Last night’s debut of The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien was everything Conan fans hoped it would be – which was, more or less, Late Night with Conan O’Brien on a bigger stage, in an earlier time slot, and with a bit more prestige.
The show opened with a trademark comedy bit that saw Conan prepared to take over the Tonight Show, then realizing 20 minutes before the show that he’d forgotten to move from New York to Los Angeles. Unable to hail a cab, Conan decides to run across the U.S. Clips show him racing through Amish Country, past the Arch in St. Louis, through the West (with a stop at a Victorian Doll Musuem), and onto the Universal Studios lot just in time – only to discover he left his keys in his Manhattan apartment.
Conan’s monologue was a bit slow – much longer than short Late Night version, stretching almost 15 minutes (a hold out, perhaps, from Jay Leno’s Tonight Show). Chances are this will be trimmed down over the next few weeks.
Funnier was Conan’s tried and true “in the field” segment, which saw him as tour guide of a Universal Studios Tour tram. After goofing on the tram ride’s movie-themed sites, Conan steers the tram off the studio lot and guides it through the streets of Burbank, eventually stopping to buy riders gifts from a 99 cent store.
Will Farrell served as Conan’s first gift, serving up a number of reasons why L.A. is great. He finished his segment with a tribute song – mocking Bette Midler’s farewell to Johnny Carson and Billy Crystal’s ode to Jay Leno. The song? Never Can Say Goodbye.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Farrell said, after Conan explained that this was his inaugural show. “I’m pulling for you, man, but this whole thing is a crap shoot at best.”
Pearl Jam finished the night with a rousing rock tune. Most notable was the wide-open space in which the band had to play. The swooping curtain revealed the band in glorious fashion – and really underscored Conan’s step into a bigger talk show world.
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