Conan's 2 Worst Interviews

I saw the title of this video and tried to think what I thought Conan's worst interviews were. I came up empty. When interviews went bad, Conan was always good at pointing it out and making comedy out of it.  And so when the bad interviews were the best interviews, coming up with the worst ones becomes an odd, mind-bending exercise.

With that in mind, I think this guy has done a good job of identifying the worst, and so I thought this was worth sharing.

And don't be put off by the fact that it starts with Jennifer Garner. Fortunately, the video is better than that nonsense. Fake conflict to promote a movie (or whatever it was), in my opinion.

Downey Wrote That (2025)

 

I mentioned earlier that I was interested in seeing "Downey Wrote That" and now I have.

"Downey Wrote That" is a documentary about the comedy writer Jim Downey, who is most famous for being a long-time writer for SNL - including specifically writing for Norm Macdonald's Weekend Update - but was also head writer for Late Night with David Letterman in the early 80's. He's also particularly responsible for the most famous political sketches - the 2000 Presidential Debate is probably most noteworthy.

In short, you don't need my review. If you're interested in comedy writing and/or SNL, you'll enjoy this documentary. If not, you probably still will enjoy it but you probably have better things to do.

There is some of the regular "writing for SNL, is so stressful" blah blah blah, we get it. Fortunately, that's kept to a minimum. The movie impressively includes interviews with David Letterman, Lorne Michaels, Conan O'Brien, Adam Sandler, John Mulaney, Bob Odenkirk, Robert Smigel and the list goes on... it's crazy.

A small complaint is that in the "he played small parts in movies" section, they don't show his part in "Dirty Work" - a masterful performance. His part in "Billy Madison" is more iconic, of course, but show both.

My main complaint is that there are a number of montages where we see quick clips or shots of SNL sketches and I think the implication is that Downey wrote all of them but I can't be sure if it's that or they're just giving a flavor of the era. I would have loved to have a more comprehensive understanding of all the skits he wrote. Would I have been happy if this documentary was replaced by an Excel Spreadsheet? Yes, basically, but that's probably just me.

Dave and Jim Downey

Who is that in the thumbnail, is that Estelle Costanza? No. Is it Jim Downey's mom? No, that's Jim Downey.

Apparently there's a new documentary out all about Jim Downey. It's called "Downey Wrote That" and it apparently covers his time as a writer for Letterman and SNL. I'm not big on movies anymore but I'm gonna have to find this one.

Late Night - The World's Largest Vase (the Complete Saga)

 

 

A compilation of all the World's Largest Vase content from Late Night.

I mean, I'm using the phrase 'the complete saga' but they haven't included the interview with F. Lee Bailey. Hopefully I'm not going to jail. 

For behind-the-scenes memories of this event, it was covered here.

Radiohead on Conan 1995

The official Conan channel posted this today. Radiohead play "Fake Plastic Trees" promoting their new album The Bends, 6/12/95.

Another data point where they seem perfectly happy to be there and are friendly to the host.

Why Are You Laughing - Harvey Pekar vs. Letterman

I posted the full Harvey Pekar/David Letterman collection a while back, but I know from firsthand experience that that's not for everyone. If you want just the highlights as well as humorous commentary, Blind Mike takes you through Harvey Pekar's appearances on Letterman.

And in case anyone's wondering, I'm fully on Letterman's side in this. The "you're a guest in my house" paradigm is 100% correct. But while I don't fully agree with the thrust of "American Splendor," it is quite a good film.

Late Night - Norm's MTV Beach House Story

Conan's youtube channel has officially released this classic appearance by Norm Macdonald.

There are a number of mysteries with this particular clip.

1. I had every beat of this interview memorized and I don't remember where/how I watched it originally.
2. Why does the video start whilst coming back from commercial? There's a first segment that's omitted. You can watch that here. 
3. It's now 2025 and so we should be able to find and watch the MTV appearance Norm describes.  Norm was actually on for a week of shows, Days 1 through 4 are online, the incident should be found on Day 5 which did exist on the internet at one time, but has been thoroughly scrubbed from the internet. If you find it, let me know.

Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #2 (Laika)

Revisiting Arcade Fire's performance of "Neighborhood #2 (Laika)" on Conan. Of all the musical performances on Conan's "Late Night," this is my #2 all-time*. Perhaps I'm too easily impressed by chaotic percussionists and cute violinists. You decide.

Having loved this version, I listened to, and was disappointed by, the album version. The main key is this version's Talking Heads style vocals vs. the album version's distant bullhorn vocals. Plus, this has the live energy. The good news though is that the rest of the album is superb.

In 1957 the Russian space program launched a stray dog into space with no possibility of return. The dog's name was Laika.

* - In case you're interested, #1 was posted 8 years ago.

Late Night - Looking Back at Bob Dylan's Performance

 Dave recalls Bob Dylan coming on the show to perform "Like a Rolling Stone."

And here is the performance itself.

Dave's explanation that maybe Dylan was upset to have such a grand setup doesn't make sense to me but I don't claim to know what Bob Dylan is thinking in any way. My own interpretation is that this is what Bob Dylan usually does.

Late Night - Dana Carvey

Dana Carvey is one of the few surefire talk show guests. This was released today apropos of nothing, as far as I know... wait a minute, did Dana Carvey die? No, Dana is still alive. Phew.

Late Night - Mel Blanc

 

Nothing crazy, just a classic interview with the best voice actor of all time.

A Small History of Norm MacDonald on Conan

 

"Why Are You Laughing" re-visits and discusses Norm's appearances on Conan O'Brien's talk shows over the years.

Late Night - Artie Kendall

 

It's a little Artie Kendall, come on.

The official Conan channel hasn't released a lot of Artie but that's ok, this one is my favorite.

More music from the 20's incoming...

Late Night - Picking a Super Bowl Team

 

Incidentally, 49ers vs Bengals in 1989 is the first Super Bowl I remember. I was rooting for the Bengals but was completely distracted by what debuted during the commercials that year - The Bud Bowl.

Late Show Staff - Daniel Kellison

 Segment Producer Daniel Kellison recalls his favorite moments from working on "Late Show" and "Late Night."

Call me nostalgic, but do you remember when Madonna looked like a human being? Those were the days!

Late Night - The Smothers Brothers

 

RIP Tommy Smothers. Dick is still alive.

Late Night - Diane Sawyer's Expose

 

The Letterman channel has been uploading segments from Dave's Film Festival lately. It's an interesting concept and new to me but there are more misses than hits.

I like this Diane Sawyer piece, partly because I miss Diane Sawyer. I'm going to send this to my parents, I think it's especially for the Boomer crowd.

Colton Dunn of Dudez A-Plenti

 An interview with Colton Dunn, better known as Dan/Lorraine/Samantha, of Dudez A-Plenti. 

One of the sneaky good qualities of the Dudez-A-Plenti pieces was how realistic it was. It seemed to me that the "band" might not even be in on the joke. But after repeated viewings, where I've concluded they must have, I then wonder how much of it was improvised.

Late Night - Broken New Year's Resolutions (1999)

 

Apropos of nothing, Conan and Andy (and Max) regret their broken New Year's resolutions from 1999.

Late Night - Making Pizza with Martin Scorcese's Mom

 

Martin Scorsese, David Letterman and Bill Murray... you know, this is a show.

What other show has Martin Scorcese's mom baking a pizza? I ask you.

I really like Scorsese on a personal level. He's enthusiastic, he's passionate about films, he has funny anecdotes, he seems like a great guy... I don't like his movies though. There's nothing I can do about that. He's considered one of the greatest directors of all-time and his movies do absolutely nothing for me.

"Did you ever see Nick Nolte sneakin' around like a monkey?"

"...I've been banned from the hobo potluck for goin' on a decade now for fixin' the bum fights. I don't know how they could prove I took a dive - the chimp referee I tried to pay off in Camel Cash must have squealed." - The Naked Clone, A Nick Nolte Mystery