About (Late) Last Night: Conan O'Brien just won't drop the NBC thing [video]

Conan O'Brien is still working out the kinks. On Monday's premiere of "Conan," his new show on TBS, the host's monologue dealt almost entirely with self-referential jokes about his split with NBC and his new network's inferiority. Already the quips felt a bit tired, after months of similar material from O'Brien via Twitter, YouTube and his live show. But on Night 1, maybe it had to be done. On Tuesday, though, it was just excessive.

O'Brien's second TBS monologue was too much like the first. Usually reserved as a place for newsy humor, the show's opening was again devoted to "Conan" itself. This time, TBS took the brunt of it.

"The whitest man in show business is back," O'Brien began. "On the second blackest channel on TV."

"You know what's great?" he continued. "Now that we're on the air -- I think we can all agree this is good -- TBS can finally stop running promos for our show. Unfortunately, that leaves an 18-hour hole in their schedule." It's not that the jokes aren't funny, it's that they feel like stalling.

Conan even mentioned NBC again, meaning his monologue consisted half of jokes about his show, not counting a clip reel of first-episode reviews and a visual gag about his new studio. The other half dealt with the typical, if a little corny, topical subject matter. "What do you say, a little news?" O'Brien asked. "There's a lot going on out there."

Even Conan's guest teased him about his NBC obsession. Sitting down with Tom Hanks, a proud public ambassador of Team Coco, O'Brien blamed the actor for the proliferation of his new nickname. "I have little children who call me sometimes Coco instead of Daddy," O'Brien said, insisting Hanks was responsible. "Finally, he'll blame something on someone other than Jay," said Hanks. Hopefully that one hit home.

-- Joe Coscarelli

See Tom Hanks get soaked after the jump.

Comments

[rabbitsyndrome]

Somehow I think I watched an entirely different show last night:

I was worried too about Conan harping too much on the NBC fiasco, so I counted the number of jokes aimed directly at them: three. That's considered excessive now?

And about those TBS jokes: did anybody expect him NOT to poke fun at TBS? It's only his second day!

"It's not that the jokes aren't funny, it's that they feel like stalling."

If the jokes are funny, what's the problem? It's kind of strange to see somebody complain about jokes being used as a stalling mechanism on a late-night talk show since these kinds of shows only have two parts that most people care about: the monologue/skits/segments and the guests.

[anonLA]

He mentioned NBC once the entire show...
Sounds more like you won't drop the NBC thing since you had to write an entire article about it.

[Alan]

The NBC jokes are the best part. I hope he does them every night. Why should he drop the NBC thing? Why are you even watching his show? Leno is calling, he wants you and your lame sense of humor to tune back in. You're ruining his numbers.

[Victor d'Angelo]

Stalling? For what? If Conan tells funny jokes, appreciate them. They are not part of an ever evolving narative; they are a joke. If you laughe, good. If not, move on to the next joke. I believe your expectations are for something more than a late night humorous show - which is your problem, not Conan's.

[cb]

No, you're 100 percent wrong. The critical griping about Conan's jokes has already grown stale, Joe. You need new material. You're bombing. And in this case, your criticism is grossly unfair and wildly inaccurate. Your supporting material doesn't offer a shred of evidence to back up your thesis. Where is the evidence supporting the angst-y headline and lede -- that this is all about NBC? Where? Oh, that's right. It doesn't exist. You imagined it.

Personally, I think this Conan show is outrageously funny, but I realize that is my opinion and others like you see it differently. We can agree to disagree on that. But you're not telling the truth, and you should be held to the same standards that all journalists are held by.

You are pushing a false narrative that Conan is somehow stuck on NBC. Conan's jokes last night had nothing to do with NBC. Even the first night, the jokes weren't about NBC. Rather, they are the self-deprecating type of jokes that riff on TBS' status as a cable channel that everyone imagines that no one watches. If you knew anything about the show you are trying to criticize, you would recognize the device as one of the many tools in the Conan bag of tricks, where he tells jokes that bash his employer. But you have completely missed the mark, and failed as a reviewer. These jokes are meant to reinforce Conan's status as the scrappy underdog that succeeds in a highly-competitive, powerful, well-moneyed late night machine that would prefer it to be otherwise. That is the point.

[Sixfingered]

So he made one reference to NBC this episode? Oh my god he must be so obsessed with it.

[Michael Brando]

Ummmmm,, Yeah. Biased much? This article seems more like a sad rambling than informative. The "author" seems to see things that simply aren't there. The only word I can put to this article is,,, pathetic. It's easy to see what motivated this article. It's either jealousy, envy and/or hate.

