Like Ferris Bueller once said, "Life moves pretty fast; if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you might miss it."  Never has this been truer than in the case of the evolving NBC late night debacle.  Just as we posted our forum on Monday, word came from Conan himself that he wouldn't host a Tonight Show that started at 12:05 am, stating bluntly, "For 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting."

We here at spunkybean are unanimously Team Conan.  And while we wait to see if the network blinks or if Conan, Andy, Max, Labamba and the gang walk, we wanted to offer some reasons behind our support.

I've been an enormous Conan O'Brien fan since age 13, when I would stay up way past "bed time" just get a glimpse of his brightly-colored pompadour and find out what Oldie was up to. (Remember Oldie?) I remember crying when Andy Richter left the show, I remember recording and re-watching the 10th Anniversary special, and I recall the fateful day that I was next in line to see Conan live and was cut off by the velvet rope. I remember being devastated by this and cursing at a security guard who was ten times my size and was most-likely equipped with a gun. And I would do it all again in the name of love. I learned a lot about the simplicity of smart comedy by watching that man and was inspired to attack it from my own angle, with my own style. Because that's how he did it, and he was brilliant at it. When Conan closed out Late Night, his speech was eloquent, charming, funny, and sincere. I was sad to see his old show go, but looked forward to the future of the Tonight Show. I knew it would be in capable hands with O'Brien and Richter at the helm. Yesterday's response to the late night talks warmed my heart and crushed me at the same time. Here is a man, kind-hearted and talented beyond measure, doing the right thing and stepping down from his dream job so as not to jeopardize the legacy of the Tonight Show, nor the success of the new Late Night host, Jimmy Fallon. It's something Jay Leno should have done. Conan O'Brien, whether you enjoy his comedy or not, is a class act. There is no denying it. Though, judging by Facebook and Twitter comments, the majority of my friends anyway, are behind Conan one hundred percent and will be no matter where this takes him. He's a hard worker and an absolute genius. Brave on, Coco! Where ever you go, I'm following.

MYNDI

While I have not been a diehard Conan fan for all of his hosting career, I've always enjoyed his comedy, his demeanor and his wacky point of view.  Lately, I've become a fan of his class and grace.  But, really, the reason I'm Team Conan is because of how completely I feel NBC has botched their treatment of this situation from top to bottom.  As I said in the last piece, I could see several different ways to approach removing Leno from primetime and salvaging the season without disrupting Conan's short tenure at 11:35.  Jay was given time to grow into his place as Johnny's successor, and it wasn't until two plus years  into his run that NBC's prime improved with the premiere of ER and Jay was crowned the ratings king for many years in a row.  Granted, the network didn't exactly have the luxury of asking Johnny back; he'd retired of his own accord and wouldn't have been interested.  But, how incredibly bad does it look to have your previous host leave with a great deal of fanfare only to bomb in primetime and  somehow weasel his way back into his old timeslot?  While Jay just took his bits and moved them 90 minutes earlier, Conan actually worked to retool his schtick for 11:35 and come up with some fresh bits, like  my personal favorite, "Twitter Tracker".  And how does he get rewarded for his efforts?  Yet another slap in the face from the network who once nurtured and praised his talents.  First, they stuck Jay in front of him at 10 to poach guests and ultimately whittle down potential audience.  Then, this.  I admire his decision to bow out with his dignity intact if this the road the network heads down.  Frankly, they don't deserve him.

And what's so spectacular about Leno that he needs to be on every night in the first place?  He got the gift of Kanye and his own PR debacle for his first show, debuted to huge numbers, and proceeded to hemmorage viewers.  If people watching late night have now rediscovered Dave or the guys over on Comedy Central, or even Chelsea Handler on E!,what makes NBC think they'll flock back to Leno in droves?  And why not just give the man the chance to host some specials or some other such gesture to save face?  Why does his epic fail get rewarded while Conan and Jimmy Fallon get disrespected?  Truly, the mind boggles.

