The Tonight Show

[Eli]

I've always liked Conan, and I'm hoping he burns NBC to the ground and joins Stewart & Colbert for 2 hours of awesomeness on Comedy Central.

Good idea, but hasn't Conan already said "No" to a 12 AM ET / 11 PM CT time slot?

He said no to hosting "The Tonight Show" in that slot because of his respect for "The Tonight Show" and "Late Night" brands.

There's nothing better than a zany, mavrick comedian with a healthy respect for traditional brands.

CANYONERO!

It's the country-fried truck endorsed by a clown!

[Wheezer]

I'm not seeing 20 tons of peanuts here.

[Quality Start Machine]

"You can do anything you want in life. Unless jay Leno wants to do it too." - Conan

[air2300]

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2010/01/14/2010-01-14_conan_obrien_could_be_off_the_air_next_week_as_.html

Looks like Leno will be taking over the tonight show and Conan will be off the air by end of the next week.  If the last two episodes are any indication, Conan is going to be really fun to watch for the last 7 episodes.  Also, fuck Leno. 

[ChuckD]

Irony!

[Weebs]

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2010/01/14/2010-01-14_conan_obrien_could_be_off_the_air_next_week_as_.html

Looks like Leno will be taking over the tonight show and Conan will be off the air by end of the next week.  If the last two episodes are any indication, Conan is going to be really fun to watch for the last 7 episodes.  Also, fuck Leno. 

His interview with Ricky Gervais was awesome.  And it was kind of surprising that Gervais would say a lot of that stuff, considering how much money he's probably making because of NBC.

[ChuckD]

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2010/01/14/2010-01-14_conan_obrien_could_be_off_the_air_next_week_as_.html

Looks like Leno will be taking over the tonight show and Conan will be off the air by end of the next week.  If the last two episodes are any indication, Conan is going to be really fun to watch for the last 7 episodes.  Also, fuck Leno. 

His interview with Ricky Gervais was awesome.  And it was kind of not surprising that Gervais would say a lot of that stuff, considering how much money he's probably making because of NBC.

[Weebs]

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2010/01/14/2010-01-14_conan_obrien_could_be_off_the_air_next_week_as_.html

Looks like Leno will be taking over the tonight show and Conan will be off the air by end of the next week.  If the last two episodes are any indication, Conan is going to be really fun to watch for the last 7 episodes.  Also, fuck Leno. 

His interview with Ricky Gervais was awesome.  And it was kind of not surprising that Gervais would say a lot of that stuff, considering how much money he's probably making because of NBC.

Well that just doesn't seem realistic at all.

[Dr. Nguyen Van Falk]

Needs more Andy.

His address to the TV industry on tonight's episode was Exhibit A:

http://www.tonightshowwithconanobrien.com/video/clips/1193151

[Slaky]

Needs more Andy.

His address to the TV industry on tonight's episode was Exhibit A:

http://www.tonightshowwithconanobrien.com/video/clips/1193151

Bring back Andy Barker PI damn it.

[Dr. Nguyen Van Falk]

What an asshole.

Leno reportedly has always been very lukewarm to O'Brien — and his brand of humor. In addition, the two entertainers' path to fame and success has been very different.

Coming from his workingclass Boston background, Leno has always been proud of ''paying his dues'' and working his way to the top of the comedy heap, via years of stand-up comedy gigs across the country.

A longtime Leno associate says, ''Jay has always been skeptical of Conan, the Harvard-educated kid from an upper-middle-class background who basically parlayed his writing stints on 'The Simpsons' and 'Saturday Night Live' into one of the most coveted TV hosting jobs in the world.''

Conan hasn't earned The Tonight Show.

He just managed to sneak in on the back of a privileged upbringing and magna cum laude honors from Harvard and 23 years worth of work and experience in television as a writer, actor, host and producer.

[Quality Start Machine]

The only thing left in all of this that's even remotely interesting is seeing how Leno is going to try to untarnish his reputation.

[thehawk]

Jimmy Kimmel was on Leno's 10 at 10 segment last night.  He murdered the guy.

http://tv.gawker.com/5448615/the-late-night-war-reaches-its-boiling-point-all-the-clips-you-missed (second clip)

[Dr. Nguyen Van Falk]

Chicago is now apparently the barometer of lame comedy...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/15/business/media/15conan.html

Mr. Ebersol chided Mr. O'Brien for declining to take advice about how to adjust his show to the 11:35 p.m. slot from the style he had used on NBC's 12:35 a.m. "Late Night" show for 16 years.

He said he had met personally with the host three weeks before he stepped behind the "Tonight" desk for the first time to urge him to take steps to expand the appeal he had built up in his "Late Night" years, saying that NBC hosts beginning with Johnny Carson had recognized the importance of making the show appealing first and foremost to cities in the central time zone like Chicago and Des Moines.

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/mark-finkelstein/2010/01/15/morning-joe-jabs-jay-i-prefer-my-dog-leno

The thing about Leno is that you can watch the show, and as a TV executive I'd say 'yeah, that guy will work in Middle America. Will work in the Central Time Zone, which Carson was smart enough to know, that's where you win these battles. Conan, whom again I prefer though, you can look at the show for two minutes and say this probably isn't going to do as well in Chicago.

[Tony]

Chicago is now apparently the barometer of lame comedy...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/15/business/media/15conan.html

Mr. Ebersol chided Mr. O'Brien for declining to take advice about how to adjust his show to the 11:35 p.m. slot from the style he had used on NBC's 12:35 a.m. "Late Night" show for 16 years.

He said he had met personally with the host three weeks before he stepped behind the "Tonight" desk for the first time to urge him to take steps to expand the appeal he had built up in his "Late Night" years, saying that NBC hosts beginning with Johnny Carson had recognized the importance of making the show appealing first and foremost to cities in the central time zone like Chicago and Des Moines.

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/mark-finkelstein/2010/01/15/morning-joe-jabs-jay-i-prefer-my-dog-leno

The thing about Leno is that you can watch the show, and as a TV executive I'd say 'yeah, that guy will work in Middle America. Will work in the Central Time Zone, which Carson was smart enough to know, that's where you win these battles. Conan, whom again I prefer though, you can look at the show for two minutes and say this probably isn't going to do as well in Chicago.

Since when does Chicago=Peoria?