3.05.2009

The Best There Is

This is hardly breaking news, but Late Night with Conan O'Brien had it's final episode almost 2 weeks ago. I think I speak for anyone with a half a brain and/or a sense of humor when I say that he is far and away the best late-night host around. His combination of razor-sharp wit and self-deprecating humor has placed him head and shoulders above the likes of Leno (deliveries are awful, the writing may even be worse), Letterman (better than Leno, but that is like saying herpes is better than HIV), Ferguson (not awful, not good), Daly (honestly - has this guy ever said a funny word? at any point? why did they think he would be a good late-night talk show host? TRL viewers are in bed long before he comes on).

So Conan moves to the West Coast and takes over the coveted 11:30 spot from Leno on NBC. It will be interesting, to say the least. I'm hopeful that his brand of ridiculousness
(i.e., the masturbating bear) will be tolerated an hour earlier and he won't lose any of his edge.

In any event, here's to you Conan. Below is his last episode, if you happen to have 45 minutes handy.

EDIT: It occurs to me I didn't mention the Jimmy's - Kimmel and Fallon, that is. I've never been that high on Jimmy Kimmel. When I was 14, I thought the Man Show was funny, but he has never really done it for me. I've seen various clips of his that I think are pretty good, but if I'm honest, he's a wash (despite good ratings, apparently). As for Conan's replacement, the latter Jimmy, color me skeptical with a dark brush. Jimmy's shtick is very limited and I'm not sure it will translate well to a hosting role. Granted, he was occasionally really good on SNL, and I thought Weekend Update with him was solid, although it was him reading from a script. It will be interesting to see how he does on his feet with guests (where Conan shined).


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