PAST & FUTURE: Week 1 Ratings & Week 2 Guests

Welcome to the first Past & Future segment, where we'll take a look back at the week of CONAN that was, and then take a look forward at who's coming up on next week's episodes.  The "Past" will also include a review of the ratings for CONAN, which is not only important for Week 1, but will definitely show what he's made of by the end of Week 2.

RATINGS

Episode	Title	Original Air Date	Guests	Musical/Entertainment Guests	U.S. Viewers (in millions)
1001	"Baa Baa Blackmail"	November 8, 2010	Arlene Wagner, Seth Rogen, Lea Michele	Jack White	4.16
1002	"Murder, She Tweeted"	November 9, 2010	Tom Hanks, Jack McBrayer	Soundgarden	2.82
1003	"Dead Men Don't Wear Spanx"	November 10, 2010	John Hamm, Charlyne Yi	Fistful of Mercy with Tom Morello	2.72
1004	"The Mummenschantz Conundrum"	November 11, 2010	Michael Cera, Julie Bowen	Jon Dore	2.02

So, what does all of this mean?  To the naked eye, CONAN lost 50% of his opening night viewers, but not only is that completely acceptable, it's totally expected in the eyes of the entertainment industry.  The first of something, especially as well hyped as CONAN was before the premier, is bound to draw interest from those people who never had any intention of watching it beyond the first show anyway.  This happens to all shows that receive a lot of attention before beginning.

Think of it as the super blockbuster Summer movie that everyone has been talking about before it's released.  There's a lot of talk about Actor X being in the latest Blow-Em-Up Action Movie, and how it's going to dominate at the box office!  People get curious about what EVERYONE is talking about, so they go see it on opening weekend.  Now, does that translate into it being a good movie, just because it made $50 million on the opening weekend?  According to Hollywood, yes.  Is it worth all the airtime and internet chatter?  More often then not, no.

Am I saying that CONAN isn't worth all the pomp and circumstance that was created before the show even aired the first episode?  Absolutely not.  CONAN is a great show, and the main reason anyone talked about it to begin with was because of the whole NBC/Leno/Tonight Show fiasco.  John Q Public wanted to see what Conan was going to do with the new show on basic cable.  Clearly 50% of the opening night audience were the equivalent of those who slow down on the freeway to look at the accident, just so they can then talk about it at work as if they were actually a part of the drama.  "I was TOTALLY there! The car burst into flames!  I had to pull a lady from the burning wreckage, and then I performed CPR on the other accident victim!"

The main thing about the opening week ratings for CONAN is this: CONAN was able to hold on to his core demographic of 18-49 year olds.  For his first week, he averaged 2.9 million viewers and 2.16 million adults 18-49 (which works out to a 1.6 adults 18-49 rating).  For just the Thursday night episode, CONAN delivered 980,000 adults 18-34 and 1,361,000 adults 18-49, leading all late-night talk shows.  The episode – with guests Michael Cera, Julie Bowen and Jon Dore – was watched by 2,020,000 viewers overall.  The median age for CONAN is projected at 32.

This is great news for TBS, who is looking to target that exact age group for most of their programming. My guess?  TBS Executives are sending a very nice Muffin basket to the NBC Executives.  They helped to deliver the audience TBS needs.  Conan's core audience is made up of those fans who supported him during the 9-month hiatus from television, including his Summer tour and following him on Twitter.  The bulk of the opening night viewers may have departed for other channels, but the 2 million that remain are in it for the long haul.  That's got to be good news for CONAN fans everywhere!

NEXT WEEK ON CONAN
Coming up next week, Conan welcomes the following guests:

11/15/10 - LL Cool J, BJ Novak and musical guest Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

11/16/10 - Harrison Ford, Rosario Dawson and comedian-musician Reggie Watts

11/17/10 - Russell Brand, Susan Casey and musical guest Kid Rock

11/18/10 - Jesse Eisenberg, Venus Williams and musical guest The Decemberists

One of the great things about a nightly show like CONAN is that I get to broaden my horizons with musical guests I've never heard of before.  In doing the research for next week's guests, I'm excited to see what these groups will bring to the show.  The Decemberists sounds like they're going to be a fun way to finish up Week 2, and give us our CONAN fix to get through the weekend into Week 3.

Plus, with guests like LL Cool J, BJ Novak, Jesse Eisenberg, and Harrison Ford, Week 2 will really start to show us serious Conan fans (and the rest of the world) what CONAN will be like in the months to come.  Bring it, Coco!

