The Best Of Conan O’Brien’s Late Night
Conan O’Brien is set to debut as the new host of the Tonight Show this (stateside) evening, which is exciting. Though we do worry that because he’s now on an hour earlier, our favourite kinds of Late Night bits might be deemed too weird or risky; favourites likes these hallowed treasures:
An absolute staple of his show. Stupid costumes with cheesy lighting, a celebrity to join him, and La Bamba going falsetto in between each joke. They were all amazing, and this one is no exception. Who knew that Duchovny meant syphilis in Russian? People in the year 2000 did, that’s who.
One of a number of ‘Conan’s Field Trips’. There are a lot to choose from here. Conan and Mr. T go apple picking was one of the oddest pairings, but this one was Conan on his game. All of his talents seem to come together perfectly. Charming, self-deprecating, brilliant use of props, quick wit. And the men on the vineyard play great straight men to make him seem even more absurd.
Another one of his brilliant recurring sketches. And even though it’s on Conan, this sketch owed its brilliance to Robert Smigel. There were almost too many of these to choose from, but I settled on Arnold because his voice was by far the most ridiculous.
Just a great moment with a great reaction from Conan. His sheer enthusiasm is what makes it classic.
Making fun of a league in Long Island that plays baseball as it was meant to be played in the 19th century. As usual, he joins in on the fun.
Recurring characters like vomiting Kermit and Pimpbot 5000 added a certain richness to the show. But none quite had the staying power like The Masturbating Bear. On his last Late Night, Conan retired The Masturbating Bear, as it would simply not fly in his new time slot. He had it encased in Carbonite.
He does not pander to celebrities. And getting someone like Martha Stewart to eat a cold Taco Bell bean burrito and wash it down with a refreshing bottle of OE 800 is part of his genius. Martha obviously enjoyed this as much as viewers, and later on Conan took a field trip to Martha’s estate
Randomly blurtng out a non-existent website on the air forced NBC to buy the rights to HornyManatee.com. The site still exists to this day, and from the looks of it is still regularly updated.
Late night hosts have always taken shots at their networks, but O’Brien figured out a way to make fun of NBC without coming off as bitter. When NBC bought Universal and became the owner of Walker: Texas Ranger, he introduced a lever that played Chuck Norris clips. It was so simple in its brilliance.
The most consistently funny aspect of Conan’s show. Only hoping he continues on The Tonight Show.
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Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
I have a soft spot for the Satellite TV Channel Bit. I highly doubt that we will ever see anything as strange, horrifying and enchanting as Potato Judge ever again.
o-line
@AmericanSplendor: Or, like the famous Burnett quote: Comedy is tragedy plus time.
Whereas I Love New Jersey is tragedy plus [this space intentionally left blank]
Man, the best ever Conan bit was way back when Andy was on the show. They did this great Ingmar Bergmanesque sketch, in Swedish with subtitles. To my tremendous sadness, I have never been able to find a clip online.
any bit involving Nipsey Russell. The staring contest one, and the "stuck in a box" with Sy Sperling
@I Love New Jersey:
You know what's really funny?
A public declaration of love for New Jersey.
Just saying...
stanhalen
Andy's confirmed that "In the year 2000" is coming back (hopefully with cheesier lighting and stupider costumes), as well as "If they mated" which is the only thing on Conan my mom enjoys, so that should carry over well for the 11:30 audience.
do not mouth off to Walker when you're standing next to him with your hands in your pockets.
so awesome.
Nice compilation, but this is missing the all-time funniest moment in late night (lowercase!) history: Conan, Norm, and Courtney Thorn-Smith goofing around unscripted --
+ Watch video
Must B. Nice
@Guy Whitey Corngood: Sorry, I PRAY to the black void.
Guy Whitey Corngood
Finally read Bill Carter's amazing "The Late Shift."
One of my favorite moments in the book comes during the sweet honeymoon period pre-Hugh Grant when Letterman was consistently kicking Leno's ass in every demographic. Asshole network execs at CBS and NBC had assumed at the time that Letterman wouldn't be able to adapt his "out there" alternative late night hippie comedy to the mainstream heartland audience of Decent Americans at 11:30.
Letterman adapted flawlessly, and by "adapted" I mean ever-so-slightly modified his material, simultaneously bringing in new fans and pleasing the die-hards. I play to the black void where a god should be that Conan does the same. And I believe he can.
Guy Whitey Corngood
@I Love New Jersey:
In terms of psychology, there is no such thing as funny ha-ha, it's all funny uh-oh. We laugh because it's not happening to us.
And yet Michael O'Donoghue bitterly opposed the whole idea of "writing for felt."
A shout-out should really be given to Actual Items, which, while hit-or-miss comedically, is fantastic in its idea-a thorough warping of the usual bullshit funny-headline skit.
Here is my list of Conan's funny (not funny uh-oh, but funny ha-ha) moments:
This page left intentionally left blank.
myspace.com/koyeberry . . . the best (and perhaps only) song you'll ever hear about the Masturbating Bear
@o-line: Innnnappropriate!
@Mikey-B: Guilty!
o-line
Eh. Laughed a bit. Just don't really get him. Never did.
EastEndguy
I hope he brings back Pimp-Bot 5000 on the new show
Let's see...
Laughed at wine tour.
Thoroughly amused by 1864 baseball.
In tears from Walker: Texas Ranger.
This was not a waste of my time.
Paul_Is_Drunk
It doesn't get much better than "Muppet Faces of Death":
+ Watch video
atlasfugged
Andy Richter has said "In The Year 2000" is sticking around. So there's that.
@I Love New Jersey: This is because of all Conan's "New Jersey sucks and has crappy air" jokes, isn't it?
@Must B. Nice: That's fun. Norm is awesome in his little sweet spot there.
@o-line: I see your Potato Judge and raise you a 'Lincoln Money-Shots'.
Oh man, I would watch an entire hour of the Walker Texas Ranger lever.
More enjoyable than even an hour of Walker Texas Ranger.
Please bring back the lever!
lackadaisical
@Must B. Nice: That is great, like the best of old Johnny Carsons shows.
RubyBegonia
The weirdness of his commercials give me hope that the shows will not shy away from being silly at the earlier timeslot.
Shows like The Office, 30 Rock, and Parks & Recreation being part of NBC's lineup also give me hope that they are realizing that the younger generation that is becoming a larger segment of their late night viewing enjoy the silliness.
@britneyspearstears: That was one of my favorites. It's too bad that it was sooooooo long ago.
ASS!
@atlasfugged: Or, "Mother Theresa Trashing a Hotel Room":
+ Watch video
atlasfugged