From the NYTimes:
In the tumult that surrounded NBC’s late-night shake-up last week, one thing was certain: If even a small fraction of the additional younger viewers who flocked to Mr. O’Brien’s show last week had turned up regularly in his earlier ratings results, he would almost surely still be hosting “The Tonight Show.”
I think last week was the first time I’ve watched Conan in forever. What struck me was the sheer drudgery of watching innumerable car commercials from Your Quality Plus Ford Dealer and the boredom of half the show. Ben Stiller? Not funny. Barry Manilow? Oh come on. Robin Williams tore the place apart (of course) and the expensive comedic bits were funny as could be. But the whole premise of late night shows is b-rate actors you’ve never heard of reading scripted “jokes.” The reason I’ve mostly watched these things in ten-minute clips is because there’s only ten minutes of comedy in them. I’d much rather watch Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert’s bits and the interesting guests they often manage to get. I hope Conan’s next gig cuts the slavish Hollywood worship. Let doofus Leno interview the doofus starlets.
An interesting scenario from the NYTimes blog:
Mr. O’Brien argued last week “Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet, a time slot doesn’t matter. But with the ‘Tonight Show,’ I believe nothing could matter more.” I’m sure nothing could matter more on spreadsheets and in traditional advertising meetings. But with the 18- to 34-year-old crowd, who have shown undaunted support for Mr. O’Brien, a time slot is as relevant as which brand of frying pan your favorite restaurants use to cook your meal — maybe it makes a difference in the kitchen, but 99 percent of the patrons just want good food.
