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!