Conan is back on television

When Conan O’Brien left The Tonight Show way back in January, one of my first thoughts was how far away November (and with it, his return to late night) seemed. After watching Conan, his aptly titled new show on TBS, I know it was well worth the wait.

The cold open addressed the drama leading to Conan leaving NBC, but still kept it funny. NBC sending mobsters to obliterate Conan ala Sonny from The Godfather was over-the-top in the best sense of the phrase. Having Conan not only survive the massacre, but go on to work children’s birthday parties was great. I love that he used soon-t0-be guest Jon Hamm when he desperately interviewed with Sterling-Cooper (only to be told by Hamm’s Don Draper that it’s 1965 and technically he is only 2 years old).

I’ve always loved the man’s monologues and although this one focused mostly on his departure from the Peacock, the jokes were still solid. After the applause died down, he proclaimed, “Welcome to my second annual first show!” We got to see the Masturbating Bear “working” at a local NBC station, which is a good sign for those of us who miss the old Late Night characters. Before the guests came out, Conan also showed us the cheap, generic Halloween mask carved in his image; to add insult to injury, it was marketed as “Ex-Talk Show Host.” You can’t make this stuff up! Andy Richter (who is back as Coco’s sidekick) said it best as he tried on the mask, “It’s very authentic. Inside it smells like tears.”

The set itself looks super classy and cool. They pointed out that the moon in the background is remote controlled — only adding to O’Brien’s god complex– and I especially liked the old school feel of the bandstand. Speaking of the band, Max Weinberg did not come back, but Late Night and Tonight Show guitarist Jimmy Vivino has taken over what is now called the Basic Cable Band. Granted, the show was not without it’s technical hiccups, but the host took it in stride. When 0ne of the interviews was interrupted by a loud noise, Conan didn’t miss a beat and just explained, “Basic Cable, don’t worry about it.”

The guests for the first show (Seth Rogen and Glee‘s Lea Michelle) seemed just thrilled to be there and Ricky Gervais added a sardonic touch in the middle of the show. I usually don’t watch the musical guest on late night shows, but I really enjoyed seeing Jack White play a real honky-tonk song alongside Conan like he did during the funnyman’s summer tour.

I don’t think Conan is for every sense of humor. You either find him incredibly funny or you don’t. But if you liked his version of Late Night and The Tonight Show, you’ll like Conan. I was happy to discover that the move to basic cable hasn’t weakened his ability to make me laugh out loud.  I also discovered just how much I missed him making me laugh five nights a week. It’s something you take for granted until it’s gone.

Welcome home, you tall glass of orange juice.

Clacked by Katie Schenkel
on Nov 09, 2010 @ 09:00 EST5EDT