One hour earlier, still pale but in greater danger of sunburn, up a sidekick but down a FedEx Pope - is Conan still Conan?
Disappointingly, it's too early to tell.
O'Brien, 46, kicked off his stint as the fifth host of "The Tonight Show" with a brisk jog. In a suit and dress shoes, he ran from New York to Los Angeles, with detours through Wrigley Field and a Victorian Doll Museum along the way. He paced himself with Cheap Trick's anthem "Surrender."
It didn't make much of a statement -- although it did explain why he has the same scrawny legs he did when we met him 16 years ago.
Admit it. Seeing O'Brien under direct sunlight in various bits was a jolt. But he looked giddily at home on the "Tonight Show" stage, and spoke of watching Johnny Carson when he was a kid and wanting to grow up to do the same thing. "And I'm sure right now, somewhere in America, is a little kid watching me," he mused, "thinking, 'What is wrong with that man's hair? Is that even a man? Why is she crying?'"
There was even a sincere-ish "Let's all give it up for Mr. Jay Leno," somewhat marred when it was followed by a whiny Leno impression. After all the drama that went down during the last "Tonight Show" transition, it was nice to have a modicum of snarkiness this time around.
It was fitting to see Andy Richter at the podium, although the old friends' rhythm is still off; O'Brien talked over him at one point. To Richter's credit, though, he laughed generously at a Backstreet Boys joke. Earned his keep right there.
Most of the first show's humor was centered on Los Angeles. And O'Brien noted that the circumstances could be better: He was appearing on the last-place network, in a state that is bankrupt, on a show sponsored by General Motors.
Among the show's out-of-studio highlights:
*O'Brien hosted a tram tour through Universal Tours, suggesting that a special-effects flash flood was Octomom's water breaking.
O'Brien showed off his 1992 Ford Taurus on the streets of Los Angeles. A fetching bystander took one look and was impregnated.
Will Ferrell had the honor of being O'Brien's first guest - possibly the most beloved man in America. (Wait, no, that's Tom Hanks - and he's on the show tonight.) Ferrell introduced a fair amount of skin to primetime: He entered on an Egyptian litter, carried by four tan men in pageboy wigs.
Instead of congratulations, Ferrell spoke from the heart. "No one thought you could do it," he told O'Brien. "No one."
Then Ferrell played to the Leno demographic when he joked, "Forget Twitter, I'm on the CB." (Do you kiddies even know what a CB is?)
"Don't get me wrong, I'm pulling for you, but this whole thing is a crap shoot at best," said Ferrell before conceding the stage to Pearl Jam.
There was one sign, though, that this will be a more dignified, soberer Conan: Unlike on past "Late Night" appearances, Ferrell did not strip down to his naughty leprechaun costume. Repeat, did NOT strip down to his naughty leprechaun costume.
"Sellout"? No, let's not call O'Brien a sellout. Yet. He did include a Fabio cameo, after all.
O'brien is awful and so is his body language. Whoever thinks he's funny is a sad person. Also, O'Brien's political statement about Sotomayor was sad. He must think more mexicans watched Jay than whites.
Paige...
I think you missed that Ferrell was being sarcastic and not really "speaking from the heart" when he was going off about how "now one thought he could make it, no one!" That's the only part of your review that I didn't agree with.
I was also disappointed to see Andy stayed at the podium. In my opinion Conan was at his best when he had Andy sitting on the sofa alongside his guests. In my opinion that was one of the things that Leno lacked.
After switching away from Conan due to the Olympics, my wife and I became devote Craig Ferguson fans! He is the absolute best in late night in our opinion. We still like Conan, but we'll be able to watch him more now that he isn't head to head with that wild Scottish Brogue.
I can't wait to see how the show evolves from this point. I hope he interacts with the band as frequently as he did in NY.
Thanks for the nice article. Watch the Ferrel part again and you'll see why I took it that way.
Sincerely,
Chuck Kennedy