Conan had a show to honor the comedy legend Sid Caesar who passed away last week. His first and only guest was Mel Brooks who wrote for Caesar on "Your Show of Shows".
Watch the full episode here. They did a great job of choosing and showing clips of the great sketches (and editing them down because of the kids and their attention spans).
But I thought I would link one of my own favorites that wasn't covered by Conan. Here's the Clock Sketch:
You can see the direct line from Caesar's German doubletalk and Conan's German impression as well as the Clock Sketch to SNL's Tunnel of Love Sketch.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
The Tonight Show Premiere
The first episode of the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon aired last night. It makes no sense that NBC is premiering it at midnight while the Olympics are still happening when there's no reason why they couldn't just wait for the Olympics to be over. Not good.
First Guest: Will Smith
First Musical Guest: U2
Here's the beginning of the monologue:
These first shows are never very good. It always takes a while to settle in. Even the crowd was nervously quiet for some reason.
The opening is directed by Spike Lee. The new set looks good. Obviously the large curtain behind the monologue is a throwback to the Johnny Carson days. The Roots are still the band and they've added a brass section (perhaps also a Carson throwback) giving them a very different sound. Speaking of sound, one of my nitpicky complaints about Conan's Tonight Show was that the set made it sound like he was talking from the other end of a large hall - there was always an uncomfortable echo. Fortunately, this set doesn't suffer from that problem.
Would you like to see the full episode? Well, unlike Late Night where all the episodes were posted online, I don't see any corresponding system for The Tonight Show. Definitely a step backward. Ahh, the joys of NBC.
First Guest: Will Smith
First Musical Guest: U2
Here's the beginning of the monologue:
These first shows are never very good. It always takes a while to settle in. Even the crowd was nervously quiet for some reason.
The opening is directed by Spike Lee. The new set looks good. Obviously the large curtain behind the monologue is a throwback to the Johnny Carson days. The Roots are still the band and they've added a brass section (perhaps also a Carson throwback) giving them a very different sound. Speaking of sound, one of my nitpicky complaints about Conan's Tonight Show was that the set made it sound like he was talking from the other end of a large hall - there was always an uncomfortable echo. Fortunately, this set doesn't suffer from that problem.
Saturday, February 8, 2014
The Last Episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Friday was the last episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
Watch it here.
Total Number of Episodes: 969.
Last Guest: Andy Samberg.
Last Musical Guest: Arguably Buckwheat Zydeco.
Last Guest Performance: The Muppets.
The last episode has a strange feel to it - the timing is off and Jimmy doesn't have any "punch" in the jokes because he's constantly verging on becoming "emotional". But the weight of the moment justifies it.
Speaking of "the weight"... the last segments of the "last shows" are part of TV history and lore. Jack Paar's "Come on, Lika... we're going home", Johnny Carson on the stool, etc.
In terms of "Late Night", when Letterman left Late Night, the last segment, he sat behind the desk and spoke to the audience. Conan's last segment on Late Night was the similar. Jimmy's bucked the trend (perhaps partly because he wouldn't be able to get through it without becoming a weeping mess). Instead of a speech, he performs The Band's "The Weight" with the Muppets and does it in a loving recreation of the version that appears in the movie "The Last Waltz".
"The Last Waltz" is a concert movie that covers The Band's last concert. The parallels with the situation of Jimmy's last show are obvious. Jimmy plays drums and plays on an identical set to Levon Helm's drum set in that movie. Jimmy grew up in upstate New York, not far from Levon's adopted home. I love that they got all the little touches right. The lighting is the same, the colors are the same, the recreation is so complete they even mimic Scorceses style of rotating around the musicians in tracking shots. Compare. I obviously love it. It's a great way to say goodbye.
The first episode of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon airs February 17th 2014.
Late Night with Seth Meyers starts February 24th 2014.
Watch it here.
Total Number of Episodes: 969.
Last Guest: Andy Samberg.
Last Musical Guest: Arguably Buckwheat Zydeco.
Last Guest Performance: The Muppets.
The last episode has a strange feel to it - the timing is off and Jimmy doesn't have any "punch" in the jokes because he's constantly verging on becoming "emotional". But the weight of the moment justifies it.
Speaking of "the weight"... the last segments of the "last shows" are part of TV history and lore. Jack Paar's "Come on, Lika... we're going home", Johnny Carson on the stool, etc.
In terms of "Late Night", when Letterman left Late Night, the last segment, he sat behind the desk and spoke to the audience. Conan's last segment on Late Night was the similar. Jimmy's bucked the trend (perhaps partly because he wouldn't be able to get through it without becoming a weeping mess). Instead of a speech, he performs The Band's "The Weight" with the Muppets and does it in a loving recreation of the version that appears in the movie "The Last Waltz".
