Conan O'Brien's 'Tonight Show' debut

Like many people, I was initially not a fan of Conan O'Brien, if he has "Late Night" in 1993. And how many people like it a bit in recent years.

Therefore, the cards on the table: I'm a fan of Conan. And because it over "The Tonight Show" Monday night, it seemed as safe as was hesitant in his first days in the "Late Night." O'Brien, the first comedy show is not a fundamental, but it was a very good way to get into the new concert.

The opening: Conan is brushing your teeth, listen to the radio announcer speaks about his impending "Tonight" and the debut by his checklist - set construction, writing jokes, dressing, brushing teeth, to move The Uh-Oh - he was still in New York . In a "Run, Conan, run!" only gates to Cheap Trick "Surrender", which we have several milestones O'Brien - Wrigley Field in Chicago, St. Louis Arch, the Rocky Mountains - and after an attack on a museum of Victorian dolls, to Universal studios. Key for the study are still in New York, but at least there is a bulldozer in the area.

The problem: It takes over "Late Night" with a little bit more brass sound and a complete somehwat. It is a good song, however, and fits well with the new digs. La banda, incidentally, has a name change, the Max Weinberg 7 Max Weinberg and the Tonight Show Band.

The sentence seems to be very good on TV. The room has a kind of old-Hollywood feel, with a mural at the top of the series and a series of blank panels over a semicircular curtain of which is to open the O'Brien show. A cool, Art Deco, and is the backdrop behind him during the monologue. The desktop screen and sofa are left of the curtain, and the band is on the right side. Locutor / colleague Andy Richter has a pedestal in front of the audience, and behind the casing is a good number of landmark buildings and hills.

Actually I can not praise enough the designers for their work. Looks like a talk show set, certainly, but it is really a nice talk show set.

Monologue: After a long ovation and a brief dance sequence (yay!), O'Brien immediately self deprecation: "I think this time I have time for perfection. Remember, I'm in the final network, then I am to a state of bankruptcy, and tonight the show is sponsored by General Motors. "

The monologue was relatively easy to stand-up style jokes - Save for a bad joke about the LA Clippers - but there were some good visual gags, such as Secretary of State for Hillary Clinton in his speech to issue (Volume cutting Clinton say "hello ", and that's it) and O'Brien and his friends at a Laker game Celeb (from the top row of the Staples Center). Now a little about the Supreme Court nominated Sonia Sotomayor, with a false voice of Vice President Joe Biden, led to a functional use of the phrase "Choco Taco" about.

Clock is about six or seven minutes, a good bit shorter than the predecessor of the Jay Leno joke-driven routines.

Comedy: Two pieces, based on O'Brien adapt to life in previously dominated the invitation of the fair. A piece played Conan Guide at Universal Studios, which makes a mockery of Norman Bates in "Psycho" set, with the tram drivers go in circles and finally on the road and 99-Cent Store, worked quite well.

The second piece, which Conan and his 1992 Taurus into the street and turn the lady would have been shorter (albeit only for the public, a lower dose of Billy Ocean). Conan the shipment of the study is usually a good bet, and he and his writers can wring more comedy from the different countries to move and in a lot of work. But two longish sketch at the top of a Monday evening was a bit much.

Richter also has not much, except for some comments here and there and sometimes they cut to another person. It seems much more on the couch, but had to be nice to see a larger role in other events as the show goes on.

Guests: Will Ferrell is a big star with a new film (distributed by Universal, no less) to this week, and also a long-time Conan regularly, so that the physical as the first guests. He is also, however, is not really the man, if you want your skills as an interviewer. Ferrell tend to dominate the situation where, as here by their enrollment in a sedan chair by four boys in loincloths.

O'Brien had the feeling from the host so, however, and played the right note when the confusion started Ferrell singing "Never can Say Goodbye" at the end of the last segment. "Do not get me wrong - I'm drawn to you," says Ferrell. "But this is a Crapshooter best." It is a good - and the skills and achievements O'Brien is under control for the coming months will be huge - but I do not think Conan will be back on the contracts of 13 weeks anytime soon.

Pearl Jam had the honor of being the first musical guest to play a song from her new album "Back Space". The band was tight, and the sound was very clear and sharp, this is no small feat (see most of the musical guests on "Saturday Night Live" this season).

The verdict: Conan of the first "Tonight Show" had the task of introducing the new landlord who does not stay past 12:30 pm to them before the tram and the design of the video bits in the monologue and its relationship with Ferrell did a good job is done. It was a move away from the safety (and smart about their recognition Leno), but probably will not (or at least should be) the best work in their new homeland.

But it is a very important first step. Questions about whether O'Brien is a worthy successor to "The Tonight Show 'legacy will undoubtedly continue, but at least on the basis of their debut, which is in good hands.