What are your thoughts on Conan O'Brien?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t find him at all funny, and has a very punchable face. Jimmy Fallon is no better though.

This.

Because I’ve never found a single thing he’s done very funny or even chuckle worthy - he is wooden as hell - I’m convinced he must have been a very funny writer. The pedigree is impressive: lampoon followed by the Simpsons. (But that’s only because he’s lasted so long in the public eye! Only a grand narcissist like this would have endured. I give him backhanded credit for lasting this long on no stage presence.

Lorne Michaels in those years he turned on Jay Leno - needed an alternative. He turned to Conan as the alternative. Probably, Lorne was family friends with one of Conan’s folks. No fault in that - it’s how the biz works but very unfunny Xer.

[Anonymous]

I have always loved him. He’s the weirdest looking guy I would happily marry. I used to say that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Witty and charismatic? Grating and cocky? Let's discuss this cerebral comedian, whose parents died three days apart last week (and were well-regarded as attorneys and physicians in Brookline MA).

No thoughts. Completely neutral with a dash of id rather not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:His podcast sidekick is BEYOND ANNOYING.

Sona is a good foil. But the other one, forgot his name, is often cringe.

I like the podcast a lot. The long interview is a good medium for him. He has a fast agile mind that always makes for a good back and forth with guests. And it's always good for laughs. Among the celebrity podcasts, Conan's is the best I've heard. Can't stand Smartless.

I don't listen to his podcast but this makes sense. Howard Stern named Conan his best interview of all time, which is saying a lot given the number of interviews he has done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:His podcast sidekick is BEYOND ANNOYING.

Sona is a good foil. But the other one, forgot his name, is often cringe.

I like the podcast a lot. The long interview is a good medium for him. He has a fast agile mind that always makes for a good back and forth with guests. And it's always good for laughs. Among the celebrity podcasts, Conan's is the best I've heard. Can't stand Smartless.

I don't listen to his podcast but this makes sense. Howard Stern named Conan his best interview of all time, which is saying a lot given the number of interviews he has done.

I agree with this as well. I really dislike Smartless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have always loved him. He’s the weirdest looking guy I would happily marry. I used to say that.

Totally agree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t find him at all funny, and has a very punchable face. Jimmy Fallon is no better though.

This.

Because I’ve never found a single thing he’s done very funny or even chuckle worthy - he is wooden as hell - I’m convinced he must have been a very funny writer. The pedigree is impressive: lampoon followed by the Simpsons. (But that’s only because he’s lasted so long in the public eye! Only a grand narcissist like this would have endured. I give him backhanded credit for lasting this long on no stage presence.

Lorne Michaels in those years he turned on Jay Leno - needed an alternative. He turned to Conan as the alternative. Probably, Lorne was family friends with one of Conan’s folks. No fault in that - it’s how the biz works but very unfunny Xer.

Disagree with everything you say. How the hell would Lorne Michaels be a family connection with Conan's Boston attorney and doctor parents? It's ok to say he's not your cup of tea but this is just crazy sh|t you're making up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t find him at all funny, and has a very punchable face. Jimmy Fallon is no better though.

This.

Because I’ve never found a single thing he’s done very funny or even chuckle worthy - he is wooden as hell - I’m convinced he must have been a very funny writer. The pedigree is impressive: lampoon followed by the Simpsons. (But that’s only because he’s lasted so long in the public eye! Only a grand narcissist like this would have endured. I give him backhanded credit for lasting this long on no stage presence.

Lorne Michaels in those years he turned on Jay Leno - needed an alternative. He turned to Conan as the alternative. Probably, Lorne was family friends with one of Conan’s folks. No fault in that - it’s how the biz works but very unfunny Xer.

Disagree with everything you say. How the hell would Lorne Michaels be a family connection with Conan's Boston attorney and doctor parents? It's ok to say he's not your cup of tea but this is just crazy sh|t you're making up.

How dare you critique this insightful insider? /s

[Anonymous]

His face is odd but he has a good body and is tall. He's attractive and sexy. He's funny and seems like a decent person. His parents sounded like interesting people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have always loved him. He’s the weirdest looking guy I would happily marry. I used to say that.

Many years ago, someone wanted to set my sister up with him. Whenever I listen to him now, all I can think about is that I would love to have him as a BIL.

[Anonymous]

I think he's awesome. I wouldn't say 'hottie' but with his quick wit, irreverence, bizarre knowledge of the world (references) and sense of himself (able to be deprecating without actually hating himself), he is so enjoyable and it MAKES him hot. Having a good, natural personality is rare. Plus, have you seen the guy in jeggings? va va voom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwQkcZ4C-pU

[Anonymous]

He seems smart. He attended school with two highly intelligent professors of mine.

I’m sorry about his parents.

[Anonymous]

I like him in some things. The travel show made me deeply uncomfortable because I felt like he was inviting us to laugh at people who were trying hard to be nice to him. Like he was hazing them.

[Anonymous]

Let me try that again (and maybe ask Jeff to delete my messed up post above. I am sorry, Jeff!).

O'Brien gave a commencement speech about 25 years ago that I still refer to now. The speech was about failing and how important it can be, and that it often led to better things.

Major excerpts of the speech are here (https://academyatthelakes.org/wp-content/uplo...vard2000Excerpts.pdf ), but here is the end if you don't want to follow the link:

"And then, an insane, inexplicable opportunity came my way. A chance to audition for host of the new Late Night Show. I took the opportunity seriously but, at the same time, I had the relaxed confidence of someone who knew he had no real shot…a week later I got the job.

"So, this was undeniably it: the truly life-altering break I had always dreamed of. And, I went to work. … We debuted on September 13, 1993 and I was happy with our effort. I felt like I had seized the moment and put my very best foot forward. And this is what the most respected and widely read television critic, Tom Shales, wrote in the Washington Post: “O’Brien is a living collage of annoying nervous habits. He giggles and titters, jiggles about and fiddles with his cuffs. He had dark, beady little eyes like a rabbit. … O’Brien is a switch on the guest who won’t leave: he’s the host who should never have come….

"There’s more but it gets kind of mean.

"Needless to say, I took a lot of criticism, some of it deserved, some of it excessive. And it hurt like you wouldn’t believe. But I’m telling you all this for a reason. I’ve had a lot of success and I’ve had a lot of failure. I’ve looked good and I’ve looked bad. I’ve been praised and I’ve been criticized. But my mistakes have been necessary. [...]

"I’ve dwelled on my failures today because, as graduates of Harvard, your biggest liability is your need to succeed. Your need to always find yourself on the sweet side of the bell curve. Because success is a lot like a bright, white tuxedo. You feel terrific when you get it, but then you’re desperately afraid of getting it dirty, of spoiling it in any way. I left the cocoon of Harvard, I left the cocoon of Saturday Night Live, I left the cocoon of The Simpsons. And each time it was bruising and tumultuous. And yet, every failure was freeing, and today I’m as nostalgic for the bad as I am for the good. So, that’s what I wish for all of you: the bad as well as the good. Fall down, make a mess, break something occasionally. And remember that the story is never over."

[Anonymous]

Man that speech makes me love him more.