IMDB 250 7.3 - Harakiri (1962)

Harakiri (1962)

"The greatest delicacies taste of nothing when eaten alone."

When peace comes to Feudal Japan, a Samurai finds himself out of work and on the brink of starvation. When he appears at the gates of a fortress and says he wants to invoke the right of "harakiri" (the right of ritualistic suicide) he's obliged. As he insists on stalling the proceedings to tell his own history, the samurai wonder what his motives really are.

"Harakiri" is a tremendous story of poverty, desperation, resentment and revenge. That the story is masterful is no surprise - the writer, Shinobu Hashimoto, also wrote some of Akira Kurosawa's greatest films ("Rashomon", "Ikiru", "Seven Samurai"). It begins slowly with a simple questioning of the main character's motives and very slowly builds suspense as we learn more and more details of his past.

Watching it, I was struck by how it was simultaneously Eastern and "Western". Though the actors are Japanese and the weapons are samurai swords, it particularly resembles the Spaghetti Westerns of Sergio Leone. Note the tracking shot of a man's shadow as he walks across sand. Watch the extreme closeups of a man's sweaty face as he waits for an attack. Note that the drama is in extending the anticipation leading up to the fight rather than the fight itself. Most surprisingly, watch how the conical Asian hat is wielded for dramatic effect EXACTLY like a cowboy hat.

But the film is undoubtedly Eastern as well. It's a classic samurai movie - perhaps the classic samurai movie. And it's amazing how much movies like "Kill Bill" can borrow from a movie made in 1962.

8/10.
Total "Top 250" Movies Seen: 352.

Conan on the Late Show

[Strike this. Reverse it.]

It's not just news it's like "moonlanding" news.

NEXT THURSDAY Conan O'Brien will be a guest on the "Late Show" with David Letterman. Conan O'Brien was last a guest on the Late Show 13 years ago in 1999. His first guest-appearance was in 1994 when he had just started "Late Night" (Letterman's old gig).

I think it's safe to assume that the "Tonight Show" debacle (Parts 1 and 2) and Jay Leno might come up in conversation.

Shortly after the "Tonight Show" debacle (Part 2), Conan and Dave had (perhaps) a small tiff of their own as Letterman invited both Jay Leno and Conan to do a Super Bowl commercial together. Conan refused, reportedly saying, “No f***ing way I’m doing that. It’s not a joke to me—it’s real.” Worried about any offense, Letterman called him to make sure "everything was fine". But that's all he said on the subject.

The episode will air Thursday, May 17th.

The Beach Boys on Late Night

The Beach Boys played three songs including one from their new album. They still sound pretty good.

Coco Co-opts College

A college (Sixth College) has decided to rename themselves "Conan O'Brien College" so Conan travels to the campus to ascend to his throne:

See the video here.


[Edit: Now, embedding video causes it to automatically play when loaded which screws up my blog. So I'm just posting links.]

The President on Late Night

Pretty big event for Late Night as they welcomed President Obama as their first guest. Let's go to the clips.







Oh, we don't have any clips?






OK. It turns out when you make every episode of your show a Barrack Obama campaign ad (Late Night, Late Show, Conan) it makes actually having him on redundant.... and boring.

And this is coming from a fan!

IMDB 250 7.2 - High and Low (1963)

High and Low (1963)

When a wealthy businessman receives a call that his son has been kidnapped and is being held for ransom, he and his wife panic and agree to pay the money. A few minutes later, their child walks into the house after a day of playing. The kidnapper has taken the wrong boy but insists on the ransom anyway. The family must decide whether to pay the ransom or risk the life of someone else's child.

As a big Akira Kurosawa fan, it's interesting to seem him make a film set in fairly modern times (modern in the 1960's when it was made). There are suits, thin ties, cocktails and cardigan sweaters. It's almost Kurosawa meets "Mad Men". But the theme is still just as classic: will an ordinary man sacrifice all his wealth and possessions to save someone's life? Feeling pressure from his wife, the police and his business partners, it's still the decision of a single man and his conscience.

