Conan - General Discussion

[CrazyDog]

Im not a fan of Conan's monologues. I think he's at his best during the remotes and for some reason, when he leaves the studio (like his time in Atlanta). I'm rarely interested in the interviews but could watch Clueless Gamer all day long. And when he used to interact with Jordan or his staff.

Edited June 1, 2015 by CrazyDog

[opus]

And when he used to interact with Jordan or his staff.

A lot of that type stuff still occurs fairly frequently.

[biakbiak]

Conan going to see Magic Mike XXL with slfenale staffers is glorious.

[Kromm]

Just watching the Comic-Con special now.  Some HILARIOUS stuff.  The Mad Max bit shown on the Previously front page, but also some other really fun segments.

[opus]

Just in case someone is not aware, the comic con eps run thru Saturday, so for the first time, new episodes shown on Friday and Saturday.

[nowandlater]

Just in case someone is not aware, the comic con eps run thru Saturday, so for the first time, new episodes shown on Friday and Saturday.

 

It's weird that they have 2 casts on Friday: Game of Thrones (9 people) and The Walking Dead (4 people).

 

I wonder how that's going to work out.

 

The Walking Dead cast members are essentially friends of the Conan show, so I would've preferred if he focused on the Game of Thrones cast.

 

Also, Conan has looked really young with these episodes. His makeup people are really doing a good job.

[SeanC]

I agree with Conan, that interview with the GOT cast ended super abruptly (though he did a decent job of involving everybody to one degree of another, given that there were nine of them).

[opus]

Any guesses here on Saturday's mystery guests?

[nowandlater]

It actually went bettter than I expected...I mean he did get quite a lot out of them in a limited time. I don't recall him getting Ser Davos invovled, however.

 

I was disappointed though that he didn't claim Sophie Turner to be his daughter.

 

And too bad Brienne of Tarth couldn't be there since the taping was done at the same time as the Star Wars panel.

 

As I said above, The Walking Dead cast seem to be fixtures on Conan, so it would've been nice to see a new cast get more Conan love.

 

Also, a random thing only I would notice: Immediately before the start of the show, TBS showed a photoshopped image of the cast together....and Maisie Williams' image is taken from her visit to Jimmy Kimmel Live a few months ago. (Or, more, likely one of the paparazzi photos of Maisie entering/exiting Kimmel's studio.)

 

 

 

Edited July 11, 2015 by nowandlater

[HelenBaby]

Any guesses here on Saturday's mystery guests?

For some reason I think it's going to be Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher & Mark Hamill.

[Kromm]

For some reason I think it's going to be Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher & Mark Hamill.

Getting Ford to do anything is always an event, isn't it?

But here's where he showed up (at a panel, with yes, Carrie and Mark, JJ and others): http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/11/entertainment/harrison-ford-star-wars-comic-con-feat/

Someone might have to verify it, but I think this is probably the first convention-y type thing he's done since like the 80s.

 

Edited July 13, 2015 by Kromm

[biakbiak]

Harrison was at the ComicCon panel for Cowboys & Aliens. in 2010.

[VCRTracking]

Edited July 17, 2015 by VCRTracking

[Kromm]

Conan O'Brien Targeted in Lawsuit Claiming He Lifted Jokes from Twitter

[nowandlater]

Just a quick rant:

 

The Conan show become obsessed with Thomas Middleditch?

 

I hate it when talk show guests, especially lead guests, make multiple appearances in a short timespan.

 

A talk show guest should not appear on your show more than once in a 6-month period -- unless that person is extremely famous.

 

Middleditch, the Silicon Valley star, first visited Conan as the lead guest on June 3 of this year.

 

A couple weeks later, on June 15, he appeared on Conan again for a Clueless Gamer segment.

 

Then a few weeks later, on July 8, he appeared on Conan again in a sketch Wolverines auditions segment from Comic-Con.

 

Then last week, on Sept. 17, Middleditch, with nothing to promote since Silicon Valley aired earlier this year, was the lead guest once again.

 

Is this a sign that Conan is running out of guests? But how can you run out of guests!?! THere are plenty of guests, especially in L.A. where there is only one 11:35 network talk show. L.A. is brimming with guests.

 

Or maybe Conan is just into that nerdy guy. But, man, I'm Middletched-out on Conan.

 

 

[HelenBaby]

I love Middleditch and I didn't even know who he was until earlier this year. I think sometimes he gets people who work on the Warner's lot especially if for some reason a previous scheduled guest has to bow out for some reason.

