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Why Conan O'Brien Should Write for the Internet | Cracked.com

Addressed to Conan by the author of this article: "The Tonight Show is sort of pointless, these days. I recognize and respect what it once stood for but, as far as an enjoyable program, it falls short and it's been falling short for years. I've only really enjoyed it these last two weeks, when you stopped giving a shit, and that's hardly standard of a Tonight Show performance, right? Normally it's all 'Teri Hatcher's going to talk about some bullshit followed by a performance by Everclear. Who would want to watch that?"

Scoop's note: I can answer that: "People who like Jay Leno." Conan's fans have really missed the point. Jay Leno is the right guy for the job. It's the job itself that's screwed up. To be fair, Conan should have done more with it. Craig Ferguson turned monologues into a new art form overnight, but Conan had almost two decades of practice and he still performed monologues like a nervous high school kid impersonating the Johnny Carson of his memories. And the entire intro is all the 1972 Carson schtick ... hey, let's banter with the overweight sidekick and make fun of the bandleader. What's worse, Conan's interviews were usually boring and his ad-libs sophomoric. But Conan is a comic genius when he goes outside the box. Pale Force and Triumph the Insult Dog, for example, are brilliant material, and Conan's writing was so good that he got the late-night gig in the first place despite a complete lack of on-screen experience.

Conan, you aren't really going to write for Cracked, because they probably don't even pay enough to keep your pompadour erect, but I'd love to see you find a different gig: head writer for a top show like SNL (but not that particular one, which is on NBC); creator of your own show, ala Seinfeld or Seth MacFarlane; screenwriter. Anything. But something that doesn't involve a bad impersonation of Johnny Carson circa 1970. Leave that crap to Jay Leno, who will never be able to leave 1970. But you will. I know that the Tonight Show was your dream, Conan. But it was the wrong dream. NBC is doing you a favor.