Where the film weakens is when it strays from this intriguing sociological experiment. The question of the ransom is only a third of the movie - the other two thirds is dedicated to finding and capturing the criminals. The film transforms into a 1960's police procedural drama. Although well crafted and with significant twists and turns in the case, it's still quite a let down, particularly as there are currently a hundred "CSI" and "Law and Order" shows running around the clock doing essentially the same thing. This movie gets a pass for doing it first, but still, it's not the same.

6/10.

Total "Top 250" Movies Seen: 351.

Richter Remodels

For no known reason, Andy Richter decides to help a staffer redo his bathroom.

See the video here.

[Edit: Now, embedding video causes it to automatically play when loaded which screws up my blog. So I'm just posting links.]

Levon Helm

The Band - The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

The Band - The Weight

The Band - All La Glory

Conan Stars in Halo 4

Conan and Andy will star in the upcoming (?) game Halo 4. Fortunately, they brought a camera crew to film them virtually single-handedly crafting the game:

IMDB 250 7.1 - Stalker (1979)

Stalker (1979)

Somewhere beyond the barbed wire fences and guns of a dystopian future city, lies a mysterious area called "The Zone". Is it the site of a nuclear meltdown? Is it the work of aliens? No one knows. There is rumored to be a place within "The Zone" called "The Room" where a man's wishes become reality. Two men, the Professor and the Writer hire a man (known as a "Stalker") to lead them to it.

Filmed in the Soviet Union during the Cold War on a non-existent budget, "Stalker" features minimal dialogue, minimal music, minimal editing, no special effects and the first 40 minutes are black and white. To say that it's slow is an understatement - it moves at a glacial pace. The actors - when they do speak - debate the nature of God, existence, life, science and art. It's as if Ingmar Bergman made a science fiction movie.

All that said, and even though I generally don't like Ingmar Bergman, I like "Stalker". The main strength is the cinematography. The cinematography of this movie is among the best I've ever seen in any movie. You can pick a frame of this movie at random, frame it and hang it in a gallery and it will probably belong. The sepia-tinged black and white of the first part in particular is simply perfect.

Besides the cinematography, the other main strength is the writing. Tension builds slowly as the men navigate the Zone and questions start to stack up. I found the mystery of "The Zone" and the exploration of a strange world and its other-worldly possibilities undeniably interesting. It's somewhat reminiscent of "Lost". In that aspect, the sparse dialogue only adds to the mystery. Less is more.

Obviously, "Stalker" is decidedly an "art house" film. The pacing is extremely slow, shots are extremely static, the existential conversations, the fact that it's subtitled combined with the almost 3 hour run-time all means that it's not for everybody.... or even a lot of people. But if "art house" movies don't scare you and you don't mind a movie that challenges your attention span, "Stalker" is a must-see.

8/10.

Total "Top 250" Movies Seen: 349.
Also, IMDB has split the double feature "Our Hospitality/Sherlock Jr." into two separate movies so....
Total "Top 250" Movies Seen: 350.

Downton Sixbey Episode 1

As much as "Late Night" with Jimmy Fallon "skews young", the show is actually pretty old fashioned. How old fashioned? Well, a new show about the making of the show allows you to see for yourself. It's called "Downton Sixbey" and it's like nothing else on television at the moment.

IMDB 250 Challenge Revision 6 Complete

It's been a year since I completed Revision 5. Can you believe it? A year! And it was only 4 movies. What happened? Well, I wasn't really interested in seeing the movies and kind of put it off. There are a lot of movies that I could write a lot of words about but not these movies so I'll keep it short.

Let's begin... [Ed Note: Fonts may suddenly change without warning. It's a weird blogspot error and fixing it would be too difficult.]

The King's Speech (2010)

My Rating: 7/10.

Based on historical events, this movie tells the story of King George VI who takes the throne when his brother unexpectedly abdicates. The problem? The King's job is to make speeches, particularly in times of war, and George (Colin Firth) has an extreme stutter. Geoffrey Rush plays the speech therapist hired to train the King to speak but if we're doing this, we're doing it MY WAY. No shortcuts, no "buts", it's my way or I walk! Cue the Rocky-style training montage in which the King helps a Russian peasant through the snow.

This movie is extremely well acted, well directed, and well cinematographed(?). It's interesting and worth watching. It won loads of awards. The weakness is the core of the story. Even as the editing and music artificially creates tension, the idea that the King could have trouble with a word isn't the most earth-shattering nail-biter that's ever graced the screen. Still, it's interesting and entertaining. A simple story, well told.

