EditorialWhy Conan O

’ Brian Is Better Essay, Research Paper

Ask kids today what late night show they watch, and the answer will invariably be Conan O Brian. There is an extensive amount of proof that shows more young viewers are tuning in to Late Night , than the Tonight Show , with Jay Leno. For one, Conan is considerably funnier than Leno. The original jokes written by Conan give his monologue the edge over Leno s obvious cracks about celebrity foibles. Also, O Brian does an enormous amount of original skits that give the show a much-needed break away from mainstream comedy. Lastly, Conan has one thing that puts him infinitely ahead of Leno, and that is one Andy Richter. This incredible comedic duo has turned a low-budget, virtually unknown late night show, into a national obsession.

With so many years of experience writing for such shows as Saturday Night Live, and even producing the longest running cartoon series, The Simpsons , Conan knows comedy. This knowledge is evident in his opening monologue. With his well timed one liners, and hilarious gestures and facial expressions on stage, he draws the audience in. And once I m tuned in, I am unable to look away. Conan s jokes are endlessly funnier than Leno. One reason for this is that Leno s humor is so expected. He takes the easy way out of jokes. Where as O Brian s humor is off the wall, and straight out of left field, and unexpected. This is why I laugh.

Conan is continually coming up with new ideas for the show. What I find most appealing about the program, is its ability to be continuously original. One thing that makes it able to do this is the skits that he creates. With such skits as, Triumph, the talking dog , and Pimpbot 5000 , I never know what hilarious escapades are going to happen on the show. Whereas Leno, has the same boring skits that are played out to the extreme. There is only so many times I can look at typos in the newspaper, and listen to the babbling idiots on California s streets.

The last thing I feel puts Conan O Brian over the top of Leno, is the one and only, Andy Richter. These two, when put together, are the Abbot and Castello of the 21st century. Andy brings an enormous amount to the show. It s double the comedy, if Conan is not making a joke, Andy is right there with it. It s basically a non-stop hour of pure hilarious capers with these two. With the Tonight Show , it is one over the hill comedian doing old jokes about things no one cares about.

The choice is obvious, the younger, more hip , popular people watch Late Nite with Conan O Brian . Whereas the old, non-cool people chose to watch The Tonight Show with an aging, worn out comedian, who tells the same jokes day after day about the obvious, and who has no original skits of his own. I know my choice.