Late Night with Conan O'Brien

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Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late night talk show on NBC, that is also syndicated world-wide. It features varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and stand-up comedy performances. From the show's inception in 1993 until May 26, 2000, Andy Richter served as O'Brien's comedy sidekick. The show's band is The Max Weinberg 7. Late Night airs weeknights at 12:35 a.m. / 11:35 p.m. central in the U.S. While the show airs after midnight, its status as a "late night" show (part of a lineup that begins before midnight), and its pre-taped nature usually result in airdates being cited as the day before the midnight hour of airing. But it should be noted that NBC sometimes uses the technical after-midnight date when citing an airdate, resulting in a Tuesday-Saturday morning airing schedule. The show is also available on CNBC Europe on a daily basis.

O'Brien replaced David Letterman, long time host of Late Night with David Letterman, after Letterman left NBC to host The Late Show with David Letterman on CBS. Since Letterman's new program was similar to his NBC show, most sources consider O'Brien's Late Night to be a new and separate entity, and only a continuation of Letterman's Late Night by name. (see history below)

O'Brien is currently scheduled to leave Late Night in 2009 to host The Tonight Show, the late night show that precedes Late Night and is currently hosted by Jay Leno. There is great speculation as to who will take over for Conan when he leaves in 2009.

[edit] History

Upon Johnny Carson’s retirement from The Tonight Show in 1992, executives at NBC announced Carson's frequent guest-host Jay Leno would be Carson's replacement, despite Carson's professed desire to see the torch passed to David Letterman. NBC later confirmed that Letterman's high ratings in the Late Night timeslot led them to keep him where he was. Letterman was reportedly bitterly disappointed and angry at not having been given the Tonight Show job, and, reportedly on Carson’s advice, departed NBC in 1993 after eleven years of Late Night. CBS signed Letterman to host his own show opposite The Tonight Show. He moved his show over to CBS virtually unchanged, taking most of the staff, skits, and comedy formats with him. However, NBC owned the rights to the Late Night name, forcing Letterman to re-christen his show The Late Show.

NBC was faced with an unexpected need to replace not just Letterman, but Late Night itself. They still owned the name, but needed to essentially build a new show from scratch. Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels was brought in to develop the new show and auditions were held for the host. Michaels had suggested to O'Brien, a then-unknown comedy writer at The Simpsons, and formerly at Michaels' Saturday Night Live, that he should audition for the job, which he did on April 13, 1993. The show was first offered to Dana Carvey and Garry Shandling, who both turned it down. Finally, despite expectations that the job would go to an established comedian, Conan O'Brien was offered the show on April 26, 1993.

O'Brien's Late Night was rushed into production and debuted on September 13, 1993. The premiere episode featured John Goodman (who received a "First Guest" medal for his appearance), Drew Barrymore, and Tony Randall. The episode featured a cold open of O'Brien's walk to the studio with constant reminders that he was expected to live up to Letterman, parodying a popular sentiment expressed in the media at the time. After seeming to be unaffected by the comments, O'Brien arrives at his dressing room and cheerfully prepares to hang himself. However, a warning that the show was about to start causes him to abandon his plans.

O'Brien's on-camera inexperience showed and the show's first three years were generally considered mediocre. O'Brien, a no-name, was constantly at risk to be fired, having no leverage with which to negotiate. NBC had him renewing short-term contracts, thirteen-weeks at a time. He was reportedly on the brink of being fired at least once in this period, but NBC had no one to replace him with. The show, and O'Brien slowly improved through experience, and the show's ratings gradually improved to a level which allowed O'Brien to secure a longer contract, and not have to worry about cancellation.

In 2000, sidekick Andy Richter left Late Night to pursue his acting career. The show's comedy bits and banter had usually depended on O'Brien's interaction with Richter, and the departure resulted in a notable difference in the show's style. O'Brien's wacky non sequitur comedy became more pronounced as he played all of his comedy and commentary directly to the audience instead of towards Richter.