Shutter Island (2010)

My Rating: 7/10.

An insane killer escapes from a mental hospital located on Shutter Island and is missing but presumed to be alive. Detective KidFromTitanic is assigned to the case of eerie music and periods of long silence punctuated by sudden surprise. As he investigates the mental hospital itself, he begins to worry that his life is in danger. As he discovers that he can't trust anyone, paranoia builds, and with growing paranoia, can he even trust himself?

This is a suspense/thriller and is therefore not my kind of movie typically. But I still found it enjoyable as a compelling mystery and a 1950's period detective movie. The psychological twists and turns are reminiscent of "The Sixth Sense" but the twist ending isn't very satisfying.

X-Men: First Class (2011)

My Rating: 6/10.

I've watched a few X-Men movies as part of this list so you know some hardcore fans are out there voting vigorously but I don't understand the fanaticism. That said, this one is slightly stronger than others.

The movie tells the story of the origins of the X-Men as they discover their powers and find that they're not alone. Watching a character first discover that they have a superpower and attempt to harness it is inherently more interesting than watching a character who's known for years and just takes it for granted. So in that sense, it's got a leg up on the other X-Men movies. The other big plus is that the movie is set in World War II and the Cold War. Rooting the story in such weighty history gives it a little more gravity than the average "comic book" movie.

Other than these two aspects, it's the same old. People have highly unrealistic mutations, they choose sides based on whatever's convenient for the story, they debate their place among the fearful normals and they have flashy CGI-vs.-CGI battles that I don't care about.

The fact that this is now the 50th best movie of all-time is a sad reminder at how prevalent the fan-boi culture is and how little respect people have for good movies. In comparison to "The Dark Knight" or "Raiders of the Lost Ark" this is mediocre rubbish.

Castle in the Sky (1986)

My Rating: 4/10.

I'll let Netflix describe the plot:

"In this children's anime adventure, young miner Pazu and mysterious girl Sheeta (who wears a magic pendant arounder her neck) team up to find the long-lost island of Laputa, which is rumored to have great riches and gems. Accompanied by a band of bumbling air pirates led by the quick-tempered Ma Dola, Pazy and Sheeta are pursued by government agents who want the riches of Laputa for themselves."

Yeah, that old story. I just don't have any patience for anime. If you love anime, this is probably worth checking out but I have to be true to my own experience and I was bored silly.

----

Having completed this revision, I'm already a year behind! Hopefully, I'll tackle the newest changes a little faster.

Movies This Revision: 4.

Average Score: 6.

Best Movie This Revision: The King's Speech.

Total "Top 250" Movies Seen: 348.

Ron Burgundy on Conan

Ron Burgundy, Action4 News Anchor, made a surprise appearance on Conan to make an important announcement... AND to shred some Jazz flute.

Goulet!

Teeney Weeney Coco Scenery

As previously promised, Tuesday was Conan's "Mini" Show. Mini couch, mini desk, mini mugs, mini podium, mini audience seats, a mini title sequence. There was even a mini drum set for the band.

Watch the full episode here.

Bruce Springsteen Week

Bruce Springsteen Week concluded Friday on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon with an all-Bruce show. Springsteen was the first guest, second guest and musical guest, singing multiple songs. I am not a Bruce fan, myself, but I am an appreciator. I'm not out there buying any of the records but I'll enjoy the occasional track when it comes on the radio.

Regardless of any of this, I would be remiss if I didn't post this song. This is Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and a horn section and Tom Morello and The Roots and Jimmy Fallon performing "E Street Shuffle":

Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen

For unknown reasons, 80's Bruce Springsteen and 70's Neil Young appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to cover the song "Sexy and I Know it".

Triumph At The GCAs

Recently Triumph visited the Golden Collar Awards. In case you didn't know, (and you definitely shouldn't) the Golden Collar Awards is an Oscar-type ceremony that gives awards to animals. Yeah.

Here's the video:

NBA Jam / Pearl Jam

In yet another surprise performance, Pearl Jam stopped by Late Night to perform for no particular reason whatsoever.

Watching it live, I wasn't that impressed due to the fact that most of the lyrics were unintelligible. Listening to it now, with headphones, it's much better.