REVIEW: 1004 - The Mummenschantz Conundrum

The final night of CONAN's Premier Week is completed, and we've had a lot to laugh about, to remember, and to add to our CONAN Dictionary of Time.  The water's just fine, so everybody grab your swim trunks and dive on in to Episode 1004 - "The Mummenschantz Conundrum."

As for the title of this episode, according to Answers.com, Mummenschantz is translated from German as a disguise or masquerade.  My guess behind the title of this episode?  The writers liked the sound of the word "Mummenschantz" and wanted to see how Andy Richter would deal with it.

BEST MONOLOGUE JOKE:

"CONAN: According to a new survey that just came out, 1 in 10 men use the internet to look at porn. The survey has a margin of error of 9. It's a little bit off.

ANDY: Unless there's a couple of blind guys in there, it's 10 of 10." 

SKIT OF THE NIGHT:

"Basic Cable Stars Welcome Conan" - In a moment that can only be described by a photo, the best part of this skit was clearly the Hoarder from the A&E show, HOARDERS, who stopped by to welcome Conan to basic cable.  However, there was more frightened staring then actual well wishes, but it was still humorous to watch.

Watching the "Hoarder" standing in between Bruce Jenner and the King Crabs from Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch was comedy gold.  It's one of the great moments in Conan's shows where everyone involved wonder exactly how they got to this point in their careers.  I must confess that the Hoarder had my attention throughout the skit, including when Bruce Jenner tried to get through his line without being distracted by sharing the stage with a paranoid hoarder and 4 King Crabs.

GUESTS:

Michael Cera - Not an overtly funny interview, but Michael Cera was able to bring a few moments of joy to the evening.  Mostly, his reenactment of chasing down a cab by using his fingers and the CONAN mug was quite humorous.  Adding Conan's smiling face to the shot added another notch to the comedy belt around the episode's waist.  This episode was dressed quite fashionably, I might add.  I'd even go as far to say it was dressed as well as 2 Bitches.

Missing from this interview: Michael Cera's version of Too $hort's 2 Bitches, which he performed at L.A.'s infamous Key Club.  The description of the evening leading up to this performance was an interesting story, but not one that I thought was worthy of the time spent getting to the point.  Perhaps more interesting was the comparison of Michael Cera and Jesse Eisenberg.  The two could play each other in the story of their lives.

Julie Bowen - I love Julie Bowen.  Correction: I love Julie Bowen even more then I loved her before this interview.  My only gripe with this interview was that there was not enough of it (more on that in a bit.)  When Julie walked out from behind the curtain, I knew we were going to get a moment of physical comedy from Coco.  Her outfit simply showed too much leg for Conan to ignore.  We were treated to a signature Coco reaction: the "jump out of the host chair and pace around behind the desk" move.  Too much leg, topped with short shorts, and paired with sexy high heels proved to be Kryptonite to Conan's resolve.

To get back on track, Conan asked about her children (twin 18-month-old boys), whom Julie affectionally referred to as "the smart one" and "the fatty."  Conan attempted to get her to learn her children's real names, but I think the comedy damage was done.  I want to be a fly on the wall of the Bowen household in a few years time when the kids are old enough to realize Mommy called them out on television as John, "the smart one," who locked his brother Gustav, "the fatty," in the clothes dryer.  "Gee, thanks, Mom.  As if isn't hard enough to fit in at school, but now kids know me as the Fatty who gets locked in a dryer by my twin brother is smarter then me."

COMEDIAN:

John Dore - The interview with Julie Bowen felt rushed to leave enough time for this comedian (I use that term lightly) named John Dore.  I highly disagree with this decision.  Having not heard of Mr. Dore before (I'll call him John when he earns my "Comedy Trust"), I was willing to give him a shot.  I mean, snagging the slot of the first comedian on CONAN during his premier week must mean he's good, right?  Right?  Nope.  Not at all.

After finding out he's had not one, but two, specials on Comedy Central, and his own show on IFC and The Comedy Network in Canada, I tried to like him.  I really did.  I wanted to find something to chuckle at, something to smirk at, even something to keep my attention, but nothing worked for me.  From the lame jokes to the annoying stares at the audience to the way-too-long set up for a chance to have water poured on him, Mr. Dore should have been a gentleman and given his time to Julie Bowen.  Plus, if you want to see how to properly use water in a bit for laughs, see Tom Hanks.  THAT was funny!

