NBC Late Night woes

If he holds the rights to the show he would be able to expand to the Internet later.
 
jpmfan said:
Apparently Microsoft were in talks with him to do a show for Xbox Live, would have been and interesting move if it happened.
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Geeeez and people think TBS is going to be a smaller market since it's cable and not broadcast? Now THAT would have been a bonehead move to a tiny niche market. I'm glad he didn't get stuck with that for sure.
 
jpmfan said:
Apparently Microsoft were in talks with him to do a show for Xbox Live, would have been and interesting move if it happened.
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I'm a little late with this, as far as the Tonight Show-Conan thing. Anyway.

Xbox Live? Right, talking about running the career completely into the ground.

Conan didn't make it with the Tonight Show cause nobody was watching it. That simple. I listen to the Howard Stern Show, and Howard was bashing Jay and 'supporting' Conan... But Howard never watched the Tonight Show with Conan. He was supporting the person Conan, not the actual performance. Just as I believe that many of the Conan supporters that came out of the wood works during the Late Night war, never watched the show with Conan. They were supporting a nice guy. But that's not how it works.

Conan was lost in the Tonight Show format, those shoes were too big for him. On top of that, it wasn't the Tonight Show anymore, it was the Conan O'Brien Show West. <_< Conan should have stayed in New York, he had his own format with his identity that worked. But no, he just had to have the Tonight Show. But the Tonight Show format is a variety show that has to have a wide middle of the road approach, to work.

I was watching one of the last Tonight Show episodes with Conan. He had William Shatner as a guest. Bill Shatner is a goof. The whole Star Trek thing, and just the person alone, it should have been great. So many thinks to make fun about. But nooooo! Shatner was talking, and Conan responded like: 'Oh really? That's nice. Tell me more.' It was so boring, it was painful to watch. If you can't crack a joke with Bill Shatner sitting next to you, a talk show might not be your thing.
A few weeks later, Shatner was on the Stern Show, and it was a riot. Just like it should be. <_<

Conan had half a year to make it work, but he didn't. Who gets a 6 months chance in Hollywood???
And with the amount of money Conan got, not to work(!), he is in a privileged situation. People hear about crazy sums of money all the time; Bill Gates, a Bugatti for one million, apartments in Manhattan for crazy millions... So people think they can relate to that kind of money. NO! If you have 'just' one million in the bank, you belong to an elite that almost everybody on this planet, including the US, can only dream about. There is not the slightest reason to feel sorry for Conan. It's idiotic to spend 8 hours a day in the grind, and then coming home to feel sorry for millionaire. <_<

The whole Late Night talk show format has reached an all time low. Johnny Carson was the best, and he still IS. Almost 20 years after he left the Tonight Show, and years after his death. Nobody can even hold a candle to his talent. Even Dave was much better back then.

Letterman is funny if he has a guest he can relate to. Somebody with a sense of humor. If Dave has a guest just because that person is popular at that time, but otherwise not really witty; the interview is painful to watch. It's like somebody forced Dave to do his job. He sits there like he's being punished. If I don't expect a guest to have a connection to Dave, I don't even bother to watch. Who cares about Late Night TV comedy bits (on all the shows), they all pretty much suck. If I want comedy bits, I listen to the Howard Stern Show. These days Late Night TV is all about the guests. And the problem is, that there are too many one hit wonders, 20 year olds that might have a career but no personality. Real stars and personalities are rare these days. Johnny Carson had all the stars, and he had his talent to make things work. One thing about Jay: he can have like Miley Cyrus on the show and make it work somewhat. It might not be a riot, but at least good enough to look at it. In my case, maybe to get an idea what all the fuzz is about, somebody like Miley. :blink: Cause I wouldn't know. :lol:

I was watching Jay when he had Russel Crowe on the show. Interesting guest. Some new Robin Hood movie that looks interesting.
And then, the total opposite. Tracy Morgan on the Leno show. I kid you not, it was like watching a schizophrenic. Tracy Morgan, what is with this guy??? Just for an experiment; get the show, watch the interview, but...think that it would be a crazy person, talked to in an insane asylum. :? The guy was drifting off, hardly paying attention, and when he said something it was somewhere between the reaction of a toddler or an insane person. It was unbearable. :|

The whole Late Night Talk Show TV format is pretty unappealing. I watch Jay or Dave if there's an interesting guest.
If I want comedy I listen to the Howard Stern Show. :cool:
 
^ Great post. Some interesting points that didn't go unnoticed by me either.

All this support for Conan seems like rooting for the underdog, but where was this support during his show's run? You're right, it did feel like the fans were coming out of the woodwork. And I'm not ashamed to admit that I was one of those fans either: I never watched his show (don't watch much TV in the first place, esp. not late-night shows), but I put up the "I'm with Coco" image on my Facebook page. I suppose this makes me a hypocrite, but maybe the fans that suddenly started to pay attention after essentially ignoring him for 7 months are in the same boat. They were fans of the person, but not his show.

After all, just look at how huge the show blew up in its last week. It's hard to pull off something like that for 6 months straight, but if Conan's persona was as unique as people believe it was, then he could have attained similar attention during the entire run.

On that note, it was embarrassing to hear the apologists try to justify themselves. "No Tonight Show host gets good ratings in the first 6 months!" Well yeah, but who's to blame for that? NBC had lots of viewership with Leno, but people were angry at the hamfisted way that NBC brought him back. And rightfully so too, but it doesn't change the fact that it's the most privileged franchise in television, and nobody watched it.

I hope Conan fans will put their money where their mouths are and give TBS some good ratings. It's a joke of a network, sure, but if they claim to really be "with Coco" then they'll actually pay attention and give the man some support. And hopefully it'll be the only good thing that comes out of this clusterfuck.

Also, Tracy Morgan is fucking awesome. If you don't get him, you don't, but he's definitely a love/hate type of celebrity. Also, he is fucking insane.
 
Part of the problem with Conan is that he was given no lead in. Leno in prime time killed the local news viewers since it was such a bad fit for the slot, and Leno is a bit of a sleep aid as it is - 99.9% of the reason they wanted Leno after the news was the affiliates hating his bad lead-in - nobody watching local news meant nobody sticking around for Conan. Part of the reason was that Conan was reigned in or nervous or something, since his show was much more safe than Late Night. It wasn't until he knew he was done anyway that he actually became funny again, likely in part because he didn't have to listen to his bosses anymore - what were they going to do about it?

On TBS it's likely to be much better than his Tonight Show run, likely because TBS is a network where nobody cares so he can do what he wants.
 
BlaRo said:
Some interesting points that didn't go unnoticed by me either.
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Thanks for the feedback.

I know that any appreciation of Leno was unpopular, or should I say uncool, in the last 6 months. But the guy must be doing something right. If Leno has a good day and an interesting guest, I'd watch it. Maybe he is very 'middle of the road', but that doesn't have to be bad necessarily. Russel Crowe was interesting for example. Cause the guy has a personality, he has something to say.

The Tonight Show brand is the Holy Grail of late night talk show television. If Jay Leno wants to hold on to that, if he thinks he can do it justice, why not? Obviously he has his audience. The ten o'clock desaster was a f'up by NBC. Some idiot NBC executives wanted to be smart. They thought they have 'the new hope' of late night TV, Conan. But at the same time, they did not want to lose Leno. With the ten o'clock show, NBC pissed off it's audience, cause they wanted to have their drama series at that time. NBC pissed off the entertainment industry, cause actors and writers were losing their jobs. And on the other end, Conan did not turn out to be the new hope of late night TV. It was a complete failure.

