I was able to catch a quick glimpse of Conan O’Brien’s first apperance as host of The Tonight Show and I must say that I’m utterly disappointed. I’ve never been a fan of Conan but last night’s show takes the cake. Instead of a flowing monologue he did a stupid skit by skit comedy routine. In fact the first laugh I got was when the guest Will Ferrell was already talking, and he himself made some (sarcastic) remarks about Conan taking over the show.
I admit that I have quite a sophisticated sense of humor, but Leno always made me laugh. From his continuous monologue, to the timeless bits such as Headlines and Jaywalking, everything from the previous Tonight Show seemed to work perfectly. Now we’re left with a guy trying hard to make people laugh and trying hard to fill the shoes of an iconic comedian who has hosted the show for 17 years. One of the things I absolutely hate about Conan’s routine is how there’s always a lot of silent moments (because the audience didn’t find the jokes funny) and when this would happen, Conan would do little actions that just seem to make it worse. Granted even Leno regularly has jokes that flop, but he has a way of turning things around and making the audience enjoy even the worst of jokes.
I was still young when Leno took over Johnny Carson as host of The Tonight Show, and I’m sure he did encounter some problems during the first few months, but Conan just doesn’t seem right for the job. To top it all off, we have Max Weinberg and Andy Richter replacing the dynamic tandem of Kevin Eubanks and John Melendez.
I guess the only saving grace for Conan would be if they made Triumph the insult dog a more regular character. Otherwise I’m crossing my fingers and hoping Jack TV lines up the Jay Leno Show come September.
