The kerfuffle with the Tonight Show, Jay Leno, and NBC was a long time ago, and everyone seems to have moved on. I still have the last episode of the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien saved on my DVR - I love watching the montage of all the hilarious stunts and bits they managed to pull off during the show's short run, and Conan's heartfelt farewell message always makes me happy and sad at the same time. Fortunately, he wasn't off our TV screens for too long and the first episode of Conan was a joyful triumph. Like everyone else, I was only too happy to welcome Conan O'Brien back to my TV screen, and he is the sole reason why I now know where the TBS channel is on my cable line-up.
However, the drama that captivated the late-night audience and inspired wisecracking monologues from every host night after night has left an indelible impression on Conan. The most obvious manifestation of course, was that beard. After years of being clean-shaven and joking about how he could never grow any facial hair, the man returned with a luxurious beard that inspired much comment on Twitter before he even started the show. Will Ferrell eventually showed up one night to shave it off, and it was a hint that maybe Conan would now go back to his usual self.
That hasn't lasted. The beard's back and that old Conan joy is still somewhat missing. I have yet to watch the documentary Conan Can't Stop, a look at the period after he was fired, did a comedy tour, and was trying to figure out where to go from there, but I suspect it will be a good insight into how the melee surrounding the Tonight Show turned him into the man he is now. The new show is still funny, especially when he goes off to do absurd segments like create a ridiculous cartoon character known as the Flaming C (who even had a fan following at Comic Con this year) or investigate the corrupt workings of the Foodies list among his office staffers. But when he gets to the guest interviews, the show can start to feel a little joyless, like a rote performance that is standing in the way of Conan's ability to just mess around and play with his brand of humor. Oftentimes he seems eager to read off his cards and cover all the interview items on his list so that he can just plug what the guest is selling and move on. Unlike Craig Ferguson who famously doesn't do pre-interviews and likes to have long rambling chats with his guests where they rarely even mention the thing they're trying to promote, Conan is very much sticking to the traditional late-night formula when talking to his guests. This isn't necessarily a problem - after all, aside from Ferguson, everyone else relies on those pre-interview topics of conversation - but it is an issue when the host fully makes it look like the chore that it is.
That is why I was heartened to watch last night's episode of Conan. His first guest was Chris Colfer from Glee, and the interview was fine. But his second guest was comedienne and now actress on House, Charlyne Yi. Yi has been on the show before, and has established herself as a rather awkward, nervous woman. However, Conan has a soft spot for her and always puts her at ease. Their previous interviews have discussed how she doesn't consider herself an actress, so Conan's first question to her was about landing the gig on House and how she was coping with the demands of dramatic acting. What ensued was a lot of self-deprecation bordering on misery, and Yi's description of table reads in which she got frustrated because she's "sad about failing in reading and life." Conan laughed but was also genuinely sympathetic, re-iterating how she was surely doing a great job and insisting that she be happy. While in typical Conan fashion he was quick to say that he himself could never be happy, with Andy Richter chiming in, "There aren't enough meds in the world!", Conan couldn't bear to see Yi huddled on his couch lamenting her acting abilities and just gave her a huge hug.
Conan is an unpredictable host and it is clear that he is very different today from the goofy NBC oddball who appeared not to have a care in the world. However, moments like last night serve as a reminder that he is very much a nice man who, when he wants, can be warm, funny, and generous. This is the man who famously declared, "Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen." As much as he can sometimes seem aloof and uninterested, he is still that man who believes in kindness and hard work. As long as I get to see that man from time to time, I will never stop tuning in.
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