Ratings and reviews continued to improve for Late Night and in 2002, when time came to renew his contract, O'Brien had notable offers from other networks to defect. O'Brien decided to re-sign with NBC, however, joking that he initially wanted to make a 13-week deal (a nod to his first contract). He ultimately signed through 2005, indicating that it was symbolic of surpassing Letterman's run with 12 years of hosting.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2003, the show celebrated its 10^th anniversary; another milestone that O'Brien said he wanted to achieve with his 2002 contract. In this period, O'Brien's own production company, Conaco, was added as a producer of Late Night. During the show, Mr. T observed that fact by handing O'Brien a chain with a large gold "7" on it:

O'Brien: But Mr. T, we've been on the air for ten years!
Mr. T: I know that, fool, but you only been funny for seven!

[edit] Talent

The show's house band is The Max Weinberg 7, led by drummer Max Weinberg, who also serves as a sounding board for O'Brien on the show (more notably since Andy Richter's departure). The other six members are Mark Pender, Richie 'La Bamba' Rosenberg, Mike Merrit, Jimmy Vivino, Jerry Vivino, and Scott Healy. The show gets plenty of comic mileage out of the perceived lack of chemistry between O'Brien and Weinberg in their banters. The band plays the show's opening and closing themes, plays into and out of commercial breaks (they actually play through the entire break in the studio), and also plays after O'Brien's monologue as he goes to his desk. The band plays a wide variety of songs for these breaks — usually popular music from a variety of eras.

Joel Godard, a long-time announcer for NBC shows (including the The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and the annual Macy's Day Parade), has been the show's announcer and an occasional comedy contributor since O'Brien started hosting the show.

Many of the show's writing staff frequently appear in sketches on the show. The most prolific of them is Brian McCann, who also performs the audience warmup before tapings. Among others he plays the FedEx Pope and Preparation H Raymond. Other frequent performing writers (with some of their recurring characters) include Brian Stack (Frankenstein, Hannigan the Traveling salesman, The Offensive Radio Singer Ghost), Kevin Dorf (Coked-up werewolf, Mansy the half-man/half-pansy), and Andy Blitz (Awful Ballgame Chanter, Vin Diesel's brother Leonard Diesel). Additionally, Late Night employs a number of extras; many of whom are frequently reused in different episodes. O'Brien's show also launched the career of former writer Robert Smigel's Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog.

[edit] Production

Late Night is a production of Lorne Michaels' Broadway Video (and, since 2003, O'Brien's Conaco). It is taped in studio 6A at the GE Building in New York City; the same studio in which Letterman, Carson, and Jack Paar each hosted shows. The studio holds just over 200 audience members. The show is taped at about 5:30 p.m., and is taped as an uninterrupted hour-long program, with the band playing music through the portions that will be filled by commercials. New episodes are usually taped from Monday to Friday. Between December 1995 and September 2006, the show aired a rerun on Mondays. The show also routinely airs entire weeks of reruns while the staff takes the week off. The show will sometimes film remotes during these breaks.

The show's format typically consists of an opening monologue from O'Brien, followed by a "desk bit" — a comedy piece which occurs while O'Brien is at his desk. In the show's second act and fourth acts (segments between commercial breaks), O'Brien interviews two celebrity guests, between which in the third act O'Brien lists the next night's/week's guests. There is often a comedy bit as well during this segment. The show's fifth act is usually reserved for a musical or stand-up comedy performance, or occasionally another guest interview. The show's final act is usually a quick "goodnight" and the closing credits, which sometimes features part of an earlier sketch. This format is not concrete and sometimes is broken. For example, high-profile guests often receive interviews extended over two acts.

The show's opening theme was written by Howard Shore and John Lurie (a finalist for the job as band leader). The show's closing theme was written by Jimmy and Jerry Vivino (members of The Max Weinberg 7), and was lifted off of their first album together.

[edit] Set design

Late Night has gone through a number of set changes, including several complete redesigns which have come to be used by fans somewhat as denoting 'eras' of the show. Each set has basically had the same structure, however, with changes being primarily cosmetic. The set is broken into two areas: The desk area, to the viewer's right, where interviews are done, and the performance space at the viewer's left. The desk area has always been designed with a desk for O'Brien, a chair and couch(es) to the viewer's left for guests (and originally Andy Richter), and a coffee table. The area is designed with some type of facade. The performance area is where The Max Weinberg 7 are, in the corner between the stage-right wall and the wall in front of the audience. O'Brien does his monologue in this area, emerging at the start of each episode from the area where musical guests perform.

