BLOGS

What's NBC Going to Do With Conan's Characters Anyway? Some closure finally came to the NBC late night drama yesterday with a deal that ends Conan's reign as Tonight Show host, restores Jay Leno to it, and allows Conan to walk away with $32 million -- but none of his characters or signature bits. With the murky exception of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog (which may possibly be owned by Robert Smigel, not NBC), all of Conan's other creations will remain the property of NBC when he leaves after his final show tomorrow. Which sucks royally for Conan and the staffers who helped him create all those characters and bits over the past decade and a half, and, obviously, for us, because we won't get to see people like Preparation H Raymond ever again. Or will we? If NBC's going to retain all these things purely out of spite, they might as well do something with them. How about they do this crap? It's really no less ridiculous than locking Pimpbot 5000 in a vault and throwing away the key forever and ever.

Friday Night Lights: The Dillon Panthers Get a New Charter School Rival Team
The South Dillon Masturbating Bears! Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose... to self-pleasuring forest animals.

Meet the New Heroes Hero: The Walker, Texas Ranger Lever
Since Heroes has been perfectly content to avoid doing any storytelling whatsoever for the past two seasons, The Walker, Texas Ranger Lever will use its power to interrupt dull storylines like Sylar trying to find himself, Claire wallowing in righteous indignation, and Parkman becoming a domestic goddess in order to bring us a few seconds of something actually entertaining. It can't get in the way of the show's narrative, which currently consists of "There's this carnival? There's a carnival.", and it would make a nice love interest for Tracy, should we have to endure a fifth season. I also wouldn't mind if Joel Goddard took over Mohinder's voiceover duties.

Parks and Recreation: Preparation H Raymond Moves to Pawnee
And that's how Leslie Knope met her husband. (Because Louis CK got a job at FX.)

30: Rock: Noches de Pasion Recasts Conando with The Generalissimo
This show definitely does not need more Salma Hayek, but it does need more of Alec Baldwin as the telenovela character The Generalissimo that her presence brought. Maybe Lemon gets a few free DVDs with her 1,000th purchase of Sabor de Soledad and has herself a marathon weekend?

Chuck: Meet Jeffster!'s Opening Band: The Slipnuts
They're secretly assassins. When they slip on a nut, bullets explode out of it.

Meet the New Caprica Cylon: Pimpbot 5000
He doesn't so much want to wipe out the human race as he wants to drive an Eldorado and fight the bones of Bob Dole. They're trying something different with the prequel.

Meet the Newest Real Housewife of New York: Horny Manatee!
She has a scandalous internet porn past, and the other girls (except Simon, who loves it) are scandalized.

Burn Notice: In a Hilarious Vengeance Prank by Fi, Frankenstein Wastes an Hour of Michael Westen's Time
"I'm trying to help you! Why do you keep leading me down long hallways just to show me a light socket?!" -- Michael Westen. Greatest Burn Notice episode ever? Greatest departure episode of any show ever? No, of course not. But at least we'd get to see this bit again before we die.

Honorary mentions: Access Hollywood's new recurring feature "Secrets!", and Pam's new art project "If They Mated", featuring deformed Photoshopped fruits of the Scranton branch's loins. Your suggestions?

12 Comments

January 21, 2010 4:19 PM
caseyssis
Reply

no more "In the Year 2/3000"? That's just sad.

January 21, 2010 5:03 PM
em
Reply

I will take anything with Conan's puppies--the Evil puppy, puppies dressed as Thanksgiving dinner, etc.--over whatever else NBC has to offer.

I'm also secretly hoping for a Dudez Aplenti reunion on Conan's next show.

January 21, 2010 5:06 PM
em
Reply

Oh, and Cody Deveraux should totally join The Vampire Diaries.

January 21, 2010 5:09 PM
em
Reply

Ooh, how about a Dudez Aplenti/Acafellas showdown on Glee?

Sorry. I'm going through Conan withdrawal over here.

January 22, 2010 1:07 PM
watt d fark
Reply

Same issue with Letterman, workaround was just to make some minor changes--rename the viewer mail segment, for example.

In the yr 2000 could be "the future: 2100"

January 22, 2010 2:19 PM
Kristen
Reply

Man, I loved the Walker lever. He didn't do it enough!

January 25, 2010 11:32 PM
Mark
Reply

Conan caused all of this trouble 5 years ago by forcing NBC to promise him the Tonight Show even though he was 4th in late night ratings. Jay stepped aside and let Conan take over the Tonight show and almost immediatly drop the First Place Tonight Show to third Place behind Craig Ferguson. NBC Finally came to their senses and pulled the plug on Conan and restored the TRUE Late Night Leader to where he rightfully belonged. Conan had a high opinion of himself that the ratings did not support. If I were FOX or any Media outlet I would think twice before putting him back on the air EVER, or they may be paying him to GO AWAY also. Conan is no Hero just a rich ZERO.

January 26, 2010 8:15 AM
Button
Reply
replied to comment from Mark

Haha, if you think that NBC executives could be "forced" by a late night host to do ANYTHING they weren't willing to do or contractually oblidged to then I commend your naivety. O'Brien was getting offers from other networks at the time, but NBC wanted to keep him. If you want to blame anyone, blame NBC management.
Leno's show bombed in prime time, but NBC wouldn't have cared if affiliates hadn't rioted. It cost them less money to produce than quality dramas which traditionally served as a strong lead-in for the news and late night shows. So, in fact, the "plug was pulled" on Leno in prime-time. The whole line-up was basically old Tonight Show at 10> news> new Tonight Show at 11:30. Who'd want to watch that every working day? Weak programming. And consider this - when Leno took over the Tonight Show he was initially losing to Letterman in ratings. Gaining an audience takes time.
If you want to criticize, how about you get a little more informed beforehand.

January 26, 2010 1:48 PM
Mark
Reply

Leno held #1 in Late Night for over 17 years and will be #1 again soon. Children and "Kool Aid drinkers" watch "Conan the Clown". Leno was not tanking at 10 pm. He was holding his own and building an audience. If affilates can't wait long enough to see the benefit then they have a problem. To the Cute Little "Button" that is critizing my opinion, you did not refute my main argument, but keep enjoying the "Kool Aid" and do a STRING DANCE for me.

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