Cocoa

Lately Conan's been testing a new spin-off show and it just may be a hit. Following the success of the Puppy Bowl, Conan's made his own version called "Puppy Conan". That show now has its own spin-off "Hamster Conan" as seen in this clip.

Conan keeps promising that they'll do a real show from the "Puppy Conan" set at some point. I hope it happens because it's so lifelike, it's possible to trick yourself into thinking that he and Andy are giants. It's a great mind bender.

Conan O'Brien Came and Hit the Streets

Conan and one of his writers Deon Cole have lunch in an Inglewood "Soul Food" restaurant:

This segment is quite similar to an older segment where he and Al Sharpton visited a "Soul Food" restaurant in Harlem. Conan's quote was something like, "That's why they call it 'soul food' - because after eating it your soul will leave your body."

Super Bowl of Ties

The tradition is this: without a rooting interest in either team, spend the Super Bowl engaging in activities that are very un-Super-Bowl-ish (see: 2011, 2010). This year? A "Family Ties" marathon, babay!

Now, "Growing Pains" and "Family Ties" aired around the same time and were pretty similar in many respects. And although I've never seen a survey done, I'd guess that most people's favorite show was "Growing Pains". While I enjoyed both shows, I always preferred "Family Ties". "Growing Pains" was more purely comical, which is fine, but "Family Ties" had real heart - tackling head-on the important issues of the day. Plus, I'd rather watch Michael J. Fox and Meredith Baxter than anyone on the other show. Of course, "Growing Pains" had a character named "Boner" so it's not an entirely cut and dry issue.

So, get a spoon and some ice cream, it's time to run it down....

S01 E03: "I Know Jennifer's Boyfriend" - Jennifer becomes friends with a boy but after being teased and bullied, has second thoughts. Good, we're easing into things slowly with some standard 80's sitcom fare. Fair enough.

S01 E04: "Summer of '82" - A college girl appreciates Alex's economic views and sleeps with him. When she doesn't want a serious relationship, Alex feels cheap. Wow, that got out of hand quickly. It jumped up a notch, didn't it? Only episode 4 and already 17 year old Alex had pre-marital sex. I was NOT expecting that. We got 7 seasons to go, writers, pace yourselves. Save something in the tank for Season 7.

S01 E05: "I Never Killed for My Father" - OK, we tackled pretty heady stuff in the last episode. It's time to break up the seriousness with some comedic relief. Steven's (the dad's) father makes a visit and reveals he's going to die soon and there's nothing the doctor's can do.

S01 E06: "Give Your Uncle Arthur a Kiss" - With the fluff out of the way, it's back to serious mode. When a friend of the family, known as "Uncle Arthur", makes a pass at Jennifer, it leaves her hurt and confused. I can't believe my parents let me watch this show. "Family Ties" is not for the weak. Geeeeez. Let's move on.

S01 E07: "Big Brother is Watching" - An examination of both the role of a free press in exposing governmental corruption and the moral dilemma of whether truth should be sacrificed in the name of privacy to protect "the little fish".

S01 E08: "No Nukes is Good Nukes" - The Keaton family debates the topic of nuclear proliferation. When the parents' anti-nuclear weapon demonstration lands them in jail, will it ruin Thanksgiving dinner? Here's the thing. Regardless of your views on nuclear weapons (for or against), don't schedule a protest on Thanksgiving Day, please. That's just poor planning. It's just that kind of poor leadership from the left that makes me suspect a second term for Ronald Reagan is inevitable.

S01 E09: "Death of a Grocer" - Cue another fatal disease! Actually, despite what the title would have you believe, no one actually dies. Alex ditches his job at a friendly "mom and pop" grocery store to work at the monster corporation supermarket but soon regrets this decision. Unfortunately, I was fooled by the title and just waiting for the kindly old man to keel over at every turn. Then with one minute to go in the episode, he decides to close the store early to watch the sunset and I'm thinking, "Oh, here it is." but credits roll instead.

And that's it. We shared some laughs. We shared tears. We made cocoa in the middle of the night. dWe're all better people.

