Conan Debuts On TBS
Conan O’Brien debuted his new talk show “Conan” on TBS Monday, November 8, 2010. The show opened with a crazy skit hinting at NBC’s poor treatment of Conan, complete with Conan being gunned down twice by machine gun toting thugs. The joke continued as Conan is shown finishing his successful debut show at TBS, only to again be gunned down by the same thugs.
O’Brien appeared relaxed and ready for the monologue and the audience was happy to see him, giving him a standing ovation. O’Brien was once again joined by sidekick Andy Richter, and the original Max Weinberg 7 band, minus Max Weinberg, now renamed The Basic Cable band. O’Brien announced his first guest of his new show, a joke appearance by Arlene Wagner, who won a online contest to be Conan’s first guest. Arlene Wagner is the curator of Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum and was dressed in a German outfit and accompanied by a life size nutcracker. Conan’s “Team Coco” website featured a poll letting fans choose the first guest on his new show. Other nominees for first guest on the poll included Pope Benedict XVI, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Jack Nicholson, 80′s super group REO Speedwagon. and the cast of the 2004 film Fat Albert. O’Brien’s sidekick Andy Richter sat at his side as he introduced his second guest of his new show, Seth Rogen. O’Brien’s third guest was Lea Michele of the popular Fox show Glee. O’Brien finished the evening jamming to a rousing rockabilly tune with gifted musician Jack White.
Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert Hold Rally in D.C.
Jon Stewart (The Daily Show) and Stephen Colbert (The Colbert Report) are joining forces to bring sanity and fear back to politics. The comic geniuses are parodying the recent Glenn Beck right wing rally held in D.C. The Comedy Central stars announced dueling rallies on October 30 at the National Mall in Washington D.C. Stewart’s theme was the “Rally to Restore Sanity”, giving regular people who Stewart says are too busy trying to survive a chance to be represented. Colbert’s right-wing character touted his rally “The March to Keep Fear Alive”, in order to keep fear a focal point in politics.
Stewart seeks to draw moderates to the rally who, he says, “beg America to stop shouting, throwing and drawing Hitler mustaches on people other than Hitler (or Charlie Chaplin).” Colbert called on his viewers, The Colbert Nation, reaching out to “freedom-loving patriots” to challenge Stewart and his “dark, optimistic forces trying to take away our fear”. Last week the comic duo proposed they share a rally together since Colbert forgot to get a permit for his march.
The Daily Show and The Colbert Report will entertain the masses next week with shows airing in Washington D.C. at their usual times, leading up to their rally on Saturday of that week. C-SPAN, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report should be good bets to catch some of the rally clips on television during and after the October 30, 2010 rally. Television coverage of the Rally to Restore Sanity begins on Comedy Central Saturday, October 30 at 12 noon ET/9:00 a.m. PT.
Visit the official rally site at http://www.rallytorestoresanity.com for more information on the October 30th rally.
Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert Hold Rally in D.C.
Jon Stewart (The Daily Show) and Stephen Colbert (The Colbert Report) are joining forces to bring sanity and fear back to politics. The Comedy Central anchors announced last week they would hold dueling rallies on October 30 at the National Mall in Washington D.C. The comic geniuses are parodying the recent Glenn Beck right wing rally held in D.C. Stewart’s rally is the “Rally to Restore Sanity”, to give regular people who Stewart says are trying to survive and are too busy to rally an opportunity to be represented. Colbert’s rally is called “Keep Fear Alive”, representing politicians and pundits who use fear to corner the market on smear tactics that influence voters.
On his show Stewart told the audience if they had to ask “Am I the right person to go to this rally?” Stewart said “The fact that you would even stop to ask yourself that question as opposed to just jumping up, grabbing the nearest stack of burnable holy books, strapping on a diaper and pointing your car towards D.C. – that means I think you just might be right for it.”