The set in the premiere episode featured a desk area that had mustard colored walls with pictures on them, and was designed with the facade of a living room. The desk was rather plain with ribbed columns at the corners. A typical house window with blinds and curtains, as well as a door were on the wall behind the chair and couch (which matched the curtains). The window looked out upon New York and featured the Empire State Building. Above the window, too high to see in most shots, a piece of the wall was cutaway with a view of a full moon. The most notable and recognizable element of this set was the desk fan between O'Brien and Richter. Two items were on his desk that remain to this day: A microphone to his right, which O'Brien often uses in bouts of randomness, and a mug which was a gift to O'Brien which features random words and phrases such as he is known to spout. The mug was once accidentally broken and had to be recreated. By 1994, a mug in the shape of a bust of Dwight Eisenhower filled with pencils also found a home there. The performance space was done in blue, with a blue curtain between the musical guest area and the monologue area, and stars projected on the floor. Most of the band formed a line on a riser in front of the audience wall with generic music orchestral stands, aside from the keyboardist who sat in the corner, and Max who had his own riser against the stage-right wall.

The set was tweaked significantly in the early days of the show. The band was given more decorative risers, and most of the members were given podium-style music stands. The desk area was also changed, most notably by the addition of a much larger window behind O'Brien where there had previously been a simple wall. The Empire State building was moved to this new window, along with the Twin Towers, which had previously been added to the original window. In the old window, the Chrysler Building took their place, though the two views continued to be tweaked over the years. The full moon was eventually reportedly removed. The carpet was also changed from a sandy color to a mauve. In 1996, a few other changes were made including leaving the curtains open for the monologue, and a new bandstand. Max got a new red drum riser, and the rest of the band got a two-level bandstand - a format still used today.

The first major overhaul to the set came during the 1996 Olympic break. The new desk area facade featured a balcony instead of windows. At the sides of the set, as walls were a checkerboard of blue and purple cushioned panels. The guest chair and sofa were replaced with a more traditional shaped set in a purple-blue, with yellow wavy-lined pattern. Behind the desk and the guest chair, was a lattice of metal bars forming a transparent wall. Behind the wall was a stone balcony edge, beyond which was a cityscape. Many buildings were depicted, and they were much "closer" to the set than in the original windows. Buildings spanned past the ceiling of the backdrop, and none appeared to be actual well-known New York City buildings. A new desk and coffee table were constructed, similar to the originals, except with a diamond-like set of columns instead of the ribbed rings. The desk was also placed parallel to the chair and couch for the first time. The rest of the set was also redressed in accordance with the style of the desk area. Four black & white pictures hung on the wall to the right of the desk (possibly also present on the original set), of Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Johnny Carson, and David Letterman as a tribute to those who have hosted late night shows in New York City. Allen, Paar, and Carson have died during O'Brien's reign as Late Night host; after each of their passings, O'Brien took the time to remember them on the show, discussing personal anecdotes and how each one was supportive of him when he first started hosting Late Night. The pictures hang in about the same spot on the current set.

In mid-1998, the set was retooled again. However, the only major change came to the backdrop behind the balcony in the desk area. Instead of the grey and off-white dominated background of many close buildings, the backdrop was replaced by a blue sky with only a handful of buildings in the distance, mainly in sillhouette with lights. The Chrysler Building was the only building "near" the set, behind the guest chair, while the Empire State Building was further away between the chair and the desk. The light blue faded to darker blue at the top of the set and a few stars were visible, along with a large full moon well to the right of the desk. The camera rarely caught the backdrop high enough to see this part of the set though.

The backdrop continued to be retooled and in early 1999, the sky was darkened to a deep blue fading to a purple horizon, and a starfield was added. The buildings were also given some more realistic detail, and the full moon was retouched into a crescent moon. New lighting was added, and lighting of both the desk area and the performance area would continue to be periodically tweaked from time to time. By 2001, more purple had been added to the sky.

