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Wednesday, January 13, 2010

O'Brien My Heart Belongs to Thee!

This just in, NBC wants to fail.
For those of you who aren't aware due to the Haiti earthquake, Conan O'Brien may be let go from his position at the Tonight Show. Simply because Jay Leno will move his talk show (It's awful) to the 11:30pm slot. An incredible injustice. I could not think of a more important issue at hand to write in my first blog. This saddens me and makes me angry. Boom, two emotions!
I've always been curious as to why NBC consistently circles the drain. I mean, they carry the Olympic Games, The Today Show, an amazing Thursday night lineup.. It just didn't make sense. Now I understand. The people in charge need lobotomies. Jack Nicholson those pinheads. They will drown that peacock until the last colored feather drops with the way they are running that corporation. Who is Jay Leno whining and dining in the head office? Let's face the issue at hand here, his show is failing and it ain't about the time slot. He's lost what he had, it happens. Well, to everyone but Paul McCartney.
For instance, I loved Bon Jovi. Slippery When Wet is an amazing rock journey from the first song to the last. But I wouldn't feed their new album to my dead dog. They lost it. Leno is the new Jovi.
The second issue at hand, Conan is spectacular! This is past opinion. If you enjoy laughing, you should enjoy Conan. He's real and charismatic. He laughs at himself and surrounds himself with a hysterical cast bursting with chemistry. Oh no, his ratings are below Letterman's! Boo hoo, as soon as the adultery leaves David's lap all shows will go back to trailing Dateline.
My point being, if we are giving Barack Obama four years to prove he deserves that chair in the Oval Office, why not give Conan the Tonight Show he's always wanted. He's served NBC at 12:30am for 15 years. He's owed this.
I never disliked Jay Leno, but if he's going to keep bashing Brett Favre for not quitting while he's ahead, he should stop the jokes or take his own criticism.
I will leave you with the letter Conan O'Brien posted yesterday, God bless.

"People of Earth:

In the last few days, I've been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I've been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I've been absurdly lucky. That said, I've been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.

Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over The Tonight Show in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.

But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my Tonight Show in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime-time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.

Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the Tonight Show to 12:05 to accommodate the Jay Leno Show at 11:35. For 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn't the Tonight Show. Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the Late Night show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.

So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn't matter. But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more.

There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work.

Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it's always been that way.

Yours,

Conan"

2 comments:

  1. I understand what your saying adam, and I understand how much you love conan. But something about conan rakes my nerves. I cannot stand him. That said, yes he deserves a chance to make it on the tonight show after waiting in the wings so long. And I could care less what leno does anymore. Yes, I watch his show from time to time, but only for headlines. Sadly, thats the only thing really funny on his show and he has to clip that from national newspapers and such.
    So good luck conan. I cant stand you, but you deserve a shot. I just wont be watching.

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