Comments on Conan's debut?

[Per Andersen]

I miss Arsenio Hall.

I really miss Larry Sanders. Hey now!!!

[Walt Murphy]

Conan's at his best doing skits, like his low-budget shopping spree on Rodeo Road (not Rodeo Drive).

[TrackDaddy]

I miss Arsenio Hall.

[Friar]

Conan has a writing staff of 15. He's self-involved, to say the least.

He wags himself around like a baby rattle exhibiting a boyishness that the estate of Howdy Doody ought to demand residual fees from. Is there anything worth remembering from O'Brien's multiyear stint on Late Night?--it was an epic run of ephemera. James Wolcott

Something about the set last night: distracting, I didn't like it.

[tandfman]

I'll join the not-a-Leno-fan crowd. I rarely watch either show (too late), but when I am up at that hour, I'll always choose Letterman over Leno.

[bambam]

Conan O'Brien was not funny on his old show and sitting at a new desk at a new time will not make any funnier or more entertaining. .
I can now go to bed an hour earlier.

I hope you're not implying that Leno was anything but awful.

I agree - used to watch Leno a bit before he became host but hated him as host of the Tonight Show. Letterman is far better. I haven't watched Leno on Tonight in probably 10 years, and had no desire to see the last show or Conan's first one.

[BisonHurdler]

[
I hope you're not implying that Leno was anything but awful.

I guess awfulness,like so many things, is relative.

Fair enough. I've never been a fan of Leno's delivery, nor his show in general. To each his own, I suppose.

[lonewolf]

[
I hope you're not implying that Leno was anything but awful.

I guess awfulness,like so many things, is relative.

[BisonHurdler]

Conan O'Brien was not funny on his old show and sitting at a new desk at a new time will not make any funnier or more entertaining. .
I can now go to bed an hour earlier.

I hope you're not implying that Leno was anything but awful.

[lonewolf]

Conan O'Brien was not funny on his old show and sitting at a new desk at a new time will not make any funnier or more entertaining. .
I can now go to bed an hour earlier.

[polevaultpower]

I love Will Ferrell, but I think maybe he was too strong of a guest for the first show.

Look up Will Ferrell and Steve Hooker on YouTube for some absolutely hilarious footage.

[gh]

I thought Arnold was just perfect in the role.

[BillVol]

I thought he was a little awkward, just like when he started out on the Late Nite. But I guess he will get better.

But when you see him trying to be funny and Will Ferrell trying to be funny, you realize that they don't have the talent of someone like Johnny Carson, who was funny without trying. They just don't make 'em like they used to.

Here's a neat find: Johnny Carson's last ever TV appearance, here on the Letterman show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvaUa559gMw