Hot Ones: Conan O'Brien

[JP4CY]

I nearly started a thread on this. I watched it Friday. He is the king. That doctor bit and without context just shoving them in his pockets?? Amazing.

So much Dr Nick from the Simpsons vibe.

 

[JP4CY]

Conan also has a great bit on this last year's season of Curb.

 

[Mr Janny]

Conan also has a great bit on this last year's season of Curb.

I really enjoyed his little cameo in John Mulaney's 5 timers club skit.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

I miss Conan, Leno, and Craig Ferguson.

Leno was never funny IMO.

 

[Saul_T]

SNL is still solid.

People just always remember the gold from their younger years and forget that its pretty much always been a great sketch or two, a couple good ones, a couple meh ones and a couple duds every night. Everything but the great ones gets lost to history and people remember those forever.

For real. Shane Gillis' SNL was awesome. Nate Gargatze was phenomenal. Ryan Gosling is always great. They've had some really great sketches this year.

 

[Mr Janny]

For real. Shane Gillis' SNL was awesome. Nate Gargatze was phenomenal. Ryan Gosling is always great. They've had some really great sketches this year.

Yeah, it's always trendy to say "SNL sucks now" every time there's a cast shakeup, but a few years down the road and people will be talking about that same cast, saying "back when it was good..."

SNL has done a pretty miraculous job of existing right in the middle of the cultural zeitgeist for almost 50 years. That's a pretty stunning feat when you think about it, for something to remain relevant that long, considering shifting demographics and trends. Those cannot be easy waters to navigate.

 

[Cydkar]

Arguing about "funny" is a bit insane since everybody has different senses of humor.

That said, if you liked Big Bang Theory, go play in the highway.

 

[ClonerJams]

The between 2 ferns with Conan is one of my favorites

 

[madguy30]

Yeah, it's always trendy to say "SNL sucks now" every time there's a cast shakeup, but a few years down the road and people will be talking about that same cast, saying "back when it was good..."

SNL has done a pretty miraculous job of existing right in the middle of the cultural zeitgeist for almost 50 years. That's a pretty stunning feat when you think about it, for something to remain relevant that long, considering shifting demographics and trends. Those cannot be easy waters to navigate.

Many of the classic SNL skits from the beginning, through the 90s, etc. that people refer to 'when it was funny' didn't hit all that hard with the audience at first and likely got better with time like a lot of things.

There's several examples and if you go back and watch, it's awkward/forced laughter if there's any at all.

I never watch it live but all sorts of things are on YT and they've had some REALLY good stuff over the past decade+ with very talented comedic actors.
Some of their mock commercials are fantastic.

 

[Mr Janny]

Many of the classic SNL skits from the beginning, through the 90s, etc. that people refer to 'when it was funny' didn't hit all that hard with the audience at first and likely got better with time like a lot of things.

There's several examples and if you go back and watch, it's awkward/forced laughter if there's any at all.

I never watch it live but all sorts of things are on YT and they've had some REALLY good stuff over the past decade+ with very talented comedic actors.
Some of their mock commercials are fantastic.

Norm MacDonald is a perfect example. You go back and watch a lot of his weekend update clips now, and the audience is not always on board. He gets a lot of silence and meager laughs. With the benefit of time, however, they are hilarious, because most of us get the joke now. It's much more than just setup and punchline with Norm. And the audience's tepid reaction was part of the joke.

 

[madguy30]

Norm MacDonald is a perfect example. You go back and watch a lot of his weekend update clips now, and the audience is not always on board. He gets a lot of silence and meager laughs. With the benefit of time, however, they are hilarious, because most of us get the joke now. It's much more than just setup and punchline with Norm. And the audience's tepid reaction was part of the joke.

That's just Norm in general too imo. I always liked him and maybe it just took me growing up but it wasn't until even a decade ago that I personally realized just how deep of a cut he went so often. And his stuff on Conan is absolutely legendary.

You even look at the OG SNL cast of Akroyd, Murray, etc. and lots of the laughs are half-hearted. But this one is absolute gold.



This is another prime example. I reference this often with friends and still think it's incredible but it just kind of goes over so-so with the crowd overall.

 

[Clonefan32]

Arguing about "funny" is a bit insane since everybody has different senses of humor.

That said, if you liked Big Bang Theory, go play in the highway.

Funny is truly relative, but if there is one concrete, absolute truth in this world it is that Jimmy Fallon is not funny.

 

[madguy30]

Funny is truly relative, but if there is one concrete, absolute truth in this world it is that Jimmy Fallon is not funny.

Fallon's side stuff that I've seen has been pretty good like the lip syncing contest, his covers impersonating different people but in the moment type of stuff just doesn't work.

Imo where Conan shined was letting guys like Bill Burr and Norm do their thing.

 

[Mr Janny]

That's just Norm in general too imo. I always liked him and maybe it just took me growing up but it wasn't until even a decade ago that I personally realized just how deep of a cut he went so often. And his stuff on Conan is absolutely legendary.

You even look at the OG SNL cast of Akroyd, Murray, etc. and lots of the laughs are half-hearted. But this one is absolute gold.



This is another prime example. I reference this often with friends and still think it's incredible but it just kind of goes over so-so with the crowd overall.

Here's another one that always gets me.


There's only one good laugh in the whole sketch, when Lovitz does the cat hiss, which is an easy joke. The rest is pretty much nothing from the audience, but I find the entire thing to be hilarious.

 

[mynameisjonas]

Conan‘s ability to produce brilliant comedy while in severe pain was very impressive.

 

[SaraV]

Then you've got me.

I just never found Leno all that great.

And his music guests sucked.

Conan Needs a Friend has had some really great stuff though.

Conan recently had Carol Burnett on, and I sooooooooo wanted it to be a 3 hour podcast. Alas, it was not.

I shivered when he dumped the sauce on his hands and rubbed it around.
Also, that next day had to hurt.

I feared for Conan's eyes soooo many times in that video. Also, look at the beginning of the video and then the end and try to count how many shades of red his face has deepened to.

BTW, Craig Ferguson also has a podcast now which is a great listen.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

Wow. Conan went hardcore.

 

[JP4CY]

Conan recently had Carol Burnett on, and I sooooooooo wanted it to be a 3 hour podcast. Alas, it was not.


I feared for Conan's eyes soooo many times in that video. Also, look at the beginning of the video and then the end and try to count how many shades of red his face has deepened to.

BTW, Craig Ferguson also has a podcast now which is a great listen.

Saw Ferguson live at Hoyt once, he was great.

 

[JohnnyFive]

Go watch the first episode of Murderville on Netflix. Conan is the guest star. It's really funny

Ill check it out!

 

[ClonerJams]

One of the things I liked about Letterman is how he would call out Leno for doing what he did to Conan