Has Conan O'Brian gone completely downhill?

[Blarg]

[ 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.