(Team Conan icons after the long rant.)*Apologies for the length. Contrary to popular belief, I have a life. It's just that my life is on the computer, hence, easy access to this rant and the research I underwent that resulted in this rant.
I'm watching TMZ's live footage of a Conan support rally at Universal Studios. I'm crying out of love. So many people.
If you like Kimmel, you support Conan.
If you like Fallon, you support Conan.
If you like Letterman, you are watching him laugh while supporting Conan.
Ferguson's translator is still working on the past week's monologues.
If you like Leno, you need to disappear for a few years if you don't want to get assaulted.
(written 11pm last night)This has been a lonely week; I don't feel like talking to anyone, spend most of my free time online on ONE subject matter (as opposed to the billion my ADD usually desires) and will probably not stop until this is resolved (minus school and work on the novels). I don't even feel like telling many people I'm upset about this because I'm afraid of finding out who would dare side with Leno on this. I was going to wait to write until I was caught up with last week's episodes of Conan, (I have 2 more episodes to catch up as of now) but, seeing as how I was tossing and turning till 5am yesterday (after seeing
this vintage announcement, which saddened me incredibly because it shows how much of a hypocrite Leno is, and
this interview, which also saddened me because both these people were so happy and cordial) I need to write down something instead of repeat another sleepless night.
I have to write down my thoughts about all this, and whoever reads it reads it. Hopefully, it will help anyone who does not care what's going on to understand where I'm coming from. This takes up 3 pages in Word. I worked hard to justify my thoughts.
How shall I begin? With a disclaimer. I am not, by any means, any form of critic. I'm just a fan who has spent the last full week immersed in articles, videos, and user comments on
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conan_obrien. I'm just a viewer, but, as a loyal viewer, I know what I like. What I like is laughter. With Conan, my laughter is often broken into a scattering collection of giggles, squeals, and wide grins.
I'm on Team Conan! Many people I know probably think it's silly for me to be caught up in this tension between Conan, Jay, and NBC. However, being the Conan fan that I am, it would be impossible to passively watch this horrific battle unfold. I'm honored and surprised to be part of a large group. I didn't know how large of a fan base he had till now. Celebrities, comedians, fans, online journalists, and the general public have supported each others' outrage and sorrow so well that I hope it moves Conan and the entire staff of the Tonight Show as well as Late Night on NBC.
Why do I care about all of this? Why should I care about late night (or post local news) television, and why should you? Two reasons: for American history and for the sake of comedy. (Also, I dare say, for the sake of humanity because there will surely be an uproar if Leno tries to look like a good guy for one second longer.) Since the 1950s, history has been comforted before drifting off to sleep by a show in which variety, comedy, and oh-no-they-didn't moments reign. Recent events have led me to wonder why I, personally, ever cared about a late night interview-and-variety show other than the fact that it has been a part of all our lives regardless of our loyalty. I care enough to watch it during the day on my computer (I don't own a TV right now). This form of comedy has always been a positive part of our lives. We watch what makes us happy, what makes us laugh, and when we find what makes us laugh, this is when we transform from viewers to fans. As fans, we are able to discover differences between these late night hosts, what makes them comedians, and how to pick apart what it is they do as comedians that draws us to them. As we become educated about the art form of this late night format, we find that late night shows actually matter!
I'll be upfront. Before all this, I was Pro Conan and Craig [Ferguson], Anti Leno, Letterman and Daly, so-so with Fallon, and had no idea what Kimmel did. As of right now, I'm Pro Conan, Fallon and Craig, respectful of Letterman and Kimmel, and pity Daly. Before this, I knew nothing of the Tonight Show's history except that it once belonged to Johnny Carson and then to Leno. I knew nothing of Letterman almost getting the Tonight Show, but knew he had a falling out with NBC when he hosted Late Night and made history with CBS.
Much as I hate to admit it, I would not be a Conan fan--or even a late night talk show fan--if it weren't for the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. When my brother was home from college, I would sneak to his room when I was supposed to be sleeping and watch TV with him. Since we did not like Letterman, or whatever the other 3 channels had to offer at that time, (this was long before we had cable) we watched Leno. Over a short period of time, I was able to stay up later and later, often making it through the full Tonight Show. When the opening theme to Late Night with Conan O'Brien played, I would see who would be on the show that night. If a celebrity I liked was on, I would watch up to that point. I did not like Conan at first. I remember telling my brother, “You'd have to be really tired to understand this.” Fortunately for Conan, I was just tired enough to laugh at his jokes. As I became more used to staying up late and less frightened of his Donald Trump impression, I began to appreciate his show. Soon, I preferred him to Leno. Conan had a classier band, less-overused jokes, and a different sense of humor. By 2004, Leno was no longer funny and I was a fan of Conan's.
As I matured in college, I found enjoyment in picking apart mannerisms (and just plain manners) of late night talk show hosts. Watching Conan helped me see great differences in these hosts because Conan, in my honest opinion, is a poster child for interviewing etiquette. I have become the type of viewer who is a behavioral critic. How do the host and guest seem to feel about one another? How do they treat and speak to each other? If you're not too tired when watching these shows to pay close attention, you find that it matters.
