Wednesday, June 3, 2009

"Tonight Show" with Conan O'Brien really sucks. Big time!

In Conan''s 4 1/2-minute opening bit, he runs across the country: Watch and see if you laugh

I have to go off politics just for this one-time opportunity to play TV critic.

Johnny must be turning in his grave. And Jay may already be wondering how long it will take NBC to beg him to take the "Tonight Show" back -- and how much they'll offer him.

I'm a long-time viewer of "Tonight" -- in particular, the first half hour in which Jay and Johnny before him rarely failed to deliver a funny monologue and usually managed something else from among their standard bits worth a few laughs.

So I watched a portion of Conan O'Brien's first two shows. Both times, I had to turn it off before the first half hour was over. I never had the slightest inclination to giggle and the whole thing was not so much boring as senseless. That's it for me.

Now some people must find this guy amusing. (His debut at "Tonight" did receive "mixed reviews," although I suspect that some of the nicer comments were either self-interested or acts of mercy.) I never watched Conan on "Late Night." Too late for me. He seems to have a devoted following from that show, but that could be part of the problem. To turn in reasonable ratings at 1:00 AM, you only need a smallish group of, well, groupies...cultish fans. To make a success of "Tonight," you have to be funny for a much larger audience -- like me, for instance.

Conan's studio audience appears to be packed with his groupies. They whoop and shriek and make other noises like Rebel yells at everything he does and says. But here's the thing: they don't laugh either! After a few minutes of that, it starts to grate.

Conan also has an annoying habit of filling air time with pointless and unfunny banter with his sidekick, Andy Richter, who cackles a lot, presumably to give the impression that someone in the room is laughing. This is reminiscent of David Letterman's repeating the same words and phrases over and over as Paul Shaeffer laughs maniacally and hams it up at his keyboard. Leno and Carson didn't need that kind of crap. They carried the show even in slow moments or in he face of jokes that didn't work on the strength of their personalities, poise, timing, and ability to improvise.

It's a very unusual talent that enabled Johnny to carry "Tonight" for 30 years and Jay another 17. My guess is that Conan will be lucky to take the show into a second season, if he doesn't achieve an unlikely radical transformation. Conan's debut show got strong ratings, but that's to be expected. Barring a major change, the audience will drift to other entertainments; some will move over to Letterman; and ABC will soon sense the opportunity to put someone to go up against "Tonight" seriously for the first time since Joey Bishop went off the air more than 40 years ago.

Then, it's always possible that Jay Leno's new show in the 10 pm time slot will alter audience habits. People who watch a hour of comedy and talk at 10 may not be as interested in seeing more of the same at 11:30, no matter who's hosting.

In any case, sorry, Conan, but your show really sucks. Big time!

Got an opinion? Post a comment.

RELATED -- Jay Leno will return to late night because Conan O'Brian (still) really sucks -- big time!

123 comments:

  1. Your sense of humor is outdated and bland.

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    1. Yes we agree anonymous your sense of humor is outdated and bland. conana is horrible trash and has never ever ever ever ever ever said one funny thing in his entire life.

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    2. THANK YOU!!!!!! Can someone please take this idiot off the air? I have sat through his shows and TRIED to laugh at some of the crap I hear and NOTHING happens!! NOTHING!!!!! I have given him time to make me laugh and he failed. SO, can someone bring in a talented individual to host the show? I would really appreciate it, and I think most of the country would too.

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  2. Ha! Tell it to the network and the advertisers when the show tanks.

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  3. dude, Conan is funnier than Leno, I never watched Jay since his monologues were 20 minutes long!!!!!!!!

    and he sucked up to his guests.

    man, Conan will have to tone down his humor since most people in Iowa won't get it.

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    1. conan is only funny to the low IQ half retarded morons who find 5th grade humor funny. Thats why he was fired from the tonight show and his current ratings on tbs have dropped to under 700,000. Every other talk show in the world is beating him in ratings. So ya you lose tard.

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  4. The Tonight Show was number ONE for a reason, it was entertaining and funny, I even tolerated Leno's un-respectful jokes to many people, at the end of the show I felt that I didn't wasted my time and I went to sleep with a smile, well no any more, "the new joker" or what ever his name is that is trying to be funny (not!!!)he just sucks BIG time, just to tell you that last night I did something that I'd not done in a long time, I WATCHED LETTERMAN!!!!, so now Leno is going to be 100% correct when he states the NBC is in last place, as far as myself I just going to go to bed early, I'll keep my smile!!!

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  5. I can appreciate that Jay was a huge part of peoples lives, he's a great comedian and his show was always entertaining but there are some leno fans who are just mean. I'm a big fan of Conan's from way back and I've been following his website closely in anticipation for the new tonight show but in the last couple of days I've noticed alot of people just flat out being rude and posting offensive comments on the website, insulting Conan, insulting the fans. Its also quite sad that they would take it to a website created for the fans in order to diss a host that they dont like.
    So Leno fans I'm sorry for your loss, its going to be a long three months (thats how long I waited for Conan) but HE WILL BE BACK! So in the mean time LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE!

