Congratulations, NBC: You suck. Been out a few days, but in case you somehow missed it, Conan and NBC reached a buyout agreement, Jay is still trying to present himself as a victim in all of this, and January 22 saw The Tonight Show with Conan O'brien come to an end waaaay too soon. Of course, O'brien and the gang didn't go quietly; he defiantly ripped NBC up through Thursday night before bowing graciously and thanking NBC (but not Leno, mind you) on Friday night, had plenty of great guests and surprise appearances, and highlighted some of the best moments from his short stint as host of The Tonight Show. And then came one of the coolest things I've ever seen on television. After saying his goodbyes (for now), Conan closed out his version of one of the most storied and respected franchises in all of media with a goofy all-star jam rendition of "Freebird" that was at times just flat-out weird. It featured Max Weinberg and the rest of the Tonight Show Band, Ben Harper, Conan, Billy Gibbons (of ZZ Top), and Beck, with none other than Will Ferrell leading the way - and he brought his cowbell! Not sure that it was funny or that it even served any purpose, but it was pure Conan:
Wow, two of our favorite things to talk about, combined! It's like a McGriddle or something!
Earlier this evening, NBC released a transcript of Jay Leno's monologue from tonight's Jay Leno Show. In it, Jay attempts to explain his angle on this mess. As far as the probability of a potential shuffle and the termination of The Tonight Show with Conan O'brien, "inevitable" seems to be the word:
The good news? Apparently, this thing could be winding down. The bad? Unfortunately it sounds like it's not going to end well. The latest reports have NBC buying out Conan and Leno returning to The Tonight Show. Evidently every single NBC executive is either blind and deaf, or they're a bunch of stubborn old people (although I suppose those things aren't mutually exclusive). Either way, they're making a decision that flies in the face of the popular consensus - that Leno is the bad guy who should step aside and do the right thing - and the ratings, which have recently spiked for Conan. In fact, Tonight Show ratings have actually eclipsed that of Leno's show even though he's on during prime time - kind of a big deal. But who cares, the old rich guys think Jay is funny, or something.
Kimmel gets some pretty good shots in on "Jay-the-Terrible" here, although this is mostly just awkward...
People of Earth: Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over the in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both. But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my Tonight Show in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime-time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule. Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the Tonight Show to 12:05 to accommodate the Jay Leno Show at 11:35. For 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Showinto the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t the Tonight Show. Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the Late Night show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy. So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of theTonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn’t matter. But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more. There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work. Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it’s always been that way.
In the last few days, I’ve been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I’ve been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I’ve been absurdly lucky. That said, I’ve been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.
Update: Leno is talking about walking, too.
Also, here's Conan making the best out of a dumb situation last Friday night:
I'm going to say this as nicely as possible: NBC is the DUMBEST network television station there is. I've voiced my disgust with their knee-jerk reactions before; they get the worst ratings of any of the four major networks with good reason. Now, after gutting their entire line-up to give Leno a show that was doomed to failure from the very beginning, they're considering this. Unbelievable. Stay strong, Conan!
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Episode #1 of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon had its ups and downs. The intro, monologue, and "Slow Jammin' the News" were all pretty good (still can't believe they were able to get The Roots to be the house band). The "Lick It For Ten" and "Space Train" gags? Not so good. They were mostly dumb in an unfunny, and sometimes awkward, way. "Bob" DeNiro's interview came off sorta weird (and rehearsed), but the show rebounded nicely when Justin Timberlake hit the stage. Jimmy just seemed a little more relaxed with JT out there; plus his impressions were hilarious (especially the Michael McDonald one). All in all, Jimmy seemed pretty nervous, but I'm sure that'll wear off...
In case you missed it, here's the first episode in it's entirety. It's worth starting up for the bit with Conan at the very beginning, if nothing else:
1. NBC basically owns Thursday nights, and 30 Rock is half the reason why. Yet, for some reason, I don't seem to ever hear anyone talking about it. I know it's critically acclaimed and that it's been awarded Emmys and all that, but according to my survey (which admittedly has a small sample size) almost no one watches it, ever. I've had the following conversation too many times to count:
2. After a really good debut album and a mostly kinda boring second album, Franz Ferdinand has brought the funk with Tonight. It's been almost 4 years since You Could Have It So Much Better (ugh, even the title was boring), but they made good use of the time: Tonight is full of interesting, catchy, and cool disco-punk, and I've already given it more repeat listens than its predecessor. "No You Girls" (which you've probably seen in the new iTunes commercial) and leadoff single "Ulysses" are two of the better tracks of the new year. This is one of those albums that would probably appeal to just about anyone who gives it a listen.
