NBC ending Leno's nightly prime-time show

[Cant_Be_Faded]

'Eh, that Kentucky Derby winning horse in the mink snuggie watching licensed NFL super bowl highlights wasn't nearly as funny as Buggati mouse.

t'wasnt supposed to be funny
just expensive

i can't wrap my mind around nbc not being able to stop him from doing a 4.5 million dollar 10 second bit

[CubanMustGo]

t'wasnt supposed to be funny
just expensive

i can't wrap my mind around nbc not being able to stop him from doing a 4.5 million dollar 10 second bit

No way in hell he's actually running up bills for this stuff, it's just a schtick.

Speaking of shtick, watching Failon struggle through yet another monologue after Conan's show tonight makes me wonder who in the hell thought he would make a good late night host.

[baseline bum]

Turns out the Buggati Veyron was loaned from an auto museum, but apparently NBC did pull the clip from online circulation to keep from paying any more royalties on Satisfaction.

[dbreiden83080]

NBC completely fucked Conan over here and it makes no sense at all why they did it. They spent a ton of money to build him a new studio, promote him as the new host of Tonight Show, then after only 7 months, give him a 33 mil payoff to go to another network (Fox likely) and hurt them even more since he will probably be on at 11 half hour earlier than Leno.. He'll be on the air longer than Leno in the long run, Jay is 60 years old..

What are they're fuckin chimps running that network? And how the hell did Leno get so popular over there for fucking up? He was replaced by Conan at 11:35 and then gets abismal ratings at 10. Fire his ass, rebuild your primetime lead ins and stick with Conan. Leno was like a snake in the fuckin grass this whole time, waiting to get The Tonight Show back..

[dbreiden83080]

Jerry Seinfeld

"I don't think anyone has done anything to Conan. They can't hit the ball for you. They can only give you the bat."

Yeah but by putting Jay at 10 and having him (Conan's lead in) sink like a fuckin stone, it was like handing Conan the bat down 8-0 after the bases were loaded and a roided up Bonds just hit one out..

[Jacob1983]

I agree. NBC did fuck Conan over big time. They didn't even give him a chance at the Tonight Show. 7 months? You serious? Not even a year. Jay Leno is a bitch and the Brett Favre of late night talk show hosts. I hope Conan goes to FOX and butt-rapes Leno in the ratings department.

[MiamiHeat]

I agree. NBC did fuck Conan over big time. They didn't even give him a chance at the Tonight Show. 7 months? You serious? Not even a year. Jay Leno is a bitch and the Brett Favre of late night talk show hosts. I hope Conan goes to FOX and butt-rapes Leno in the ratings department.

Conan is not funny to most people in america, he will never butt rape anyone in the ratings, unless the timeslot is back to his small demographic.

He's weird and tries too hard, and his humor is not intelligent or clever, or even witty.

Dressing up a Bugatti with a mouse outfit and just saying "Fuck you NBC, pay for this" is Dennis the Menace kind of funny.

Us grown ups don't really care.

[leemajors]

Conan is not funny to most people in america, he will never butt rape anyone in the ratings, unless the timeslot is back to his small demographic.

He's weird and tries too hard, and his humor is not intelligent or clever, or even witty.

Dressing up a Bugatti with a mouse outfit and just saying "Fuck you NBC, pay for this" is Dennis the Menace kind of funny.

Us grown ups don't really care.

I fail to see how a 26 year old like yourself identifies with the geriatric contingent. You're describing Jack Black, not Conan with:

He's weird and tries too hard, and his humor is not intelligent or clever, or even witty.

[MiamiHeat]

Tell me

what is witty, clever, or intelligent humor about "Conando" the soap opera?

Ok. Hispanic television, random things happen. Over the top and "zany" (good word for describing Conan) acting, poof done.

What's funny about it? Ok, yeah, I get it. Soap operas suck, they are ridiculous with their plots. We know.

is he trying to be funny with slapstick ? Um, slapstick isn't really popular nowadays. Get with the times. Look at most of the popular shows : The Office, Seinfeld, Friends, whatever. Is it mostly clever, witty dialogue or mostly over the top zany slapstick?


and yeah, about Conan doing slapstick. he's not talented enough for that one. He doesn't have "it".

And you are incorrect if you think only old people like Leno. Check his ratings per demographic.

A lot of people love Leno's JAYWALKING segments, and headlines, etc.. a hell of a lot more than "Conando" .... sorry, conan just reeks of 'childish' to me, not good childish, but the bad childish.

[MiamiHeat]

Turns out the Buggati Veyron was loaned from an auto museum, but apparently NBC did pull the clip from online circulation to keep from paying any more royalties on Satisfaction.

so conan lied to his audience

awesome.

pull this douche off the air already.

[johnsmith]

And you are incorrect if you think only old people like Leno. Check his ratings per demographic.

You know, lots of people can all be wrong at the same time.

[MiamiHeat]

You know, lots of people can all be wrong at the same time.

Exceptions to the rule.

If you didn't know the answer to a question, and you could win 1 billion dollars if you get it right , and you had to get help from the audience. you will go with the majority answer.


Otherwise, heck, give me a TV show. I'll do stupid shit comedy about marijuana and kicking people in the nuts when they don't expect it, and if I don't get enough ratings.........

I will say "THE MAJORITY WAS WRONG! THEY DON'T KNOW GOOD COMEDY!"

[leemajors]

Good job picking one skit to generalize all his work. Tell me how he's not clever or witty seeing as the Simpsons sucked ass once he left. Pimpbot, Year 2000, Animated mouths of celebrities are just a few examples of some really clever bits. Get off your high horse - Leno lied to everyone repeatedly. The Office and Seinfeld had plenty of stupid, funny, slapstick moments. You can't even construct a cogent argument.

[MiamiHeat]

Tell me how he's not clever or witty seeing as the Simpsons sucked ass once he left.

Family Guy > Simpsons. I was never a big fan of the simpsons to begin with, it was "OK", but not great or anything.

And writing for a CARTOON COMEDY is -much different- than doing a live action show hosted by him.

Just because you can write good cartoon comedy, doesn't mean you have the talent to be in front of the camera.