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  6. Conan is pathetic...not even remotely funny. The show is pitiful without Leno.

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  7. Conan after 3 shows thus far rated a D minus!
    I was bored! Conan and the NBC suits better wake up and do more comedy sketches and make the monogloges more funny -- they are not remotely funny. NBC suits, listen...you need
    more comedy sketches! what are you paying the writers for???? first 3 nights thus far, show sucks big time,boring!!!!! D minus! I'll switch to Letterman soon if Conan does not improve soon.

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  8. I completely agree with the comments that Conan is totally NOT funny. I tried watching this with an open mind but just fell asleep as he is SO boring. What a huge disappointment after years of clever hilarity with Leno. If he lasts six months I'd be very surprised!!

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  9. If you dont like Coco then switch to letterman! Conan fans don't need you. Go ahead I dare ya! Double dare ya even! you could always go to sleep... senior citizens do need their rest.

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  10. Leno's great but theres a lot of classless Leno fans out there.

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  11. Conan hits a completely different demographic. Writer, you even said in your blog you didn't watch Conan before because it was, "too late." Conan has always been a big hit in the 18-25 and 25-35 demographics. I've been following him myself since I was in the former segment. NBC is making a great move with Conan at the 11:30p slot, now that his followers are getting out of college and into the real world. Yeah, maybe Letterman will get a lot of Boomers to move to his show. NBC will probably win out with Leno on earlier as well... since all of the geriatrics will be finishing up their day of Matlock and Geritol at about the time his show goes off. Hey, maybe you'll even be able to stay awake to catch the weather on the news! All joking aside, NBC is going to bring viewers outside of the 50+ audience back to late night with Conan, which will give them the base to afford "The Tonight Show" continued success. You don't like Conan... well, a lot of the prime demogrpahics prefer Conan over Leno. It's a generational divide. I take nothing away from Leno, he had a great run. Just wait and see, Conan will have a long career on "Tonight" as well.

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  12. to the last guy...well said! Wooo Conan!

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  13. im 27 I agree conan sucks. so dont say its a generation divide cause its not you have to be stupid to like conan

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  14. Generation divide, eh? Maybe so, but how many people are there in this "demographic"?

    -- Under 35s...who

    -- Are mindless and stupid...and

    -- Did not have to get up to go to work in the morning for the past 15 years?

    Good luck with that.

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  15. I'm starting a campaign to replace him with Brad Garrett. If you want to joing in...

    https://twitter.com/Pupuleguy/status/2066691514

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  16. Honestly, I could agree with you more on this issue. His jokes are not funny. Weinberg and Richter are annoying compared to Melendez and Eubanks. Actually Conan's deliverance is really bad. He thinks screaming and yelling are funny. Tom Hanks as a guest had a much better screen personality than Conan. Even some times Jay did deliver some "not" so funny stuffs but he can carry away with the audience; Conan and his crew can't.

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  17. The Tonight Show with Conan is HORRIBLE! He is very annoying and not funny at all. The annoying pest Andy Richter as his announcer and skit partner is not funny either.

    Jay Leno as host was the best thing for NBC and The Tonight Show. Conan is so unclassy that he was making a joke out of the closing show for Leno (about the kids being his legacy) Yeah, that's how stupid, disrespectful, and rude Conan is. His humor is for dumb, lowlife couch potatoes who sit laughing at crap that is garbage.

    I can't wait until Jay's return. I'm sure he can't wait either.

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  18. The difference between Conan and Jay is Conan makes you laugh by making a fool out of himself, but Jay does not do that and does not need to do that. You can just feel that Jay's material are usually well prepared, but Conan seems just randomly shoot words out of his mouth.

    But there is one thing good about the new tonight show. Since I do not like to watch it anymore, I can finally go to bed early to catch some sleeps.

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  19. Michael Moya Sings Baby-OJune 11, 2009 at 8:27 PM

    Honestly, if I may chime in briefly with or without being trolled, it’s so childish to debase someone as if you yourself are an aficionado in his or her field of expertise. Referring senselessly to NBC executives, who are rightfully into their own dogmatic regimen, as “suits” who cannot understand their demographic. Really? By arguing like idiots you’re creating a buzz, be it negative or positive, a buzz nonetheless that will put asses in the seats and sell a definitive image. The “old” cronies who whine about Conan’s inability to “connect” with his audience will help the already, as stated earlier, younger demographic to identify with Conan as the surging voice of their generation.

    You’re being pawns in a chess match coordinated to sell more advert slots and dimwitted ideals through soft color palettes. How about you create a blog or a twitter about what you ate for breakfast and then argue about how Grapefruit is bullshit and isn’t as fucking delicious as an Orange.

    It boils down to either shutting the fuck up and moving on, or just "getting off your fat ass" and doing something else of your own volition for your (and mankind’s) inherent benefit. I mean to say, it is tasteless to attack someone like Conan (who is just a TV persona you don’t know the man personally) on an intimate level as if you know him and are right to judge. If you don’t like his comedic style then a simple, I don’t agree with it suffices.

