Back to the Ol' Drawing Board.....

 Well, after a brief visit out to LA-LA-Land to visit and connect, I am back in my chair-- both at the drawing table and the computer. Mardi Gras is calling, and I must finish in order to accept other commissions.
 Oddly enough, I had been slow and had received no responses to my solicitations for piecework. The day I was leaving for Burbank, I received an offer for a caricature commission. I politely declined, citing my looming departure. I also received an offer for a one-day caricature job, for which I was unavailable.
 The REAL kicker came when, after I had arrived out West, I received an inquiry about a FOUR-DAY GIG ON A CRUISE SHIP, banking SERIOUS bucks!! Of course, it was the same weekend I was away, so I was unavailable for this job, as well.
Frustrating.

But I DID get to see CONAN.

CONAN O'BRIEN!

My sister, Gwen, and I attended the taping of Conan O'Brien's "CONAN" this afternoon on The Warner Brothers Studios lot.

CONAN on tbs.

VERY funny.

How Did I Miss "Big Bang Theory"...?

 While drawing/working on projects out in my little music-room-turned-office/studio a few weeks ago, I had the television on as 'background noise'. Usually, I'm listening-to and/or watching Guy's Big Bite; Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives, or else Simpsons & Family Guy re-runs. Typically, Family Guy was the lead-in to CONAN (Conan O'Brien) on TBS.
 This particular evening, I happened to catch a two-hour, four-episode block of a show called "The Big Bang Theory". I was pleasantly surprised, and THOROUGHLY entertained.

  The premise revolves around a group of upper-level intelligent (MENSA-type) twenty/thirty-somethings who are all comic/sci-fi enthusiasts ( what some would call 'geeks'). In their down-time, they hang out at the local comic book store. The show is FILLED with comic, cartoon, sci-fi, and cultural references that flash me back to a time and group of people that I used to know.

 The show is VERY entertaining, and I was compelled to e-mail several friends from my past to see if they had discovered it, as well. They laughed at me and said they had them on dvd, referring to episodes that were reminiscent of people we all knew and specific events that we either witnessed or were (usually willing) participants.

How in the world did I MISS this...? I will definitely be catching up on the re-runs, and I highly recommend it.

Speaking of being surprised, I forgot how much I enjoyed the "STAR TREK" movie re-boot from a couple of years ago. FX played it last night while I was working, and I was compelled to watch it again.

...And I enjoyed it again. Live long & prosper!

Viewer Loyalty Dilemma

Well, I know I'm a bit late, but I MUST comment on the recent NBC Late-Night Tonight Show Jay Leno-Conan O'Brien fiasco. If you recall, Jay was told a couple of years ago that he was to be replaced as host on the top-rated late night talk show.

Ever gracious, he accepted this news and handled the news as a professional. I always enjoyed Leno, since way back in the early 80's when he was a frequent guest on David Letterman (both on his morning show, and then later on the original "Late Night with David Letterman").

I had mixed emotions when he was anointed to replace the legendary Johnny Carson over Dave, since I was an appreciative fan of both.





His humor, though only sometimes self-effacing, was and still is mostly topical. Never hostile or insulting, Jay always took the high road and aimed for the pure comedy. No raunchy puns, racist rants or trashy and vulgar subjects. His was a long and successful run that appealed to a broad audience. He was given a chance to establish his audience, and even though he started slow out of the gate, he eventually steamrolled to the top. And stayed.


Where Letterman never evolved from the frat-boy 'inside joke' shtick that failed to be funny by the time all of the drama transpired, Leno always was broad and entertaining, even after having to re-invent the show early on in his run. His 'Tonight Show Band', led by Kevin Eubanks, was stellar and entertaining. He always seemed genuinely surprised at his good fortune, widespread acceptance and continued success. He connected with the viewer.

Conan O'Brien, on the other hand, seemingly appeared out of nowhere. He was initially a staff writer on HBO's "Not Necessarily the News", then was hired by Lorne Michaels to help revive a struggling "Saturday Night Live". His off-beat approach helped catapult "The Simpsons" to the top, and his contributions to the show were many, from scripts to story and joke contribution and eventually even producer credit.

Like Leno and Letterman, O'Brien's was initially self-effacing humor, and he often used his unusual appearance-- 6'5" height and carrot-orange hair-- as comedy fodder. Again, much like Letterman, his humor was an 'acquired taste'. But unlike Dave, Conan was funny. Consistently. And his band, led by 'E-Street Band' drummer Max Weinberg, was probably the best combo on television. (Until Fallon corralled The Roots)

I would suffer the consequences of sleep deprivation just to stay up long enough to watch the monologues, and was overjoyed when (for a time) the shows were re-aired the following evenings on MSNBC. (I was disappointed when these re-runs ceased.)

Admittedly, I had reservations about the movement of Conan to the earlier 'Tonight Show' time-slot, as his IS a totally different humor than Jay's. (Whereas Leno would cause me to chuckle, O'Brien sometimes made me laugh out loud.) But it was still funny, and apparently someone at NBC thought it was a good idea.


Unfortunately, in this new era of 'instant gratification', Conan didn't automatically unseat Dave from the top of the ratings after vacated by Leno. Six months into the gig, O'Brien is informed that he will be replaced.
By Leno.
No chance to build an audience. No chance to improve ratings or 'viewership'.

Surreal.

Sarah Palin Reads "Shatner" On Conan

Worth watching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zKtR2aSj-0