Has Conan O'Brian gone completely downhill? [Archive]

MasterShakes

12-07-2005, 04:39 PM

I absolutely loved his show, but lately, every single time I turn him on, he has this same basic rotation of jokes (with different variations of course):

Star Jones is fat.
Reuben Studdard (sp?) is fat. (I find it absolutely astounding that anybody is still making jokes about this guy)
Michael Jackson is strange.
George W. Bush is dumb.
Kirstie Ally (sp?) is fat.

The man needs to hire new writers. It seems that he has inherited the Tonight Show, and he's already lowered his jokes to that level. I'm not saying that the above jokes are offensive (though I'm sure they are to those people and the people who know them personally) - they're just not funny. It's the same stuff every night. From everything I watched years ago, he seems capable of being easily the best late night show there is. Maybe losing Andy Richter did it, but I think he's capable of being funny without Richter.

Am I wrong?

Brainwalter

12-07-2005, 04:40 PM

So you turn it off after the 4 minute monologue?

miajag81

12-07-2005, 04:41 PM

I think Conan is still hilarious.

Also, the very reason I think the Ruben Studdard jokes are still funny is that he is such old news...kind of like how Norm MacDonald was still constantly making O.J. jokes like five years after the trial.

-Skeme-

12-07-2005, 04:41 PM

I was dying at an episode a while ago. Anybody catch the ghost of an old NBC announcer? "Women are as dumb as muuules.. anybody who educates them are fools." And "Irish men pour whiskey on their beef.. and wake up face down in the street."

Classic.

TheMainEvent

12-07-2005, 04:41 PM

His monologues have never been his strong point. The 10-15 minutes after the monologue is the best part of the show...and no, it isn't close.

MasterShakes

12-07-2005, 04:43 PM

[ QUOTE ]
So you turn it off after the 4 minute monologue?

[/ QUOTE ]

I usually turn it off once it gets to the guests. I realize that my post deals exclusively with the monologue, but does that excuse how terrible that monologue is, night after night?

The only thing I've found to be funny on the show even somewhat recently are the Walker Texas Ranger clips.

TheMainEvent

12-07-2005, 04:46 PM

[ QUOTE ]

The only thing I've found to be funny on the show even somewhat recently are the Walker Texas Ranger clips.

[/ QUOTE ]

Did anyone catch the Walker clip with Haley Joel Osment? classic.

"Walker said I have AIDS!"

tdarko

12-07-2005, 04:46 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I usually turn it off once it gets to the guests.

[/ QUOTE ]
really? i think you really get to see how brilliant he really is when he starts to interact with his guests. first nobody has ever diced up bill o' reilly like he did (if you like him or not), plus his wit is unmatched and that isn't written. i don't know why you turn it off once the unwritten stuff comes on, to me this is when he really starts to shine and you get to see how sharp he is with is expressions, comebacks and subtle humor.

Brainwalter

12-07-2005, 04:46 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
So you turn it off after the 4 minute monologue?

[/ QUOTE ]

I usually turn it off once it gets to the guests. I realize that my post deals exclusively with the monologue, but does that excuse how terrible that monologue is, night after night?

The only thing I've found to be funny on the show even somewhat recently are the Walker Texas Ranger clips.

[/ QUOTE ]

There's show in between the monologue and the guests, which another poster correctly identified as the funniest part of the show. Also, his interviews are funnier than any of the other late night guys' interviews.

pooh74

12-07-2005, 04:49 PM

I was there a month or so ago (when Neil Young was there) and he was so [censored] funny off camera it was like night and day. Although even on camera he was hilarious, the monologue was very ho hum at times.

Still the best show of its format around.

LetYouDown

12-07-2005, 04:54 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Did anyone catch the Walker clip with Haley Joel Osment? classic.

"Walker said I have AIDS!"

[/ QUOTE ]
http://gorillamask.net/conanwalker4.shtml

I caught this one night...classic.

12-07-2005, 04:57 PM

heh fat people

daryn

12-07-2005, 04:59 PM

also clay aiken is gay

Wes ManTooth

12-07-2005, 05:00 PM

daryn

12-07-2005, 05:01 PM

dude,.. 11 words:

cactus chef playing "we didn't start the fire" on the flute

imported_The Vibesman

12-07-2005, 05:03 PM

Does he still have the Masturbating Bear on? I love that gag.

LAGmaniac

12-07-2005, 05:04 PM

[ QUOTE ]

Did anyone catch the Walker clip with Haley Joel Osment? classic.

"Walker said I have AIDS!"

[/ QUOTE ]

That was the most hilarious thing I have seen on TV in a long time. I was laughing so hard I thought I was going to die and I couldn't stop.

I felt very guilty afterwards though.

Piz0wn0reD!!!!!!

12-07-2005, 05:05 PM

its all about the movie cast bits.

dick cheney = the penguin is brilliant.

12-07-2005, 05:10 PM

Yea the monologues are kinda lame, but nothing beats his "interviews" with Ahnold and Saddam, as well as whichever other celebrity he does than night. (where they have a picture of the person and some guy does the talking/mouth)

wonderwes

12-07-2005, 07:21 PM

I do feel Conan has jumped the shark. But I will say, after a long run of his, its not easy to put out hilarious material night in, night out.

Blarg

12-07-2005, 09:00 PM

[ QUOTE ]
So you turn it off after the 4 minute monologue?

[/ QUOTE ]

I forgive him the monologue. He was never a stand-up comic and he isn't now, despite the fact that he sometimes sees himself as a comic. I often turn the sound off on the monologues so it doesn't detract from the rest of the show.

At least he's better than Carson. I saw that guy's show for 20 years and don't remember laughing once at a single monologue and virtually never in any of Johnny's bits.