    The fucking Internet, I swear, king crimson come save us. Suddenly everyone is a goddamn expert simply because they can publish their own bullshit ideologies through black and white digital pixilation.

    Why don’t you guys go review “indie” records with Pitchfork Media and give life a 2/10 because it’s so bland and overproduced?

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  20. I tried to watch Conan, but it simply was not entertaining in the least. I tried again and again to see if I could get used to his style of comedy, but, it was just not funny. I am not sure who made the decision to move conan to the tonite show, but, who ever it was is probably responsible for NBC being the lowest rated network on TV. NBC's upper management decision makers need to be fired.

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  21. Seems to me that Michael Moya is the one who has a problem: why should a viewer not be in a position to trash a performer and what's all this about a "field of expertise?" If NBC and the other networks had all the "expertise," they would never have aired a show that later had to be cancelled.

    Iron rule of entertainment: the audience rules!

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  22. There is no Tonight Show anymore, NBC canceled it and put Conan's show on in it's place. They should be honest and take the name off. I tried to watch. It really is horrible. Kat.

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  23. Conan sucks big time. We want Jay Leno back

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  24. I, too, was willing to give Conan a try. I did catch some of his stand-up on his late show before the move and found him too dry to be really funny. I gave him the benefit of the doubt and watched his first show. It started out strong enough with the 'run' to the west coast, but the stand-up bombed. Tried again the 2nd night and switched it off after about a minute. He's not for me. Can't wait for Leno to return.

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  25. I have been a long time Jay fan. Never liked letterman. I tried Conan when he was on late night, had funny moments but wasn't worth DVR'ing. I gave him a week chance on Tonight. I just stopped recording him. I really miss Jay. Jay had a way to deliver that was just awesome. I have now moved onto letterman who seems now funny to me that Jay is gone.. Bad nove NBC... Bad bad move...

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  26. Conan is not funny. The whole show is so immature, it looks like it was made for 12 year olds. Why broadcast something like that in the night instead of in the morning? Only kids, drunk people and people with the IQ of a peanut will like this.

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  27. I am 30 and somewhat recall the days of Jimmy and live through Leno. Leno was ok but Conan is pathetic. I have my tv on late while I am working and make sure it is not on his show so I do not qualify as a rating. I feel that if you like Conan you are moron and on the same page as Jack Black. Basic idiot demographic.

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  28. Just to clarify for Jimmy I refer to as the legend Johnny Carson.

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  29. Dittos for me to the above comments. Conan's dry delivery and he looks so stiff and immature just turns me off, as does his material. If NBC thinks this is The Late Show, they need counseling. OOOps, we already know that. Bye Bye NBC. Not a Letterman fan either!

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  30. I sent NBC an email just after I heard that Conan was replacing Jay. My comments were simple "DON"T DO IT". I believe I even suggested they put Jimmy Fallon right into the "Tonight slot" as he is actually funny. I think Jay did a great job considering the shoes he had to fill. Jay is a standup comedian and the timing required to produce great comedy is a talent you cannot manufacture. If NBC was smart they should end Conan's run with the tonight show sooner rather than later. Sorry Conan but you just aren't funny and your interviewing skills are marginal at best. Bye Bye ..

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  31. I sent NBC an email just after I heard that Conan was replacing Jay. My comments were simple "DON"T DO IT". I believe I even suggested they put Jimmy Fallon right into the "Tonight slot" as he is actually funny. I think Jay did a great job considering the shoes he had to fill. Jay is a standup comedian and the timing required to produce great comedy is a talent you cannot manufacture. If NBC was smart they should end Conan's run with the tonight show sooner rather than later. Sorry Conan but you just aren't funny and your interviewing skills are marginal at best. Bye Bye ..

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  32. I haven't watched the show since Jay left. I don't know why but I can't seem to stand Conan and he's just NOT FUNNY! I watched a few ep. of his Late Night Show & as much as I tried, I just couldn't get into it.

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  33. I'm 32 and enjoyed watching Conan several years ago on Late Night. When I heard that Conan was taking over for Jay recently I had high hopes for the show. However after watching four episodes it's apparent that either Conan has horrible writers or just doesn't have the same delivery talent Leno had. I can't even make it through his monologue, I watched three shows and didn't laugh at any of his jokes.

    NBC needs to bring Leno back...Conan just doesn't have the same mass appeal.

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  34. Used to enjoy Conan after Jay... but WHAT HAPPENED??? Either his move to Hollywood ruined him or his writers have jet-lag. Wow, Conan is not funny in the least, now.

    Can't wait to see Jay again in the fall!

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  35. With Conan you have to "get it". Not universally funny at all. His show kinda gives me a migraine. He's too spastic and stilted. Jay was a laid back kinda guy.

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  36. Conan is KING! ... Couldn't have picked a better replacement!

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  37. Conan sucks BIG TIME ! His jokes are lame and frankly, he comes across as a retard in a weird sort of way. I am sure his bosses must think so highly of him to give him such a big responsibility. Bad Call !!!!!

    There are many stand-up comics that they could have picked. Candidly, Ellen DeGeneres & Craig Ferguson are funnier than all these blokes.