In late August 2001, while the show was on break, the set was completely redone for the second time in the show's history. The balcony concept was used again, but instead of a fake window separating the balcony, the balcony rail was directly behind the seating area. A new desk, with a field of circles within squares on its front was created, and a new chair and sofa were brought in, with a pattern of multi-colored layered squares. The view behind the balcony was a fairly realistic (relative to past sets) view of New York City looking south from a tall building, though it is by no means geographically accurate. The buildings were far away and only the Empire State Building, between the desk and chair, and the Twin Towers, slightly to the right, were notable. The Chrysler Building was off to the right of the desk near what would be the Hudson River - not where the building would actually be. Unlike past sets, almost all of the buildings on the backdrop reached no higher than the head of a seated guest. Most of the backdrop was plain sky, though the crescent moon from the previous set remained in about the same position. In the performance area, the back wall which previously appeared to be an un-dressed studio wall was fitted with a pattern of blue triangular outcroppings. The floor had a similar circles within squares pattern to the desk, and the monologue and musical performance area had new squared arches framing it. The band also got a new performance area, laid out the same as the previous one. From the ceiling of the desk area, several white orbs could be lowered, which O'Brien showed off in the set's debut. The orbs have never been used functionally on the show aside from as decor.

Tragically, and in a case of bad timing, the September 11th attacks occurred about a week after the new set's debut. Late Night, like the other late night shows went on hiatus again after the attacks. When they returned, a curtain had been added behind the balcony with gathered material at intervals designed to obstruct the spot where the Twin Towers were depicted. After having a chance to retouch the backdrop image and remove the Twin Towers, the curtain was again removed. The buildings were also retouched, with more light showing in the skyline. More contrast was added to the sky as well as a light starfield. Perhaps deciding that vast sky was too plain of a backdrop, the decorative curtain was once again added, without the bunched material. Like the past set, color tweaks continued to be made for a while after, but the set has remained fairly unchanged since the curtain was re-added.

[edit] Broadcast

Late Night began broadcasting in 1080i ATSC on April 26 2005, with a downscaled letterboxed NTSC simulcast (unlike The Tonight Show, whose NTSC simulcast is fullscreen). Conan celebrated the conversion to the widescreen HDTV format with jokes throughout the week.

On December 6, 2005 Late Night with Conan O'Brien segments began selling on the iTunes Store. Most segments were priced at $1.99, as were most episodes of other shows, with "special" best-of's and other longer segments priced at $9.99.

[edit] Location/Special episodes

"Remotes" (pieces shot on location) have always been a staple on Late Night, but occasionally entire episodes have been shot on location. These are usually in correlation to sweeps months. The first vacation for the show was a week-long stint of shows in Los Angeles the week of November 9-12, 1999. This was the only location week for the show while Andy Richter was with the show, and the only time the show's theme was altered for the week, with a more surf-style version of the show's normal theme (though the Toronto shows ended the normal theme with a piece of "O Canada"). The show was broadcast from NBC's L.A. studios and an L.A. themed set was built, very similar in layout to the New York set.

From February 10-13, 2004, Late Night broadcast from the Elgin Theatre in Toronto, Canada. The shows were highly publicized, and demand for tickets was significant. Those desiring tickets e-mailed in and tickets were distributed by a lottery system. Despite the inhospitable winter weather, line-ups for the shows stretched around city blocks and some fans lined up the night before the shows to get good seats. More tickets than seats were distributed, and many without tickets lined up in hopes to get standby tickets, but were turned away. By the Friday taping, fans were encouraged not to bother. Those with tickets that could not fit in the main theatre were allowed to go to the Winter Garden Theatre (above the Elgin) to watch the show on a closed circuit feed from downstairs. The guests for these episodes were all Canadians, with the exception of Adam Sandler, and included such stars as Jim Carrey and Mike Myers. As the show was taped at a theater, unlike the trip to L.A., the set built was not like the show's standard set. A Toronto-themed backdrop painting was hung at the back of the stage, and a copy of the New York desk (with maple leaves on its front instead of circles), a maple leaf coffee table and a standard guest chair and couch were on a riser at center stage. O'Brien did his monologues standing in front of this area. The stage was otherwise bare. Max's drumkit was on the end of stage-right, while the rest of the band was placed in the lower private boxes next to the stage. Joel did his announcing from the upper box nearest the stage on the same side.

From May 9-12, 2006, the show made a very similar venture to the Chicago Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, taking cues from their previous trip to Toronto.

For all three trips, the show had a modified logo that read "Late Night in [city]", with some graphical icon representing the city. The show also had a modified opening credits montage with footage of the city as the dominant element.