I think the jumping in and out of frame during his monologues and thinking it was innovative television where he was really stretching his limits as a performer was what made me turn down the sound on the opening monologues.

I think Conan is super likeable and very smart and talented, and funny, but the monologue is an archaic talk show tradition that doesn't really fit him. He's not alone, though. It doesn't fit at least half the talk show hosts who try it, and there's no way not to suck when you have to come up with several minutes worth of material every day, no matter how many writers you have. I wouldn't mind if he just humbly realized where his strengths really lie and give up the monologue. But that will never happen.

Blarg

12-07-2005, 09:01 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I was dying at an episode a while ago. Anybody catch the ghost of an old NBC announcer? "Women are as dumb as muuules.. anybody who educates them are fools." And "Irish men pour whiskey on their beef.. and wake up face down in the street."

Classic.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yup. That was a funny bit, I dug it. The racist mysognist old time entertainer.

Blarg

12-07-2005, 09:04 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I usually turn it off once it gets to the guests.

[/ QUOTE ]
really? i think you really get to see how brilliant he really is when he starts to interact with his guests. first nobody has ever diced up bill o' reilly like he did (if you like him or not), plus his wit is unmatched and that isn't written. i don't know why you turn it off once the unwritten stuff comes on, to me this is when he really starts to shine and you get to see how sharp he is with is expressions, comebacks and subtle humor.

[/ QUOTE ]

The dude is insanely smooth and very smart. He's not on auto-pilot like so many t.v. personalities and has little interest in just being smarmy. He'll nail his guests pretty frequently and is smart enough and good-spirited enough that the often incredibly uptight stars almost always genuinely laugh along and love it. The dude has a real gift for interviewing.

Dan Rutter

12-07-2005, 09:12 PM

I think your wrong. I have never thought his monolouges were that funny. The part of his show inbetween his monolouge, and interviews are usually hilarious. And his interviews are great. It depends on the guest somewhat, but I think he is the best late night interviewer. It would be a close call with him and Jon Stewart for interviews, if we are including Stewart in the late night crowd.

12-08-2005, 12:33 AM

Conan's show is the only talk show that i watch to see the host. All the other talk show hosts are boring and i only watch them depending on the guest.

Blarg

12-08-2005, 12:42 AM

Same here. For years I would just flip on the Conan show without ever looking who the guest was or even paying attention when the announcer said who it was at the beginning. I was there to see Conan and his cool helpers like the masturbating bear.

1C5

12-08-2005, 01:22 AM

Conan is the best.

No contest between him and anyone else.

He would be fun to hang out at the bar with. He could make fun of anyone in a way that he wouldn't get beat up and provide laughs for everyone.

12-08-2005, 01:46 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Star Jones is fat.
Reuben Studdard (sp?) is fat. (I find it absolutely astounding that anybody is still making jokes about this guy)
Michael Jackson is strange.
George W. Bush is dumb.
Kirstie Ally (sp?) is fat.

[/ QUOTE ]

You forgot:

J-Lo has a big ass.
Calista Flockhart is skinny.

I like how Max doesn't just burst out into phony laughter whenever Conan says something to him. Sometimes he just shrugs his shoulders and goes "meh."

I think the show lost some of it's greatness when Andy left, but it's still the best late night show.

Does anyone remember Pimpbot? That was awesome. I've been watching Conan since the beginning. In the early years, it was obvious he couldn't attract the most famous celebrities, so he had a lot of strange guests. There was a boxer who called himself The Mouse and prided himself on being the only pro boxer to lose a fight on every continent. That just proves that Conan never needed good guests to be entertaining.

webmonarch

12-08-2005, 02:22 AM

Yes. He's downhill.

His monologue has been pretty bad from the word go. The thing that annoys the hell out of me though, is all the crap he pulls in between the, like three jokes he tells. Like flipping the hair, interacting with the ass in the crowd who yells "CONAN!!!!!" at the top of his lungs, etc.

ALso, the thing I have really noticed is that I feel like he is just getting arrogant. I swear the guests do less talking during the interview than he does anymore. He strikes me as rude generally, etc. Basically, he seems to think he's above his current show, and he doens't moind showing it.

His skits, however, are good, and always have been. He really needs to stick to those and spend less time with the filler crap.

The Truth

12-08-2005, 02:31 AM

[ QUOTE ]
I absolutely loved his show, but lately, every single time I turn him on, he has this same basic rotation of jokes (with different variations of course):

Star Jones is fat.
Reuben Studdard (sp?) is fat. (I find it absolutely astounding that anybody is still making jokes about this guy)
Michael Jackson is strange.
George W. Bush is dumb.
Kirstie Ally (sp?) is fat.

The man needs to hire new writers. It seems that he has inherited the Tonight Show, and he's already lowered his jokes to that level. I'm not saying that the above jokes are offensive (though I'm sure they are to those people and the people who know them personally) - they're just not funny. It's the same stuff every night. From everything I watched years ago, he seems capable of being easily the best late night show there is. Maybe losing Andy Richter did it, but I think he's capable of being funny without Richter.

Am I wrong?

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought it was pretty funny even the way you pitched it; so i guess his stuff is still gold.

blake

TheMainEvent

12-08-2005, 02:37 AM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Star Jones is fat.
Reuben Studdard (sp?) is fat. (I find it absolutely astounding that anybody is still making jokes about this guy)
Michael Jackson is strange.
George W. Bush is dumb.
Kirstie Ally (sp?) is fat.

[/ QUOTE ]

You forgot:

J-Lo has a big ass.
Calista Flockhart is skinny.

[/ QUOTE ]

Paris Hilton is a slu t
Britney Spears is white trash