When Late Night Attacks: Left Worries Obama Becoming Punchline

As a candidate, Barack Obama was just as comfy on a late night couch as he was on the stump. The late night comedians and writers spared Obama from the barbs and prods they use to turn formidable politicians into laughing stocks. After all, they had their scopes set squarely on you know who… (paging Tina Fey).

A few weeks ago, a funny thing happened — call it a late night political paradigm shift. Conan O’Brien put some extra bite to his bark by featuring a tape of Sesame Street characters who earlier in the day had visited with the First Lady to talk about healthy eating. Conan overdubbed the clip and, suddenly, instead of talking about food, the muppets questioned Obama’s ‘United States birth certificate’ and his ’socialist health care agenda.’ In the past, satire like this might have been automatically assumed to be an attack on the right, but the skit ended up taking some Obama fans aback. Perhaps it struck a nerve. (more…)

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Tags: Conan O'Brien, Late Night, Obama, snl
Posted Oct 21st 2009 at 6:44 am in Entertainment, Featured Story, Politics | 246230134 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jmeath/2009/10/21/snl-isnt-funny-but-left-still-worry-obama-may-become-punchline/When+Late+Night+Attacks%3A+Left+Worries+Obama+Becoming+Punchline2009-10-21+13%3A44%3A30Jason+Killian+Meath

This Week’s Late Night Awards

Forty years after man first walked on the Moon, and every single talk show opened their first monologue of the week with jokes about it.  Conan O’ Brien did a revisit to last week’s erased Moon tape bit, this week suggesting that a Mr. T rap video was recorded over the original moon landing tapes. Stephen Colbert claimed that the New York Times reprinted their July 20, 1969 front page as a “moving tribute to a time when people got their news from newspapers.”

Of course David Letterman did jokes on it almost every single night. Conspicuously absent on Letterman this week were the Ruth Madoff jokes about switching to Geico® and California Pizza Kitchen®.  The Bernie Madoff joke this week (Monday and Friday) was how a call girl is the only person who actually made any money off of Bernie. He also jumped on the joke Jimmy Kimmel started last week about Obama’s Bingo Pants, but of course, Letterman’s joke was at the expense of people who might look more appropriate in Obama’s pants (Hillary, Rosie O’Donnell, Chastity Bono). Kimmel did a redux, and claimed he doesn’t want a President in tight jeans, he just wants a President that shops in the men’s section. (more…)

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Tags: Bill Maher, Conan O'Brien, Craig Ferguson, kimmel, letterman
Posted Jul 27th 2009 at 3:19 pm in Political Humor, Politics | 19287036 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/tslagle/2009/07/27/late-night-11/This+Week%27s+Late+Night+Awards2009-07-27+22%3A19%3A38Tim+Slagle

This Week’s Late Night Awards

Emmy nominations were announced last week, and David Letterman, Bill Maher, Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, and Saturday Night Live all got one. I believe Conan O’Brien and Jimmy Fallon are too new to be considered this year, making Craig Ferguson the wallflower. He suggested that the reason he was skipped over was because the Academy hates Americans. (I think he’s on to something). Letterman bragged he got one for “Best Apology.”

I have no proof, but it appears if there is a new sponsor for Letterman’s daily Ruth Madoff joke. For the past several weeks he’s been doing the same exact joke about Bernie Madoff’s wife claiming her $92 million wasn’t from swindling, that it was money she saved by switching to Geico®. His repetition makes me think the insurance giant’s paying Worldwide Pants to do the joke every night. This week, he added a joke every night about Ruth’s favorite item at California Pizza Kitchen® that suggested they were a new sponsor. On successive nights it was chicken ponzi, chicken al-fraudo, and veal scaloponzi. (more…)

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Tags: Amy Winehouse, Bernie Madoff, Bill Maher, Conan O'Brien, Craig Ferguson
Posted Jul 20th 2009 at 3:56 pm in Entertainment, Media Criticism, Political Humor | 18746226 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/tslagle/2009/07/20/late-night-10/This+Week%27s+Late+Night+Awards2009-07-20+22%3A56%3A50Tim+Slagle

Conan O’Brien: Class Act and Worthy ‘Tonight Show’ Successor

Although I rarely find any interest in the entertainment industry, I am very glad to see Conan O’Brien become the head of the “Tonight Show.” His ascension to the throne continues a tradition that Johnny Carson brought forth and Jay Leno continued. The new host of the “Tonight Show” is a nice guy. (Steve Allen was as well, but many would consider he and Jack Paar to be less relevant since they came before Carson. I avoid this debate since, again, I am not in the industry.)