One episode, on March 10, 2006, was compiled mainly of footage from O'Brien's trip to Finland, though the episode was not strictly taped as a live episode there, and was prefaced by an introduction by O'Brien taped in New York.

Aside from more "traditional" location shows, the show also did special one-shots in its early years. In 1995, one episode of the show was taped aboard a New York City ferry in NY Harbor. Dubbed "The Show on a Boat" by the showtunes-style song-and-dance number performed by a trio of "sailors" at the start of the show, O'Brien, Richter, the band and guests were all crammed onto the deck of the ferry. The show was taped at its normal afternoon time, while it was still light out.

Another, more unexpected, "location" shoot occurred on October 10, 1996, when a five-alarm fire in Rockefeller Plaza rendered the 6A studios out-of-commission for the remainder of that week. The fire happened on early Thursday morning, which left O'Brien's staff precious little time to assemble a show elsewhere. Pressed for time as 12:35 approached, Conan taped the show outside, near the outside walking area in front of 30 Rock, after dark. Being October, it was quite chilly outside, and despite Conan and company being bundled up in winter jackets, they were still visibly cold (Max Weinberg could be seen huffing hot air onto his hands during the opening strains of one of the night's numerous fire-themed cover songs.) Furthering the unfortunate nature of the evening's circumstances was the final guest, Julie Scardina, who brought along wild animals, including birds that Conan explained: "We were supposed to have you on, and let [the birds] fly around the studio, and it would have been GREAT, then fire destroys our studio, we have to tape outside, and so we have to keep the birds tied up. You were the worst possible guest we could have scheduled for tonight!" (paraphrased) Earlier in the show, Conan and Andy walked into a nearby department store, camera crew in tow, and bought a massaging leather recliner for the first guest, Samuel L. Jackson. Chris Kattan was also a guest on this episode. The second of the two "fire shows," on Friday night, was taped in the Today Show studio, which wasn't affected by the fire. Conan and company dressed in conservative sweater vests and had the Sauer family as their in-studio "audience." Conan's guests were Eric Idle, Peter Gallagher and Los Lobos.

During the Northeast Blackout of 2003, Conan and the staff taped a short 5-minute introduction explaining that the episode they had planned would not be taking place due to the blackout. Studio 6A was powered by a generator and lit by battery-powered floodlights. A standby show was aired in-progress after the intro.

Other shows that were taped in the regular 6A studio were augmented by special gimmicks: "Time Travel Week," 4 episodes from early 1996, where Conan and Andy (and the rest of the crew) "time-travelled" to a different point in time each night. Times/locations included The Civil War, Ancient Greece, The Future and The Early 80s (featuring a cameo by David Letterman in the cold open, who occupied Conan's studio in 1983, cruelly brushing off Conan and Andy's attempt at explaining their presence in Letterman's dressing room by saying "Why don't you two fellas go find a nice, warm place to screw yourselves. Security!").

In 1998, a special episode was taped where the studio audience was comprised solely of grade-school age children, primarily 5-10 years of age. Conan interacted with the children in innovative ways, respecting their intelligence and getting them to boo whenever the guest became too long-winded and boring.

A 2003 episode was reshot entirely in clay animation several months after its first airing, including the opening credits and commercial bumpers. The episode's originally broadcast soundtrack was retained while the visuals were reproduced to mirror the original footage in a small-scale reproduction of the studio 6A.

On October 31, 2006, a similarly conceptualized Halloween episode was created from an episode which originally aired in May. Using a process the show called "Skelevision", all the visuals were reshot with human skeletons adorned with a few identifying articles of clothing and accessories in place of all humans, including those in photographs. This reshoot was shot using the actual studio, and the puppeteers moved the skeletons with wires and cables while being visually obscured by green screen technology. Once again, the opening and bumpers were altered, this time including a ghoulish intro announcer in place of Joel Godard.

[edit] Anniversary episodes

In 1996, a 3^rd Anniversary episode was taped, though it aired in the regular 12:35/11:35 late night time slot. The show was comprised of clips of the best of the first three years, and featured cameos from many former guests such as Janeane Garafalo, Scott Thompson, Tony Randall and George Wendt, to name a few. In 1998, Late Night aired a 5^th anniversary special in prime time, mostly consisting of clips from the first five years. It was taped in the Saturday Night Live studio, also in the GE Building. The special was later sold on VHS tape. In 2003, a similar 10^th anniversary special was taped in New York City's famed Beacon Theater.

