Conan O'Brien: This is the "golden age" of TV

[Karl K]

Conan O'Brien was on Charlie Rose last night for the hour, and it was one of the best interviews I've heard in quite some time.

Anyway, the discussion was far ranging -- his time on the Harvard Lampoon, SNL, the Simpsons, how Conan approaches the work for Late Night, the special relationship with Finland and his disturbing resemblence to the female Finnish president, his work ethic, how he feels about taking over The Tonight Show, his conversation with Johnny Carson just a few months before Johnny passed away, among many other subjects.

And though he never said it directly, it became clear to me that he really is going to be more like Johnny than Jay or Dave, in that, as he put it, he's not afraid, like other comedians, of sacrificing his "dignity," (he noted how Johnny wouldn't think twice about getting into a hot tub with Don Rickles -- something Conan would do, but you'd NEVER see with Dave or Jay).

Anyway, the comment that struck me was when he said that this was "the golden age of TV" and that's it hard to know that it is a golden age when you're in the middle of it. ("The Greeks didn't know it, but a couple centuies later, they said, "Gee, we made some great pots, didn't we?'")

He made the argument that the writing has never been better, and that if he were starting out now as a writer, he'd be intimidated. His view is that TV is so great because there is so much competition, and everyone is working REALLY hard to be good.

Shows he mentioned: Lost, House, 24.

[chapulincolorado]

Conan O'Brien was on Charlie Rose last night for the hour, and it was one of the best interviews I've heard in quite some time.


Oh. Great. The day I decide not to watch the show....they have somebody I really,really want to have 'em interviewed. Is there a link to this specific interview??

[Karl K]

Oh. Great. The day I decide not to watch the show....they have somebody I really,really want to have 'em interviewed. Is there a link to this specific interview??

Ask and ye shall receive.

Google Video...

Go here

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4443560267878598550&q=conan%2Bcharlie%2Brose

[wreckedmachine redded]

conan o'brien? dude i thought this guy got canceled. lol hes talking about being better than jay? never. he will always be in jay lenos shadow, no doubt. he needs to chill out and stop acting all king n shit, lol o'brien lil firecrotch.

[BackDoorMan]

Have you ever seen Late night with Conan? Its Hilarious. He will surpass Leno. I like Leno and all but i can't wait till conan takes over.

[Rafael Hernandez]

conan o'brien? dude i thought this guy got canceled. lol hes talking about being better than jay? never. he will always be in jay lenos shadow, no doubt. he needs to chill out and stop acting all king n shit, lol o'brien lil firecrotch.

Conan is already better than Leno.

[kckicker23]

Conan is already better than Leno.

By far.

Has Leno announced when he's retiring so we can start the countdown? Long live Conan.

edit: Charlie Rose just informed me that Conan takes over in 2009. Can't wait.

[chapulincolorado]

Conan is already better than Leno.

Second that.

There was a time when Leno was edgy. I remember way,way back when he was still young comic and he had that "edge", that bite. I remember his early appearances with Letterman. But. Somewhere from there to being the Tonight Show host, he got defanged.

[NoodlesMacintosh]

Somewhere from there to being the Tonight Show host, he got defanged.

I'm afraid that might happen to Conan as well. Do you really think he'll be able to get away with stuff like Bulimic Grover on the Tonight Show?

[Dr. Know]

I'm afraid that might happen to Conan as well. Do you really think he'll be able to get away with stuff like Bulimic Grover on the Tonight Show?

That's what I was thinking also.

I'm a huge Conan fan and that was a great interview but will he lose some of the edge when he moves to an earlier time slot? Will he be able to get away with half of the things he gets away with now?

Hopefully nothing will change.

[riverplate]

Back on topic. This isn't about who the best late night talk show host is.

I totally buy into the argument that this is a new golden age for television. The writing is so superior to what it was for decades it's unbelieveable. I can't think of a time when there has been as much interesting stuff on the tube. Forget that there's also plenty of crap--there's always been plenty of crap. It's what is at the top of the heap that counts.

Fully remembering the era of innumerable situation comedies and glossy soapers which clogged the airways in past decades, today's dramas and continuing series are ten times more creative and interesting. I never used to watch TV--now, I haven't been inside a movie theater since last January. That cash instead goes to DVDs of old films or full seasons of something like 24. At the risk of angering the high class film fans around here, TV is kicking the crap out of movies--and I'm not just talking about Hollywood and the studios.

It's no wonder good young writers are looking for TV jobs where they can flex their creative muscle building stories and characters for ongoing series because A) TV's tight schedule allows for a lot less interference and tampering, B) less of a need to coddle and submit to the whims of stars (or star directors) and C) the plain fact that you can get away with more on television nowadays.

There were things you could write about at one time in the theater that you couldn't in the movies because of the production code, so theater was the place to go for edgy or strong material. When movies became free of the code, they were able to present those things and theater lost its "cutting edge" aura and some of its relevancy. Now television, thanks initially to cable, has pushed the envelope and can put out stuff just as potent as movies.