Let's face it. Conan probably doesn't have the pull he once did and the bigger guest are going on the network shows, like Kimmel, Colbert and Fallon. Conan seems to want to be a niche show now. I'm getting where I prefer his show over the others, though. It feels looser and more fun.

[biakbiak]

Thomas is also friends with several of Conan writers which most likely explains his roles in sketches.

[nowandlater]

I love Middleditch and I didn't even know who he was until earlier this year. I think sometimes he gets people who work on the Warner's lot especially if for some reason a previous scheduled guest has to bow out for some reason.

Let's face it. Conan probably doesn't have the pull he once did and the bigger guest are going on the network shows, like Kimmel, Colbert and Fallon. Conan seems to want to be a niche show now. I'm getting where I prefer his show over the others, though. It feels looser and more fun.

 

Sure, Conan isn't going to get President Obama or any of the major presidential candidates or really big A-listers like Tom Cruise and Julia Roberts.

 

But he does get some A-listers, like Jennifer Aniston and other guests who've been going on his show since the '90s. And he's able to have the full casts of those Marvel movies.

 

Nowadays, with 400 scripted TV shows, there are a million options for guests. And that's just the TV world. There's video games, there's movies, music, sports, etc. (Speaking of which, Conan had on media-shy Marshawn Lynch over the summer, and it was one of his best (Marshawn's) interviews. I think of the late-night hosts, only Conan could've gotten Marshawn to open up like that in front of an audience.

 

He also had a great interview with low-level Empire star Ta'Rhonda Jones. He also had a great chat with Chrissie Hynde earlier this week. See: There a plenty of interesting and relevant people to interview that he shouldn't have to rely on Middleditch or Warner Bros. people.

[HelenBaby]

Fair enough. But I still think Middleditch is a good guest. Better than some people that come on these types of shows.

[nowandlater]

I don't believe Conan is having an affair with his assistant Sona. But if it ever came out that they had an affair, I wouldn't be surprised.

 

If you've seen the documentary or the many pieces she's been in over the years, they're pretty close.

 

And now they're traveling in Armenia together.

 

https://instagram.com/p/8z8b1XDQXG/

[opus]

Fan correction- He couldn't have been watching SUPERGIRL and accessing the info button. It hasn't aired yet :)

[Kromm]

I don't believe Conan is having an affair with his assistant Sona. But if it ever came out that they had an affair, I wouldn't be surprised.

 

If you've seen the documentary or the many pieces she's been in over the years, they're pretty close.

 

And now they're traveling in Armenia together.

 

https://instagram.com/p/8z8b1XDQXG/

It was part of an extended joke. He made an entire episode about it (that aired this week).

[bmoore4026]

I think I'm done with Conan.  The way he twists the knife on his "Clueless Gamer" segments toward that one bearded guy gets to me, along with the subtle jabs against video game hobbyists.  Colbert seems to have a better grasp on geek culture, Fallon actually plays video games, and Kimmel has had famous Let's Players on his show.  Conan's contempt has lost me.

 

I'll still like the Wikibear segments and his visit to the American Girl store, but other than that, I don't find him funny anymore.

[nowandlater]

I think I'm done with Conan.  The way he twists the knife on his "Clueless Gamer" segments toward that one bearded guy gets to me, along with the subtle jabs against video game hobbyists.  Colbert seems to have a better grasp on geek culture, Fallon actually plays video games, and Kimmel has had famous Let's Players on his show.  Conan's contempt has lost me.

 

I'll still like the Wikibear segments and his visit to the American Girl store, but other than that, I don't find him funny anymore.

 

 

1. Wikibear is gone. He now works for Stephen Colbert. Seriously.

 

2. Aaron Bleyeart, AKA Bearded Guy, has been yelled at by Conan for a while now. Here's video (below) of him being yelled at in 2004. (go to the 1:50 mark). It's all in good fun. Making fun of gamers and gaming is all in good fun.

 

Bleyeart wrote a post about losing a lot of weight in February that went viral a few weeks ago. And he just finished filming a movie based on that post with, I believe, one of the guys from SNL playing him.

 

[bmoore4026]

nowandlater, on 25 Nov 2015 - 02:32 AM, said:

1. Wikibear is gone. He now works for Stephen Colbert. Seriously.

 

Wikibear's gone!  Well, that clinches it.  I ain't coming back.