Pimpbot, Year 2000,

Never seen them



Animated mouths of celebrities

Hate this. It's disturbing, to be honest, and the material coming out of their mouths isn't that funny. It has potential, though. Just tone down the 'zany' and amp up the witty.


The Office and Seinfeld had plenty of stupid, funny, slapstick moments. You can't even construct a cogent argument.

Hey ass crack, I have one for you too.

"You can't even succeed in reading comprehension"


I SAID

Look at most of the popular shows : The Office, Seinfeld, Friends, whatever. Is it mostly clever, witty dialogue or mostly over the top zany slapstick?


Did I say it NEVER had slapstick, or did I say it had MOSTLY dialogue?

Sigh.

[Dr. Gonzo]

This coming from someone that thinks Friends is better than Seinfeld.

[leemajors]

Family Guy is horrible. Totally unwatchable crap. Throwaway joke after unrelated throwaway joke with no consistent theme. No surprise you like it. I read what you wrote, and it made no sense, just like everything else you post. You had no point except that you don't like Conan. That's fine, but don't try to justify it, you just make yourself look worse.

[Dr. Gonzo]

I like Family Guy. The old Simpsons where Conan was a writer is some of the best episodes they ever had.

[leemajors]

I like Family Guy. The old Simpsons where Conan was a writer is some of the best episodes they ever had.

I am mainly referring to Family Guy after it came back. I could watch it before that, it had some funny bits, but I can't watch it anymore. But to say Family Guy > Simpsons is absurd.

[fraga]

Family Guy > Simpsons.

This explains so much...the fact the you think Family Guy can in anyway in it's short history hold a match to the Simpsons is very telling on what exactly YOU think is funny...

[I. Hustle]

Us grown ups don't really care.


:lmao :lol :lmao :lmao :lmao :lol :lmao :lol :lol :lmao
:lmao :lol :lmao :lmao :lmao :lol :lmao :lol :lol :lmao

[SA210]

I can't wait to see Conan come back to television and whoop Leno in the ratings.

Bastards!

[SA210]

It should be noted that Seinfeld has a new show coming up on NBC and is a friend of Leno's.

So..put two and two together

[Das Texan]

Umm. In Leno's defense, which isnt much here I guess....:lol


The ratings he was getting in his variety show werent unexpected. Weren't they exactly what NBC was expecting to get at that hour?

So how did he fail exactly in his spot?


The blame really goes on NBC executives more than anything else...I think.

[CuckingFunt]

so conan lied to his audience

awesome.

pull this douche off the air already.

Conan said that the segment cost the network $1.5 million, not the car alone. I'm guessing that's probably accurate for the rental of a Veyron and the licensing fees for the use of the Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction."

[panic giraffe]

Conan's ratings were HALF Leno's before he left. HALF.

No bueno señores!


because leno never left, he kept his audience and moved them to a different time. leno should have just retired when he left the tonight show. it would have been his david robinson moment, he could have easily came back if the network needed him, plus it would have given conan a chance.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

Conan's ratings were HALF Leno's before he left. HALF.

No bueno señores!

Old people need their sleep

[Viva Las Espuelas]

Seinfeld.
One of the most stupidest shows in tv history.

[fraga]

One of the most stupidest shows in tv history.

According to you...

[florige]

I like Family Guy. The old Simpsons where Conan was a writer is some of the best episodes they ever had.



I couldn't agree more!

[easjer]

Umm. In Leno's defense, which isnt much here I guess....:lol


The ratings he was getting in his variety show werent unexpected. Weren't they exactly what NBC was expecting to get at that hour?

So how did he fail exactly in his spot?


The blame really goes on NBC executives more than anything else...I think.

It does go on NBC execs, certainly.

Their expectations cost affiliates millions of dollars in viewership/advertising. If they were expecting the ratings to be so low, they ought to have informed affiliates, because the ratings drops offs were tremendous.

This is even worse, in terms of cost, to NBC than their badly mishandled winter Olympics bid.

NBC may have been happy with those ratings, but it was a huge drop off for locals. That is the problem. The affiliates were hemorrhaging money and forced NBC to pull it. Rather than pulling it, they tried to move it all back, and here we are today, mourning the end of the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.

If they really wanted to keep both and their credibility, there were options other than moving Jay to the old Tonight Show slot. They could have reduced him to once a week, or barring that due to contractual obligations, moved him in front of Jimmy Fallon - following the Tonight Show. But we know that wouldn't work because Leno's demographics wouldn't be awake at that point.

I don't Leno deserves quite all the heat he's taken (even from me), but I agree that I lost a lot of respect for him because of this debacle and I will not watch his shows in future.

[easjer]

As for Conan, he is absolutely witty and intelligent. It's clear that you miss many of the jokes. Much of the comedy is meta-comedy. We're all in on the joke, that is what makes something ridiculous like the Masturbating Bear funny. If you don't get that, then you don't understand or appreciate truly intelligent humor.

[ploto]

the Masturbating Bear ...truly intelligent humor.

Did you really use these 2 in the same paragraph?

[Jacob1983]

If you think Leno is funnier than Conan then you're probably at least 50 years old and never ever saw Late Night with Conan O'Brien because you go to bed too early. Leno cares about money, his ego, and fame. Conan makes a fool out of himself every show that he does. That's one reason why Conan is funnier than Leno. Conan doesn't give a fuck about what people think about him. He wants to make people laugh even if the laughs are about him.

[JoeChalupa]

I like them both. Wish them both luck. I'm not quite 50 but they are different styles so I don't really think one is funnier than the other. Both have great skits and I enjoy them both. My bad, I like all three of them. David Letterman cracks me up too. I'll take a good laugh anywhere I can get one.

[JoeChalupa]

Am chilling and getting ready for the last.....of Conan....

[JoeChalupa]

and Neil Young.... :tu

[JoeChalupa]

Neil Young rocks!!!

[ace3g]

hell yeah Will Ferrell singing Free Bird, lol

[ace3g]

Conan was classy in his exit from the Tonight Show, way to go NBC, you are letting go one of the best Late Night hosts ever, good luck getting ratings from Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon, best of luck to you Conan hopefully to a network that actually wants you

[BlackSwordsMan]

rofl jimmy fallon

[baseline bum]

God, I hate the fucking "intelligent humor" police. Go to a museum sometime and see the kind of humor that survives the test of time. It'll usually be something like a Greek comic in a ridiculous mask with giant fake penis hanging out of his skirt, bending over and letting out a giant fart. Humor in the style of Monty Python and Jackass is derided by the pretentious, and laughed at by those with senses of humor.