Observations

We all think of 80's sitcoms as fluffy bubble gum laughs of non-material saccharin frivolity. Even the "very special episodes", the thinking goes, were tackling the "tough" topics of littering or poor clock management. With just the first few episodes of "Family Ties" as proof, this notion could not be further from the truth. The key though is to be implicit not explicit. You gotta disguise everything using code. Here are some examples:

Elyse: Steven, what do you think your father would like with dinner - beer or wine?

Steven: Well definitely beer, Elyse. You know how my father feels about wine... it's OK for women and interior decorators.

"Women and interior decorators". Has anyone ever used this phrase ever? Still, message received.

Here's how Alex informs his father that he's had sex:

Alex: Well, you know what you think might have happened?

Steven: [Nods nervously].

Alex: That's what happened.

Clever. He says it but he doesn't actually say it.

See, apparently any taboo topic that everyone's covering these days could be an episode of "Family Ties", you just gotta be euphemistic. I didn't know that. I guess they were more 90's than 50's after all. At least, "Family Ties" was. I haven't revisited other shows of the era.

As an aside, I noticed that a poster hanging in the Keaton's kitchen is a concert poster for the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Those crazy hippies.

And that's it.

Sha Na Na Naaaaaaaa.

Steve Merchant on Letterman

Steve Merchant, co-writer, co-director of "The Office" appeared on the Late Show Thursday and talked about being tall.

Steve's on to promote his new stand-up tour as well as the series "Life's Too Short". As someone who's seen "Life's Too Short", I can say it is awful. On the other hand, Steve's produced a new season of "An Idiot Abroad" (now airing on Science Channel) and that one IS a show that humans might enjoy.

30

Tonight marks David Letterman's 30th Anniversary of hosting a late night talk show. Dave hosted "Late Night" from Feb 1, 1982 to 1993 and will have hosted the "Late Show" from 1993 to Feb 1, 2012).

The show will celebrate the same way it always celebrates an anniversary - by having Bill Murray on. Or not. Bill Murray was the guest last night (1/31). Instead, tonight's guest will be Howard Stern. Must be some mix up with the mail. During the show, Regis Philbin refereed as Bill Murray kicked a field goal to the sound of bagpipes. For Letterman, that's called "Tuesday".

Dave's 30 years in late night will be celebrated without much fanfare - no special, no "best of" clip show, and no media blitz interviews. The one place it will probably be acknowledged is in tonight's show (probably the Top Ten and the monologue).

Almost all of the news stories about this event mention that, as of tonight, Letterman will be surpassing Johnny Carson who hosted "The Tonight Show" for 30 seasons. It's just another (albeit insignificant) indicator of just how unimportant "facts" and "research" are in today's media. Every news story just parrots every other news story.

In terms of number of days being a late night talk show host, Letterman has already surpassed Johnny Carson. Letterman has reached his exact 30th anniversary (minus 3 months for the transition from "Late Night" to "Late Show", the hiatus for his heart surgery, and the shingles hiatus). And while Carson hosted for 30 seasons, it was 29 years and 7 months in terms of the calendar.

In terms of number of episodes, more of the same. Carson was the host of "The Tonight Show" for 4,531 episodes. Letterman = 1,819 "Late Night" episodes + 3,614 "Late Show" episodes for a total of 5,433 episodes.

It's only in terms of total number of hours of television hosting that it becomes somewhat of a question mark. Johnny Carson's smaller number of episodes is counteracted by the fact that "The Tonight Show" ran 105 minutes per episode from 1962-1966 and 90 minutes per episode from 1967-1980. Letterman's entire run has been in the 60 and 62 minute eras. In order to come up with concrete numbers I'd have to break into the Museum of Television and Radio. As best I can calculate (rough estimates and round numbers though still putting way more effort and thought into it than is called for), it's close but, again, Letterman comes out on top. The difference being the large number of times Johnny had a guest-host (well over 600 episodes) vs. only a handful for Letterman (heart surgery hiatus, shingles hiatus).

By any measure of time, Letterman surpasses Carson tonight in no way whatsoever. It already happened. Thus ends this sports-like examination of late night comedy.

And congratulations on an unprecedented 10,957 days of late-night television hosting.

Jammin' On The One

The man, the myth, the legend, Bill Cosby was on Late Night last night. He's getting up in age, he's a little bit slower now, he's a bit more rambling. But Bill Cosby not at the top of his game, is still better than almost everyone else at the top of their's.