[edit] Comedy and mannerisms

O'Brien's comic style was influenced greatly by the absurdist farce of Monty Python and the physical comedy and wild vocalizing of Robin Williams^{[citation needed]}. Like his Late Night predecessor, David Letterman, O'Brien's humor also has a streak of biting sarcasm. O'Brien often playfully chides his audience for an underwhelming or overly enthusiastic response to his jokes. The following is a list of recurring comedic themes and mannerisms:

[edit] O'Brien himself

• Sometimes jokes that his real name is "Chip Whitley" and that "O'Brien" is a character.
• Frequently jokes that he is nerdy, unpopular, and sexually unappealing.
• Often makes fun of his own puffy red hair, large head, and pale complexion.
• When members of the audience shout out "I love you!", O'Brien will reply "I love you too, sir", regardless of whether the person yelling is male or female. He has also said he's "popular with the fellas".
• Often manipulates his pompadour for comic effect, and has the ability to make his hairline jump forward and back. He often uses this as a response to a guest with another physical ability.
• Whenever an attractive female is one of the guests, O'Brien often proceeds to jokingly flirt with them, making feline growling and purring noise and/or reaching out to touch them. Conan has said that the growling is an imitation of Bob Hope.[1] Sometimes he also includes licking his fingers and then preening his eyebrows.
• Sometimes switches into a higher-pitched voice or affectation of another character and back again, in a style similar to that of Robin Williams or Eddie Izzard.
• Sometimes hisses like a cat. Originally, this was a snake impersonation, while Conan would state that he was "comin' atcha". He now continues to do it, though he allegedly no longer remembers what the hiss is supposed to be, or why he does it.
• Often knocks over his large desk microphone (on purpose) and acts as if it is fake, sometimes saying it is made out of chocolate. In reality, the mic is real and on.
• Once in a while, he'll take the microphone clipped to his tie and stick it in one his nostrils, causing a very loud breathing sound. This is usually done if the monologue is slow or simply for comic effect. He once commented that he does this because his producer hates it.
• He has had a long-standing claim that he's only been in the tabloids twice: Once saying (he paraphrases) "Conan O'Brien has high cholesterol", and the other saying "Conan's pal says he doesn't wash his hands after using the bathroom".

[edit] The show

• Often boasts that his show's purpose is no longer comedy, but education, saying they gave up on comedy many years ago.
• Often jokes that his show is underfunded and unpopular due to its late time slot when it is, in fact, the top rated show in its timeslot. He has also done segments and made references to cost cutting.
• Often takes shots at NBC, saying that their "ratings are in the toilet" and once, in June 2006, that the show is underfunded "so NBC can make more bad pilots."
• Frequently makes remarks on how unprofessional he and his show are.
• Nearly every Friday night, he says that "tonight's show" is one of the better ones because it's Friday and sometimes says the rest of the week pales in comparison. Other Fridays, to shake things up, he will act like he is about to say that the show is going to be the best show of the week, but proceeds to say "These are the shows... that are at the end of the week."
• Often tells viewers that one day he will do an entire show where all his staff and guests are just dancing around without any interviews or sketches, from beginning to end, during the show's entire duration, or an episode where the band plays for an hour. He usually follows this statement with "...And then we'll be cancelled."
• Sometimes O'Brien and/or his guests look at the fake backdrop in the studio and comment on how late it is or how nice the weather is.
• O'Brien normally ends the show by saying "Bye everybody, bye!" in a high-pitched voice. It is likely borrowed from an old Saturday Night Live sketch, Tales of Ribaldry, which starred Jon Lovitz as a foppish storyteller in Victorian fashion-era attire named Evelyn Quince, who told "randy tales" which were simultaneously acted out by a fictional repertory company, much like PBS's Masterpiece Theatre. At the end of each of these skits, Quince would say the phrase: "Bye everybody, bye!!" As Conan was a writer on the show during the years this sketch ran (88-90) - and quite possibly wrote and/or created the skit with Lovitz - and that Lovitz and Conan were/are good friends, it's likely that Conan's use of this phrase is an intentional, but subtle, homage to the often-maligned Lovitz.
• Often features what are known as "standbys": Celebrities the show regularly turns to if a guest cancels at the last minute. These standbys have come to be used often in comedy pieces. They have included Abe Vigoda, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Al Roker and Nipsey Russell.