[CuckingFunt]

the Masturbating Bear ...truly intelligent humor. Did you really use these 2 in the same paragraph?

Cheap laughs and intelligent humor are, in fact, not mutually exclusive.

[symple19]

Ummm, if there's anything better than Conan on guitar and Ferrel playing the cowbell to close things out, I don't know what it is.

Can't wait to see Conan on FOX in september (I hope)

[Clandestino]

it really was stupid. leno was kicking lettermans ass...then nbc got cocky and figured hed kick ass at 9 and then hoped that conan could hold his own against letterman...

personally i think letterman sucks compared to leno.. i tried to watch conan, but he really was painful. he reminds me of the shitty comedians that get 1-2 minutes before a real comedian comes on stage. i had to watch letterman at that time.

[Johnny RIngo]

Ummm, if there's anything better than Conan on guitar and Ferrel playing the cowbell to close things out, I don't know what it is.

Can't wait to see Conan on FOX in september (I hope)

It's too bad the Hanks interview sucked though Freebird was a great way to close out the show.

[symple19]

It's too bad the Hanks interview sucked though Freebird was a great way to close out the show.

Agreed, the Hanks interview was underwhelming

[ploto]

A masturbating bear is not intelligent humor, and she tried to claim that those who are not into Conan do not appreciate intelligent humor. That is just pretentious, acting as if Conan is too lofty for some people to get it.

George Carlin-- now that's intelligent humor.

[leemajors]

George Carlin-- now that's intelligent humor.

and silly puns and semantic jokes. no one's above it.

[mookie2001]

tried to claim that those who are not into Conan do not appreciate intelligent humor. That is just pretentious, acting as if Conan is too lofty for some people to get it.

agree

its like international soccerfan who tells you you don't understand the game

[mookie2001]

ok first of all

here are the things that we know

Miamiheat, heat fan, neocon, thinks family guy is better than simpsons and friends is better than seinfeld

we know this

[Whisky Dog]

I heard that Leno bit from 2004 where he was telling the audience how the Tonight Show is an institution that you don't own, you just hand it off graciously to the next man, how in 5 years he was going to hand it to Conan and wish him well and move on to better things...

What a little bitch.

Fwiw I hope Conan can go to Fox and that Fox let's him let it all hang out - I hate The bullshit like miamiheat spots about intelligent humor and such jackassery - I have a complex human brain that can enjoy multiple types of comedy, the last thing I want is every late night show to be the same bs.

Really, there is no such thing as intelligent humor - if it's intelligent and prudent and thought provoking it probably isn't funny. Even the aforementioned Carlin (who I really enjoyed) knew to mix in a bit of intelligent thought with a ton of crudeness and defiance - it's what made him funny.

"That reminds me of a line my 4th grade teacher used to say... You show me a tropical fruit and I'll show you a Guatemalan cocksucker" - George Carlin

[mrsmaalox]

God, I hate the fucking "intelligent humor" police.

:lol Yes.
I suppose the Leno fans believe they are the ones who understand intelligent humor also.

It all depends on what makes you laugh. I prefer Conan, but I didn't necessarily love the sketches (not intelligent enough, I fear). Conan's charm is his quick wit and self deprecating style; he makes us laugh because we relate to his human goofyness. Leno isn't very charming but gets his laughs from pointing out absurdities in everyone else, and that is funny because we all know stupid people like that.

[leemajors]

Really, there is no such thing as intelligent humor - if it's intelligent and prudent and thought provoking it probably isn't funny.

You were doing well up until this. Just look at baseline bum's physics jokes thread for a rebuttal.

[mrsmaalox]

Oh and I suspect that Conan and his staff have the best laughs catering their gags for the intelligent humor crowd. "Okay, now let's run over this giant pumpkin with a big truck for the really smart ones!"

[Xylus]

The difference between Leno and Conan isn't intelligent or stupid humor, it's vanilla or creative humor. Leno has an everyman appeal, or so I'm told, because his brand of humor is completely inoffensive and easy to digest. He has an extended monologue during which he does basic standup, then he goes to jaywalking or headlines (two skits that have lost their zeal over the years), and then on to a couple of boring interviews. He caps the show off with a shitty musical guest and calls it a night.

And have you guys watched Jay Leno's primetime shows? He mails it in every fucking day.

I've never seen an episode of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno that was even a fraction as joyous and spontaneous as any episode of the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. Last night's finale was pretty much one big bittersweet party. It was offbeat, hilarious, and at times sad.

[Whisky Dog]

You were doing well up until this. Just look at baseline bum's physics jokes thread for a rebuttal.

I didn't say humor can't have some intelligent parts, but it also has to have a degree of silliness, crudeness, or the like to be humorous. Just like I said about Carlin - the intelligent thought has to have a twist on it to be funny, it's a recipe that goes together.

[TheMACHINE]

It would have been better if a flying meteor hit Tom Hanks while he was sitting down. hahaha

[gatoloco]

link (http://amlawdaily.typepad.com/amlawdaily/2010/01/coco-ip.html)


Tragedy and Triumph: Conan Characters Caught in Contract Drama



...as has been widely reoprted, the late night comic will relinquish the intellectual property rights to several characters created during his 17 years at the network...we've been particularly concerned about the legal fate of characters like The Masturbating Bear, Pimpbot 5000, and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog.

NBC Universal has stated that it will retain the rights to many of O'Brien's characters, including Triumph. The network claims it co-owns the cigar-smoking dog with O'Brien's former writer and longtime friend Robert Smigel.

Los Angeles entertainment lawyer Larry Zerner told Above the Law that Triumph stands out because Smigel likely created the pooping puppeteer before he was employed as a writer by NBC. Zerner said the character's official Web site is owned by Warner Records, producer of Triumph's Come Poop With Me CD.

