Who is lamer? David Letterman or Conan O'Brian?

[hfojvt]

Having gone all the way through Leno to see Lara Logan and then a comedian. I decided to also watch the monologue of O'Brian. Or sleep through it, as it turned out. I simply cannot remember seeing a decent monlogue on his show, and I cannot believe he is gonna be doing the Tonight Show. Do people like his act? Why? How?

And Letterman, he is almost always lame. I tried to watch Letterman because Leno used to be so rightwing in his 'jokes' but he is just extremely not funny. Biff Henderson is kinda funny, and, of course, I appreciate grinder girl, but usually it is painful to watch, although some of the top tens are pretty good, you have to sit through alot of crap before you get to the top ten.

Maybe I am just old, and nostalgic for Carson. What do you all think?

[ghostsofgiants]

1. I like Conan and Letterman.

Can't stand Leno though. But I haven't watched any of those shows in years.

[hfojvt]

2. so you don't know what your opinion would be today.

When I first got my TV in 1997 or so, I thought Letterman was pretty cool too.

Maybe he lost it when he closed the home office.

[Captain Angry]

3. I really don't watch any of the late night shows.

When I've been around to watch TV, I've enjoyed Ferguson. Letterman is tired to me. He's just holding out for them to find a replacement. Conan can be fun as well.

But with all things, over exposure will kill almost anything.

I do miss Carson, I was too young to enjoy him in his hey-day though.

[Maccagirl]

4. I love Dave, but Craig Ferguson is better than both of them

imho

[hfojvt]

7. ferguson has impressed me

but the local station runs like an hour of "Access Hollywood" or some such between Letterman and Ferguson, so the TV goes off before he comes on.

[zanne]

15. Ferguson has come a long way.

At first, he seemed a bit too nervous and he wasn't all that funny. Now he's hilarious. And adorable. And that accent; is he trying to give me a heart attack?

[supernova]

24. Another Ferguson fan!

:D

His opening monologues are hilarious, so I always record them and watch the following night. Craig sends me to sleep with a giggle. Sometimes, a lot of the time, his guests are lame, so I just skip those. Sometimes the music is worth a listen so I FF to that.

What I especially like is that he's warm and sweet. He's not mean or bitter in the jokes he makes.

And I just love listening to that adorable Glaswegian brogue. :loveya:

[dorkulon]

28. Yes, Ferguson is a natural comedian. O'Brien is a good writer though.

Conan O'Brien wrote the entire Simpsons Monorail episode, so he also rules. But I agree he is stiff and awkward in person, and a terrible interviewer. Ferguson does the best monologue out of all of them.

[riverdeep]

5. I watch Stewart/Colbert.

Haven't watched Letterman or Conan in years. To me, that format is completely dead.

[MysticalChicken]

29. So do I

Admittedly, I've only been watching Stewart and Colbert for less than a year, but I can't imagine not turning on Comedy Central every night at 11.

I'll watch prime-time talk shows if there's a guest I like on one of them, but only the guest part, not the monologue.

Although I do think Letterman is funny. (I didn't think he was when I was in my teens, but when I got to be in my 20s, he had someone on that I like--I forget who--so I watched and I found myself laughing quite a bit and I was like "Holy crap, I get him now!")

[riverdeep]

6. dupe

[hfojvt]

8. even the re-runs?

I don't have cable TV or DirectV.

[riverdeep]

9. I'm trying to think what I'd watch if I didn't have cable.

Probably nothing. I don't follow the re-runs comment. Re-runs of Letterman?

[hfojvt]

10. re-runs of Stewart/Colbert

Don't they have re-runs?

It was meant to be a humorous dig, since your double post created a re-run.

Which is great. It means my thread got more replies :woohoo:

Is there such a thing as a humorous dig? Maybe a friendly tease. But you should never tease a woozle. They'll drop on you like a ton of bricks :hide:

[riverdeep]

11. ok, I get it now.

And yes, Stewart/Colbert re-runs quite a bit. The original at 10p, re-run at midnight, re-run at 9a, re-run at 1p, re-run at 7p (central time). They used to allow youtube to post it as well, so non-cable folks could check it out, but the parent company put a stop to that, much to the chagrin of Colbert. Backing away from the 'woozle' now...

[hfojvt]

20. I was afraid you were the woozle

and making a reference to the childhood classic "Never tease a weasel" which you are apparently too young to remember.

But I also got it wrong. It is not woozles that drop down on people.

"'Is it one of the Fiercer Animals?' he said, looking the other way.
Pooh nodded.
'It's a Jagular,' he said.
'What do Jagulars do?' asked Piglet, hoping that they wouldn't.
'They hide in the branches of trees, and drop on you as you go underneath,' said Pooh. 'Christopher Robin told me.'"

