"I SAID NEE-HA!"
The Unofficial Late Night With Conan O'Brien Newsletter #04/12/-018
Hi everyone!! Happy Easter, I hope that King Bunny was kind to you all. It's been another great week here in the conetastic land of Conan O'Brien fandom. I want to welcome all our new subscribers to the madness. Late Night was great this week. I really loved the interview with Jonathan Harris - one of the original characters from "Lost In Space", I think that might have been my favorite interview so far this year. It was certainly one of the funniest. Anyone else miss Pimp Bot 5000? Good to see him again (like he's my buddy).
On Monday night last week (April 6th) Conan gave a talk at the University of Pennsylvania. Read all about it this week in "NEE-HA!" Jamie Hein was in the audience and gives us his take on it. The article came from the Daily Pennsylvanian newspaper. No copyright infringement is intended.
By the way, I'm sure you all knew this already, but it's Conan's birthday on Saturday, April 18th. I hope that everyone will join me in wishing him a happy birthday and all the best. Jess (Phunnyontv) has put up a web page for everyone to sign and send their best wishes to Conan on his birthday. She promises faithfully that she will send all the messages to Conan on the 18th. Go and send your happy birthday message to Conan at: http://members.aol.com/Phunnyontv/conzie.html
Have a great week everyone and now.... Let's get it awn!!
Linzi Gallacher
Editor
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CONTENTS
ANDY ON TOUR INFO
CONAN'S TALK AT UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
-- Jamie Hine Talks About It
-- The Daily Pennsylvanian Article
LATE NIGHT POLL
THE 'CONOLOGUE' JOKES by Robin Banks
THE BONE OF CONTENTION by Micah Honees
TEN THINGS THAT PROVE I LOVE LATE NIGHT by Alicia
UPCOMING GUESTS - APRIL 13 - 17 1998
THIS TIME LAST YEAR.....
WEEK IN REVIEW
NICK KOROMAN WRITES...
END QUOTE
FYI
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ANDY ON TOUR INFO
Andy Richter's Ohio-based fans are in for a treat next month as he is scheduled to talk to students at Ohio State University.
He will appear at Independence Hall, Ohio Union at 8:00 p.m. on May 11th 1998. Organizer Frank Lazar tells us that Andy will talk, answer questions from the audience and show some out-takes from life at Late Night. Admission is free.
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CONAN'S TALK AT UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
Jamie Hine was in the audience at Conan's talk at the University of Pennsylvania on Monday night. I asked him to tell us his view of the event.
Q: What sort of things did Conan talk about?
A: He talked about life and how he was always over his head, tracing undergrad at Harvard (working on the Lampoon, honoring Bill Cosby with a made up award to get him to come to Cambridge. Writing on the Simpsons, working with Lisa Kudrow in improv., doing his own improv. show in Chicago -- Spooneye character, Saturday Night Live, deciding that he wanted to do comedy and not just write it, getting his break and making it big.
Q: What was on the clips that he showed?
A: He showed the Simpsons episode where the monorail comes to Springfield. Various clips from Saturday night live as well as the clips from his show - no pimpbot or mastrubating bear! We did see the growing up clip (Please send cookies...) He also showed the never seen tryout for the Conan show.
Q: What sort of reaction did he get from the audience?
A: The audience adored him. He spoke for 1h 30 minutes longer than scheduled and he kept us constantly amused.
Q: What questions did the audience ask him?
A: Mostly about his favorite Simpsons episodes, characters he played on SNL, Pimpbot, the infamous bear, whether the censors ever prevent any of his comedy, ho he got his break, etc.. On girl asked for a hug, he said yes and she ran up stage and he gave her a great big hug.
Q: What did you think of it all?
A: I loved it. I'll be honest, I don't have much time to watch his show, so I'm a novice, if you will. Afterwards, I walked away thoroughly pleased. I really want to see Pimpbot!
Q: What was the best bit/funniest moment in your opinion?
A: He had this litre bottle of Evian (the good stuff which makes him high). He was almost finished and someone snuck a large bottle to replace the one which was almost empty. The crowd made a big deal of the whole thing and Conan had absolutely no idea what was going on, poking fun at all of the hecklers trying to explain the commotion.
Q: What did you think of Conan?