[Milburn Stone]

Caught Conan for the first time in a long time last night--watched the first 15 minutes--and really enjoyed him. I guess I'd given up after a week or two at the beginning. He didn't seem relaxed then. He does now. And a refreshing change from the mania of Colbert. All the brilliance, half the caffeine.

[opus]

The nipple fetish can go away anytime now...

[biakbiak]

I loved Conan in Korea! When his show gets cancelled he should do a travel show.

[nowandlater]

I loved Conan in Korea! When his show gets cancelled he should do a travel show.

 

I believe he's doing these travel shows to, um, keep his show going.

 

Kevin Reilly, who became TBS and TNT's president in 2014, challenged Conan to try new things, and all these travel shows are a result. (Reilly was NBC entertainment president in the mid '00s when Conan did Late Night.)

 

I doubt Conan's getting canceled anytime soon.

[roseha]

I enjoyed the Korea show also.  It's really too bad TBS didn't see fit to put it on at an earlier hour; though it worked out for me because I remembered about it before it started :)

 

It wouldn't hurt for them to re-run these travel shows of his in prime time once in a while after all the trouble it must be to make them.

 

Conan meeting up at the airport with the fan who sent him the letter and the snacks was sweet.

[HelenBaby]

I believe he's doing these travel shows to, um, keep his show going.

 

Kevin Reilly, who became TBS and TNT's president in 2014, challenged Conan to try new things, and all these travel shows are a result. (Reilly was NBC entertainment president in the mid '00s when Conan did Late Night.)

 

I doubt Conan's getting canceled anytime soon.

I agree. It seems like TBS has made Conan their anchor personality, if you know what I mean. I think he is producing many of these new programs as well. I don't know how their ratings are compared to the big networks (pretty sure they're a fraction of what the others get) but he just seems so comfortable now. I used to watch The Daily Show/Colbert Report, but even before Jon & Steven left, I was starting to watch Conan more often. I might catch some of Larry's show toward the end of Conan's show because I rarely watch the musical acts or comedian that come on last.

[Kromm]

I loved Conan in Korea! When his show gets cancelled he should do a travel show.

Yeah, Cones is really good at these "Conan in" shows. The Cuba one was great and so was this.

 

It's a shame his ratings are sinking. I mean I've heard Sam Bee's ratings are better than his, and she's only on once per week. 

[Kromm]

BTW: The K-Pop video utilizing the Conan String Dance is one of the best things he's done in years.

 

[nowandlater]

Yeah, Cones is really good at these "Conan in" shows. The Cuba one was great and so was this.

 

It's a shame his ratings are sinking. I mean I've heard Sam Bee's ratings are better than his, and she's only on once per week. 

 

Remember: Sam Bee's show is a primetime show. (many have called her show a "late-night" show, but the 10 pm hour is primetime.)

Conan, in comparison, is a late-night show.

 

There is a bigger audience for primetime compared to late-night, even if there is a 30-minute difference in their start times.

 

Conan doesn't have big ratings (I think they're in the 750K range. I could be wrong.) But he has a very young average viewership, which helps in the advertising department.

 

It's also to Conan's benefit that his YouTube videos go viral. This student driver video from a few months ago received nearly 30 million views.

 

His visit with Steven Yeun to a Korean spa: Nearly 14 million views.

 

 

Conan has also excelled at paying tribute to dead people in recent months.

 

Conan's tribute to Garry Shandling: 1.3 million views.

 

Jimmy Fallon's tribute to Garry Shandling: 364,000

 

Seth Meyers' tribute to Garry Shandling: 94,000

 

 

 

Conan's tribute to David Bowie: 3.6 million

 

Fallon's tribute to David Bowie: 1.3 million

 

 

Now I know YouTube views aren't the best determination of popularity, but in this day and age they count for a lot -- just look at James Corden, who's not doing as well as Craig Ferguson, but whose Carpool Karaoke brings in just loads of YouTube views. Which was good enough for the cover of Entertainment Weekly a few weeks back.

Edited April 11, 2016 by nowandlater

[Irlandesa]

I love his travel shows. I've enjoyed Cuba and Armenia a lot.  I liked Korea too except for the Korean lesson.  I felt like Conan took his pervy/creepy man humor a bit too far. 