[cboy4]

12. Maybe you're just old? MAYBE?!?!

If I were to wager, I'd say there's a good chance you own a steam powered radio and are convinced the internets is a series of tubes. hahahaha

Come on. Letterman is hilarious.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

13. I love Conan!

Conan entertained me all throughout college, when I used to stay up to 1:00 in the morning. I can't wait for him to move to the 11:30 spot in a couple of years. Then I can go Daily Show to Conan.

Letterman is okay. I wouldn't call him lame.

Leno is sort of lame. I watched him during college too, but mostly as a way to kill time before Conan.

[dembotoz]

14. leno far lamer

[Orsino]

16. O'Brien is lamer...

...but he works it, last I saw.

[DS1]

17. Conan is much more original than the recycled shit on the two L shows

How someone can choose Leno over Conan is beyond me.

[peekaloo]

18. Conan's show last night was hilarious.

The security breach or "condition" on the 5th floor that played out after the Anderson Cooper segment was amusing.

I usually tune in after the monologue(s).

So I really didn't answer your question which makes ME lame. :dunce:

[hfojvt]

23. that's true that the show can be funny

He just does not do a good monlogue. Mostly I watch the show because I wanna see one of the guests, and also some good stand-up. The monologue almost always fails to deliver the latter, and other times I wish he would just stop his incessant chatter and bring on the guest I wanted to see.

[Coyote_Bandit]

19. I saw Leno Live

in Oklahoma a few years back. When it became apparent that his intended monologue was too liberal for his audience he quickly shifted gears and went even more conservative in his commentary. He never missed a beat and his audience managed to re-engage.

I cannot stand Conan. So I guess by comparison Letterman is a tad bit better.

But the best late night guy is Craig Ferguson. Hands down.

[hfojvt]

22. reminds me of an SNL skit

It was of a comedian in colonial times doing stand-up in a bar. He's doing all these jokes about the British and Redcoats. Then these three British Redcoats come in and sit at a table. They are, of course, armed with muskets and bayonets. The comedian tells his next joke and they start grumbling. He tells another one and the sabers start rattling. So he adds another punchline "but what do I know? I am just a dumb colonist." At which point the Redcoats guffaw and pound on the table. So that becomes the punchline of all his jokes.

I did notice that before Leno would do Bush jokes and the crowd would sorta "oooh" instead of laugh. So he has become more liberal as his audience has, but he will always be obsessed about the Clenis.

[Coyote_Bandit]

26. Funny thing is

I am sure most of his audience was conpletely oblivious to what happened.

He did a series of four or five political jokes that were not well received. Almost no applause or laughter at all. Without pause he transitioned to another line of jokes - and then transitioned back to a line of political comedy with a more conservative bent. Transitioned in and out without pause. Had to have been scripted to respond to a particular kind of audience. Very professional and well executed.

I used to do competitive speakig in a former lifetime. So I tend to look for these kinds of things. Doesn't matter if it is at a comedy club, a political speach or church.

[tigereye]

21. I think Conan is much funnier - he's what Letterman used to be

before they started doing the same thing over and over. I still watch Letterman til the top 10 sometimes, but John Stewart actually blows them both away.



Aren't Sacha Baron Cohen and Dave Chapelle the next generation of wise guys, though?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

25. Carson Daly is the lamest of them all.

Sad, how I know these things.

[MysticalChicken]

30. Why does Carson even still have a show?

Does anyone actually watch it? Anyone at all?

*crickets*

*tumbleweed tumbles by*

*wind howling*

Anyone?

[hfojvt]

36. important to note for you young whippersnappers

that when I wrote "Carson" that meant "Johnny Carson" and NOT "Carson Daly" who I have only seen on "Josie and the Pussycats" and being mimicked by Jimmy Fallon on SNL.

[LisaM]

27. I go from Letterman to Conan nightly

Of course, I vastly prefer the New York based brand than the LA one. I think Craig Ferguson is downright creepy, the way he sidles up to the guests. I only watch Leno if Ross the Intern is on. That "Jaywalking" segment is one of the most staged things I've ever seen. How many normal answers does he need to listen to in order to get those answers?

[hfojvt]

31. I don't like Jaywalking at all, and am not that fond of headlines

which is what I see the most since I work a night shift and Monday is my 2nd night off. I am really just talking about the monologue portion.

[bigwillq]

32. Conan is so lame

I love Letterman!

[MonkeyFunk]

33. I think Letterman is a genius

the best host in the business.

[LSdemocrat]

34. I like both in small doses more than the other network late night hosts

I'd rate the comedic network late night hosts as:

1. Letterman
2. O'Brien
3. Ferguson
(After this point I'd prefer to turn the TV off if nothing else is on)
4. Leno
5. Kimmel
6. On edit: any other network late night host I failed to mention

[A-Schwarzenegger]

35. Conan's got a heart, Letterman's got a raisin.

Letterman can be funny, but there's an aftertaste of tannis.
Conan's humor is fresher, more playful and inventive.
He enjoys himself more to me. I think Oscar would like
him more, too, though that's just a guess because he
never watches any TV except for Bad Girls Road Trip.