A: He was first and foremost genuine. He really wanted to talk to us. He told us at the beginning, "I'll talk until all the questions have been answered." He did. He has a great sense of humor. We also got a glimpse at the tender side of Conan (e.g. talking about how he takes criticism harshly -- one NYT critic totally smashed his show during the first season and two years later recanted and said that Conan is the reason he watched TV.)
FYI, tickets sold out in 24 minutes. They were $3 each, but were being scalped for $15 around campus. It was a great show. He earned a lot of new fans that night.
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THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN ARTICLE:
"O'Brien leaves U. in stitches"
The 'Late Night' star used humor to talk about the lessons he has learned.
By Edward Sherwin of The Daily Pennsylvanian
Introduced as "NBC's International Man of Mystery," late-night talk show host Conan O'Brien joked, danced and reminisced last night before a packed house at the Annenberg Center's Zellerbach Auditorium.
With no show to tape -- NBC airs reruns Monday nights -- the comedic writer and host of Late Night with Conan O'Brien entertained the audience of about 900 University students for two hours and 20 minutes, nearly an hour more than had been scheduled.
Jennifer Arend of The Daily Pennsylvanian writes:
Late-night talk show host Conan O'Brien speaks to an enthusiastic crowd of students last night in Zellerbach Auditorium. In his first appearance on a college campus, O'Brien joked, showed clips and answered questions.
O'Brien, 34, began his speech by praising Penn and his Ivy League alma mater, Harvard University, where he graduated from in 1985.
"Penn is a great school," he said. "Let me also say that Harvard is a great school -- to poop on."
Most of O'Brien's speech focused on the depths he reached and the risks he took before rising through the entertainment-industry ranks.
"I always got in over my head and put myself in positions that were really scary," the Massachusetts-born entertainer said. "Let me tell you -- that works."
As many students shouted what he called "inane questions" throughout the night, O'Brien spoke of his days as a history and literature major at Harvard, where he was twice president of the Harvard Lampoon, the famed humor magazine. "It changed my life," he said. "For the first time, comedy had some kind of value."
The first few years out of college were rough for O'Brien, with a failed stage show, periods of temporary work and short-lived TV stints on The Wilton North Report and Not Necessarily the News. But those appearances, O'Brien noted, paved the way for a writing position at NBC's Saturday Night Live -- where he won an Emmy Award in 1989 -- and as a writer and producer for Fox's The Simpsons.
O'Brien described the creative process at The Simpsons as an "intensive writing lab." He added that while it was a good position, he did not want to keep writing for sitcoms.
When David Letterman left NBC in 1993 for CBS, O'Brien -- then a virtual unknown -- was surprised to be asked to take over. "I wasn't a longshot to take David Letterman's job -- I was a complete impossibility," he said. "You'd have to be a completely demented fool to think, 'I'll do it'."
O'Brien also commented on the difficult start Late Night had, with an inexperienced crew aiming to push the limits of television. He also spoke about critics' harsh reaction to the show, saying many were "mean about me and even meaner about [sidekick] Andy [Richter]."
Topics in the question-and-answer session following the speech included Howard Stern, marijuana use and one student's chances of receiving a summer internship. College sophomore Risa Sang-Urai asked for a hug -- a request that was granted.
O'Brien kept the mood light with impressions of Stern and Tonight Show host Jay Leno. He also interspersed video clips of his early industry failures, a never-before-seen audition tape for his current late-night position and clips from SNL, The Simpsons and Late Night.
Through humor and self-deprecation, O'Brien consistently tried to convey to the audience that risk-taking is a necessary part of the upward path. "Don't fear failure -- embrace it," he said. "I had to go out and look really bad before I could look really good."
The $3 tickets for O'Brien's speech -- the first he has given on a college campus -- sold out in an hour last week, with tickets being scalped for as high as $10 each, students said.
But many indicated that it was worth it.
"He put through a very good moral, but used a lot of humor to get it across," Engineering freshman Jeffrey Levisman said. "It gave me perspective."
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LATE NIGHT POLL
THIS WEEKS POLL QUESTION: We all know who our favorite talk show host is, but who else do you rate and why?