Another shocking revelation comes courtesy of The Smoking Gun, which reported on Friday that music accompanying appearances by The Masturbating Bear and Pimpbot 5000 is outside NBC's grasp. According to The Smoking Gun, two members of O'Brien's house band, drummer Max Weinberg and guitarist Jimmy Vivino, took out copyrights in 2004 on theme music for those characters and recurring sketches like "In the Year 3000."

"It's not a good deal for NBC because those characters are so tied to Conan, they really don't fit with anybody else," says Bassam "Sam" Ibrahim, an IP partner at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney. "The only goal [NBC] can hope to achieve is to somehow hinder Conan's ability to compete with Leno at another station. They don't want Conan to go to another network with the identical show that NBC has paid for, so they want him to create a new show."

Ibrahim says the IP portion of O'Brien's severance package with NBC surprised him.

"There's usually a decision on the front end over who's going to own IP assets," he says. "It's usually part of the initial agreement. Take [David] Letterman. He owns all of the rights to the skits, the names of characters, and the overall format of his show, so if he ever leaves he can recreate that show at a competitor."

"Conan will tweak his characters so they are clearly distinguishable, although the underlying concept is the same, because NBC can't prevent him from going out and making a living by creating competing characters," Ibrahim says. "They can only prevent him from using substantially identical characters, which he can get around by creating new names."

Some possibilities--such as the self-pleasuring peacock--have already been bandied about. Ibrahim says that any court will give the comedian wide latitude because of First Amendment rights to expression.

[dbreiden83080]

Epic last show from Conan.

NBC and Leno are a bunch of shits. They lost like a 100 mil to let Conan go to likely Fox who is beating them in the ratings.. Idiotic..

[Clandestino]

Epic last show from Conan.

NBC and Leno are a bunch of shits. They lost like a 100 mil to let Conan go to likely Fox who is beating them in the ratings.. Idiotic..

Conan never even got close to Letterman while leno kicked lettermans ass in ratings..

what are you smoking. less people will watch conan more than ever bc he will be up against leno and letterman?

[Shastafarian]

Conan never even got close to Letterman while leno kicked lettermans ass in ratings..

what are you smoking. less people will watch conan more than ever bc he will be up against leno and letterman?

:lol

[TheMACHINE]

Conan never even got close to Letterman while leno kicked lettermans ass in ratings..

what are you smoking. less people will watch conan more than ever bc he will be up against leno and letterman?

i guess you ignored the fact the The Jay Leno Show was the reaosn people stopped watching NBC at 10pm causing them to stop watching the 11pm local news which also hurts The Tonight Show. :rolleyes

[Clandestino]

In his final months as host of The Tonight Show, Leno beat Letterman in the ratings by a 1.3 million viewer margin (5.2 million to 3.9 million), and Nightline and The Late Show were virtually tied.[18] Once O'Brien took over Tonight, however, Letterman closed the gap in the ratings.[19][20][21] O'Brien initially drove the median age of Tonight Show viewers from 55 to 45, with most older viewers opting to watch The Late Show instead.[22]

[BlackSwordsMan]

leno's show was so shitty they didn't watch o'brien

[B-Hath]

Leno's show was terrible, so nobody watched the local NBC news after Leno, so nobody watched Conan after the local news that nobody watched. So much would have been solved if Leno hadn't been a titanic ass and not retired.

[ace3g]

NBC never gave O'Brien a chance, what were Leno's ratings when he first started the Tonight Show, its hard to build momentum in 7 months especially when the guy replacing Leno (Conan) uses a completely different style of comedy.

Like I keep saying its hard to find good writers that can host/perform/act. Conan was that guy, not to mention a smart individual who graduated magna cum laude in 1985 with an A.B. in History and Literature at Harvard.

[tp2021]

Oh my god, at Fox, Conan will be able to do whatever he wants; waaayyyy more than he could when he had the Late Night timeslot at NBC.

[exstatic]

Oh my god, at Fox, Conan will be able to do whatever he wants; waaayyyy more than he could when he had the Late Night timeslot at NBC.

Conan may not even GET a show on FOX, and for the same reason he was booted from NBC: the affiliates. Right now, they get to program whatever they want after the local news, and they get 100% of the ad revenues. That means cheap reruns of network shows. With FOX programming, they only get a fraction of the ad revenues. It would be a tough sell to have them trust a guy who already failed in that time slot. Conan won't get any better lead-ins at FOX than he had at NBC. FOX is 3/4 of a network at best, and their affiliates are WAY more ornery and independent than NBC's.

[Whisky Dog]

Conan needs to take his show to HBO.

[EmptyMan]

They need to change the entire setup of the actual shows.

10 minutes of standup, advertisements, a skit, advertisements, boring interview with vanilla big name hollywood actor which is basically an advertisement, advertisements, music, end.

It's gotten stale over the last few decades.

At least Conan doesn't appear to be on script the entire time like Leno. And LOL at thinking Leno's stuff is intellectual. It's just as dumbed down as anything else.

[Jacob1983]

Conan would be awesome on HBO but I don't think they would want to have a 5 night a week show on their network. That would be weird to see on HBO. I would watch it but I'm not sure if a lot of people would.

[Scola]

Can't feel too bad for Conan, hes getting a major $$$ settlement out of this and will probably land another job on Fox. Leno is okay, I guess hes the most mainstream. Conan tends to be a bit more on the edge with his humor and not everyone gets it but I kinda of like it. My favorite is still Letterman, Letterman > Conan > Leno

There was a pretty good podcast on this mess by Bill Simmons on his BS Report, check 1/14 :
http://sports.espn.go.com/espnradio/podcast/archive?id=2864045

[TheMACHINE]

Conan may not even GET a show on FOX, and for the same reason he was booted from NBC: the affiliates. Right now, they get to program whatever they want after the local news, and they get 100% of the ad revenues. That means cheap reruns of network shows. With FOX programming, they only get a fraction of the ad revenues. It would be a tough sell to have them trust a guy who already failed in that time slot. Conan won't get any better lead-ins at FOX than he had at NBC. FOX is 3/4 of a network at best, and their affiliates are WAY more ornery and independent than NBC's.

i disagree. Conans lead in will be better. Fox is pretty much the highest rated primetime network right now. Conan will most likely be shown at 11pm directly after the local news which is directly after awesome FOX primetime shows. Jay Leno killed Conan's lead in by losing to other networks at the 10pm slot thus lowering ratings for the 11pm NBC news.