Leno got hit by the shrapnel of the NBC f'up, and Conan was idealized as sort of a hero who fights for 'Late Night Justice.' Conan was the shining light and Leno the dark and evil force. Even more so, Conan became sort of an intellectual choice, he was the Toyota Prius of late night TV. Watching Conan was like environmentally friendly. If somebody would have watched it, that is. Cause it is obvious that nobody did. Supporting Conan was like wearing a ribbon.

If somebody wants to be the new sheriff in town, he has to prove that to himself and to the people. If somebody wants to beat the champion in heavy weight boxing and take the crown, he has to knock out the champion. Getting close to the victory doesn't do it. It has to be a knock out. I heard those arguments about the 'lead in.' That is what I call a myth, an urban legend. Conan did not bring anything new to the table that stirred up interest. He didn't even live up to the Tonight Show legacy. The fact is, that Conan looked completely lost in that format. The shoes were to big for him.

Some people get it wrong when I say that Conan should have stayed in New York. The reason why I say that is because; that was his OWN show, it had Conan's identity, it worked. But Conan was tempted by the Tonight Show legacy. The legacy of Johnny Carson, the best, ever. Conan just had to have the Tonight Show. And he failed. And there is only one person to blame. The End.

Conan's future, who knows? That TBS thing doesn't sound like a riot to me. If people talk about it I will check it out, but I'm not going to look or wait for it.


Why write all this? Cause I'm losing sleep over it? Cause I sit in front of my keyboard, with sweaty hands, feeling the urge to make my opinion heard? No. It's just a great story, there is so much drama, the psychology of it all.


BTW, yeah I really don't get Tracy Morgan. I don't know, just his voice makes me cringe. He was on the Howard Stern Show too, but no difference, shudder. And I really do belive that he has mental issues of some sort. Him on the Tonight Show, it was almost like watching Rainman. Then again, it might be me.

On a side note; my favorite comedian is Lewis Black. His stand-up persona (if not personality), the guy that is aggravated by EVERYTHING,...that's funny.
 
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Tracy Morgan is awesome. His weirdness is what makes him hilarious!

I just recently started watching 30Rock (first time it was shown on a channel I have), and loved it.. :p
 
Ouch, must spread talkshows around before giving one to MamesJay! I never was a fan of Conan, i predicted it would be a disaster and it was.
 
Firecat said:
bump.

For whatever reason (Leno sucks), ratings are down.....but it's affecting Letterman as well

http://tv.yahoo.com/the-tonight-sho...with-jay-leno-posts-lowest-ratings-since-1992

Ratings worse than Conan's. I somehow doubt NBC will kick Leno to the curb though.

*Edit

A little more in depth

http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/tv/leno_next_yyQLPJwW2QFgidzoQ0wSLO?CMP=OTC-rss&FEEDNAME=
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damn, just goes to show that NBC were too soon to react to Coco's ratings, i always remember when it was happening that they were saying Leno's ratings were worse than Carson's were for many months even the first year, but then it picked back up.
Cant wait for Conan to be back though later in the year, and he can finish Leno off ;P
 
No, no...it's OK. He's got help! George Lopez. :rolleyes:
 
Man, NBC is just going straight down the shitter now.

i used to like NBC. West Wing, ER, Seinfield, Law and Order (r.i.p.) old SNL Late Night, etc etc. All except Leno, whom as a comedian i cant stand whatsoever
 
Does anyone know how Jimmy Kimmel is doing? He's the only host currently on the air that I can tolerate.
 
Anyone watch the premier of Conan? It was almost half what Late Night was and half what Conan's Tonight Show was. So overall: it was very good.
 
Yeah, I liked it. Great looking set. He drew in over 4 million viewers, which is pretty damn good. Of course that figure will drop.
 
I watched for the first few minutes but didn't see anything new or fresh. It looks like a cheaper version of his Late Night set with 70's colors stuck on various things. Not enough contrast or light maybe? I'm sure he will do well and his audience will love him but it just isn't for me.
 
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