3. In case you haven't heard, some massive changes involving NBC's late night programming are about to go down. Jay Leno is stepping down (and, apparently, moving to a prime time slot), Conan O'Brien is moving to Burbank to become the next host of The Tonight Show, and Jimmy Fallon has been slated to replace O'Brien. Honestly, I've got mixed feelings about all of this. I'm pumped about the idea of Conan moving up to the big leagues, but the current setup wasn't too shabby, either. I never was much of a Leno guy, so there
4. A couple weeks ago, my buddy Kenny showed me a couple videos on YouTube that featured some pretty great artists (Bon Iver, The Shins, Iron & Wine, Dodos, Loney, Dear, etc.) playing acoustically in elevators and other small rooms. Sounds weird, I know, but it's really quite good. There isn't really much info out there on it; when I went searching for details, all I could find was that the series is called (Behind) Closed Doors, and that it's done by a Dutch Multimedia group (internet television, radio, etc.) called 3VOOR12. Anything beyond that is difficult to ascertain because their entire website is in Dutch (which I don't speak) and it isn't mentioned in the English-speaking media whatsoever. Nonetheless, if you're a fan of indie music, you should check it out here, and see whether or not any of your favorites have gotten involved with this.
5. So, there's this new reality show on Animal Planet called Jockeys. And I'm gonna be honest, I was really looking forward to seeing the premiere, mostly because the promos they were running on the E! channel looked absolutely ridiculous, and because they were all rocking KanYe West's "Stronger" in the background (it's also played during the show's opening credits). Unsurprisingly, Jockeys is pretty dumb. It falls on the side of the "serious", drama-ish type reality shows, which happen to be the kind that I hate most. There aren't eliminations and there isn't any comic relief. What it does possess, however, is a ton of tremendous accidents and collisions, and they just about redeem the entire show on their own. It's almost worth it to endure the meaningless conversations and the horses running in circles to see those wonderful, fantastic wipeouts. Whoever is running things apparently realizes this, too, because they milk every concussion for as much as they possibly can. If somebody goes down, you're guaranteed the shock of seeing it for the first time before the commercial break, followed by the same incident from multiple angles afterwards, complete with slow-motion shots. If you're a lover of "train-wreck" material, this is for you.
7. Andrew Kenny is/was in a band called American Analog Set (they're kinda broken up/on hiatus/periodically reuniting). If you've never heard of them, do yourself a favor and look them up. They're a super laid-back, low volume indie rock band that knows how to make a lot out of a little, and their sound is one that you won't mistake for anyone else's. That is, unless you happen to go check out a band called The Wooden Birds, which Kenny now happens to be fronting. Evidently he had more than a little to do with AAS's sound, because the material on his new band's MySpace page basically sounds exactly like something his old band would have produced (and I mean exactly). You won't hear any complaining from me, though. The new album, entitled Magnolia, drops in the spring on Barsuk Records.
8. Finding a better job than being in The Lonely Island would be pretty tough; there aren't too many people out there who get to goof off and have a good time for a living. In the form of their "Digital Shorts", the group (made up of Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone) get more of a free reign on SNL than just about anyone who's ever been involved with the show (see: Exhibit A). As a result, they've been able to push the envelope of outrageousness and at the same time intentionally put together stuff that will get better with multiple views/listens, knowing that it will be seen millions of times on the internet after it airs on Saturday Night. Their new album, Incredibad, is more of the same, and it works pretty well. Half of the tracks have already been debuted on SNL, but the rest of it is definitely worthwhile (not to mention everything is of professional sound quality and unedited). It covers several genres, but it's mostly a hip-hop comedy album, and they do a pretty good job of making it sound legit in terms of production, etc. Ultimately, though, these guys are just having a good time, and you will too when you listen to it.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Andy Richter is gonna drop whatever the hell he's been doing and get down with Conan on the new Tonight Show. Thank you, NBC!
I'd like to meet the mastermind behind this:
Also, this is Conan O'Brien's last week hosting Late Night before taking over The Tonight Show. Conan's always been my favorite late night host; I still remember watching his first show with my dad when I was about 12 years old...
Over the past few weeks, they've been replaying some of Conan's best bits, and last night they played excerpts from his dinner with an associate producer. Conan gets more funny as the clip progresses (and as his wine glass gets less full). Here's hoping the Late Night crew can translate its awesomeness to an earlier time slot:
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