David Letterman
Jay Leno
Other
Send your answer before Friday to: LateNightPoll@hotmail.com
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LAST WEEK'S POLL QUESTION: What has been the your favorite Late Night comedy skit so far this year and why? Did you looooove The FBI Sting Operation skit, Triumph the Insult Comic dog, or was there something else on Late Night that really lit your ring? Here are your replies:
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Triumph! Especially the show with Tom Arnold: "In essence it would be like me pooping on poop." - in his statement about why he didn't insult Tom. -- Bryan
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My favorite skit this year would have to be anything with Stacy. She is so
damn funny...and so damn hot! -- Nick
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For some warped reason, I really liked this question in the SAT study guide:
Paul McCartney is to not having touched red meat in over 25 years
as Ellen DeGeneres ...
is to not having touched red meat in over 25 years.
I know. I feel real bad for laughing so hard.
I like the shirtless burnt-out guy (sorry, I don't know the writer's name, just that he used to be the Gaseous Wiener) and of course, any bit with Triumph. The Good Humor ice cream truck takeover is a classic.
- Chickadee
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Definitely Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. He is the greatest skit ever invented.... FOR ME TO POOP ON!!!!! But seriously, he is the best. - Paul
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My favorite Comedy Bit Has to be "In the Year 2000". This Bit is the first bit I ever saw on Late Night and after that.. I was ADDICTED forever. I also like the Closed Caption bit, Its SOOO SOOO FUNNY. The FBI sting bit Was SOOO awesome. It Was Sad Yet FUNNY!!
-Steph
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Anything that gives PimpBot a chance to be on the show is cool with me. I love the 'Bot. I can't get enough of him. -- KC
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I don't think we've seen the Loser so far this year. If we have then ignore this babbling. I think that he's on eof the funniest characters on the show. And um, quite possibly the cutest too. - Leo
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THE 'CONOLOGUE' JOKES by Robin Banks
**Conan O'Brien on MICHAEL**
"The other day Michael Jackson and his wife had a baby girl. Since it's a girl they names her Michael Junior."
**Conan O'Brien on CLINTON**
"Yesterday President Clinton spoke privately with Boris Yeltsin for 30 minutes on the phone. Afterwards President Clinton said, 'He's no Monica Lewinsky.'"
**Conan O'Brien on HANSON**
"This week in Singapore 360 boxes of acne medication were stolen from a local pharmacy. Police say they're looking for three suspects who all go by the name 'Hanson.'"
**Conan O'Brien on MICHAEL**
"A new study came out and it said 90% of Americans spank their children. Apparently the other 10% have monkeys."
**Conan O'Brien on BIG DEMANDS**
"Leonardo DiCaprio is demanding to make $25 million for his next movie. Meanwhile Pauly Shore is demanding $25 million or he'll *make* another movie.
**Conan O'Brien on XEROX**
"Yesterday Xerox announced that they're cutting 9000 jobs. They said the job cuts were a result of the Asian economy and a surprise slow down of people photocopying their butts."
**Conan O'Brien on TIGER**
"The Masters Tournament is this weekend and Tiger Woods says he's been trying to relax by playing the video game 'Mortal Combat'. I think it's starting to affect him coz earlier today he ripped out Fuzzy Zellor's spine for, I believe, 6000 points."
**Conan O'Brien on TOMMY LEE**
"Yesterday a California judge sentenced rocker Tommy Lee to six months in prison. Which means in his next video he'll be playing the part of Pamela.
**Conan O'Brien on GEORGE**
"Yesterday pop singer George Michael was arrested for performing a lewd act in a public restroom where gay men are known to hang out. The most embarrassing part is that he was arrested by the cop from the Village People."
**Conan O'Brien on JERRY**
"Jerry Seinfeld said that one of the things he wants to do when his show ends is swim with dolphins. That's right folks, really young hot looking dolphins.
**Conan O'Brien on CLINTON**
"Kenneth Starr is now claiming that President Clinton may have made frequent calls to Monica Lewinsky's beeper. President Clinton said, 'It's not what you think. She was just selling me crack.'"
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THE BONE OF CONTENTION by Micah Honees
General Manager "She Looked Eighteen Productions"
There are a lot of pressing questions in the world we live in. Some of them can be answered easily like; What did you have for lunch? (answer: salad) or What is "Webster" doing these days? (answer: hard time).
There are other questions that just seem to linger like that burrito you had Tuesday. They simply won't go away. One of these questions that plagues me is this one: What the hell is the deal with cast of "Friends"? I mean, really? OK, that's two questions but you know where I'm going.
Wednesday's guest line up on Late Night looked quite promising: Matt LeBlanc, Christina Applegate, and Semisonic. Promising, I said. Not guaranteed.