Between all the interviews I've seen regularly, (which mostly consist of Conan, Leno, Colbert, and Fallon) Jay Leno is the biggest difference I find. I didn't find myself not liking him until I paid attention to him (which is surprisingly very hard to do). The first, and most important reason why I don't care for him is the way he talks to guests who are children or elderly. He uses a different tone of voice, simplifying his responses, using a high pitched, babying quality, and asks very stupid questions. I was especially appalled by this when he interviewed any elderly women. I recall John McCain's mother and another woman, years earlier, who was in the news for holding off robbers on her own with a gun. These were clearly intelligent and brave people, and he treated them--I felt, as a viewer--like second class guests.
Aside from this appalling find, Jay doesn't seem to be genuinely interested in a lot of his guests. I noticed this in his 10pm show, of which I watched the first few weeks. I also don't care for the fact that he needs a poorly implemented and overused rim shot after every joke.
Not to let one giant outweigh the other, I never cared for Letterman. I can't stand to watch much of him because I'm creeped out that he won't stop licking his teeth. He has always come off, personally, as a sleaze ball, and was before the scandal with his co-worker came out. After watching a few clips during my research this past week, I can say now that Letterman usually seems angry. According to a fabulous overview of this situation that Patton Oswalt presented on a radio show, (
clip here) with Letterman you know what you're getting; he's honest about his mood or thoughts. This is where Conan's class comes in.
Perhaps I'm much too smitten with the man for my own good. (No comments, please. ^_-) While watching his last month of Late Night, I did not want to miss anything. Even if I had no interest in a guest, I watched. Because Conan takes interest in and plays off of any interview guest, (don't make me inflict the Heidi/Spencer Pratt interview on you) this makes a big difference in the level of interest I, as a viewer, have in a guest. I never got this interested in anything Leno conducted. This brings me to the skits and bits.
Online news and gossip journalists currently criticize that Leno's bits are focused on insulting others. (ex: Jaywalking) My problem with these bits aren't their subject matter. As a matter of fact, I as much as the next educated individual love laughing and mourning over the brains of stupid people. My problem is the execution itself. In the past, I have asked friends who prefer Leno over Conan to explain to me why they prefer Leno. They named Jaywalking and Headlines as examples. I protest that these are not reasons to like Jay because these bits, this comedy, IS NOT the man himself; this is merely the man pointing things out while everyone else provides the material. Granted, from what I've researched, he used to be an observational comic, but this talent has faded considerably. What Conan gives us is himself; he gets in there and actually does something--just watch any remote.
Mind you, I'm not completely in love with everything Conan does. I don't like the Masturbating Bear, although I do find comic genius in playing the circus music. I also believe, much as I hate to admit it, that Tonight Show hasn't been as good as Late Night because Conan did tune down the signature manic silliness (though he said he wouldn't!).
A brief note on the other late night hosts. Though I have no desire to watch Jimmy Kimmel, I greatly respect him for pleading with Jay on the air in Jay's Ten @ Ten segment. I respect Letterman a bit for coming out of his Tonight Show controversy and feud successful. A possible time change is a terrible thing for Fallon to go through and watch because he just got this job a year ago. (I'm not a fan, but admit he can sometimes be adorable and uses the same type of Late Night humour that may seem stupid but has a strong, underlying intelligence.) Everyone pities Daly because he's as much of a victim as Fallon but nobody cares about his show at all. Craig is still Craig to me, a new mini obsession because I'm trying to learn his accent.
About Craig, I will say that anyone who is a Conan fan seems to like him. Both have a sort of "in your face" approach to monologues; they look right into the camera at the viewer and play off the audience without relying on them completely for feedback.
Other great sources of this debacle I have found helpful are
this Howard Stern clip, parts 1and2 where he talks about Rosie's thoughts, (I don't like either, and think Rosie complains about everything too much, but they all have good points) and
this short essay with which I don't completely agree, but all opinions there are justified.
I'm done, but I make a final point with this: If you have read articles and letters about this, have you ever noticed how everyone is filled with suggestions about what Conan should do, but not about what Leno should do? They care about Conan's future and silently imply where Leno should put these suggestions.
I close by sadly saying that when Conan began hosting Tonight Show, I knew it was too good to be true; something bad had to happen. When Conan got a concussion, I wanted to believe that the bad event I foresaw had happened. I lied to myself; the sinking feeling was still there. This is that dread come to life.
Nevertheless, I'm extremely proud of him. Should I ever get the courage to write a fan letter, (if I emailed the NBC executives in protest, hey, I can fret over a letter to a comedic idol) I will tell him so.
“Whene'er the fate of those I hold most dear
Tells to my fearful breast a tale of sorrow,
O bright-eyed Hope, my morbid fancy cheer;
Let me awhile thy sweetest comforts borrow:
Thy heaven-born radiance around me shed,
And wave thy silver pinions o'er my head!”
lines 19-24 of To Hope by John KeatsAnd when all this is over, I hope South Park takes vengeance on Jay Leno. And if Conan, playing himself, could avenge himself in such an epic episode, I would be soooo happy.
Team Conan Icons1.
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ungh...GWUH!