[MiamiHeat]

IhqdyBE26cs

[MiamiHeat]

ZQoB8HJjins

[Clandestino]

i disagree. Conans lead in will be better. Fox is pretty much the highest rated primetime network right now. Conan will most likely be shown at 11pm directly after the local news which is directly after awesome FOX primetime shows. Jay Leno killed Conan's lead in by losing to other networks at the 10pm slot thus lowering ratings for the 11pm NBC news.

for the majority of americans conan just isn't funny. it won't matter if he comes after the super bowl. they won't watch him.

[balli]

for the majority of americans conan just isn't funny. it won't matter if he comes after the super bowl. they won't watch him.

That is simply not true. There might be a few malcontented individuals who go out of their way to label him 'unfunny' and who would specifically avoid watching his show. But that is a very few people and those people are fools and jackasses. I'd say most people are ambivalent about him.

Leno on the other hand, is hated, but not by the majority. And likewise, I think a lot of people are ambivalent about him and will watch his show. However, the difference now is that me and plenty of other people would rather get stabbed in the eyeball with a rusty screwdriver rather than watch that big chinned fuck pander to whoever he can.

Conan doesn't have a cadre of people who hate him. Leno does. Both men probably have the backing of a sizable portion of people who don't care either way; of course Jay will do better amongst this crowd; he's carefully engineered himself for 'broad appeal' and will pander to any and every person/corporate interest he can. He's made for ambivalent rubes and there are plenty of them out there. Hardly makes him the better comedian. It makes him a manipulative success. At least monetarily.

[Das Texan]

For whatever its worth Conan's ratings were bad in the summer when you cant blame Jay for it.

At least in terms of his competition.


I think the blame of Jay Leno as lead in for Conan is overall weak.

[Cane]

Jay Leno is like The Simpsons - people say he's done, people on the internet hate on 'em all the time (in response during their recent anniversary special The Simpsons staff pretty much diss the interwebs), yet he still pulls in respectable ratings/$$$ and is the more mainstream friendly show than South Park or King of the Hill.

Conan would be like Futurama. Definitely more niche, quirky, and ended much too soon for internet fans. Conan's crowd are the type that are much more susceptible to wasting time on forums (ie younger) but lack the numbers, money, and/or drive to actually make the show successful while it was on the air.

Coco's official NBC forums are interesting to check out due to all this hoopla. His finale was epic but overall his The Tonight Show run has been lackluster and really the past two years kind of sucked as a Conan fan (and he's my favorite host). Andy Richter was a bad decision and he created even more unfunny moments of awkwardness even on the last frigging show! First it was the stupid podium-moving joke (basically a WTF moment and Conan called it) and then he brought out the flask and as he was trying to do something funny and steal some spotlight the camera quickly shifted back to Hanks and Conan. Awkward moments are great if they're funny like they used to be when it was just Max and Joel...Andy is a black hole of late night.

Ranting over.

[balli]

For whatever its worth Conan's ratings were bad in the summer when you cant blame Jay for it.

At least in terms of his competition.


I think the blame of Jay Leno as lead in for Conan is overall weak.
I'll blame him for it all day. I just don't think ratings matter. At all. Conan's ratings could have been half of what they were, a third even. You don't can a guy after 7 months. It doesn't matter what his ratings were- he didn't get a fair shake either way.

Literally, until this happened, people were still coming onto his show and saying things like, 'I haven't had a chance to say welcome to LA yet' or 'Wow, the new set looks great'.

His show was in its very infancy. Ratings should have been the last thing he was judged on, 7 months in. Like someone else pointed out, Leno got curbstomped by Letterman for several years. He got more than 7 months and a shitty lead in to try to turn it around though. And guess what? He did. Too bad Conan wasn't afforded anywhere near the same level of support from NBC.

[Cane]

Its unreasonable to want the same treatment that your predecessor had especially in the realm of TV. Back when Leno was going through his own ratings woes - it was a much different climate with far fewer options for the audience to choose from. Coco was faced in a situation where NBC was experimenting with primetime and was losing money badly - no way in hell do they go back in time and pretend it was the fucking 90's (compare American cars from the early 90's to today for another perspective). Nowadays the pie is divided up into very small slices and there are even other pies (Mmmmm) to pick from like HULU and Tivo.

Also, Coco's show was doing bad even before Leno's was on air. Not only that but his show and humor was neutered by trying to adapt to a more mainstream audience; he lost his own appeal by not being anywhere near as edgy and having lame ass Andy Richter on board.

As a fan I wished Coco would've just signed on to half an hour later that way he still has a show and can go back to his roots. After playing "Free Bird" on his finale it looks like thats what he was going to do anyway - "this bird you cannot change".

[Das Texan]

I'll blame him for it all day. I just don't think ratings matter. At all. Conan's ratings could have been half of what they were, a third even. You don't can a guy after 7 months. It doesn't matter what his ratings were- he didn't get a fair shake either way.

Literally, until this happened, people were still coming onto his show and saying things like, 'I haven't had a chance to say welcome to LA yet' or 'Wow, the new set looks great'.

His show was in its very infancy. Ratings should have been the last thing he was judged on, 7 months in. Like someone else pointed out, Leno got curbstomped by Letterman for several years. He got more than 7 months and a shitty lead in to try to turn it around though. And guess what? He did. Too bad Conan wasn't afforded anywhere near the same level of support from NBC.

So if ratings dont matter, why blame Jay Leno's show as a bad lead in.

You know since ratings dont matter.

[balli]

So if ratings dont matter, why blame Jay Leno's show as a bad lead in.

You know since ratings dont matter.

Because I hate Jay and think he is partially responsible for the bad ratings. That doesn't mean I think those ratings should have mattered or that Conan didn't deserve more time, regardless.

You're confusing the difference between my idealism and the reality of what happened. Of course ratings mattered. That's why Conan's out after 7 months. Doesn't mean they should have mattered.

[Cane]

Of course ratings mattered. That's why Conan's out after 7 months. Doesn't mean they should have mattered.

It definitely matters, thats what the TV business is all about. Coco left at his own choice, he wasn't really outted. Instead he got worked up over his ego and timeslot elitism and pulled a Sarah Palin on NBC and us fans.