[Right In The Kisser]

Get over it, Conan. I hope the Hanks quip stung, 'cause I'm sick of it, too.

[Mark]

I DVRed both Jay & Conan. To me, they are both good, but not great.
But I predict Conan will have big problems. After the lead-in & monologue, he wasn’t very funny. He is making some of the same mistakes he made on his Tonight Show such as moving left/right on the stage so much the camera has trouble following him. It’s hard on the eyes. And he does other things wrong also.
Good luck to you Conan, but my prediction is a mediocre show. Conan’s lucky it is easy to survive on cable.

[Coscarelli SUX]

You are pathetic for getting tired of these jokes after 2 episodes. He has been off air (unjustly) for 9 months and is finally getting his chance to say anything he wants to say in the forum that he is most comfortable with, late night TV. You obviously went into watching the show ready to attack Conan for anything he said. His MO is to make people laugh by making jokes about what is on their mind, and making every topic ridiculous. That is all he is doing. He's making people forget that this is his second shot around by having them laugh about it until it isn't funny anymore, and then he'll move on. He'll get back to being settled and performing monologues that are news-relevant. He also used this self-aware comedy routine while at NBC, so its nothing new, and to criticize it is pathetic, like you Mr. Coscarelli. You want someone to complain about, complain about someone that isn't making the best with what they have been given. Conan's doing a great job so far of making CONAN a show that the fans most loyal to him want to watch.

[Conan Fan]

So Conan takes a few jabs at networks...what's the big deal? When he was on the Tonight Show (before the whole Jay debacle), he frequently dissed NBC. Now he's on TBS, so yes, he'll tell a joke in their expense as well. It's what he does.

He seemed to ease off NBC-based jokes, which really I don't mind if he continues with them. They're funny. He isn't being bitter, he's telling jokes that get laughs. Obviously they work (4.2 million viewers...)

[Babalu]

Uh, you're kidding? Or do you moonlight over at NBC? Conan made fun of NBC / GE for years (almost nightly) on Late Night. It's schtick. So he makes fun of them (still). Shocking, and I expect he will continue to hurl monkey doo at TBS, because that is what he does. Let me get this straight, you've watched Conan before, right?

[ben macken]

wish conan had the old theme

[Zembla]

so you apparently have not been a viewer of Conans show in the last 10 years or so. Conan specializes in self depricating humor and also making fun of whatever network he is at, he has been doing it for years on NBC way before they ever had a problem . I can't believe this was written in La Times and not some amature blog

[Cliff]

ugh, Joe has his head so far up Leno's lower intestine he can smell his liver.

[kwhy8strm]

I know I don't fit the Coco demo, 6o year old black male.
I dig him because he is willing to come out and make a fool
of himself to entertain me. Just let it all hang out! Enjoy the moment! So much of tv talk is so contrived and everybody
tries to fit in the same peg hole, Blow the damn thing up!!
Be silly!! Enjoy yourself!!

[Ron]

Maybe you should slam David Letterman too for always making fun of CBS and General Electric. He also depreciates himself. Every talk show host likes to harp on one thing all the time. Obviously, your just looking for a story. For the record I also like watching Letterman. Glad I don't get the LA Times anymore since your journalism lacks something poignant.

[Jason]

Conan's always a bit too self-referential in his interviews; it's not the NBC debacle that's made him this way. The presence of Andy Richter intensifies this, imo. I personally prefer Conan sans Richter. Also, the new theme song is bland and spiritless. However, I'll still watch, and I believe the show will get better. Love the set, love the graphics, and love Conan, despite his flaws.

[Meh]

Isn't everyone tired by now of a whiny, entitled multi-millionaire crying and complaining about how he's been done wrong? I know I am.

Suck it up and put on your big boy pants, CoCo. Game's over.

[Kilian]

The only thing sillier than this article is probably Conan's new show, as Conan's shows have always been. OMG Conan made a joke about NBC and even TBS and THEN he said he was PALE and awkwardly TALL. What did you expect? The show is pretty much the same it has always been and frankly I was hoping he would be roasting NBC and was actually a bit disappointed that there wasn't more jokes about the debacle. Right now there's two things I can't wait for Conan's second week and Joe Coscarelli's new article where he reveals that bears just won't stop pooping in the woods and that the woods are filled with bearpoop. Goodbye, I have to go console the bears with a happy ending. Thanks Joe.