RRUH RROH

Last night Letterman's Late Show overtook Conan's Tonight Show in the ratings.

On the seventh day of Letterman vs. O'Brien, CBS earned a 3.4 metered-market household rating to NBC's 2.9.

I'm not going to go all Chicken Little and say the sky is falling, but this is certainly not a good omen. I'm a little concerned for the future of late night TV. Another troubling part of all this:

The ratings gap between the hosts has been narrowing nearly ever night since O'Brien took control of the "Tonight" franchise.

Now, to me, this sounds like the old people who loved Leno said "Well, we'll give this lanky fellow a chance". But then maybe he was a bit too rock 'n roll for them, and they slowly dropped off, turning to the comfort of Mr. Letterman. Nothing wrong with Letterman, he's miles better than Leno. But he is the second worst host in late night, and that gap may be closing.

NBC says they're more focused on the young adult demo (those numbers available tomorrow, look for them somewhere else though) but the Tonight Show has been top dog in every category in this time slot for years. Is this a chink in the armor? The beginning of the end? Will it lead to broader, watered-down Conan? Was my usage of "chink" offensive? Find out tomorrow!

Not really, but check back anyway. Who knows.

[ed: fuck you, Leno. - brett]

Source: Hollywood Reporter

Conan on Mario background / continued awesomeness

This is a few days old now, but screw you buddy, I was doing stuff this weekend. Following up on the amazing overlay last week of Conan's new Tonight Show monologue backdrop with Mario screens, here's the predictable reference to it on Friday's show. It could've been funnier, but it's nice to see them reacting to an internet meme. This also gives me the chance to point out again that he's been awesome on the Tonight Show so far and you should really be watching it. I doubt Leno would have done this. And if he had, it would have sucked. Just like he sucks for trying to ruin network television. Fuck you, Leno.

DAILY/WEEKLY/WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT-LY NEWS ROUNDUP

DAVID CARRADINE DEAD- The 72 year old star of 'Kung Fu' was found dead in a Bangkok hotel room. If Uma Thurman had thought of using a cord around his neck and genitals, I'm not sure it would have taken her two movies to get the job done. Now the only question is, will death be enough to stop the Yellow Book ads?

EMINEM WAS IN ON IT- Sacha Baron Cohen did something at some MTV thing, Eminem stormed off and a lot of people cared for a while. It appears it was all just some big dumb stunt and the story stretched and became bigger than it ever should have been. I don't think people care about MTV any more and when they do things like this, it just comes off desperate and pathetic. Keep giving awards to Twilight and High School Musical 3; you're basically The Disney Channel.

CONAN TAKES OVER FOR LENO- The big pointy chin is replaced by big wave-like hair and good late night is had by all. I don't see why Brett has such a big problem with Leno. He likes cars and bikes, wears leather jackets, talks in a funny voice, is friends with a black guy. Okay, I'm starting to get the picture. What? It's not racist. Shut up.

SUMMER TV SUCKS- Okay, this isn't news, but come on Wipeout, I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, So You Think You Can Dance? These are the kind of shows that make me look forward to crap like NCIS: LA and Gary, Unmarried. Okay, well maybe not Gary, Unmarried. With a lineup like that, I'm sure Brett, Amy and I will have plenty of Grade A material to draw from. Get excited.

Oh and the picture may seem unrelated, but we all have our own interpretations of what the "t" in bambat stands for.

The Tonight Show with Super Mario

The above image showing the similarities between Conan's new monologue backdrop on his Tonight Show gig and various screens pulled from a variety of Super Mario games has been making the rounds today, so I figured I'd post it.

As a fan of both video games and television I figured this was a good opportunity to pay homage to the intersection of the two things which most contribute to making sure I can't fit into any of my old pants. Probably just a cool coincidence, but it would be neat if someone on Conan's staff saw this and they make reference to it on the show, wouldn't surprise me at all. (update: Apparently I had the right idea, looks like they might do it tonight: from the Twitter of a Tonight Show staffer)

On a more serious note, I'm not usually a viewer of the late night shows other than Stewart and Colbert, but I've always enjoyed Conan when I've saw him on Late Night and have caught all three shows so far. He's really doing a phenomenal job, I highly suggest checking it out. Might get some of the bad taste out of your mouth for when Jay Leno comes back on at 10 and begins his attempt to ruin network television. Fuck you, Leno.

via Serious Lunch