THURSDAY OPENING CREDITS EASTER EGG:


According to Bley (THE CONAN Blogger), there will be a change in the opening credits each and every Thursday.  This week, the CONAN Blimp flew over Anytown, U.S.A. (unless someone really knows what city that is) and popped on the moon, getting stuck on the tip of the crescent and hanging there.  The family, that usually jumps out of the car and walks into the house on the Monday-Wednesday openings, fell out of the CONAN Blimp and held on for dear life.  Well, as much as a cartoon figure can worry about their "life" anyway.

Aside from the lackluster guest at the end of Episode 1004, Conan finished his Premier Week with a great showing of what's to come in the weeks, months, and perhaps even *fingers crossed* years ahead.  I know that with time, CONAN will turn into what we know to expect from Coco and Co.: a highly funny show that will keep his core audience of 18-35 year olds tuning in night after night.  All of which will be delivered in a mixture of insane skits, witty monologues, and memorable guests.

CONAN on TBS may be done until Monday night, but All Things CONAN is a 24/7 train picking up steam.  This weekend, we'll take a look at the ratings from Premier Week and what it means for Coco, along with a look at what's in store for us next week via guests and musical acts.  Plus, much, much more, so come on back now, ya' hear?

Behind The Scenes: Soaking Tom Hanks

Curious how they set up the segment with Tom Hanks and getting soaked?  Wonder no more, my friends.  CONAN blogger, Aaron Bleyaert, has provided us with some Behind-the-Scenes action in the video below.  Enjoy, my Coco-Nuts!

REVIEW: 1003 - Dead Men Don't Wear Spanx

Night 3 of CONAN is in the history books, and we're inching our way closer to the end the first week.  Seems hard to believe, but it's really happening.  Conan's back on our television sets with a late night talk show, and sending us off to La La Land with laughter and happy dreams.  Like the land of Milk and Honey.

While not as laugh out loud funny as episode 1002, CONAN is still welcome to grace my late night routine any time.  As long as episode 1003 exists, I have a chance to see the String Dance every time.  Time for a look back at the episode that was..."Dead Men Don't Wear Spanx"

BEST MONOLOGUE JOKE:

"It was recently announced that a fourth Jason Bourne movie is going to be made, but without Matt Damon. (Audience Boos) Yeah, this one will be called The Bourne Straight to Video."

SKIT OF THE NIGHT:

"Rejected Names for CONAN" - As Conan pointed out yesterday, he came up with the name for his new show, CONAN, but he decided to share some of the rejected names for the show as well.  Some of my personal favorites included "Coco Gigante..." and "One Night Closer to Death."  Why and how these writers come up with this stuff, I'll never know, but I'm sure glad they do.  It reminded me of some of the skits that Conan used to do back during his Late Night days.  It's funny, but boarding on stupid, which sometimes makes for the best reactions from the audience and the host himself.  Especially when he realizes some of the things he's just said on national television.

GUESTS:

Jon Hamm - Perpetually handsome Jon Hamm had his chance in the CONAN guest seat after helping film the Cold Open for Episode 1001.  His interview was interesting, in that we find out that Jon has hurt himself not once, but twice, while taping AMC's Mad Men.  Also, in a highly comical portion of the interview, we find out that Jon Hamm will not be wearing 70's fashion as Don Draper.  He simply refuses.  I, for one, agree with this.  There's just something about the 60's style that works for that show.  But I digress - this interview made me love Jon Hamm even more (if that was possible).  He was very engaging and seemed like someone I'd want to just hang out and have a drink with.

Charlyne Yi - Having not known much about Charlyne Yi before CONAN (minus her role in Knocked Up), Charlyne comes across as very shy and awkward, but I'm guessing this plays well into her comedic background.  It makes for an intriguing interview, which included a talk about her shaving her head onstage for a bit in her show, and a rambling talk about her short-lived part in a television sitcom that she was fired from after the table read.  She's cute and she did get some laughs from the audience, so perhaps there's just something about her that I don't quite understand.  Although, I'll admit I did laugh during her bit about the audition for "Scream 4" and not being able to see if she was scaring Conan.  Plus, "Shut up, Coyote! Shut up!" is my new Facebook status.

