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?!?
Voice Over: Last Season on CONAN...Phone RingsConan: 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 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.
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