Conan @ tbs

I was waiting for atleast 10 episodes of Conan O’ Brien’s new late night variety talk show ‘Conan’ on cable network TBS to air before writing about it. It’s been 3 weeks and I think the time is right. Fans have been waiting for Conan to air and TBS too has done its promotional part by having the Conan Blimp hover around all over the New York Yankee Stadium and the rest of the United States as a follow up to the Nov 8 premiere.

Was it all worth the wait and hype? Letterman joked on his show that the moment the clocks gained one hour in US, from first Sunday in November for daylight saving, they slipped in another late night talk show – Conan.

Hah ! funny ain’t it? That old man remains witty.

As for Conan the show. Conan O’ Brien has more or less delivered according to expectations. He is an easy fellow with his self deprecating brand of humour and wayward funniness. It was best that he could get out of NBC late night fiasco earlier this year and so let’s look at the positive side.

He still averages a one minute entry applause, which is testament to his popularity. That new set (above) with the Oceanscape - of Rio de Janeiro is the best talk show background and a welcome change from all the night lit skyscrapers. There’s a lot going for him.

He can make fun of TBS and TBS won’t mind that , the jokes can be below belt and that’s why he has that crucial 19-45 demographic in pocket, but serious competition from another very funny man in Jon Stewart, his American express ad rocked, the intro animation is slick, and so is the 3-D and mobile remote controlled moon. But importantly Conan O’ Brien is an easy guy to adore and has the gift of making his guests comfortable .The guests are on a free license to say or talk anything. However in due time, he must stop making NBC jokes. He made millions out of the shove that NBC and Jay Leno gave him and we got a new verb- Leno’d .

So get on with it. You are better off at TBS. And the best part is that the show is self titled- so Conan is harder to replace ;)

Anyway, anyone who writes for The Simpsons and the skits on Saturday Night Live is bound to be wacky with his sense of humour. Conan is back ,not to his best but still ..what’s the hurry?

Negatives- hmmm, they have lost drummer Max Weinberg, but the Basic Cable Band will do just fine. Conan still doesn’t have a staple thing like a top ten list like David Letterman, the segments are just building up and will take some time to get settled. Overall after a dozen episodes into the new show, I would say it’s my first choice for late night variety talk shows. And as the TBS tagline goes – very funny !