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  38. I am 16 and even I think Conan sucks (BIG TIME)!!!

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  39. Conan started toning his late night show down as soon as he got the Tonight Show gig. He used to be INCREDIBLY FUNNY. I don't know why he seems to want to pretend to be somehting he is not. The guy you are seeing on the Tonight Show is NOT the real Conan. Either the suits are toning his humor down or he himself is. Grab the 10th Anniversary DVD of Late Night with Conan O'Brien and you will see some of his best stuff.

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  40. Conan sucks. Put someone on who can actually make people laugh.

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  41. What idiots at NBC dreamed up this shift in late-night hosts? Conan should never have left his 12:30 slot and Joel Goddard was much funnier than Andy. Then the mess that follows with Fallon at 12:30, horrible. NBC must be into Seppuku or something.

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  42. conan sucks haven't got past first 15 mins of first 2 shows; watched Leno almost every night.

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  43. Let's not deny the touch of brilliance that is Conan's. He's clever, far more spontaneous than Leno, and a wonderful clown. However, the comedy writing on any show is essential. And at the moment teh comedy writing for Conan is, shall we say, Saturday Night Live caliber, which isn't saying much. Get some better writers for Conan, NBC. Hope Conan restores the cast of weird ancillary characters (crooner, interrupter, fun hole guy, etc.) that gave his late night show its edge.

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  44. I've been watching the Tonight Show since the early 80s. I thought Carson was great and so was Leno. Once in awhile I would watch Letterman, who is also very good at what he does. But most of my belly-laughs came from the Tonight Show, and now that Conan has taken over, the laughs are no longer there. I do get his comedy, but it doesn't make me laugh. Can't wait for Leno in the fall.

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  45. I was 27 when Johnny retired. He was great. I don't see how young people would take more to Conan. I would imagine the same people that like Conan would be the same ones that laugh at a Farrelly Bros. movie. No thanks. Patiently waiting for Leno's show next month..

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  46. Going from Carson to Leno to Conan is just like going from Connery to Moore to that other guy. It has dropped WAY off on that last one.

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  47. Funny reading all these posts, you knew what you were gettin before gumby took over, only difference is, now you turn him off an hour earlier!!!!

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  48. If anything I would have paid someone on the crew $500 just to trip conan during that bullshit intro, just get a single laugh.

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  49. Bad writers? Sure, but that´s where Conan outclasses Jay Leno (and the rest of them): He´s funny even when he isn´t. And when the writers do come up with some funny stuff, he´s hilareous.

    Charisma, true wits, improvising skill...
    Too good for some of you people?

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  50. Thank God that Jay has his own show now. I think it worked out for the best. Instead of waiting for the "Late Show" I can watch Jay much earlier. Conan outright stinks. But as long as Jay has his show, I'll be happy with that.

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  51. I NEVER watched Jay, just didn't care for him, liked dvr-ing Conan but he is off and on sometimes. I had high hopes for Conan on Tonight Show, but WOW am I bummed. Aside from a few funny sketches the show really stinks ! Way too vulgar and way NOT funny, when Conan is "on" I can cry with laughter ! WHAT HAPPENED ? I sit there watching and I don't even smile ? Did he change writers ? I hate that stupid twitter thing and some other lame features, why not use Andy more ? He is soo quick and funny I don't get it. When I was a kid I used to get sick alot and my parents always had Johnny Carson on and it was fine for me to see, if there was anything "off-color" it flew over my head. Conan is being too raunchy to get laughs and it doesn't work, I swear they dub in a laugh track to enhance the laughter after the show is taped. What happened to the fun ? Remember him driving his desk around ? The big screen interviews with the funky Clutch Cargo lip thing ? I don't miss the stupid diapered Bear but some of the other stuff he did had me on the floor... I am in mourning. I checked out Craig Ferguson on CBS and he is ALWAYS funny and the show is growing on me. Check it out :)

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  52. I tried giving it a chance but just can't do it. About 5 minutes the first few shows was all I could take. The show and new "host" flat out suck! What Genius thought conan is/was funnier the Leno? and do we need to mention this band over Kevin and the Crew? They have killed the Tonight Show! Not funny or entertaining in the least! This show might possibly appeal to 10 - 12 yr olds or someone with that mentality other then that I can't see how anyone could stand to watch this! Letterman's ratings are going to rocket. Only good thing that come out of this is Jay still being on and even earlier. Jay is both funny and entertaining and Kevin and the band! Music to my ears! I'll end with this, anyone that likes this new tonight show and most over thinks conan is funny.... GET OF THE DRUGS!

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  53. Jay = my nutsack with chemical burns.
    (As funny as....nothing.)
    Conan = he used to be funny...when he tried.
    (That has been years ago)
    Letterman = screw me, or I will fire you.
    (His funny left in the early 90's)

    What you got left?
    Craig Ferguson = Slower "funny", but will get you there.
    Carson Daly = I am not into 15-year olds, and bands nobody knows. He blows....badly.
    Jimmy Fallon = Funny...at times. Still has to work on it. WAY too disjointed, timing is off.
    So far as I can tell, has the most "potential" with his head unassed from his...ass.