I can't see how some folks don't understand that this is a time in television which will be fondly remembered in the future. Let's hope it lasts for more than just a few years.

[wreckedmachine redded]

no way, nobody round here talks about conan. seriously this guy is boring and his jokes have always been kinda carrot topish. lol he sucks

[SirManchester]

no way, nobody round here talks about conan. seriously this guy is boring and his jokes have always been kinda carrot topish. lol he sucks

I think I'm going to agree with you here. I never understood his comedy. He makes funny faces and some of his gags are subtly funny, nothing laugh out loud funny or clever. In fact, I do find the majority of his material and his performance very child-like. And it's odd because he was writing excellent stuff for The Simpsons. I can't imagine how toned down he'll be in an earlier slot, but then again, anything is better than Leno now.

[chapulincolorado]

I'm afraid that might happen to Conan as well. Do you really think he'll be able to get away with stuff like Bulimic Grover on the Tonight Show?

The masturbating bear. The Pimpbot 3000. :D...Yeah...will see.

[Via_Chicago]

Back on topic. This isn't about who the best late night talk show host is.

I totally buy into the argument that this is a new golden age for television. The writing is so superior to what it was for decades it's unbelieveable. I can't think of a time when there has been as much interesting stuff on the tube. Forget that there's also plenty of crap--there's always been plenty of crap. It's what is at the top of the heap that counts.

Fully remembering the era of innumerable situation comedies and glossy soapers which clogged the airways in past decades, today's dramas and continuing series are ten times more creative and interesting. I never used to watch TV--now, I haven't been inside a movie theater since last January. That cash instead goes to DVDs of old films or full seasons of something like 24. At the risk of angering the high class film fans around here, TV is kicking the crap out of movies--and I'm not just talking about Hollywood and the studios.

It's no wonder good young writers are looking for TV jobs where they can flex their creative muscle building stories and characters for ongoing series because A) TV's tight schedule allows for a lot less interference and tampering, B) less of a need to coddle and submit to the whims of stars (or star directors) and C) the plain fact that you can get away with more on television nowadays.

There were things you could write about at one time in the theater that you couldn't in the movies because of the production code, so theater was the place to go for edgy or strong material. When movies became free of the code, they were able to present those things and theater lost its "cutting edge" aura and some of its relevancy. Now television, thanks initially to cable, has pushed the envelope and can put out stuff just as potent as movies.

I can't see how some folks don't understand that this is a time in television which will be fondly remembered in the future. Let's hope it lasts for more than just a few years.

Very interesting comments, and your movie one doesn't anger me in the slightest bit. In fact, the thing that makes television so fascinating for people today (I don't personally watch television at all) is that more and more shows create characters that are so three-dimensional and stories so creative and fully developed that people want to follow these characters every single week. The biggest problem with movies today is that they are creating stories and characters that people want to follow. This means that American movies have essentially become television. Even the way movies are filmed is like a television program with large numbers of cuts and close-ups. The only way that movies can compete is by creating stand-alone movies that cry out to be seen on the big screen. Hollywood is still making money off their franchises though, and as long as they do, the trend will continue.

[yossarian]

no way, nobody round here talks about conan. seriously this guy is boring and his jokes have always been kinda carrot topish. lol he sucks

.....and yet you think Leno is funnier? Go away.... you have no credibility.

[Rafael Hernandez]

no way, nobody round here talks about conan. seriously this guy is boring and his jokes have always been kinda carrot topish. lol he sucks

Then you and the people who don't talk about him, are idiots. The majority of people that know comedy agree that Conan is superior. Carrot Top? Boring? Yeah dumb people on the streets, that is edgy comedy:rolleyes:

[otterulz]

I don't understand how people think Leno is funny. He's just brutal most of the times and too busy laughing at his own jokes. Letterman caters to an older crowd so he's not exactly my cup of tea. But Leno? Can't stand his show.

[bojendyk]

The obvious catalyst for this change is HBO. That goes without saying.

A less obvious one is a genre that many people claim to hate: reality TV. As much as the producers of said shows attempt to control the environment by careful casting and manipulation of the events, human beings, when left to their own devices, simply can't follow a script. The "characters" that emerge end up being much more complete and much more complex than the 2-dimensional inhabitants of Family Ties or whatever. The popularity of the best of these shows (Survivor, The Amazing Race, Project Runway) has forced producers and writers to react accordingly.

The cloud behind this silver lining is the absolute shit reality programs, like our generation's misogynist minstrel show Flavor of Love.

[chad]

the 2-dimensional inhabitants of Family TiesOh, no, you din't!

What could have been funnier and more complex than a Nixon and Reagan loving Alex strung out on speed in his hippy volvo-liberal parent's house with an older dumb sister and a younger dumb sister?!?!?!

You, sir, and your brigade of high culture elites make me sick.