Why Are You Laughing? - Late Night Wars

 For those of you who want to learn about the Late Night wars of Leno vs. Letterman, there is no better resource than Bill Carter's book "The Late Shift."

But if you don't want to commit hours and hours of reading time, the "Why Are You Laughing?" podcast is perhaps the second best source of information.

The book was turned into a made-for-tv movie also (same name), for those of you who would prefer that. But that's a distant 3rd place, as the movie is less informative and a bit cheesy.

And for those of you who want to learn about the Late Night wars of Leno vs. Conan, there is no better resource than Bill Carter's book "The War for Late Night."

But, as above, if books aren't for you, the following podcast has you covered. There has been no made-for-tv movie about this topic, to my knowledge, but can you imagine?

If you'd like to read my book review of "The War for Late Night" see here.

As a self-proclaimed expert, I have my disagreements and differences with the podcast, just as I do with the TV movie. But they're mainly minor quibbles and who cares anyway? I enjoy their fresh perspective shedding light on my own.

Conan's 20 Year Anniversary

Late Night with Conan O'Brien first went on the air September 13, 1993 - 20 years ago. His first guests were John Goodman, Drew Barrymore and musical guest Radiohead.

All this week Conan has been celebrating the anniversary by playing montages of the best moments of his 20 years on late night. There are too many to link to but you can find all the uploaded clips at TeamCoco.com/Conan20. They'll only be available for a few weeks though.

A few personal notables:

20 Years of Bloopers

The World's Oldest Stuntman (a video I put on youtube before it was removed by NBC)

The Clive Clemmons Totally Inappropriate Response Channel

Conan Goes to Bartending School

Conan and Andy Have a Staring Contest

Abe Lincoln Money Shots (don't watch it)

The Max On Max Channel (don't watch it either)

The "Not Cool Zeus" Channel

Conan Visits Houston

Conan Dines with Jordan Schlansky

Conan's "Making the Band" - Dudez A-Plenti (note: Conan's own website gets the name of the band wrong. Pfff.)

And on, and on, and on. Check it out.

Serious Jibber-Jabber - Mel Brooks

Conan sits down for a long-form interview with Mel Brooks. They discuss Automats and little else...

Conan Reviews Video Games - PC Horror Games

Conan is back with another video game review. This time, in honor of Halloween, he's reviewing a few horror games for the PC.

This video is kind of Not Safe for Work.

Conan and Louis C.K. Reminisce

September 13th was the 20th Anniversary of the first Late Night with Conan O'Brien and one of the writers on his first show was Louis C.K.. In this clip they remember the old days...

Conan - Jordan Schlansky is Late

Conan has discovered that Jordan Schlansky is coming into work late on Fridays and confronts him about it...


Why would they still work on Friday if there's no show? Either do a show 5 days a week for the audience or enjoy a 3 day weekend every week for yourself. This is a lose-lose.

Conan Searches for Mug

A mug was stolen in the Conan offices and Conan takes it upon himself to find it.

Conan Visits E3

Conan visited the electronics expo E3 to scout out the new trends in gaming and gaming consoles:

Conan Reviews Video Games - "Injustice"

In the latest installment of "Clueless Gamer", Conan and Aaron review the brand new title "Injustice: Gods Among Us"...



Note: It took several episodes but Conan finally gave an actual score.

Conan Wishes Jimmy "Good Luck"

After it was announced that Jimmy Fallon was taking over the Tonight Show in 2014, Conan took time on his show to wish him the best.

Conan Learns Etiquette

Conan enrolls in "Southern Charm School". He learns ETIQUETTE AND PROTOCOL and, in the process, solves a murder.

Conan Sings Gospel

People don't recognize that Conan has a very high, pretty singing voice. Now that he's down in Atlanta for a week of shows, he decided to show off that fact by joining a Gospel choir.


It's always strange when people don't understand that Conan is joking. Why would anyone take Conan at face value? I suppose they don't watch.

Conan Reenacts the Civil War

While in Atlanta for a week of shows, Conan joins a troupe of Civil War reenactors. He really gets into his character.

Jordan Schlansky Returns; Drinks Coffee

Loyal viewers know that any appearance of Jordan Schlansky equates to comedy gold. This is no different.

Apparently one of Jordan's "various" responsibilities is purchasing an expensive espresso machine on Conan's dime. And controversy ensues.



"In English. Cuz 'God Bless America' you son of a bitch."

Conan Reviews Video Games - Tomb Raider

In yet another edition of "Clueless Gamer", Conan reviews the new "Tomb Raider" game.

It's excellent.

Conan Reviews Video Games - Halo 4

In this edition of "Clueless Gamer", Conan reviews the new game "Halo 4". This is a bit of a special review because it's the first time that he's reviewed a game in which he voices a character.




You can watch Conan and Andy record the voices for their characters here.

Conan and Andy Dub Chinese

Conan and Andy visit the sound studio to dub the English translation of a Chinese television show.

The show is called "Return of the Pearl Princess" and I think Conan and Andy really improve the experience for the American audience.

Conan - Oprah's Lance Interview

Conan has the highlights of Oprah's Lance Armstrong interview and it looks like things got a little tense.

Serious Jibber-Jabber - Judd Apatow

It's the second edition of "Serious Jibber-Jabber". At 70 minutes long, it's quite a commitment. But if you have any interest in the process of creating comedy or film-making, it's very interesting.

Conan Reviews Video Games - Hitman

In the latest installment of "Clueless Gamer", Conan reviews the yet-to-be-released "Hitman : Absolution". It's probably the most fun he's had with any game. He is also very tidy.