At the risk of being politically correct, I have to admit that I am (still) a big "Friends" fan. I still like the show even though it's not "hip" or "cool" to like it anymore. (And yet it still does very well in the ratings each week. Peculiar...) Anyhoo, the aspect of the show I enjoy most-even ahead of Jennifer Aniston's obvious, ahem, attributes-is the relationship between LeBlanc's Joey and the guy from "Fools Rush In"'s Chandler. The interplay and the way the actors work off of each other is outstanding and gosh darned it, just fun to watch. You see Joey and the way the part is played and if you're me you think he's gonna be one heck of a late night guest. You'd think that if you were me. But you're not.
This gets me back to that question I had. Remember? The unsolvable one? The one about what the hell is wrong with the cast of "Friends"? Well, I think I got the answer: MATT LEBLANC GRADUATED FROM THE COURTENEY COX SCHOOL OF NARCOLEPTIC INTERVIEWS; cum laude. If it wasn't mumbled, it didn't make sense. If it made sense, it wasn't funny. If it wasn't funny, it sure as hell wasn't Conan or Andy that night-or even the nervous Max. It was Matt and the next guest, Christina Applegate.
I'll make a confession to all of you dear readers who know me only by a fake name if they read the column at all: I had a crush on Christina Applegate. Me and EVERY guy in my age bracket (the ever-elusive 18-30 crowd that eats Taco Bell and drinks whatever kind of beer is put in front of them). Yes, it's true. Let's get the dirty little secret out there: Kelly Bundy was to dudes my age what Ginger, Mary Ann, and Marcia Brady were to guys a little older than us. Very simply, she got us through the difficult time of 'Going through Puberty'. That's why I was sooooo excited. I hadn't seen her since "Married...With Children" got dumped by FOX last year and the local station that showed reruns canned it in favor of (I swear I'm not making this up) "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper" reruns.
And what did I get? A cold cup of Whatever Matt Was Drinkin'. She was kind of boring, too. I'm glad to see that she can kind of move on from the whole MWC thing because, really, she was the only one from the cast who had a chance to do something else anyway. I love Ed O'Neill but don't you still think "It's Al! Al Freakin' Bundy!!" every time you see his 1-800-COLLECT commercials? Do you smell what I'm cookin'? After eleven years, the actors are going to be typecast. Good for her that she gets a shot but c'mon. Try to be attentive when Conan asks you a question people!
Maybe I'm overlooking the obvious. Maybe Wednesday is just a difficult day of the week for guests. Maybe they're tired. Wasn't it last week when Ed "Kookie" Burns and Lennox Lewis bored us into picking up that heated "Snyder's hair is just SO a rug" debate you have with yourself during slow bits of the day? Maybe there's more to the story here. Maybe we need to call one of the friendly operators at Time/Life books after all. Something to think about.
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TOP THINGS THAT PROVE I LOVE LATE NIGHT
by Alicia Whitehead
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Prove your love. What do you do to prove you love Late Night that you can classify as fannish behavior? Got your own Top Ten list? Send it to me (LACOB@AOL.COM) with "TOP TENS" in the subject line.
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UPCOMING GUESTS - APRIL 13 - 17 1998
The list of upcoming guests is a provisional list, subject to change:
MONDAY, April 13 (repeat of 02/03/98):
Jerry Springer
Melinda Clarke
David Brenner
TUESDAY, April 14:
Patricia Arquette
Bob Hoskins
Mono
WEDNESDAY, April 15:
William Shatner
Lionel Hampton
Kathy Griffin
THURSDAY, April 16:
Peter Gallagher
Bobby Slayton
FRIDAY, April 17
Corbin Bernsen
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THIS TIME LAST YEAR.....
This time last year, Late Night was in repeats. On Monday, April 14th 1997 in a repeat of the September 6 1996 show, author and political commentator James Carville, Mitch Fatel and Patty Hearst were guests. The comedy skit was a remote of Conan and Andy helping College freshmen move into their dorms. Conan and Andy helped to set up one of the students who was looking for a boyfriend. They gave people canned goods, popcorn, a pet snake!! And one guy got revenge on someone who had been bugging him as Andy showed him a "great trick" he could pull on him while two guys held him in the shower. Conan and Andy felt a little "over crowded" and went somewhere they knew they wouldn't find any students - the library. The skit ended with Conan and Andy giggling while reading Sex Ed books, which they steal on their way out. Conan also advertised the 17th Annual College Band Search on the show and the much-loved Gaseous Wiener made an appearance.
