Over the years, I remember trying to watch Leno on several occasions. It always ended the same... I would eventually get that awkward feeling of pity for him when he repeatedly failed in his attempts at humor. You know... that uncomfortable feeling you get when you see an unknown comedian bombing on stage. The worst thing is that unlike those unsuccessful comedians, Leno never goes away.
My sentiments exactly. Conan can't help it sometimes if he's the more entertaining one between him and the guest.
Conan brings out the best in his guests. He draws out their spontaneity with his own spontaneity. He continually induces genuine laughter out of them and the audience. In the end, he always manages to make every interview both funny and entertaining. He avoids those awkward moments that many interviews are subject to through the use of various tools, whether it's his self-deprecating humor or his natural wit or his ability to smoothly transition from one topic to the next. The result is that many of his guests forget they are basically doing a Q & A session. All hosts accomplish this to some extent but Conan takes it to a whole new level. Letterman is good at it as well. Leno is awful at it. Like I said, Leno is the master of creating awkward moments and often struggles transitioning between topics of conversation. His attempts to be spontaneous or humorous almost always end in failure. It is wallowing in ignorance to read Conan's brilliant approach as him talking over his guests. He elevates them.
Putting Conan and spontaneity in the same paragraph is hilarious. Letterman has the driest jokes on TV... I think you have to be 50+ to sit through a whole show.
But the thing is he never really bombed. His humor is inoffensive and mainstream America liked it. And the jokes that sucked, he would just make fun of it sucking like how every other talk show host does. I get how people don't find him funny...his stuff is safe and predictable. But sometimes that's just what I want. That said, yea this show is basically his old talk show.
Dude! You need to get off your round ball and open your eyes. Letterman is a genius. I use his jokes to dry my laundry.
And Mr. Elitist strikes again. Yeah, let's stereotype America's people as an un-cultured, insecure, ignorant lot. Lovely.
The problem is that he never gets more than a chuckle though. Whenever I watch him, I get the jokes, I find them interesting, but I never really crack up. But what's the point of that? I can just go watch random youtube videos for the same effect. Although Conan has a lot more misses, which as Brooksball pointed out has more to do with writers than himself, I have a lot more hearty laughs. Ones where I just lose control of myself, and people around me look at me funny. I do agree that Leno definitely appeals to a broader audience though. Mainly because a lot of times Conan would joke about things that older people would find offensive.
****, Christina Aguilera better switch me chairs so I can sit next to Carson Daly and Fred Durst and hear 'em argue over who she gave head to first
That was completely spot on. Conan delivers on interviews but I still think he's struggling a bit on finding skits that will work in the newer time slot and for a broader audience. His taped bits, which were always hilarious on the late show, have been awkward to bad on the tonight show. It'll be interesting to see how he adjusts, hopefully he stops holding back.
The Time article on Jay Leno was pretty interesting. It's a huge gamble that I honestly don't think will pay off. Sure, it's cheap to produce but it's essentially NBC's white flag for evening programming. I actually think the audience for a tame, evening show is pretty small in comparison to the dramas that CBS and ABC are putting out. When it comes time to sweeps, I'm sure people will tune into a scripted show with plot twists and characters instead of high-profile guests they can see anywhere. Leno's deficiencies as an interviewer and uproarious comedian have been noted, but that's not his game. He gets chuckles, not belly-laughs. His interview with Jeremy Clarkson on this past series of Top Gear was genuinely one of the worst I've seen, despite his love of cars. Most guests are funny in their interactions with Clarkson, but Leno really looked lost in that one. I've always been a Conan and Letterman guy. I was afraid of what would happen to his style of humor on the Tonight Show and it's been a mixed bag in my opinion so far. Hopefully Leno's presence will take some of the pressure off of Conan and he can return to doing some of the really zany stuff he used to on Late Night. Maybe not Masturbating Bear crazy, but just goofy enough. No mass audience exists anymore, so I think it was unrealistic to ask Conan to tame his show for an audience that was obviously just waiting for The Jay Leno Show.
