Evaluating Conan's Third Episode: A Movieline IM Discussion

Everyone and their mother wrote about the premiere episode of Conan -- including us! -- but judging a late night show on its first episode seems like a fools errand. After all, it's not a normal late night show when the host's monologue gets its own press release before air. Now, episode three...well, that's where Movieline comes in: After watching the third edition of Conan, myself and Julie Miller decided to chat about how the show has progressed throughout this first week. To the IMs!

Christopher: Morning, Jules! So, I watched Conan last night and Jon Hamm is the best person ever.

Julie: He is so dreamy and capable of anything and everything. I would vote for him as president.

Christopher: He's so friendly -- like he seems to be above the fake BS of being famous, while still being famous. Anyway, this is supposed to be about Conan and unfortunately, there is still something off about Conan. Episode three wasn't a big improvement from episode one or two.

Julie: He seems off his game. I can't tell if he's rusty or if he just doesn't want to be there. Even in half of the interviews, it's just like he's going through the motions -- even though it was just his third show. I would rather see Jon Hamm host a talk show than see Conan.

Christopher: OK, well you're our resident late night expert; what's the problem here?

Julie: If I were to write up a Conan progress report, I would say that on the plus side, Conan was less fidgety than he was the first two nights. He isn't running into the crowd...

Christopher: Well, not running into the crowd as much. He still hugged those two Team Coco shut-ins.

Julie: ...and on the down side, the interaction between Conan and Andy is way off.

Christopher: Maybe Conan just evolved past Andy? He was off the show for so long, that maybe now keeping him around is trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

Julie: See, I think that Andy is consistently more funny than Conan. Maybe TBS needs to send them on some kind of week-long talk show trust retreat so they can get their rhythm down again.

Christopher: Speaking of rhythm, we have to talk more about Conan's monologue. That needs an intervention.

Julie: It really does -- what would be your first step in the monologue intervention?

Christopher: I would go to the tapes. His timing is wrong. Like, the delivery is too slow. I know monologue jokes are the lowest form of comedy, but there is a pacing that he has lost. Dare I say, maybe he should watch Leno? (Ducks)

Julie: Say what you will about Leno but he is a monologue genius. Not that his jokes are funny but he has got his rhythm locked down. He could easily deliver bad jokes for weeks at a time.

Christopher: Or years at a time. He'll be doing The Tonight Show when the aliens from Skyline have taken over earth.

Julie: ...

Christopher: (That joke was brought to you by Jay Leno)

Julie: But was Conan ever good with his monologues? He was always really fidgety.

Christopher: There was a charm though; now he just seems to be uninterested in being there. How about the bit with Will Forte? Hey, Will Forte! SNL misses you!

Julie: I thought that was actually funny. Really out-there. But it seemed like Conan was just going through the motions during the sketch while Will was really trying to sell it.

Christopher: The bit itself was vintage Conan, but Conan was almost too self-deprecating. It seemed like he castrated it at every turn, with "that's so stupid" and "they are pulling the bull with strings." Like, yes, we get it, Coco. But that's what makes it funny. He was too jaded almost.

Julie: Right! He is having no fun at all where at NBC -- at least during Late Night -- he was still enjoying himself.

Christopher: Yes, there is a decided lack of fun. Now, I will say (since everyone is going to kill us for being so negative again), that the guests last night were great. We already talked about Jon Hamm (I think we would both marry him, sexual preferences on my part be damned), but Charlyne Yi was ridiculous and inspired. They were both huge improvements over the guests from the first two nights.

Julie: I agree -- but it is interesting watching Conan's dynamic with his guests. Whereas Letterman, Leno and Ferguson are actively always trying to engage their guests, Conan's guests have to work to engage him. He also just has a hard time maintaining eye contact with anyone, which is strange and sometimes uncomfortable to watch.

Christopher: I agree with all of that. He's almost Raymond Babbitt-like in his attention to the pre-interview stories that need to be discussed. "Jon Hamm, it says here you got injured on the set of Mad Men!"

Julie: Also, I could be over-analyzing this.

Christopher: Well, therein lies the rub: Over-analyzing. I mean, no one really paid attention, relatively speaking, to Conan when he was doing Late Night. He was there, he was funny, you would occasionally check-in. Now, though, he's become this national icon. Maybe it's our fault: Conan is just Conan and we're just now noticing his flaws amid the charm?

Julie: I don't think it is the viewers' fault though. It's kind of like when you realize as a kid that horror movies are not real. And you spent the next year of your life watching horror movies, hyper analyzing every murder and ridiculous plot twist, trying to pinpoint the give-aways. I just want to go back to the time before ConanGate and pretend that there aren't all of these behind-the-scenes issues to worry about at talk shows. I just want to enjoy them for the comedy. And now, whether it be because of the press coverage or NBC's mishandling of their line-up or Conan's own year-long, therapy session with the public, it's impossible to do that.

Julie: (I am going off topic, sorry.)

Christopher: It's true though; it's hard to watch these episodes without all the baggage. We're through the looking glass, as it were. So, the million dollar question: Do you think time will heal these wounds? That six months from now, Conan be humming like a just-tuned Jay Leno-approved vintage car?

Julie: I hope so! I think he will. He owes it to his loyal nation. And really, he owes it to himself.

Christopher: I think he just has to remember that this is fun...and if he could book Jon Hamm every night, that would be good too.