MUSICAL GUEST:

Fistful of Mercy - Not a band I know, but I enjoyed the performance.  I can't comment too much on the song, since I don't have a reference point, but the clothing options on the 3rd guitar player (a tan fedora and a red and green flannel shirt) was fun to watch.  I spent most of the performance trying to figure out if that was intentional or if he didn't have any other clean clothes for his time on CONAN.  The rest of the band was dressed in jeans and t-shirts, so he was very noticeably different.  Perhaps as long as someone is paying attention to them (and also commenting on blogs like this one), then they've done their job in promoting the band/album.

Tomorrow, I'll be taking a look at Conan's final show for the week (only Monday through Thursday, my babies!), and on Monday, we'll be taking a look at next week's guests.  Plus, stay tuned during the weekend for all the latest news and updates on All Things CONAN!

REVIEW: 1002 - Murder, She Tweeted

It's happened.  CONAN has outdone himself.  His opening night jitters are gone.  The Coco we've grown to know and love over the last 17 years has emerged.  Several times during the night, I had to pause the show (THANK YOU, TiVo!), simply because I didn't want to miss anything, as I was doubled over with laughter.  Not an easy thing to try and control when you're watching CONAN at 11pm around other sleeping persons.

Did Episode 1002, titled "Murder, She Tweeted," surpass the premier episode?  I think so.  Do the titles of the episodes have anything to do with the actual content of said episode?  I think not.  Does it matter?  Absolutely not.

Let's all take Grandma to Applebees and look back at Episode 1002...

BEST MONOLOGUE JOKE:

"Now that we're on the air...TBS can finally stop running promos for our show.  Unfortunately, that leaves an 18 hour hole in their schedule."

SKIT OF THE NIGHT:

"Conan Meets His Censor" - Perhaps one of the moments when I laughed the hardest.  When Conan asked if he could use slang terms for body parts and sexual positions, I could only imagine what he would come up with.  Of course, I didn't have to imagine for long.  "Taking Grandma to Applebees" and "Tokyo Sandblaster" were two of my favorites.  Although, I must say that when he brought in the ass-less chaps outfit and he asked the Censor to tell him when it was too much ass for on air, I had to stop and stifle my laughs into my pillow.

GUESTS:

Tom Hanks - As Conan's official 2nd show guest (2nd show on both the Tonight Show and CONAN), Mr. Hanks was responsible for creating the Coco nickname.  Of course, the world would never be the same, as everyone, including Conan's children, now call him Coco.  This was a great interview, as Tom calls Pixar "lying sons of bitches" and gives us a visual for how one takes Grandma to Applebees.  Plus, we find out that George Takei "takes Monorails very seriously."

In the second half of the interview, Tom continues his tradition of physical comedy with Conan by getting doused with water.  On the Tonight Show, he previously got hit with a foam meteorite, and on Late Night, he had a bunch of snow poured on him.  You would think he would learn his lesson, but no, he continues to entertain us with his willingness to let us laugh with him, not at him.  OK, we're laughing at him, but it's for a good reason.

Jack McBrayer - Another on Conan's long list of friends, Jack McBrayer started working on the old Late Night show, where he appeared 80 times.  This was another showing of Conan's ability to work the guests into sharing great stories and pull out some of the most memorable lines of the night.  When Conan said to Jack, "What's the matter with you? Don't look disappointed in me," Jack responds with, "I have no choice."  This was another great interview - one worth watching (click on Jack McBrayer's name at the beginning of this paragraph for video) - if only for Jack's "Knock, Knock" jokes.

MUSICAL GUEST:

Soundgarden - Reunited for the first time since 1997, Soundgarden gave an enthusiastic performance, which highlighted why they were great when they debuted.  The performance instantly took me back to my high school days, which can be looked at with either joy or disgust, depending on your definition of fun.  As for the band, they seemed to have lost some steam in the years since their last showing, and it makes me curious about the rest of their new album.

A special WEB ONLY Performance by Soundgarden was recorded after CONAN taped, and was hosted on the CONAN website.  You can view the performance by clicking on the link.

Overall, another strong night for Conan and his fans.  While 4 million fans tuned in for the premier episode, I think "Murder, She Tweeted" deserved to build upon the existing fans and bring in new ones. CONAN beat the Sophomore Slump of episodes.  Can his third episode do as well?  Come back tomorrow to find out!

REVIEW: 1001 - Baa Baa Blackmail

Conan O'Brien is back. Our beloved Coco has made his triumphant return to television with his first episode of CONAN, titled "Baa Baa Blackmail."