Yes, Johnny Carson preferred that David Letterman get his job (I watch Letterman, although less so lately), but the network saw Leno as the logical heir. Letterman is just too acid-tongued. It makes for some fun comedy, but the “Tonight Show” is about harmless and lighthearted fun. It made sense that Craig Kilborn, who was harder-edged than Conan, followed Letterman. Craig Ferguson, like Letterman, let’s his liberal political ideology affect his monologues. (more…)

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Tags: Andy Richter, Bill Clinton, Conan O'Brien, Don King, Jack Paar
Posted Jun 13th 2009 at 3:11 pm in Entertainment | 155026One Commenthttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/egolub/2009/06/13/congratulations-conan/Conan+O%27Brien%3A+Class+Act+and+Worthy+%27Tonight+Show%27+Successor2009-06-13+22%3A11%3A25Eric+Golub

O’Brien Plays it Safe, Smart in ‘Tonight Show’ Debut

Conan O’Brien played it safe in his debut as host of NBC’s Tonight Show last night. That’s a good choice, actually. The big question is: Will it last?

As I noted in an article reporting on NBC’s choice of personable Saturday Night Live alum Jimmy Fallon to host its Late Show as O’Brien moved to the Tonight Show, Fallon was closer to the style that had worked so well for the latter program in the past: intelligent, likable, and not too challenging or edgy.

O’Brien, I noted, was much less winsome and much more ambitious in his comedy, and for the Tonight Show to have success, either he or the audience would have to change, with the latter being highly unlikely except through serious shrinkage. And of course that would be a disaster for the Peacock Network.

Fallon has done well at Late Night since taking the reins on March 3, in both entertainment value and audience ratings. Late Night appears to be in very capable hands, and although it’s simply a timewaster, that’s all it is intended to be, while delivering consistent audience numbers for NBC’s advertisers. (more…)

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Tags: Conan O'Brien, jimmy fallon, johnny carson, Late Night, talk shows
Posted Jun 2nd 2009 at 3:33 pm in Entertainment, Reviews | 1497746 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/stkarnick/2009/06/02/obrien-plays-it-safe-smart-in-tonight-show-debut/O%27Brien+Plays+it+Safe%2C+Smart+in+%27Tonight+Show%27+Debut2009-06-02+22%3A33%3A59S.T.+Karnick

Jimmy Fallon’s Uncomfortable Late Night Debut

As Carson Daly demonstrates on a nightly basis, you don’t have to be funny, engaging or a good interviewer to have your own late-night talk show on NBC.  Jimmy Fallon continues that tradition, this week taking over the 12:30 time slot vacated by the newly-promoted Conan O’Brien. 

Though Monday’s inaugural  Late Night with Jimmy Fallon seemed serviceable on paper─featuring Robert De Niro, Justin Timberlake and  Van Morrison─the jittery, sweaty, nervous and not-so-endearingly timid Fallon could not execute, making the show unbearable before the first guest ever appeared.  Of course, it’s not fair to judge Fallon based on the first show.  Keenan Ivory Wayans, Magic Johnson and Chevy Chase each had awkward late night debuts as well, and they lasted for several weeks.  (more…)

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Tags: Carson Daly, Conan O'Brien, David Letterman, Justin Timberlake, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Posted Mar 4th 2009 at 11:11 am in Celebrity News, Entertainment, Media Criticism | 7227849 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/rhunter/2009/03/04/jimmy-fallon%e2%80%99s-uncomfortable-late-night-debut/Jimmy+Fallon%E2%80%99s+Uncomfortable+Late+Night+Debut2009-03-04+19%3A11%3A24Riley+Hunter

joining the party late…my thoughts so far…

Hugh Jackman’s opening number the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen on TV that didn’t involve Dr. Gene Scott.

I can’t imagine how anybody watching could have enjoyed that.  OK, maybe Rob Lowe.

Give Anne Hathaway credit:  her Nixon’s better than Frank Langella’s.

Hugh Jackman’s coming across like an Aussie version of Conan O’Brien and I don’t like it.

This just in:  Obama has just raised the marginal tax rate on slumdog millionaires.

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Tags: anne hathaway, Conan O'Brien, Dr. Gene Scott, Frank Langella, hugh jackman
Posted Feb 22nd 2009 at 7:01 pm in Celebrity News, Entertainment | 59986No Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/nrice/2009/02/22/joining-the-party-latemy-thoughts-so-far/joining+the+party+late...my+thoughts+so+far...2009-02-23+03%3A01%3A15Ned+Rice