there is so much irony in this post.
To begin with I never had actually liked Conan's brand of humour in the early days.
...And today IMHO I think he's possibly the best talkshow host
He seemed like a fun, chilled out character who carried out goofy stunts with anything goes as his philosophy. It seemed like 'spring break' beer pong kind of humour full time on his show.
Then things changed. He moved from NY and came to Burbank to take over Jay Leno's show and everything went downhill from there.
That last couple of weeks before NBC yanked him off air (don't sue me, I really don't care what the exact details are, but I think that phrase sums it up!) seemed to be pure schadenfreude for all the others right from Letterman to every other talk show host who were loving the tussle between Leno, NBC and Conan.
And I just happened to watch the last episode when Conan wrapped it up. He was assisted by his friend from SNL and they ended on a high musical note with Conan taking up the guitar. What I really loved was his last words on that show asking everyone not to be cynical - it was hard not to have a lump in your throat, because you could see him trying not to break down and keep a steady voice.
For me those words were compelling, re-assuring and resolute. I was at a low point (again, the roller coaster that's my life - cant really remember the highs much!) but he gave me hope.
Sadly it left a bitter after-taste with the comedians having been split between Leno and Conan, and it was hard to recover.
Most were really concerned. Conan grew a beard but didn't seem to have lost his wacky sense of humour. He followed one person on twitter, and on that day that poor lady suddenly saw her follower base multiply to the power of 1000s
He came back and I didn't see his shows for quite sometime, but he'd already had won a place in my heart after that amazing sign-off.
And now I get to view his show regularly, the journey is evident. He's matured soooo much and his humour is fun, more human, wacky but smoother.
But the best part which I absolutely love is that it IS A TALK SHOW. and talking is what Conan does best. You need to watch his episodes. (and watch some of the others, let me not take names, but you will see what I mean by talking - its a world of difference)
To begin with - very few A-Listers come to the conan show and perhaps that helps, because the guests are all shorn of artifice, ego-ism and unnecessary baggage. Or perhaps the team at Conan also take great care in selecting guests - but boy, it shows.
Most guests are simple folks (I mean that in a nice way) who love to talk. And if they cant, Conan puts them at ease. Watch his body language and he's genuinely listening in and putting in his feedback.
Topics can be embarrassing as well as deeply personal. Guests from the subcontinent revel in talking about masturbation and how they lost their virginity, but it comes off totally entertaining and even seems like Conan is doing a gentle confession chamber there. He's had other guests from political commentators, to comedians to other oddballs (there was a hilarious episode of a couple who overnight became the royals in some European kingdom). And then of course the regular animals, artistes, PR regulars.
His shows at the comic con this year were sell-out, totally whacked out hilarious episodes (even though I had no clue what shows/ magazines he was talking about save the GoT). Even I felt it was a pity that those shows could only be like 50 mins long.
What I also like also is how he responds to questions, and is genuine and forthcoming. He's really matured a lot. all of this while remaining spontaneous, speaking his mind frankly and not offending many.
For me its also inspiring and how he's made his comeback and there's a lot more positivity and its encouraging.
Conan stands tall and to me he really is the best in talkshows right now! More power to him.
PS: Another outstanding comment from Conan was post the Orlando nightclub incident - helping us heal and cope with such alarming, disturbing acts
To begin with I never had actually liked Conan's brand of humour in the early days.
...And today IMHO I think he's possibly the best talkshow host
He seemed like a fun, chilled out character who carried out goofy stunts with anything goes as his philosophy. It seemed like 'spring break' beer pong kind of humour full time on his show.
Then things changed. He moved from NY and came to Burbank to take over Jay Leno's show and everything went downhill from there.
That last couple of weeks before NBC yanked him off air (don't sue me, I really don't care what the exact details are, but I think that phrase sums it up!) seemed to be pure schadenfreude for all the others right from Letterman to every other talk show host who were loving the tussle between Leno, NBC and Conan.
And I just happened to watch the last episode when Conan wrapped it up. He was assisted by his friend from SNL and they ended on a high musical note with Conan taking up the guitar. What I really loved was his last words on that show asking everyone not to be cynical - it was hard not to have a lump in your throat, because you could see him trying not to break down and keep a steady voice.
For me those words were compelling, re-assuring and resolute. I was at a low point (again, the roller coaster that's my life - cant really remember the highs much!) but he gave me hope.
Sadly it left a bitter after-taste with the comedians having been split between Leno and Conan, and it was hard to recover.
Most were really concerned. Conan grew a beard but didn't seem to have lost his wacky sense of humour. He followed one person on twitter, and on that day that poor lady suddenly saw her follower base multiply to the power of 1000s
He came back and I didn't see his shows for quite sometime, but he'd already had won a place in my heart after that amazing sign-off.
And now I get to view his show regularly, the journey is evident. He's matured soooo much and his humour is fun, more human, wacky but smoother.
But the best part which I absolutely love is that it IS A TALK SHOW. and talking is what Conan does best. You need to watch his episodes. (and watch some of the others, let me not take names, but you will see what I mean by talking - its a world of difference)
To begin with - very few A-Listers come to the conan show and perhaps that helps, because the guests are all shorn of artifice, ego-ism and unnecessary baggage. Or perhaps the team at Conan also take great care in selecting guests - but boy, it shows.
Most guests are simple folks (I mean that in a nice way) who love to talk. And if they cant, Conan puts them at ease. Watch his body language and he's genuinely listening in and putting in his feedback.
Topics can be embarrassing as well as deeply personal. Guests from the subcontinent revel in talking about masturbation and how they lost their virginity, but it comes off totally entertaining and even seems like Conan is doing a gentle confession chamber there. He's had other guests from political commentators, to comedians to other oddballs (there was a hilarious episode of a couple who overnight became the royals in some European kingdom). And then of course the regular animals, artistes, PR regulars.
His shows at the comic con this year were sell-out, totally whacked out hilarious episodes (even though I had no clue what shows/ magazines he was talking about save the GoT). Even I felt it was a pity that those shows could only be like 50 mins long.
What I also like also is how he responds to questions, and is genuine and forthcoming. He's really matured a lot. all of this while remaining spontaneous, speaking his mind frankly and not offending many.
For me its also inspiring and how he's made his comeback and there's a lot more positivity and its encouraging.
Conan stands tall and to me he really is the best in talkshows right now! More power to him.
PS: Another outstanding comment from Conan was post the Orlando nightclub incident - helping us heal and cope with such alarming, disturbing acts
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