His walk-on music was, what I call, "Jammin' on the One" from the episode when the Cosby family met Stevie Wonder and helped him make a song using the magic of synthesizers. Awesome. Later, as they throw to commercial, the music is interstitial music from "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids".

Unfortunately, the interview is so long, the excerpt of it on hulu is not the full interview so I had to create a clip out of the full episode. So the video will expire in a few days.

A word of advice to anyone who books Bill Cosby on their show: don't bother booking any other guests. That's the show.

Blog Poster's Fire

John Parr recently remade his hit song "St. Elmo's Fire" to ride the recent Tim Tebow hub bub. But Conan reveals that this isn't the first time he's done it.

You just can't put "fire" behind anything.

Weekend Update Roundup

First, Nicholas Fehn is back with another insightful commentary. Nick is known for taking a sideways glance at the week's news and in these tumultuous times, it's his time to shine. This one is one of his best.

And next Drunk Uncle stops by to offer his views on the year just completed and the year ahead.

Philly Phriction: Fey Vs. Quest

I was unaware of a feud but apparently fellow Philadelphians Tina Fey and Questlove of The Roots have developed either a misunderstanding or a feud or both.

In last night's episode of Late Night, it was time to either squash it or settle it behind the Wawa.

On a personal note, I love Tina Fey's Philly. I could listen to that all day. I wish I could do one. I can do about a million different accents (more or less badly) but I've never been able to do a Philly accent. It's weird.

The Nog Hog Revealed

When Conan first saw it he was appalled. He used his Executive Powers to cancel the sketch immediately. But the audience overruled him and the sketch has aired.

All who are weak of heart, turn away now. This is the Nog Hog:

Don't blame me, I voted "No" on the poll. I am the 10 percent.

Merry Christmas

Conan participates in the office "secret Santa":


The return of Minty, the candy cane that fell on the ground:

Jay Thomas tells the famous Lone Ranger story (now enhanced with a dramatic reenactment):

Darlene Love performs "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)":

Merry Christmas.

Holiday Tips From Stephon

Stephon is back with his tips for tourists spending Christmas in New York City:



It seems Spud Webb is really in demand these days.

Classic Conan Callback, "Clutch Cargo" Confuses Crappy Crowd

THIS IS GONNA BE HUGE, CONAN. Like "Triumph" yet another classic bit has returned on Conan's new show. Again, I am baffled as to how the bit isn't intellectual property of NBC. It's wonderful but it's still puzzling.

Anyways, the classic piece returns and when such a Conan cornerstone unexpectedly comes back from the dead - after a hiatus of literally YEARS (I think) - I would have expected the audience to go crazy. I'd of expected the joy and surprise to overflow forcing the show to pause and wait for the 10 minute standing ovation to subside. Instead, the audience seems to not understand what's going on and, more than anything, they seemed confused.

Loved to see it. Hopefully it's back for good.

Conan - Spaderbating

Spaderbating? In this clip, Conan explains the new fad that's sweeping the 80's.

Head Swap! - Thanksgiving Edition

It's time once again for the smart, hip, biting satire that is ... Head Swap!

The Doors - Reading Rainbow

Underscoring the unpredictable nature of late night television, the Doors stopped by Late Night to reunite and perform live for the first time in four decades.

Legend has it that Jimmy Fallon asked them to change the lyric "I can go twice as high" to "I can go twice as far". Morrison initially agreed but, when it came time for the live performance, sang the taboo version. Jimmy was so angry, he vowed to never have them back.

Take Me Home... Take Me Away

This cover of Eddie Money's "Take Me Home Tonight" is awesome. It's SO awesome that I've never made it through the whole thing. Is this a joke? Is it serious? Is the dad Neil Young? Why does his bullet wound have a fluorescent glow? If the set of notes contained in the original don't intersect with the set of notes in the cover, can it truly be said to be a cover? Have we reached the very limits of auto-tuning technology? Who are the ad wizards that came up with this one?!

Get caught up in the magic:

Triumph At Occupy Wall Street

In yet another return of a long time character, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog is back to report on the situation at Occupy Wall Street.

I'm a little surprised that they're able to do this. It would seem to me that "Triumph" is part of the vast array of things they're not allowed to do on the new show because it's intellectual property of NBC.

