leno’s acting like he doesn’t know what’s going on, telling the audience in his monologue “I guess we were cancelled” and “No one knows what’s going on.” Yet the other hosts are all talking about what’s going on. Leno just doesn’t want to look like a douche bag… too late, buddy. True some people don’t “get” Conan and never will, but he still didn’t get the chance to let his ratings grow for those who would eventually come around. He didn’t get the proper chance. And NBC will forever be a joke because of this.

01-16-2010, 09:53 PM	#11
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,376	I still think the "brain trust" at NBC are the main ones to blame for this mess. It would serve Jeff Zucker right if both Jay and Conan split.

01-16-2010, 10:14 PM	#15
JulieSomoski Roseanne Reboot - March 27! Forum Veteran Join Date: Nov 06, 2004 Location: Michigan Posts: 7,558	Adam, you can't seriously be this angry at Jay Leno for this entire debacle. The guy enjoys what he does, and you're telling me it was his responsibility to step aside? He didn't want to end his career yet. He still has 5-10 years, if not more, left in him, and he should be allowed to keep his job and his audience as long as he wants to. It's not our faults Conan's ratings have been terrible since week 2 of his Tonight Show reign. It's not our fault Conan has failed to build an audience, but has instead further lost it since June. It's not our fault NBC's little experiment just didn't work out. But to call Leno NBC's bitch, to say that he's a classless guy who should be blamed for all of this is crazy. Hey, you're a Conan fan. I understand that. I, to a large extent, am not, but I still find the guy funny at times (the porno names bit this week was hysterical). I just think you're going way overboard with placing the blame on Leno. It's not like he's been bashing Conan or any other latenight host since all of this started. The guy just wants to keep on working. He's going along with everything because he wants to keep doing what he enjoys doing. To suggest that he should have stepped down is just something that never would have happened. Leno has been trying to avoid this, as evident in his show. He doesn't want to follow in the footsteps of the other latenight hosts and bash them or take advantage of the situation. Sure, he makes his cracks here and there, and sure, he bashes NBC here and there, but I applaud him for not making it the basis of each and every show. Furthermore, Conan's Tonight Show was terrible, as the article suggests. It was unfunny, and Conan managed to turn it into a complete joke. Now, don't get me wrong. I've been laughing at some of his bits all week. And sadly, I have never seen Conan more tame and more funny than he's been this week. Of course, it took him 7 months to do so. If he would have started out the show just like he was this week - calmer, more relaxed, more connected to the job and his audience - then I bet we wouldn't be having this conversation. But, too little, too late. Let's put it like this. When it was time for Leno to step down, he stepped down. NBC just happened to give him a 10pm primetime show. If they hadn't, Leno probably would have ended up at ABC or FOX anyways. The man was never going to retire. After his primetime show failed, NBC was the one left scrambling. They were the ones who gave Leno 11:35 back. If they had just let Leno go, and keep Conan on at 11:35, then I bet Leno would once again have ended up at ABC or FOX. Everyone knows what a big asset he is to the latenight talkshow industry, which is essentially why NBC sees no losses letting Conan go. Just because he can bring in ratings and Conan cannot doesn't mean Leno should be made out to be the ass in all of this. Whatever your opinion is, bottomline, Leno's reputation may be tarnished now, but people will soon forget. He will get his audience back at 11:35, and he will lead NBC right back to #1 in latenight, something Conan managed to do the complete opposite of.