    Leno always was lame. Letterman USED to not be lame 15 years ago. Conan is GOING lame. Craig is cruising on his "greatness" and not trying. And Fallon might, or might not...

    Not much of a choice, when all choices suck.
    Equally.
    This is why they make cable, and satellite.
    More "suck" to choose from.

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  54. I used to love the old conan, and YES the new conan sucks i miss him in NYC. It also looks like he doesn't really enjoy doing the show. some of the skits in the intro i saw today were not funny at all and Conan just stood there looking pissed at how unfunny it was.

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  55. Conan is like George Carlin. He's sort of funny until he he mentions anything politics. Then he turns into a hater. He's better off leaving Politics alone. He attacks the Right and butters Obama up. All he's doing is polarizing the audience. He'll last one more year tops.

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  56. A day late and a dollar short ( kind of like Conans timing )but Conan is the epitome of todays humor , boring , bland , and stupid. Maybe I'm out of the loop , or maybe I'm just another disgruntled old dinosaur who misses the day when a comedian actually made me laugh , instead of trying to influence my opion . However all is not lost . Craig Ferguson is on the other network at 12:35 , then I can laugh again .

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  57. Maybe Conan should go back to doing birthday parties for ten year olds . He really sucks

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  58. All the masters have gone away.

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  59. I second that. Conan does suck unfortunately.

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  60. Wow. You people really have no clue. If you really dislike Conan so much then watch Jay at 10PM and get your bore on there. Gee, 10 at 10. How INGENIOUS. Watching a celebrity drive a "green" car on a track with an Al Gore cardboard cutout coming out to scare you. OOOHHHHHHH. Let me get my popcorn out now!

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  61. I watched Conan a few more times since I wrote to initial post in June -- and he still sucks, big time!

    I'm with those commenters who think that Conan's audience will shrink to embrace only dopehead teens and those slightly older who haven't yet made it out of their teens mentally.

    Meanwhile, Jay's new 10 pm show is a lot more lame than I thought it might be. Jay's monologues still work well, but the rest of the show goes straight downhill. Maybe it's just that on the Tonight show, you usually think about turning it off at midnight anyway. Watching at 10 pm, you expect a show that will hold you for an hout -- but it doesn't.

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  62. Conan should NOT be on TV at ANY hour. He's like a cartoon character that has come to life - only not funny.

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  63. Conan O'Brien is horrible. He is so boring, and his persona is so lame. He should not be on TV and I'm please he may get canned by NBC now!

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  64. I've tried to watch Conan on a few seperate occasions now and it just isn't working. I actually did watch Late Night and liked it, but for some reason his humor went completely tits up when he took over the tonight show. I have no idea what the solution is going to be but i bet ya any money jerry seinfeld wouldnt be much better. Cancel the tonight show and give that lunatic gary busey a variety show with alf or some other fictional character.

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  65. Wow! Finally he's going to be fired!

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  66. Conan show sucks big time...

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  67. Carson was the King,the original and irreplaceable. Leno sucked and Conan O'brien is absolutely horrible...end of story.

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  68. American comedy nowadays is dumbed down jokes, where the comics and the loudest laughers are likely the most apathic/rude/selfish/delusional people around.

    It's a shame really, because there is no benefit to anyone who watches it, unless you're looking to be 'in' with the dumb folk.

    Good ol' laurel/hardy's laughs will still go on, but in 5 years nobody will know what today's comics are going on about. But you know what? By then they won't care, they've already been paid! Well, i say, i say, you dumb $ <3'ers, thanks for destroying comedy!

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  69. Conan sucks.........It starts with his retard dance at the start of the show. I think he did a little too much cocaine when he worked on SNL. I do like the new Leno show, Jay has class.

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  70. Most of the people on this page must have sore arthritic knees from getting down to suck on Lenos withered cock. Your demographic is white and old. Hey, tell me about the time you went to buy 'cassette tapes'.

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  71. Between O'Brien and Leno, I'd take O'Brien by a hair. Both are mediocre and uninspiring to me.

    Key words: to me

    Television programming doesn't revolve around our personal opinions. It's a science. There are decades of data available for networks to study. Leno also has more followers than O'Brien. That doesn't make him funnier - comedy's subjective, after all - but it does mean NBC will show him preference over O'Brien.

    What's happening right now between NBC and Conan is the best for both parties. NBC dicked Conan around to cajole him into quitting. Conan responded with his vindictive smear of the network. Now they can break up and get on with their lives.

    It's for the best, really.

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  72. The bottomline is that the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien is a loser while the Tonight Show with Jay Leno was a winner. . .

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  73. Conan O'brien is a sad indicator of the state we are in right now. Childish and lewd humor with simple quick punchlines for a generation of internet addicted morons. Don't go calling me outdated, I'm only 22. The difference is that Jay Leno has wit, timing, and truly is funny. Forcing him to 10pm and to limit his guests so Conan could succeed was a colossal mistake which must be righted. The formula of 1-2 interviews and a musical guest didn't force Leno to come up with filler. Why do you think the best comedians don't spend 6 hours on stage? Even with the old formula Conan can't stay on long enough to interest most. Bring Jay back.

