How Coco Got His Groove Back
The main difference between the cold open for Conan’s Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour and the one that kicked off his TBS gig? Hair. A considerably less hirsute host faced down a firing squad, donned clown gear, and got berated by Don Draper himself. Thankfully, he had his guardian angel, Larry King, looking out for him. “But you’re not dead!” Conan said. Semantics!
Still Shooting at the Peacock
Toward the end of his Tonight Show run, Conan found some of his richest material to date in taking shots at NBC. Well, he may be on TBS now, but NBC is still in his crosshairs…and hooray for that! In his cheeky, acerbic monologue, he tweaked the Peacock’s declining ratings and welcomed the audience to his “second annual first show.” He also revealed the delicate mechanics behind deciding to name his show Conan: “I did it so I’d be harder to replace.”
Hide Your Kids, Hide Your Wife…
…because the Masturbating Bear is back! We thought we’d seen the last of the touchy-feely teddy, but he unexpectedly popped up with a new vocation: lotto ball dispenser. Rumor has it he might appear at a VFW hall near you to lend a hand with the bingo proceedings. You can run and tell that!
Conan (Nut)cracks Up
The history-making first guest on Conan’s new show? Arlene Wagner, founder of Leavenworth's Nutcracker Museum. Well, sure, that was our first guess, too! Wagner came equipped with a nightmarishly-large nutcracker, which is no doubt way better than whatever one of the other contestants, Pope Benedict XVI, would have brought.
How Seth Rogen Popped the Question
After the Nutcracker Queen’s crackerjack performance, actor Seth Rogen’s appearance was somewhat of a letdown. After all, he only dropped the s-bomb three times and revealed his, er, unconventional proposal to longtime girlfriend Lauren Miller (the word “nipple” was invoked). And they say romance is dead….
Conan Rocks Out
Per late night talk show tradition, Conan closed with a musical guest. Not per late night talk show tradition (unless you’re Jimmy Fallon), Conan joined in, singing Eddie Cochran's "Twenty Flight Rock" with Jack White, his collaborator on his new LP, Live At Third Man.
Xtra Insight: Lloyd Grove on Conan's Joyful Debut