On Tuesday 15th in a repeat of September 19th 1996 supermodel Tyra Banks promoted the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, comedian and friend of the show Rich Hall appeared as did MLS soccer star Alexi Lalas. They showed a scene from Arthur Miller's "Death Of A Salesman" with The Gaseous Wiener playing the part of "Bif".
On Wednesday 16th a repeat of October 9th 1996 then SNL cast member Norm MacDonald, actor Steve Buscemi and Irish band The Connells were the guests. They showed Princess Diana's Hoax Sex Tapes and announcer Joel Goddard revealed just how depressed he was.
On Thursday 17th they showed the Third Anniversary Special, a repeat of September 13th 1996. Special guest appearances were made by George Wendt, Late Show host David Letterman, Jay Leno, actors Scott Thompson, Janeane Garafalo and Carl 'Oldy' Olsen. They showed highlights of the first three seasons, including the MTV awards where Conan and Andy accidentally cook Michael Jackson as he performs on stage.
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WEEK IN REVIEW - APRIL 6 - 10 1998
MONDAY, Apr. 6 (repeat of 02/06/98):
John Goodman,
Dkembe Mutombo,
Steve Earle
Cheer Up! Kenneth Starr
Conan Defends Beef
TUESDAY, Apr. 7:
Matt LeBlanc
Christina Applegate
Semi Sonic
Celebrities, Inc. - Companies & Logos
Joel Gets Depressed
WEDNESDAY, Apr. 8:
Steven Wright
Cheech Marin
Jonathan Harris
Staring Contest
People representing different countries give their opinion of President Clinton's Sex scandals.
PimpBot 5000 is introduced to "Lost In Space" actor Jonathan Harris
THURSDAY, Apr. 9:
Vendela
Yogi Berra
Hugh Fink
Conan's #1 Fan Contest
Claymation Passover Special
FRIDAY, Apr. 10:
Tom Brokaw
Michael Moore
Ben Harper
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NICK KOROMAN WRITES...
I have to admit I've never really been a fan of Rob Schneider's. He's not particularly funny and he seems to think that being annoying is the same thing as being funny. So whenever he's on Conan, usually I just mute the TV and wait for something funny to come on.
However, the last time he was on the show he really did something that struck a nerve with me. If you recall, he dressed up in a Superman costume and was lifted in the air by cables. First of all, that is not funny in any way, shape, or form. So I didn't really get the point of it. But when
Ed Koch came on, and Schneider was disturbing the interview, I really got pissed off!!!
First I was mad at Conan and his producers. If that moron was legitimately stuck (which I doubt), they should have stopped the show until he got down, grabbed his check, and got the hell out of there. Also, I was mad at the moron in question because he kept interrupting the interview which was a forgettable affair. Ed Koch was clearly uncomfortable with the situation and I don't blame him.
Ed Koch has shown his sense of humor by doing countless bits on the show even while trying to maintain his dignity as a judge. I think he deserves better treatment than what Conan and Rob Schneider gave him on that particular night. After the show was over, I e-mailed the show and let them know what I thought of it.
I'm a big fan of the show and that was the first time that I was too disgusted to watch it. I encourage everybody to e-mail the show (funnyontv@aol.com) and let them know that the treatment of Ed Koch was flat out WRONG!
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END QUOTE
"We're all going to have a good time and it's free - that's the important part, so we can't disappoint you technically." -COB
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FYI
HOW TO GET TICKETS FOR LATE NIGHT:
Write to:
NBC Tickets
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112
Or call:
(212) 664 - 3056/3057
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Vote for your favorite trio, Conan, Andy and Max to be in a MILK ad.
Go to http://www.whymilk.com
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Want to contribute to "NEE-HA!"? Drop me an email and ask for the "MOST WANTED" list.
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"NEE-HA!" #18 is here with thanks to Micah Honees, Robin Banks, Jelli, Alicia Whitehead, Nick Koroman, Eric Jacobs of The Daily Pennsylvanian, and Jamie Hine.
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Comments & questions to me: LACOB@AOL.COM
Poll Response to: LateNightPoll@hotmail.com