[edit] The monologue

• After the theme song, he hops in place and spins once, with Max adding effects on the drums.
• Often quiets applause of audience members prior to his monologue by saying "Keep cool, my babies" in falsetto, while making a hushing sounds and hand gesture.
• His left arm spasms repeatedly (and apparently subconsciously) just before he tells a punchline.
• He usually buttons and unbuttons his jacket during the monologue.
• He uses the frame of the shot as a joke, leaving the frame, and then re-entering in a unique manner.
• Often says "I'm not making this up..." preceding odd or unbelievable true stories in the setup for the jokes.
• Almost always comments on the audiences' applause before his monologue, usually saying that they either sound angry, are bordering on sarcastic, or that they got quiet really fast.
• Licks lips and puts his "tongue in cheek" when making a joke with delayed applause.
• O'Brien will sometimes start clapping his hands and singing "I said a-I'm a-gonna go to Hell when I die" after he makes a particularly harsh joke. When the audience claps along, he often responds "Don't clap along to that!"
• Performed (and still occasionally performs) a dance that has become known as the string dance.
• Will often touch his hip and pretend to be burned by his 'hotness', and when the crowd cheers, he generally thanks them for "pretending that was sexy".
• After making a harsh joke, O'Brien sometimes takes off his jacket and waves goodbye to the crowd as if he is leaving.

[edit] Joke topics

• He often refers to members of The Max Weinberg 7.
  • Often comments on what Max Weinberg is wearing.
  • Often asks Max Weinberg after the opening monologue if they have a great show tonight, to which Weinberg makes a sometimes awkward response. O'Brien then always jokes about the response and the sincerity—or lack thereof—he finds it to have.
  • Often jokes about Max Weinberg being a pervert, sometimes in particular an ephebophile.
  • After an awkward moment, jokes that his and Max's chemistry is the best in television. He will often add, "If you could bottle what we have," and after a pause conclude negatively, with something such as, "you should throw it out."
  • Often makes jokes implying that LaBamba is gay, which is often followed by a cut to LaBamba looking confused or making gestures to deny the claim.
• George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, Martha Stewart, Paris Hilton, Michael Jackson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Snoop Dogg, Clay Aiken, Geraldo Rivera, and Kevin Federline are all frequently lampooned on the show. Also frequently makes fun of overweight celebrities including Luciano Pavarotti, Ruben Studdard, Kirstie Alley and Star Jones, despite the weight both women have lost, which O'Brien admits to being aware of.

[edit] Impressions

• Frequently imitates his producer, Jeff, when he is told to "move it along."
• When talking about what some might consider a "nerdy" topic such as comic books or science fiction, he often says in a nasal, "geeky" voice, "Hurray!"; then exclaims, "That's not funny, Conan O'Brien!" or "I'll get you, Conan O'Brien!" and pushes imaginary glasses up the bridge of his nose. He sometimes gives Spock's salute from Star Trek, or pretends to wave a lightsaber in front of his face.
• He often makes similar jokes about the elderly in Florida and mimics them falling asleep or something similar after shouting for revenge.
• Conan frequently makes fun of Jay Leno, by bobbing his head wildly back and forth and speaking in a quick, high pitched voice. Often after doing so, he jokes that he will be found dead after being run over by "a classic car" (a nod to Leno's renowned collection of old automobiles.)
• Does a physical impression of Donald Trump, often cuing the band to play the theme song from The Apprentice ("For The Love of Money" by the O'Jays) while he does it. He often ends it with Trump's signature "You're fired!" and at the same time uses the hand gesture (which Trump calls "the cobra") that Trump occasionally uses when firing someone. Conan has commented that the hand gesture is similar to that used when flicking water at someone. Conan sometimes finishes by saying that Trump will use an "army of golden robots" to seek retribution.
• If he's doing a joke featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger, he'll use gibberish (usually trying to make it sound like German words) while using a fake German/Austrian accent, trying to imitate Schwarzenegger's distinctive Austrian accent. He then puts his hand to his mouth and pretends to bite something off. As Conan sometimes puts it, "he always ends up eating a sausage in my impressions". Originally he would pantomime sausages coming out of his mouth at the end of the impression.
• Often imitates a Frenchman by grabbing the imaginary handlebars of a pencil-thin mustache and shouting English words in a harsh French accent.
• Often makes a reference to Bill Clinton by relaxing his face and doing a poor southern accent saying "boobie".
• Sometimes places his index finger and middle finger horizontally below his nose, saying that's his impression of Geraldo Rivera, Dr. Phil or virtually anyone else with a large mustache.
• Does a hyper impression of Tom Cruise: Grits his teeth, makes growling noises and generally tries to mimic the mannerisms of a crazy person. Conan refers to him as "the guest that will never be on our show." More recently, Conan has also often referenced Katie Holmes, implying that she is held captive by Cruise.

