Conan the Harvardian

Conan O'Brien is still a very funny man. Anyone who’s been a writer and producer for the 'Simpsons' is okay by 'thetvreviewguy' and 'Conan' (TV3e) is worth some after pub/insomniac/project completion viewing. Now almost 50, Conan has been a late night TV fixture for much of the last twenty years. Along with amiable side-kick Andy Richter, the red-headed one manages to work well within the tired constraints of the US chat-show format i.e. bleeeped swearing and ads every five minutes. This format in general, however, is staid and dated (going back to Johnny Carson days) - initial monologue, funny items, pets doing tricks, an up-and-coming or well-established rock band, guests telling anecdotes in a limited amount of time and a tight house band. And, bizarrely to an Irish audience, the sidekick. It's usually impossible to see the sidekick as anything more then a pitiful figure, particularly in the wake of 'Hey Now' Hank from the 'Gary Shandling Show'. Yet Andy is likeable and Conan and he have a great on-air chemistry (they may despise each other off-screen, what does 'thetvreviewguy' know?). Much of the US chat-show format is stuck in a kind of 1950s time warp which is only occasionally subverted by the likes of John Stewart or the Colbert Report. 'Conan', however, is a host that wears his intelligence and quick-wittedness lightly. A Harvard grad, O'Brien is able to be both smart and a smart-alec without alienating his audience (who tune in for those very reasons). Funny, clever and Irish, O'Brien shows that you can be both dumb and smart at the same time.