Conan vs. Letterman
 

So Conan has had a few weeks to find his groove in the new slot and Dave has been able to garner some much needed attention with all the Palin stuff. So far it looks like Letterman is able to hold the total viewership lead by holding onto CBS' better rated lead-ins but Conan is pummeling him in the more important demo breakdowns. I'm not sure how this all plays out but I suspect in the long run Conan will again get the Tonight SHow back to the clear top of the heap.

My question for my Path brethren is who do you prefer and why?

I used to love Letterman but he has increasingly become just a bitter old guy who likes to generate feuds and use goof humor that isn't all that funny. Meanwhile I have become a huge Conan fan. His type of humor slays me regularly both on Late Night and now on the Tonight show. He also seems like about as regular a guy as there can be in his type of position. Plus his guests are better (including the historically better guests on the Tonight Show in general).

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I prefer to go to bed, who the F stays up and watches this crap every night. I might catch the opening but after that good night.

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The glory days of the late night wars are long gone. Neither show pulls in impressive ratings anymore. Too much competition out there for viewers, and I think the late night format has grown stale.

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Letterman in his prime was better, i think right now Conan has the edge.

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[quote=Zerohero;565046]Letterman in his prime was better, i think right now Conan has the edge.[/quote]
This is exactly how I feel about it. However, if they had peaked at the same time, I'd probably still give the edge to Letterman.

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Jon Stewart

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[quote=BleedBurgundy;565049]Jon Stewart[/quote]

+1 for Jon

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And Colbert

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If I'm watching tv that time of night it's normally Sportscenter, but if I do decide to watch a late night show I watch Conan. He's been the most consistently funny late night personality the last few years in my opinion and I've never really been a fan of Letterman. In the end though none of them compare to Johny Carson.

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I haven't laughed at Letterman in a LONG LONG LONG time.

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Space Ghost Coast to Coast. Not on anymore, but still funny

[YT]falQ8CgQYkc[/YT]

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Between Conan and Letterman though, Conan 10 out of 10 times.

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[quote=mredskins;565035]I prefer to go to bed, who the F stays up and watches this crap every night. I might catch the opening but after that good night.[/quote]

I second this. Don't people need sleep?

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Letterman peaked in about 1987. He's old and angry and ponderous now. He seems to be really disconnected from the material. At times I wonder if he even understands the premises of the jokes he's reading. Conan needs to learn to be a better listener with his guests. That was Carson's secret. He seemed to actually be interested in what people had to say. I watch Charlie Rose to findout what the Liberals are telling each other.

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[quote=70Chip;565375]Letterman peaked in about 1987. He's old and angry and ponderous now. He seems to be really disconnected from the material. At times I wonder if he even understands the premises of the jokes he's reading. Conan needs to learn to be a better listener with his guests. That was Carson's secret. He seemed to actually be interested in what people had to say. I watch Charlie Rose to findout what the Liberals are telling each other.[/quote]

And what do you watch to find out what the homosexuals are telling each other? Or are they covered under the liberal umbrella?

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[quote=SmootSmack;565069]Between Conan and Letterman though, Conan 10 out of 10 times.[/quote]

Agreed. I'll take Letterman over Leno any day, but Conan wins over all other late night hosts.

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Late night TV is still running? Where the hell have I been?

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To be honest, if I'm up that late (which is rare, by 11p, my eyes are looking for holes in the eyelids), I'm watching reruns of Family Guy, King of the Hill, or whatever 80s sitcom that TV Land is showing.

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So it looks now like it's going to be Leno vs. Letterman again. Conan's reportedly getting bumped to a midnight start or he could be leaving NBC altogether

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[quote=BleedBurgundy;565049]Jon Stewart[/quote]

Second that, Steven Colbert as well

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lol what a mess all of this turned out to be. Leno's show bombed and Conan bombed on the TS.

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[quote=Mattyk;652243]lol what a mess all of this turned out to be. Leno's show bombed and Conan bombed on the TS.[/quote]

Leno's show is killing the network. Conan's could take some time and be successful. NBC is a bunch of morons.

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[quote=FRPLG;652247]Leno's show is killing the network. Conan's could take some time and be successful. NBC is a bunch of morons.[/quote]

Yeah Conan got off to a slow start back when he first went on the air and over time found his niche.