[edit] Tarja Halonen and Finland

Late Night is very popular in Finland where it airs in prime time (i.e., on a cable channel at around 11pm, repeated about 4.30 pm the following day). On October 11, 2005, Conan first pointed out that he resembles the President of Finland, Tarja Halonen; a fact he learned from Finnish actor/director Lauri Nurkse, whom he met in the audience before the show.

In the months around that show, Conan noticed and mentioned on the air that more and more Finnish people were attending tapings. Since then he has done many comedy bits about that fact, including campaigning for Halonen's re-election. Halonen's appearance in American popular culture received publicity in Finland. About a week and a half after the initial mention, Conan showed actual Finnish newspaper articles which commented on the resemblance, one calling them "like two berries" (kuin kaksi marjaa, a metaphor similar to "two peas in a pod" in English). After the initial publicity received by O'Brien's sketch, Tarja Halonen's re-election campaign started advertising on the Finnish broadcast of Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Halonen was re-elected on January 29th 2006.

On November 19, 2005, Conan showed a Finnish newspaper article that talked about the Turku city council proposing to give Conan a summer cottage. Turku also recently sent a package intended to entice Late Night to visit their city, and included a video ostensibly filmed at nightclub "Giggling Marlin", featuring the town's city council, Aleksi Randell, asking Conan to visit Turku, and throngs of people dressed up as Conan, dancing to Rave music. Conan aired this video on Late Night on January 11, 2006.

Conan ultimately visited Finland from February 11-14 while Late Night was on hiatus for the 2006 Winter Olympics.[2] O'Brien and Halonen had a 15-minute meeting, during which Halonen admitted the resemblance between the two. O'Brien presented her with some candy in a heart-shaped box (as they met on Valentine's Day), and Halonen returned the favor by giving O'Brien some Finnish Moomin dolls for his children. O'Brien's visit received tremendous media attention in Finland where he was met with huge crowds and followed by paparazzi. O'Brien described the experience as "surreal". [3] The footage of O'Brien's visit aired on the March 10, 2006 episode.[4] Video footage of O'Brien's Finland trip is available at conan-obrien.net.

[edit] Trivia

• In response to the fact that The Tonight Show and The Late Show frequently cover the Eastern Time Zone New Year's Eve countdown, Late Night has done a farcical Central Time Zone countdown for several years; though it has been in hiatus since 2004, as subsequent New Years Eve 2005 and 2006 fell on a weekend.
• The words "Late Night" can be seen in the current backdrop just below the balcony rail when the camera shoots the first guest chair. Depending on what angle the camera shoots at, it is often visible over one of the guest's shoulders.
• In the Philippines, Late Night is shown seven days a week. This includes re-runs at 5 a.m. in the morning and 2 p.m. in the afternoon.
• In Finland, Late Night with Conan O'Brien airs approximately at 23:00 local time on SubTV.
• Won 2006 High Times "Stoney" Award for Best Comedy Show
• Was depicted in the 1999 movie South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

[edit] See also

• Characters from Late Night with Conan O'Brien

• Sketches from Late Night with Conan O'Brien

[edit] External links

• Official Website
• Transcript of Conan's monologue during the first show after September 11, 2001 attacks
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien at the Internet Movie Database
• Jump The Shark - Late Night With Conan O'Brien
• Late Night HD Bumper Art Site a collection of High Definition bumpers from Late Night with Conan O'Brien
• Conan - The Musical

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