Prime Times

Tonight, It’s Conan O’ Brien

Kabeer Sharma | 10 Jun, 2009

After 17 years of memorable one liners, Jay Leno has the last laugh with his successor on the show.

WHEN I started the show my hair was black and the President was white,” Leno said. Alas, when the red haired Conan O’Brien who started on the Tonight Show earlier this week decides to step down there won’t be a red man in office, unless the Americans decide to vote in George Hamilton.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the hair or a strangely pale skin isn’t the only thing that sets O’Brien apart from Leno. The two funny men have next to nothing in common when it comes to comedy. Leno has long been touted as the greatest observational comics of our times, and the biggest ridiculer of George W Bush.
O’ Brien’s introductory ad showing him running on a beach in a suit, Baywatch style, testifies to his style—active and arguably younger than Leno’s. But that remains just that—arguable. His comedy, is more college humour—predictable and often a little in-the-face—like Will Farell who he had on as his first guest.
So, can O’Brien match up to Leno? Though in the first couple of shows O’Brien did make a rather apparent attempt at doing a Leno, joking about getting GM to sponsor the show, the former Simpsons scriptwriter seemed out of depth at best.
He got Tom Hanks and Will Farell and Pearl Jam as his first few guests. Leno, on the other hand, had Barack Obama strolling in on his show. You can right away see the difference between the style and content of the two hosts.
The big question doing the rounds is, can O’Brien match Leno’s political wit? And the answer is, umm, no. Leno’s flair for politically-slanted one liners is quite unmatched. George W Bush, Clinton and more recently Vice President Joe Biden can all testify. Consider his farewell jibe to Bush: “President Bush said catching a 7.5 pound fish was his best moment since becoming president. You know the sad thing, a lot of historians would agree with that.” One of the rare subjects Leno left alone from his flaying wit was 26/11.
To compare, here’s an O’Brien sample: “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien. Thank you. Thank you! I have to admit, I think I’ve timed this moment perfectly. Think about it. I’m on a last place network, I moved to a state that’s bankrupt, and The Tonight Show is sponsored by General Motors.”
Leno’s Indian audience will miss him. Because god knows we loved the jokes and God knows Bush had it coming. Leno will be back at a 10 pm slot with a new show on NBC this September, but we don’t get the channel yet. If O’Brien chooses to stay clear of politics, and that seems likely, we will be left at the mercy of those crass comedy re-runs on SAB TV with those ‘not-again’ Santa-Banta jokes.