"The Last Waltz" is a concert movie that covers The Band's last concert. The parallels with the situation of Jimmy's last show are obvious. Jimmy plays drums and plays on an identical set to Levon Helm's drum set in that movie. Jimmy grew up in upstate New York, not far from Levon's adopted home. I love that they got all the little touches right. The lighting is the same, the colors are the same, the recreation is so complete they even mimic Scorceses style of rotating around the musicians in tracking shots. Compare. I obviously love it. It's a great way to say goodbye.
The first episode of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon airs February 17th 2014.
Late Night with Seth Meyers starts February 24th 2014.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Conan - Punxsutawney Dr. Phil
Is this funny? Is it stupid? It's both! It's so stupid that it's funny...
Sunday, February 2, 2014
The Super Bridges
As always, I have an ongoing project to boycott the Super Bowl as long as I don't have a rooting interest (Pre-2011, 2011, 2012, 2013). This year's Super Bowl replacement activity was..... watching "The Bridges of Madison County".
This movie came out in 1995 and got a lot of press as being a tremendous "chick flick". I had never seen it but was always curious about it so it seemed to be the right thing for the Super Bowl.
"The Bridges of Madison County" is about the bridges of Madison County. Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood star as bridges #1 and #2.
"The Bridges of Madison County" is about a housewife (Meryl Streep) who has an affair with a photographer (Clint Eastwood). She finds true love but must decide whether to follow it or stay with her family.... And that's pretty much it. It's a very simple story told in pretty tight confines - it's the type of movie that could have easily been a play (even though it really wasn't).
Meryl Streep is as excellent as always and Clint Eastwood is good too. There isn't a whole lot to say about this movie... it's a simple story, well told. It's somewhat sensual or erotic and it kind of becomes a tearjerker at some point. The whole movie depends entirely on the chemistry of the two leads and that works.
Conclusion: Definitely better than "The Notebook", probably not as good as "Steel Magnolias". Although, with that last one, it's kind of an "apples and oranges" situation.
7/10.
This movie came out in 1995 and got a lot of press as being a tremendous "chick flick". I had never seen it but was always curious about it so it seemed to be the right thing for the Super Bowl.
"The Bridges of Madison County" is about the bridges of Madison County. Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood star as bridges #1 and #2.
"The Bridges of Madison County" is about a housewife (Meryl Streep) who has an affair with a photographer (Clint Eastwood). She finds true love but must decide whether to follow it or stay with her family.... And that's pretty much it. It's a very simple story told in pretty tight confines - it's the type of movie that could have easily been a play (even though it really wasn't).
Meryl Streep is as excellent as always and Clint Eastwood is good too. There isn't a whole lot to say about this movie... it's a simple story, well told. It's somewhat sensual or erotic and it kind of becomes a tearjerker at some point. The whole movie depends entirely on the chemistry of the two leads and that works.
Conclusion: Definitely better than "The Notebook", probably not as good as "Steel Magnolias". Although, with that last one, it's kind of an "apples and oranges" situation.
7/10.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Movie Review: Nebraska (2013)
Nebraska (2013)
I went to see "Nebraska" at the theater at 9PM on a Tuesday and crossed two items off my bucket list. I don't really have a bucket list, but you know... Firstly, it's in black and white and so I saw a black and white movie in the theater for the first time (as best I remember). Secondly, I've always wanted to go to a movie and be the only one in the theater and that's exactly what happened with this movie. The movie theater must have known that no one was watching because they left the house lights at 100% for the first 20 minutes of the movie. But it was alright.
As the for the movie itself, it's a great movie. Bruce Dern plays an old man who gets a "Publisher's Clearing House" type letter in the mail and believes he must get to Nebraska to claim his million dollars. He's also possibly slipping into senility and Will Forte (friggin' Will Forte), as his son, must deal with the consequences. It's very subtle, very minimal and it's both a great drama and a great comedy. It reminds me of "Lost in Translation" in many respects. I especially loved the the black and white photography on the big screen - it looks amazing.
7/10.
I went to see "Nebraska" at the theater at 9PM on a Tuesday and crossed two items off my bucket list. I don't really have a bucket list, but you know... Firstly, it's in black and white and so I saw a black and white movie in the theater for the first time (as best I remember). Secondly, I've always wanted to go to a movie and be the only one in the theater and that's exactly what happened with this movie. The movie theater must have known that no one was watching because they left the house lights at 100% for the first 20 minutes of the movie. But it was alright.
As the for the movie itself, it's a great movie. Bruce Dern plays an old man who gets a "Publisher's Clearing House" type letter in the mail and believes he must get to Nebraska to claim his million dollars. He's also possibly slipping into senility and Will Forte (friggin' Will Forte), as his son, must deal with the consequences. It's very subtle, very minimal and it's both a great drama and a great comedy. It reminds me of "Lost in Translation" in many respects. I especially loved the the black and white photography on the big screen - it looks amazing.
7/10.
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