I love that, in the beginning there was at least a semblance of keeping the "reality" of the skit - there was some effort made to show the puppet but not the arm controlling it. Now it's so big, they just don't care anymore.

Here's something the other "tour guides" won't tell you... there's a weird moment exactly at 8:26, Triumph is shown with an African American guy in a wizard costume. Could it be the same wizard from when Triumph insulted Star Wars fans (Blackwolf the Dragonmaster)?

I think it is! What in the what?!

Andy Across America

While others flew in a plane, Andy was forced to drive the entire journey from L.A. to New York. He brought along a camera crew to document the experience.

The video vividly relays the excitement mixed with the sleepy boredom, the adventure mixed with the mundanity of the giant undertaking. By the end, his experience of Philadelphia is to groggily force down a cheesesteak. I can't say I blame him. All in all though, I bet it would be pretty cool.

Conan O'brien: Pedicab Driver

Still in New York City, and having failed as a Chinese deliveryman, Conan drives people around in a pedicab.... with sexy results.

Jimmy Fallon on Conan

Jimmy Fallon was the first guest of Conan's during his New York stint. It's always fun when talk show worlds collide. This interview takes the normal amount of clock time yet it seems to go by in seconds. I think upwards of 3 topics are covered in ten minutes.

Conan in New York, Delivers Food

Conan's in New York for a very special week of shows. In this bit, he delivers Chinese food... poorly.

Bit + Andy = Awesome

In "Fan Corrections" viewers try to spot mistakes in the show. So far no criticism has held up against cross-examination. This routine bit is improved immensely by Andy Richter's contribution.

Steel Panther - Crossfire

In case you don't know Steel Panther are a tongue-in-cheek novelty 80's hair metal band. Like Spinal Tap, they stay in-character nearly all the time which blurs the line between a "fake" and "real" band. Some people don't even "get" that it's a joke.

I don't know much about them and I'm not on the lookout for a new hair band but I do know this: they've done a cover of the "Crossfire" theme and that needed to happen:

Conan (Back) On Late Night

For the first time Conan returns to "Late Night" and NBC.

When Conan took over as host, Letterman came on the show for a full interview. Not just a cameo. I wish he had done the same but I'd guess it's unlikely.

I hope we hear the rest of that Fall anecdote at some point.

Late Night - Radiohead

Last night Radiohead was the musical guest on "Late Night". I'm obviously a big fan but if there's a band out there that's capable of making more delicate and beautiful songs than this, please let me know, because I know of none...

Andy Rooney's Lost His Mind, Has Retired

After 33 years after he completely lost his mind, Andy Rooney has finally retired from "60 Minutes". Some people say - though I don't know - that he had valid points for at least the first three years or so. Regardless, I can say unequivocally, from first-hand experience, that he hasn't had a good point in the past 22 years.

But despite retiring, old habits die hard:

Eye In The Sky

Once in a while a song will come on the radio that you haven't heard in a long time and it's the perfect song in that moment. I had that today.

The sound of this song = me on this day.

Top Gun Auditions

The 25th Anniversary Edition of the "Top Gun" DVD features screen test footage heretofore unseen by the general public. You can see it here for the first time:

If you didn't see the season premiere of SNL last week, it's probably worth checking out. In terms of audience reaction, it was probably the strongest episode I've ever seen. In all episodes of SNL there are at least one or two clunkers. It just happens. This episode - every single sketch the audience was howling with laughter. It's probably and anomaly but who knows, perhaps they've hit a stride of some sort.

Pink Floyd Week: Pearl Jam - "Mother"

Pearl Jam raps up Pink Floyd Week with a cover of "Mother". Again, not thrilled with the song choice but the execution is really good:

Nick Thune vs. Andy Richter

After "The Snub Heard Around the World" a new documentary seeks to shed light on the Nick Thune / Andy Richter cold war. The trailer is out and it looks interesting:

Nick and Andy: Coming Soon from Nick Thune

Pink Floyd Week: MGMT - "Lucifer Sam"

Going back to the old school, MGMT perform "Lucifer Sam" on Late Night:

I was kind of wondering if someone would do a cover from the psychedelic phase. Not really familiar with MGMT (or Management as I call them) but they do a good job.