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Hurray for Conan!
In 2009, maybe I’ll switch my late-night viewing from “The Late Show” to “The Tonight Show.” Maybe.
That’s when Jay Leno plans to step down and turn over the half-century-old “Tonight Show” to Conan O’Brien. That’s when the show might be as amusing and intelligent as it was when Johnny Carson was king.
The announcement made Monday caught some people by surprise, but it has probably been in the works for a long, long time. O’Brien’s contract was about to expire, and speculation had been rampant that he would leave NBC in search of an earlier time slot than his post-“Tonight” gig on “Late Night.”
And it seemed as if workaholic Leno might stick around years longer than CBS’ David Letterman. If O’Brien wanted a top hosting job, CBS seemed more promising than his home network.
But Leno, possibly with strong encouragement from NBC, has decided to leave at the end of his new 5-year contract. And the network quickly signed O’Brien to a contract that promises him “The Tonight Show.”
This is the best thing that could have happened at NBC. The sour memories of Letterman leaving the network when he was passed over in favor of Leno in 1993 remain sharp. Not only was the defection a public relations nightmare, but the network lost one of its brightest talents to the competition.
O’Brien will bring a new, edgier sensibility to “Tonight,” which it sorely needs. He’s offbeat and super smart. And, let’s face it, he’ll have the best sidekick on television in Triumph, the insult-hurling, cigar-chomping dog.
The move at NBC increases the likelihood that Jon Stewart will be tapped to replace Letterman when the CBS star steps down. Stewart’s widely praised “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central has catapulted the brainy comedian/writer to the top of just about everyone’s list.
Only because I’m paid to …
I watched Bravo’s icky new reality show, “Miami Slice,” Monday night and came away with what I hope is a wrong conclusion: Male plastic surgeons are all chauvinistic jerks.
This show about a handful of plastic surgeons in Miami portrays the women they work on and the women who work for them as subservient nincompoops.
“I can’t believe I was able to please you,” one assistant purrs as she helps her pig-boss pick out furniture for his new bachelor pad.
Another surgeon makes fun of his worshipful Latina girlfriend, telling the camera and the gorgeous woman herself that she needs a new chin and nose.
And it’s patently obvious that every female in these guys’ lives — from girlfriends to nieces to office workers — has had humongous breast augmentation. A woman without cleavage is like a rainy day at the beach to these men.
So I watched “Miami Slice,” for professional reasons only, and I won’t be watching again.
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