I do agree that NBC, in hindsight, should've handled things differently but there are no time travel machines unfortunately. A few years ago they were at risk of losing both Leno and Conan and thats how Conan got The Tonight Show in the first place. They should've let Conan go and stick with their leader in ratings except they didn't realize Leno would still be king by the time it was Coco's turn. Thing is though, NBC still wanted Coco despite the ratings failures but O'Brien seems to be going through a midlife crisis.

[Das Texan]

Because I hate Jay and think he is partially responsible for the bad ratings. That doesn't mean I think those ratings should have mattered or that Conan didn't deserve more time, regardless.

You're confusing the difference between my idealism and the reality of what happened. Of course ratings mattered. That's why Conan's out after 7 months. Doesn't mean they should have mattered.



What did you want Jay to do?

He never wanted to give up the Tonight Show, that was an NBC thing.

NBC didnt want to lose Jay so they said, have this show at 10. Jay woulda gone to another network once he was forced out of the Tonight Show, and he woulda destroyed both Conan and Letterman in ratings.

NBC asked Jay to take the 1035 slot back, when the affiliates were unhappy, mind you the ratings for Jay's show was exactly what NBC exec's forecasted.

Jay gets a hell of a lot more shit than he deserves in all of this.

The real blame lies on NBC and how they handled this going all the way back to 2004.

Is Jay totally blameless, I"m sure he isnt.

But is Conan totally blameless, I'm sure he isnt.

[balli]

What did you want Jay to do?

He never wanted to give up the Tonight Show, that was an NBC thing.

NBC didnt want to lose Jay so they said, have this show at 10. Jay woulda gone to another network once he was forced out of the Tonight Show, and he woulda destroyed both Conan and Letterman in ratings.

NBC asked Jay to take the 1035 slot back, when the affiliates were unhappy, mind you the ratings for Jay's show was exactly what NBC exec's forecasted.

Jay gets a hell of a lot more shit than he deserves in all of this.

The real blame lies on NBC and how they handled this going all the way back to 2004.

Is Jay totally blameless, I"m sure he isnt.

But is Conan totally blameless, I'm sure he isnt.

It's not like I'm letting NBC off the hook, but no, I don't think Conan has a thing to answer for. Not one thing.

In terms of what Jay should have done- I think Letterman can explain it better than I can:

6AK3T987jk8

[jacobdrj]

I loved the Bugatti Veyron Mouse to the theme of Satisfaction...

That was awesome...

[TheMACHINE]

I think the blame of Jay Leno as lead in for Conan is overall weak.

Uh...Jay Leno's lead-in to the local news is the reason this whole shit happened. Weak my ass.

[Das Texan]

Uh...Jay Leno's lead-in to the local news is the reason this whole shit happened. Weak my ass.


Umm Conan got beat by Letterman in the ratings before Jay's show started.

[Das Texan]

It's not like I'm letting NBC off the hook, but no, I don't think Conan has a thing to answer for. Not one thing.

In terms of what Jay should have done- I think Letterman can explain it better than I can:

6AK3T987jk8

So Conan is totally 100% blameless in this whole ordeal. His show was perfect, there was nothing wrong with anything he did.

You are blind.


We'll see what happens with wherever Conan goes to. Think he will beat Letterman then? If not, then who is getting thrown under the bus to make the excuse for Conan for you?

[MiamiHeat]

That is simply not true. There might be a few malcontented individuals who go out of their way to label him 'unfunny' and who would specifically avoid watching his show. But that is a very few people and those people are fools and jackasses. I'd say most people are ambivalent about him.

Leno on the other hand, is hated, but not by the majority. And likewise, I think a lot of people are ambivalent about him and will watch his show. However, the difference now is that me and plenty of other people would rather get stabbed in the eyeball with a rusty screwdriver rather than watch that big chinned fuck pander to whoever he can.

Conan doesn't have a cadre of people who hate him. Leno does. Both men probably have the backing of a sizable portion of people who don't care either way; of course Jay will do better amongst this crowd; he's carefully engineered himself for 'broad appeal' and will pander to any and every person/corporate interest he can. He's made for ambivalent rubes and there are plenty of them out there. Hardly makes him the better comedian. It makes him a manipulative success. At least monetarily.

blah blah blah

I hate Conan.

I love Jay

You are wrong. The majority of america does not think Conan is funny, period. They don't want to watch his immature humor. The ratings speak for themselves. Now stop hanging around drunk college kids. They don't constitute the real world.

[CubanMustGo]

blah blah blah

I hate Conan.

I love Jay

You are wrong. The majority of america does not think Conan is funny, period. They don't want to watch his immature humor. The ratings speak for themselves. Now stop hanging around drunk college kids. They don't constitute the real world.

Since the 'majority of America' doesn't watch any single program, late night or otherwise, you can just as well claim that 'the majority of America thinks that Jay is a back-stabbing, tired, unoriginal hack.' After all, the ratings speak for themselves.

[fraga]

blah blah blah

I hate Conan.

I love Jay

You are wrong. The majority of america does not think Conan is funny, period. They don't want to watch his immature humor. The ratings speak for themselves. Now stop hanging around drunk college kids. They don't constitute the real world.

The majority of America likes Glenn Beck...Sarah Palin and Fox News...what does that say about America... :S

[balli]

blah blah blah

I hate Conan.

I love Jay

You are wrong. The majority of america does not think Conan is funny, period. They don't want to watch his immature humor. The ratings speak for themselves. Now stop hanging around drunk college kids. They don't constitute the real world.

You'd happily eat at Country Home Kitchen over Ruth's Chris Steak House. And then call yourself an epicurean for being in the majority.

You'd watch MMA and call it more complex and engaging than the NBA finals. You'd then claim you were the world's most discriminating sports viewer.

You'd see Reno 911 Miami and say it should win an Oscar over Michael Clayton. Because of this, you think of yourself as a scholarly film buff.

You watch Friends. (As IM astutely pointed out) You are proud of this.

You'd watch Jay Leno instead of Conan O'Brien.

Rube.

[easjer]

So Conan is totally 100% blameless in this whole ordeal. His show was perfect, there was nothing wrong with anything he did.