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  74. Even though I could catch it at a different time, I watch The Colbert Report, not Conan. Conan is repulsive. I'm sick of people telling me I don't like Conan because I'm too ignorant or stupid to get his jokes. I enjoy wit. The ribald does not make me cringe. However, Conan relies on sophmoric humor most of the time! How about a brand new Tonight Show host?

    Actually, NBC's idea of giving Leno 1/2 hour then putting Conan on is genius. It would really pull up Conan's ratings. Jay's monologues would have people tuning in again

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  75. Conan turned a 5 million audience into a 2.5 mil audience. If I performed that dismally in 7 months at a new job, I would have been fired long ago.

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  76. Conan is painful to watch.
    Not funny at all. Some skits written by the writers in the past had their moments but individually O'Brien has no business hosting the tonight show.

    STOP WHINING ABOUT IT CONAN, MAN UP AND LEAVE!

    That said, I was never a huge fan of Leno....but O'Brien makes Leno look hilarious.

    For true hilarity that is absolutely genuine and from the heart,
    watch The Late Show with Craig Ferguson!!!

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  77. I agree Conan OBrien is the unfunniest person on the planet.A buffoon.

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  78. I can't find anywhere in on-line articles the real reason for the change.
    Money talks, and BS walk.... Conan needs to walk.
    The network lost viewership to Letterman (Big Time) and THAT IS WHY........ All: Conan is great, and I think, and It's about time -- NAAAAAAAA Conan can't hold a candle to Letterman and Leno can............... Period

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  79. Now, waiting in the wings, we have Craig Ferguson. Very clever and if he tones down a bit and with good writers........ he's on the move. He probably can't unseat Leno or Letterman ---- YET ---- But wait !

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  80. His show has always been anti-humor to me. Not even "so bad it's funny" - just plain bad. Away with him!

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  81. Conan sucks. His show is nowhere near the caliber of the "Tonight Show". If he wants to maintain the integrity of the show, he'll leave. I agree with others, it's not an age gap, it's an intelligence gap. He's simply not funny on any level. Bring Jay back!!

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  82. When the announcement that Conan would take over the 2night show was in its infancy due to his incessant whining i polled a number of my freinds on what they thought of the idiot, exhibitionist, self agrandizing, laugh at your own jokes comic. The consensus among people in their forties & fifties is that he is a jerk & profoundly unfunny. I find it amazing that with all the supposed rating systems & polls we have today that this could not be determined long ago. When Conan comes on the air i switch the channel, as do a very strong demagraphic. They have been doing it for years.

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  83. Conan is brilliant i have been a fan for over 10 years. Truly hilarious. The thingabout his humor is that it is random and silly unlike leno who is predictable and boring. Conan has a smart fresh approach to comedy. In the words of Peter griffin if you find leno funny I probably don't care for you as a person.

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  84. Linzy81...random and silly typically means sophomoric. I'm 21, I love random stupid comedy, but you can honestly tell me that Conan didn't get old after the first 5 times? His fresh approach to comedy is dumbing it down for a society that is increasingly becoming more idiotic. Leno, while not the best, at least has some level of intelligence to his humor (key word: some level), but compared to Conan, Leno's humor is brilliant.

    I agree that it is all about demographics. They wanted the younger age group to come in while Leno tends to have a following among the older demographics. Most of my friends find Conan to be hilarious, but I personally believe he is making a mockery of the show. As the author of this article pointed out (7 MONTHS AGO!!) the crowd is a rowdy annoying group who find Conan's idiotic antics funny...kind of a sad statement isn't it?

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  85. Glad to see that I'm not the only person out here that hated this fool..

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  86. Has he ever done stand up as a career?

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  87. Leno and Eubanks are very personable and down to earth; you can picture yourself hanging out with them. On the other hand, O'Brien and Weinberg are the type of guys you would deliberately cross the street to avoid any contact at all with them. That's the way I feel and I'm sure that a lot of other people see it the same way.

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  88. Jay Leno is scientifically "not funny". It's a fact!!

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  89. well just about verything you said became ture!!!!!! you are god .... good job

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  90. This blog should be embedded in a history book. How you can be spot on with this is amazing.

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  91. lol, some guy at the beginning said "Your sense of humor is outdated and bland." guess hes one of the groupies, how can humor be outdated??? you laugh at what you think is funny, conan sucked, his audience knew it, and he knew it. good riddance to his bad hair.

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  92. Years ago, when I first heard that NBC was going to give Conan the Tonight Show, I couldn't believe it. I thought that it was such a bad decision because Conan was really a poor choice to follow Carson and Leno. NBC finally came to the realization that Conan really does suck. I'm so glad that he will soon be gone from NBC. Goodbye to his beady little eyes, his stupid looking hair, and his childish ideas of humor (masturbating bear, insulting puppet dog, and virtually everything else he does).

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  93. 45 million.....for the crap he put on air?