After 9 months off the air since his fallout with NBC and the Jay Leno/Tonight Show fiasco (which shall not be mentioned again), Coco debuted on TBS at 11pm (10pm Central) last night. While it was great to see Conan back on the small screen, he did seem a little nervous. I would imagine with all the pressure of a night like this, someone as talented as Coco is allowed a bit of nerves. I have no doubt he'll settle in as the episodes progress. Let's dive right in to Episode 1001, shall we, my dear Coco-Fanatics?!?

COLD OPEN:

Voice Over: Last Season on CONAN...

Phone Rings

Conan: You want me to move the Tonight Show to 12:05? Forget it. I'm not doing it. GO TO HELL!

After the epic Cold Open back on June 1, 2009 for his debut on the Tonight Show, Conan had his work cut out for him. He had months to plan his attack and show exactly what we could expect from his new venture. He didn't disappoint.

Conan dealt with the change to TBS with his self-depreciating humor and wacky comedic style that we've all grown to know and love about him. From the NBC Goons assassination attempt on him to the monetary offer made by TBS, he was able to handle the topic with class and laughs. For the diehard fans like me that catch every little thing, I loved the hospital monitor that clearly stated, "Demonstration Software - Not For Clinical Use." A classic Coco move.

His odd jobs, apparently leading up to his new stint on Basic Cable, were humorous: Attempting to work for Don Draper ("It's 1965, and you're 2 years old."), a fast-food cashier ("That's like 7 forks, not Sweet & Sour sauce!"), and a children's party clown ("I'll call the police."). Which led him to attempt to jump off a Los Angeles bridge, before being persuaded by Larry King (his guardian angel) to look into Basic Cable. Conan visited TBS, who offered him "much less," and a new show was born.

However, not all is well that ends well with Coco (unless he's going for laughs), as he once again gets shot up by the NBC Goons that attempted to assassinate him earlier in the skit.

BEST MONOLOGUE JOKE:

Since it was the first show, I had to give Coco a little leeway and go with two of the best monologue jokes of the night.

"Thank you, and welcome to my second annual first show...People asked me why I called the show CONAN. I did it so I'd be harder to replace."

SKIT OF THE NIGHT:

When Conan and Andy put on the "Ex-Talk Show Host" Halloween masks, I was instantly reminded of why I loved seeing those two back together again. Conan's ability to make fun of himself, and Andy's ability to push him further into the bit, makes them an awesome comedy team. Andy's quip about making a deal with Conan's wife so he could sneak into their bedroom late at night while wearing the mask, just so he could scare Conan, was best. Also, Andy's comment summed up the skit perfectly, "It's very authentic inside. It smells like tears."

GUESTS:

The winner of Conan's "deliberately rigged" First Guest Contest was Arleen Wagner, who I assumed to be a very nice old woman, who's the curator of the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum. I say I assumed she was nice, as she only walked out from behind the curtain, across the stage and off the set again. No words were spoken. Why? I'm not sure. It would have been nice to have a small segment with her, but perhaps time was of the essence. At least she got her own theme music to walk to ("You're the first guest on CONAN! The most important person in history!")

Seth Rogen - He was good as a guest. Nothing of particular interest to promote, but he was doing a favor to Conan for the first show. Was he memorable? Not particularly, but he was pleasant all the same.

Lea Michele - Again, nothing amazing about this interview, but the one moment of note was when Lea was telling a story and a loud noise was heard offstage. Conan's ability to roll with the unexpected moment, and not only point it out, but make a joke about it, is just another example of why I've stuck around waiting for this night to happen.

MUSICAL GUEST:

Jack White - Clearly a favorite of Conan's, who invited him on his highly-popular summer tour and as a visitor on all of his Late Night talk shows, Jack White was entertaining. Conan joining in on the song, both by playing guitar and singing, was the perfect end to the episode.

If you miss any of the shows, you can watch the full first episode at TeamCoco.com.

If this is just a taste of what we can expect for upcoming episodes of CONAN, I'm glad that November 8th got here as quickly as it did. Conan is back and ready to rock.

CONAN Premier Party

CONAN Fans on Premier Night

CONAN debuts in just 10 minutes, and this fan is all set.  I've got my good friend, my Coco gear, and plenty of cookies and margaritas to get us through the hilarity that's sure to greet us for the next hour.

What will CONAN be?  What will Team Coco have in store for us?  Will Basic Cable allow Conan to go wild?  All will be revealed in just minutes...

UPDATE: 30 minutes in, and CONAN has not disappointed.  A full review will be posted in the morning.  Time to get a margarita refill before the commercial break is over!