You are blind.


We'll see what happens with wherever Conan goes to. Think he will beat Letterman then? If not, then who is getting thrown under the bus to make the excuse for Conan for you?

No, but it was the fact that the affiliates rebelled at the low ratings Leno brought in (regardless of whether or not they were what NBC projected - the affiliates were bleeding money because of Leno's ratings) that prompted the network to pull Leno's show.

That then set the spiral in motion. The mention of ratings in relation to Conan had nothing to do with his show being moved back. That was in response to the outcry over what was happening.

NBC thought they could get away with not paying out either contract and keep them both and simply move things around and Conan refused to let the Tonight Show - an institution of American television for 6 decades - be tarnished like that.

You can disagree with that decision all you want, you can decide it was self-serving or wrong or whatever, but Conan's ratings were a non-issue until this whole mess blew up in NBC's face and they were scrambling to find a reason to cover themselves.

As for the ratings speaking for themselves, well, they did. The ratings took a huge rise while this was occurring and Conan's last live show garnered nearly unprecedented shares - better than either Leno or Letterman. So I guess somebody was watching after all.

[exstatic]

Team CoCo needs to walk it off.

[MiamiHeat]

As for the ratings speaking for themselves, well, they did. The ratings took a huge rise while this was occurring and Conan's last live show garnered nearly unprecedented shares - better than either Leno or Letterman. So I guess somebody was watching after all.

People like to watch controversy, trainwrecks, and meltdowns.

Nobody cared before that.

[mookie2001]

Conan isn't funny


He's even to the point where he's not funny for a network latenight host, which is pretty bad



Interesting to see how long his "youthful" audience lasts, the guy is 45 and not exactly changing the game with content or doing anything special besides being on tv about tv

[SA210]

Conan needs to take his show to HBO.

[SA210]

6AK3T987jk8


:lol

[balli]

Rubes! All I see are rubes! rubes!

meh, Roget's has some nice alternatives:

bumpkin, chawbacon, boob, clodhopper, dolt, goon and/or yahoo

are all fine as well. If you prefer.

[MookieCrew]

Conan isn't funny


He's even to the point where he's not funny for a network latenight host, which is pretty bad



Interesting to see how long his "youthful" audience lasts, the guy is 45 and not exactly changing the game with content or doing anything special besides being on tv about tv

Everybody on SpursTalk knew that we were going to scoff conan o'brien i saaaiiddddd. he is so mainstream now, he is like eminem meets the life aquatic.

[CuckingFunt]

meh, Roget's has some nice alternatives:

bumpkin, chawbacon, boob, clodhopper, dolt, goon and/or yahoo

are all fine as well. If you prefer.

No yokel?

[Dr. Gonzo]

haha blumpkin

[dbreiden83080]

Conan never even got close to Letterman while leno kicked lettermans ass in ratings..


Uh was Conan hosting a show at 10 pm that 4 people in America were watching leading into the local news before Jay went on the air?? And newsflash for ya, Leno was getting beat by Letterman non-stop for like a year and a half when he got started..

[Jacob1983]

If people didn't think Conan was funny then why was he allowed to host Late Night for 16 years? Conan is hilarious. Leno not so much. Old people love Leno because I guess they can relate to him and his white hair.

[exstatic]

If people didn't think Conan was funny then why was he allowed to host Late Night for 16 years?

Because there isn't much expectation for that time slot?

[Jacob1983]

I'm guessing you're probably a person that never had even watched Conan or heard him of until he got the Tonight Show gig? I know Leno is so fuckin' hilarious with "headlines" and "Jay walking". Leno is such a comic genius.

[Clandestino]

If people didn't think Conan was funny then why was he allowed to host Late Night for 16 years? Conan is hilarious. Leno not so much. Old people love Leno because I guess they can relate to him and his white hair.

Conan was competing against infomercials and the infomercial guys became more famous!

Billy Mays and Anthony Sullivan made it to primetime before Conan!

[mookie2001]

If everyone loves Raymond wasn't funny why was it on tv for like 15 years?

[exstatic]

I'm guessing you're probably a person that never had even watched Conan or heard him of until he got the Tonight Show gig? I know Leno is so fuckin' hilarious with "headlines" and "Jay walking". Leno is such a comic genius.

I don't really have a dog in the fight. I've watched both, but not even semi-regularly. I just find the outrage by the Conan fans to be a bit hilarious. HE QUIT, and got hugely paid for it. Oh, the humanity!!!

Walk it off.

[baseline bum]

Jay Leno is like The Simpsons - people say he's done, people on the internet hate on 'em all the time (in response during their recent anniversary special The Simpsons staff pretty much diss the interwebs), yet he still pulls in respectable ratings/$$$ and is the more mainstream friendly show than South Park or King of the Hill.

Conan would be like Futurama. Definitely more niche, quirky, and ended much too soon for internet fans. Conan's crowd are the type that are much more susceptible to wasting time on forums (ie younger) but lack the numbers, money, and/or drive to actually make the show successful while it was on the air.

Coco's official NBC forums are interesting to check out due to all this hoopla. His finale was epic but overall his The Tonight Show run has been lackluster and really the past two years kind of sucked as a Conan fan (and he's my favorite host). Andy Richter was a bad decision and he created even more unfunny moments of awkwardness even on the last frigging show! First it was the stupid podium-moving joke (basically a WTF moment and Conan called it) and then he brought out the flask and as he was trying to do something funny and steal some spotlight the camera quickly shifted back to Hanks and Conan. Awkward moments are great if they're funny like they used to be when it was just Max and Joel...Andy is a black hole of late night.

Ranting over.

That's exactly how I feel about Conan. If they were beers Conan would be a Sierra Nevada, Letterman would be a Bud, Jay a Coors Light, and John Stewart an Arrogant Bastard. I liked Conan not having mass appeal; popularity is pretty often a great recipe for mediocrity.

[Jacob1983]

For the record, Conan's shows were never on at prime time. Prime time is from 7pm to 10pm (central time zone). What's wrong with Conan's fans being loyal and dedicated to the man that they think is hilarious?

[exstatic]

For the record, Conan's shows were never on at prime time. Prime time is from 7pm to 10pm (central time zone). What's wrong with Conan's fans being loyal and dedicated to the man that they think is hilarious?