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  94. I used to love Conan on Late Night. He was quirky, clever, and original. Above all he was relaxed. On the Tonight Show, he was forced and trying way too hard. The jokes were badly written and he tried to compensate with goofiness. To use a tired cliche, it wa like watching a train wreck. I felt kind of bad for him. Poor Conan. when I was a nuissance, my uncle would give be a dollar to play in the other room. I mean 30 million dollars must be a record to pay someone to go away. That's REALLY sucking, Conan.

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  95. someone said here that they could not watch Leno because his monologues were 20 minutes long. Exactly! Monologue is a kind of thing when you have to be professional and make people laugh by TELLING the joke and not showing stupid face or goody voice. Conan's monologues were not funny and short. all he wanted is to move fast to his skits where he could be as stupid as he wants

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  96. One poster said that the Conan demographic was within the 18-25 region and the 25-35.

    Perhaps this is the reason why I find his humour so bland and tasteless. I've never been fond of 'frat-boy' humour.

    I can watch Jay Leno and know that the guy is a riot, but I can also watch it with my parents and not have to cringe at lame jokes aimed towards a younger, 'stupider' audience.

    Or maybe that's just me.

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  97. This blog is so refreshing, and so true. Conan O'Brien has always been pathetic. He is no comedian. C'mon, people want to be entertained. Conan O'Brien is just plain stupid. Saturday Night Live, a show that he used to write for, is bad, as well.

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  98. I watched Jay Leno every night since I was 14 - I'm 26 now.

    I LOVED his monologues and skits (Jay walking, Iron Jay etc etc). His interview skills were not the best, but they weren't bad.

    SOMETIMES, I would stay up and watch PARTS of Conan's show. The beginning "monologue", the interviews, skits etc.

    Without a doubt, and I mean not an ounce of doubt, he was terrible and obnoxious. I could not watch him for literally, and I'm not exagerating here, maximum FIVE MINUTES.

    Now here is my question:

    1. Why did the idiots at NBC ever even CONSIDER putting this buffoon on the tonight show??? To me it seems that you have to be an absolute moron to not see that CONAN O'brien is NOT funny. Sounds like a conspiracy theory.

    2. I hate how Jay gets the brunt of this fiasco and is labeled as the bad guy. The ONLY person that should be hanged is the pathetic loser Conan.

    This buffoon Conan, lost 50% of the tonight show audience BEFORE Jay Leno ever started his show. Now he whines that it was all because of Leno that his show was not successful.

    I love how he issued a statement after the timing changing in the tune of I won't move to 12:00 because it will be the death of the tonight show. Excuse me? Another 6 months and your audience would have dropped to 0. You should get on your hands and knees and thank god that NBC miraculously came up with a way for a loser like you to get off of the air (FOREVER) with some dignity.

    BOTTOM LINE:

    1. ANYONE that thinks Conan is funny is mentally retarded. 2. Conan has no one to blame but himself 3. I LOVE to see him at Fox and then we would show once and for all that this guy is a big BORING buffoon. Fortunately, Conan is smart enough not to let that happen.

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  99. I only started watching Jay in 2006 and became a huge fan of his almost instantly.

    While I agree with the comments on here that say Conan is pathetic, there is one thing I find even more pathetic: His fans that trash Leno when it's not Leno's fault that Conan lost "The Tonight Show".

    I bet half of these so called "Conan Fans" don't even know who Conan is.

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  100. Co-Co The Spinning Clown got what he deserved.
    Now he blames Leno for it. That fits his personality I suppose.

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  101. Amen to all these comments. I'm so glad CoCo the clown is finally gone in the year 3000. Geez, like everyone else, i honestly tried to give him a chance. Couldn't do it. But Jay's back. Tonight's episode was hilarious, especially the Jay All Stars with the Jersey Shore cast. Wow. That was hilarious. And I'm 38--maybe I'm the older demographic they're talking about. I love Jay Leno!!! Some one at NBC still needs to be fired for that initial boneheaded move of putting Conan there in the first place.

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  102. All of you inbred mongoloids who think Jay Leno is funny. You are not cutting edge; you are middle America. You are what embarrasses America as a whole. Cutting edge humor is never aimed at the Geritol crowd. You teabaggers/babyboomers/jay leno fans are the most unremarkable generation this country has ever produced. Please die of old age already.

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  103. I really enjoy watching Jay, he never fails to make me laugh. I find Conan's humour relies on stupidity. When did acting like a ignorant, rude moron become funny?? Cutting edge humor??? You must be kidding! I am 28 and have been watching Jay for 5 years. I know lots of people my age who do too. And we are definatly not middle American, although what that would matter, I don't know...must be some sort of Conan humor.

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  104. Conan also has an annoying habit of filling air time with pointless and unfunny banter with his sidekick, Andy Richter, who cackles a lot, presumably to give the impression that someone in the room is laughing. This is reminiscent of David Letterman's repeating the same words and phrases over and over as Paul Shaeffer laughs maniacally and hams it up at his keyboard. Leno and Carson didn't need that kind of crap."