I haven't watched Leno at 10pm but man just the commericals look brutal.

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[quote=Mattyk;652264]Yeah Conan got off to a slow start back when he first went on the air and over time found his niche.

I haven't watched Leno at 10pm but man just the commericals look brutal.[/quote]Yeah, I'd be pissed off by the Leno show in general if I were Conan. Leno's show would likely pull a lot of guests that would otherwise appear on Conan. Plus it kills the NBC 10pm timeslot which means that there are less shows on the network which in turn likely means less easy guests for Conan to score.

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I haven't watched any of the shows in awhile. I don't think that I've seen a single episode of the new leno or conan... too many channels replaying family guy, etc and too much going on in the sports world

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[quote=ArtMonkDrillz;652326]Yeah, I'd be pissed off by the Leno show in general if I were Conan. Leno's show would likely pull a lot of guests that would otherwise appear on Conan. Plus it kills the NBC 10pm timeslot which means that there are less shows on the network which in turn likely means less easy guests for Conan to score.[/quote]

10pm is the prime crime/drama slot. NBC lost Southland because of Leno. I didn't watch it but my wife was really disappointed when it went off the air. It's coming back on TNT though next week.

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Letterman is still my favorite of all time, but the only one I watch regulary now is Colbert. Guy cracks me up at least a couple times per episode, and I think he's 10 times better than Stewart.

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I'd rather watch paint dry.

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Can I choose Jimmy Kimmel??

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It's time for Conan to move on and go out with some dignity.

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[quote=WaldSkins;653868]Can I choose Jimmy Kimmel??[/quote]

no you can't

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Conan has been ripping NBC in his monologues. Good stuff. Still not enough to make me watch though.

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I think all of them are ripping NBC. Guess Conan said last night he wouldn't move to 12:05am

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If I'm Conan I would take the NBC money and walk. He was set up to fail. Moving Leno to 10pm and giving that show all the hype did him no justice.

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[URL="http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2010/01/12/conan-releases-statement-on-late-night-situation/"]Conan's press release yesterday[/URL] was fan-freaking-tastic! He destroys NBC and throws Leno under the bus and personally I think he's spot on. Enjoy:

[QUOTE]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[/QUOTE]

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[quote=ArtMonkDrillz;654189][URL="http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2010/01/12/conan-releases-statement-on-late-night-situation/"]Conan's press release yesterday[/URL] was fan-freaking-tastic! He destroys NBC and throws Leno under the bus and personally I think he's spot on. Enjoy:[/quote]

lol that release is pure gold

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[url=http://abcnews.go.com/Business/nbc-confirms-deal-conan-obrien-speeds-nbc-show/story?id=9621682]NBC Confirms Deal; Conan O'Brien Speeds Toward Last NBC Show - ABC News[/url]

I feel bad for Conan, he got the shaft big time

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While he got the shaft, he's going to sit pretty for a while and plan his next move.

NBC tried to pull a power play, and it'll cost them $42 million dollars plus the cost of producing more 10pm content. And who's going to watch Leno now? I mean, no one was watching him at 10pm, who is going to wait the extra 95 minutes to see him back in Late Night?

I may actually tune in tomorrow night and watch Conan go out with a bang...

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Yeah his shafting is coming with a cool $40M but still, the whole thing has been such an epic mess.

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[quote=BDBohnzie;657196]NBC tried to pull a power play, and it'll cost them $42 million dollars plus the cost of producing more 10pm content. And who's going to watch Leno now? I mean, no one was watching him at 10pm, who is going to wait the extra 95 minutes to see him back in Late Night?

I may actually tune in tomorrow night and watch Conan go out with a bang...[/quote]Jay will still have an audience at 11:35 but I really doubt that it will be as strong as what he used to have. Likewise, I doubt it will be made up of the demographic that NBC was hoping Conan would attract because they're going to follow Coco to Fox or start watching Letterman or Kimmel.

Has anyone seen any of the pictures from the I'm With Coco rallies? The shots from the one in LA are hilarious, especially some of the signs on the photos of Conan running around in the rain getting the people pumped up. If you're on Facebook become a fan of I'm With Coco and check of the photo albums.