[Kromm]

You know there's some bonus hilarity in watching that Conan K-Pop video and then looking at the recommended followup videos that show up at the end or in the sidebar if you are full page on YouTube itself. Apparently the real actual K-Pop fans aren't simply seeing it as the pure joke/parody most viewers do, because that video has some fairly huge K-Pop stars in it (not just the lead guy, but it's got several major K-Pop Girl Groups in it) and consequently there are all of these Reaction Videos out there with people doing super detailed analysis of it. 

[Athena]

I wish the Korea special was a week or at least a couple of episodes. It's a shame really since he and Stephen Yuen could have mined that for even more comedy gold.

 

They did another Live Q&A on Youtube about it. I don't always watch those, but I caught this one. Conan made a point to say that they are definitely going to do more travel shows. He really likes it, but they don't really plan out where to go far in advance. They went to Armenia for Sona. They did this one because of that really nice fan letter. He said there is a chance they would do Ireland again. You do get a sense that these shoots are really exhausting on Conan and the crew, but he stressed that they have a great time doing it when the cameras roll.

 

Conan said that the music video was an 18 hour shoot and that he has never worked that hard in his life. Not a shock since K-entertainment schedules are much harder, but Conan really appreciated the work that went in to it.

 

The show has its flaws, but he has the best remotes on late night or any chat show. He is fantastic at improv and working off others especially strangers. When he takes celebs on remotes (Stephen Yuen, Ice cube, Kevin Hart, Dave Franco, and others), it's even more funny. While Conan has this schtick about being an ass and a perv, he does seem to be sincerely nice at times.

 

His perv schitck makes me laugh a lot because it's so over the top and exaggerated that I can never take it seriously. He also seems to be mocking actual creeps while doing it so it's more tongue in cheek about it.

[HelenBaby]

Anybody see Timothy Olyphant last night. He always brings the funny on Conan. Conan seems to love having him on the show.

[biakbiak]

Is NBC still holding a grudge? The photo of Will Farrell doing his Harry Carey impression was clearly from Letterman and not SNL.

[nowandlater]

On 4/28/2016 at 8:31 AM, HelenBaby said:

Anybody see Timothy Olyphant last night. He always brings the funny on Conan. Conan seems to love having him on the show.

I like the guy. I just hate when guests are on twice in a short period of time. Olyphant was last on on April 27.

My thing is: Unless you're an A-lister or very newsworthy person (Clinton, Trump), you shouldn't be on the same talk show twice within a 6-month period.

But maybe there aren't enough talk show guests to go around. (Billy Gardell, the No. 1 talk show guest? Really?) At least Marshawn Lynch is coming back next week. He's a hoot.

(Bob Costas was also a guest in February, but I guess that's okay.)

[HelenBaby]

Well, Olyphant does have a movie coming out so I can see why he was on again. Plus, I really think Conan has people on that he enjoys talking to.

[biakbiak]

As a Seahawks fan I miss Marshawn on the field but he is a goddamn delight!

[VCRTracking]

So heartbreaking to hear how Patton Oswalt and his daughter is coping months after his wife's death. The story of the "Polish woman of Doom" though was hysterical!

 

Edited September 27, 2016 by VCRTracking

[Kromm]

http://teamcoco.com/catchcoco

[Kromm]

http://teamcoco.com/catchcoco

 

Hee. A Pokemon Go type contest made out of Conan EATING in lots of places.

Edited November 1, 2016 by Kromm

[biakbiak]

Does Spade smell? Swardson was nearly sitting on Andy's lap and Andy kept pointing him to move over so he would be in the wide shot of the five of them.

I hope Norm's Farley story is true! it seemed to even tickle Spade.

[Bruinsfan]

Maybe I've been spoiled by his appearances on the Graham Norton Show, but last night's episode had to be the least interesting and entertaining Chris Pratt appearance I've ever seen. Even the movie clip was boring, which is not a good sign when you're hawking a sci-fi romance that involves explosions and love scenes with Jennifer Lawrence—would anybody who wasn't already going to see Passengers have decided to do so based on last night?

[biakbiak]

Conan is built for a travel show. This was fabulous.

[BetterButter]

Conan O’Brien to Face Joke-Theft Allegations in Court

[ClareWalks]

2 hours ago, BetterButter said:

Conan O’Brien to Face Joke-Theft Allegations in Court

That's pretty weak, for a lawsuit. The one example of a stolen joke, it's not like it was such an original idea. It's entirely plausible that multiple people could come up with the same joke like that.