Jon Stewart wants to draw moderates to the rally who will “beg America to stop shouting, throwing and drawing Hitler mustaches on people other than Hitler (or Charlie Chaplin).” Stephen Colbert called on The Colbert Nation, seeking “freedom-loving patriots” to join together and challenge Stewart and his “dark, optimistic forces trying to take away our fear”.
C-SPAN, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report should be good bets to catch some of the rallyy clips on television during and after the October 30, 2010 rally.
Conan O’Brien Signs Late Night Deal With TBS
Fox has lost out in negotiations with Conan O’Brien, who signed a deal with Time Warner-owned cable network TBS to start a late night show beginning in November 2010. Fox wanted O’Brien but there were limitations to their offer, including less money, no chance for O’Brien to own his own show and difficulties convincing affiliates to change their lucrative rerun schedules. TBS and O’Brien began negotiations over the last week with TBS offering O’Brien the chance to own his own show along with an eight-figure compensation package, larger than any of his previous compensation packages. The show will be based in Los Angeles and is expected to air four nights a week. George Lopez is the current late night talk show guy with his show Lopez Tonight on TBS and will be moving from 11:00 p.m. to 12:00 midnight to accommodate O’Brien’s new show schedule. Lopez was supportive of O’Brien’s move and said “I can’t think of anything better than doing my show with Conan as my lead-in,” he said. “It’s the beginning of a new era in late-night comedy.” The starting time of 11:00 p.m will also give O’Brien a head start on capturing the late night audience of Leno and Letterman.
The news of the late night deal was announced today as O’Brien starts his nationwide live comedy tour in Eugene, Oregon. O’Brien commented on the news in his typical comic style: “In three months I’ve gone from network television to Twitter to performing live in theaters, and now I’m headed to basic cable, my plan is working perfectly.”
The opportunity to own his own show should give O’Brien the kind of job security that David Letterman, who owns his late night show, has on CBS. Considering how well other hosts are doing on cable (Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are prime examples), its no wonder O’Brien went for this sweet deal.
Conan O’Brien Announces Comedy Tour
Conan O’Brien is heading out on tour, aptly called Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television, named after legal negotiations from his Tonight contract prohibited him from appearing on television until after September 1 of this year.
O’Brien heads out on a 2-month, 30-city tour that kicks off April 12, visiting theaters in at least 20 states as well as 2 Canadian provinces. O’Brien’s sidekick from The Tonight Show, Andy Richter and his former Tonight Show band are touring with him. In his typical comic fashion, O’Brien will launch the tour in Eugene, Oregon instead of the usual venues in Los Angeles or New York.
“It was either a massive 30-city tour or start helping out around the house” said O’Brien, whose recent hilarious Tweets on Twitter say to pass the time he interviewed a squirrel in his backyard and spent time connecting the freckles on his arm with a sharpie. Check out teamcoco.com/ to find out more about cities on O’Brien’s tour.
Betty White To Host Saturday Night Live May 8
Betty White’s facebook fan club just got their wish. Six-time Emmy winner Betty White will be hosting Saturday Night Live on Mother’s Day weekend, May 8. The SNL episode will also feature former SNL actors Ana Gasteyer, Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch, Molly Shannon, Amy Poehler and Tina Fey.
According to the official SNL press release, Creator and Executive Producer of SNL Lorne Michaels said “I can’t think of a better way to spend Mother’s Day weekend than with Betty White”.
The announcement of White’s hosting duties followed a Facebook campaign urging SNL to have White host the show, attracting nearly half-a-million campaign members.
Betty White has been in show business over 70 years and is best known for her roles in The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girls. White recently received the 2010 SAG Lifetime Achievement Award. She was seen in the romantic-comedy feature film The Proposal starring Oscar winner Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, and will appear this fall in the film You Again, starring Kristin Bell.
The combination of the legendary Betty White with SNL alumni should make it a show you won’t want to miss. Catch Betty White hosting SNL Saturday, May 8 at 11:30 p.m. ET/PT, check your local listings.