Because it's OVER. The situation is resolved. HE GOT PAID.

Honestly, you're like the 4 year old in day care that got his toy taken away by the 5 year old...SIX FUCKING HOURS AGO. It was bad when he took that toy away from you. The teacher gave it back, though. You don't need to cry about it any more.

[U.S.A.F.]

. Leno is such a comic genius.

He has writers, you think Leno would be funny w/o the writers? You have a lot to learn about Television.

[Jacob1983]

You do realize that most of my earlier post was sarcastic. Leno is a douche-bag in my book.

exstatic, What crawled up your ass?

[exstatic]

You do realize that most of my earlier post was sarcastic. Leno is a douche-bag in my book.

exstatic, What crawled up your ass?

Team CoCo, apparently.

[angel_luv]

I didn't realize how Jay Leno was under contract with NBC and so does not have the free choice in the matter that I assumed he did.
Thanks for the information.

[dbreiden83080]

I DVR'd Leno's interview with Oprah today.. He came off horrible IMO. He basically did what i expected..

Passed the buck to NBC on every occassion

Took subtle shots at Conan's ratings, (Ignoring his own blame on the matter)

Played stupid whenever possible in regards to the timing of how it went down, what he did and didn't know. The guy is basically a snake IMO.. His rep is badly damaged, by not just fans but his own colleagues and his ratings will not likely go right back to what they were, even with better lead ins that thanks to Him Connan didn't exactly get.. At least not for long..

[CubanMustGo]

and leno will have the same lead ins he's always had

local news, followed by a rerun of some shitty dddddddd-rrraaaammmmmmaaaa that gets the boomers' blood de-sludged enough to put them in the mood for some Jay-walkin'

Most local affiliates go straight from local news to Leno.

[balli]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/29/jimmy-kimmel-tattle-tale_n_441714.html

Jimmy Kimmel responded to Jay Leno's claims that he felt "sucker-punched" when Kimmel came on his show and joked about the late-night scandal, calling Leno a "tattle-tale" and saying that it was Leno that sucker-punched him.

"Excuse me if I look like I've been crying, it's been an Oprah-whelming day for me," Kimmel said of Leno's Oprah appearance, which he described as "titan to to titan."

"It's kind-of funny, you know, celebrities usually go on Oprah with these intense, serious interviews to get support from the public after they had sex with their father or married Bobby Brown or something, Jay Leno went on because they gave him the Tonight Show back. So please, keep him in your prayers," he said.

After playing video of Leno's comments about him, Kimmel told his audience "the real story" of his Leno appearance:

After Kimmel performed an entire show impersonating Leno, Leno called up and said he found the show funny. His team then invited Kimmel to appear on Leno's "10 @ 10" segment, but Kimmel said the producers didn't want to talk about the late-night drama.

"So I get on the phone and the producer goes through about 30 questions and none of them are about what's going on in late night," Kimmel said. "The questions were like, 'What's your junk food weakness?'

"So I say to the guy, 'You know a little of this is fine, but I really think we have to talk about what's going on with Jay and Conan because that's what people want to hear about - not about my junk food weakness. I weigh more than 200 hundred pounds, all junk foods are my weakness.'"

Kimmel says Leno's producer was wary of overdoing the topic, "but what he did not understand was I did want to beat it to death. I like beating things to death. And so I did. Because, if I go on that show and answer ten questions about junk food, I'm the one that looks like a jerk. 'Hi Jay, oh I love Raisinettes!'

"If I made any mistake," Kimmel said, "the mistake I made was thinking Jay would have anything other to say than what was written on the cue cards. I figured he'd get into it and mix it up. You know, at one time he was a comedian. But he just stood there, kind-of reading through the questions like a robot and then goes off and rats me out to Oprah. That's a sucker punch right there, he's a tattle tale. Oprah and I had a wonderful relationship and now it's ruined because of Jay.

"And by the way, watch out Oprah, don't think he won't take your show next," he said.
fuck leno

[angel_luv]

"Excuse me if I look like I've been crying, it's been an Oprah-whelming day for me," Kimmel said of Leno's Oprah appearance, which he described as "titan to to titan."

"It's kind-of funny, you know, celebrities usually go on Oprah with these intense, serious interviews to get support from the public after they had sex with their father or married Bobby Brown or something, Jay Leno went on because they gave him the Tonight Show back. So please, keep him in your prayers," he said.

:lol :lol :lol

[dbreiden83080]

colleagues? you talkin colleagues? colleagues!



This...


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/29/jimmy-kimmel-tattle-tale_n_441714.html

fuck leno

[mouse]

pZ2fZH2XqNw

[fraga]

Wow...I'm not a fan of Rosie...but damn she hits the nail on the head...

[BlackSwordsMan]

pZ2fZH2XqNw

good listen

[ploto]

Jay Leno's first month back at 'Tonight Show': Yep, he's winning

It’s been a month since Jay Leno took back the desk on NBC’s The Tonight Show and as expected, he’s back in the winner circle. From March 1- 26, Jay Leno was No. 1 in late night among viewers (averaging 4.9 million) and No. 1 among adults 18-49 (1.3 rating/5 share). During the same period, David Letterman ranked second with 4.1 million and tied ABC’s Nightline among adults 18-49 with a 1.0/4. Jimmy Kimmel trailed in fourth with a .5/3 and 1.7 million viewers.

Leno still has some catching up to do if he wants to attract the same amount of viewers he did during the 2008-09 season. His season average at this point one year ago was a 1.4/6 among adults 18-49 and 5.2 million viewers. The Tonight Show lost some ground during Conan O’Brien’s now infamous but abbreviated run: he averaged a 1.1 rating among 18-49 and 2.7 million viewers.

http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2010/04/01/jay-lenos-first-month-back-at-tonight-show-yep-hes-winning/

[MiamiHeat]

LOL at the fucking losers taking "moral stances" on such trivial retarded "issue" about a fucking COMEDIAN

get a life losers

[MiamiHeat]

actually it was 3AM and it's saturday night/sunday morning WEEKEND

fail

go cry abotu your conan comedian

[Das Texan]

Well I guess the problem wasnt the Tonight Show itself but who was in the chair.