    REALLY?? DID YOU EVER WATCH THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH LENO?? That's ALL that Eubanks does! Pathetic, 10 times worse than Andy Richter. If it wasn't for Eubanks laughing, people would think it's the worst possible comedian at some little coffee house in the middle of Buttfuck, Iowa. Leno is THAT unfunny.

    Now look who's doing worse in the ratings.. LENO! Conan's ratings were WAY ABOVE Leno's! TAKE THAT, smartass.... Now go cry about the failure... FAILURE...... of your precious Leno!

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  105. I cannot stand the commercials. Who talked the network into this crap? Don't they realize they are making people sick of this guy before his new show ever aired? Now that its on, I am shocked to see that they are filling the airwaves to the point of disgust with these commercials that they believe are funny. They are NOT funny.

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  106. I can't wait for the commercials to STOP!!!!

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  107. conan sucks and is bringing tbs down, hell might as well have been a pornography when he brought the kardasians on and they were talking about sex toys, kids can watch this show and this is what is on television. Conan needs to take his cal lick self hair doo off tv and hang it up. He is an absolute disgrace to not only tv, but an embarassment to tbs I thought better of this program, he is far from a class act. I have met ted turner before in Atlanta where I live and he is a class act and for him to put conans trash on tv is an absolute disgraceand a dissapointment.

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  108. Conan is horrible! Period! Those who like him or want to argue that he is funny are part of the brain dead, moronic spend all day doing farmville while collecting unemployment check retards who are screwing up this county. Die.

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  109. I think he and weird letterrman should both go! and quickly! as i dont much care much for either

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  110. Actually i have been reading up now,

    "1. ANYONE that thinks Conan is funny is mentally retarded." - wow

    "I really enjoy watching Jay, he never fails to make me laugh. I find Conan's humour relies on stupidity." - ?

    " But Jay's back. Tonight's episode was hilarious, especially the Jay All Stars with the Jersey Shore cast." - as above

    "To me it seems that you have to be an absolute moron to not see that CONAN O'brien is NOT funny. Sounds like a conspiracy theory." - last sentence, again as above

    "I can watch Jay Leno and know that the guy is a riot, but I can also watch it with my parents and not have to cringe at lame jokes aimed towards a younger, 'stupider' audience." - ? again

    "He attacks the Right and butters Obama up. All he's doing is polarizing the audience." - i thought his audience was specifically the younger 'stupider' pot smoking unemployed liberals who are "ruining this country".....time to save the mf'ing day yeah

    i got up to somebody saying "ride the short bus" in reference to conan fans, but then "im the driver." Then bled all over my keyboard. Well done, you people (and i say that in some terms of 'ist' because you people are a different breed of sub) have reaffirmed my dismay as to the future of the human race. Jay's monologue? christ.

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  111. After going through several conan forums and sites and reading all the arguments between those who hate him and those who love him I've narrowed down the major difference.

    Those who love conan have a very low IQ between 80-110 which is why they find his lame grade school humor funny.

    Those who hate them are right because he is a no talented, unfunny loser who shouldn't be on tv.

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  112. Conan is just unfunny. He's a shameless self-promoter is all about himself talking about himself. You can say what you want about Jay, he doesn't go on about "I, me, my" nonstop, without any sort of relevant or amusing social commentary that goes beyond tabloid mockery. They say Jay is consensual, Conan create a consensus among the lowest common denominator of society, the uneducated, the unread, the know-nothing who's interest range from the weather to the vicissitudes in the life of celebrities, from varieties of marijuana to the new sandwich sold at McDonald.

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  113. "they say jay is consensual"?.....brilliant comedy

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  114. i can barely read your comments because you have no understanding of grammar, i have 500ml of vodka in my system and im still doing better than you. so much for leno fans.

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  115. and don't talk about IQ scores or tests unless you actually know what your doing

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  116. I guess if you are nice looking with hair.You can just stand there with no talent and have some shills or air heads make a lot of noise.

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  117. Conan is not funny. I don't know how else you can put it. If he was funny, the ratings would not drop like a stone.

    He got replaced because he's ratings were poor and continuously dropping. The only logical choice to replace him was to have Jay back considering his 10 o'clock show was doing poorly. Who else could possibly take over ?

    So let's move on people. In life, when you don't produce you get fired and replaced by someone that can. Simple.

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  118. When you see more commercials than the show itself one must at some point accept that its a failure.

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  119. id rather watch chelsea lately

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  120. Late night talk shows have been the staple of American culture since the dawn of television. From the earliest late night personalities Jack Parr and Steve Allen who'd ham it up for insomniacs "trying to unwind." The viewers back then were exposed to copious levels of mindlessness and hosts pretending to be comical just like today's viewers are exposed to that same level of stupidity on an edgier level. Johnny Carson wasn't comical, Jay Leno is no different, and all of the other members of late night talk shows are just static beings reading cue cards and teleprompters chocked with tasteless jokes and the superfluous comments proceeding the insipid jokes. Then comes there's the banal celebrity guests and a half hour of jibber jabbering and finally out comes some cretinous band to play their brash and trashy musical number. It's junk television played to the hilt. And yet people make time to watch this rot. Well, to each his own.......

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