DON

There's a fact most people in entertainment agree on - Conan O'Brien is a comedic genius. He has his finger on the pulse of everything. He's Ivy League bred and fully aware of the history of comedy and entertainment, and where he fits into its future. The only people unaware of this seem to be the head honchos at NBC. I wish I knew more about how this all happened, because at one point 5 or 6 years ago, someone in charge told Conan O'Brien he'd eventually take over the Tonight Show. That was a brilliant move. Conan could plan, and plot, and stay a part of the NBC family without them having to worry about him bolting for CBS, ABC, or Fox and greener pastures and the 11:30pm time slot.

It seemed as if someone knew Conan was their future.

And so he took over The Tonight Show 7 months ago, and it should've been predicted he'd struggle at first. It had to happen. NBC had to abandon it's oldest Baby Boomer viewers and those older than that to make sure they lock up their future. Looking across the horizon at late night host talent, there was no one but Conan. Short term losses would need to weathered until, at worst, Letterman retired and then Conan could be poised to become the next Johnny Carson. Old Hollywood would have to kiss his ring, and young Hollywood, all of whom grew up on Conan, would usher in a new boom era for NBC.

All NBC needed to do over the next couple of years is find their new ER, Law & Order, or their own CSI-type franchise.  It was all there. A late night veteran moving from 12:30 to 11:30, easily with 20 years left in him. A glimpse of rebuilding their Thursday night comedies. They had Dateline. They have Brian Williams. SNL is funny again and everyone talks about it. And with a few good picks by programming, NBC might've been ready to make a comeback.

Instead, they panic at the first sign of complaints from their affiliates and rather than stick to the formula that's worked in television for decades, they put a second version of Jay Leno's Tonight Show on at 10 o'clock every night and they don't even make it different ...or good.  Like EJ points out, there's not a chance it can be syndicated, or air as re-runs. It can't pick up new viewers, but only aging viewers who, let's face it, are a "dying demographic" and I don't mean to be crass, but they are getting older.

The panic was no doubt fueled by one of the worst years for advertising, so their drop in ad revenue made it all worse. Being in media, everyone's looking for answers. Unfortunately, there are no quick answers or fixes, and with any recession NBC should have been looking long term.

Instead they put their past on at 10pm, failing to give their future a fighting chance, and now they've destroyed the only future hope they had.

Conan should've been included in running the network and recruiting talent and bright young stars to the network. I hope he does it somewhere else, now.  It seems foolish to hold a grudge against a network, but NBC ...I'm through with you. I'll stick around for the kids sake (The Office, 30 Rock, and cute little Community), but once they're off to college and out of the house, I'm leaving you for good.

EJ

You know, I could talk at length about how Conan does the best show of anybody in late night.  I could go on about favorite bits or characters (I would absolutely watch a weekly series starring Cody Devereaux, Vampire Assistant), but there's a more important reason why I'm on Team Conan:  Conan's the good guy.  Now, I've never met the man, though I have to assume that he and Andy would be my best friends in the whole world.  But the way he's conducted himself this entire time has been classy and decent and impressive.  This all started to go wrong back when NBC announced that Leno would get the 10 PM slot.  Right away that meant that Conan would still be hosting the second talk show of the night, he'd have competition for guests, and I think everybody who is not an NBC executive realized that Leno was going to bomb and poison the late-night ratings.  Conan was going to start his Tonight Show run with a giant turd in the punchbowl.  But Conan congratulated Jay Leno on his show, he expressed excitement about the lineup, and was a total professional.

Leno, on the other hand, has publicly expressed a desire to get Tonight back.  That's the absolute sleaziest, most unprofessional way to perform.  I don't care if you're hosting a talk show or you're doing open mic at Commander Giggleworth's in Scarsdale - you don't dump on the guy who's got the next slot.  You just don't.  Leno is a sleazy opportunist who just wants all the toys.  He screwed Letterman and he's screwing Conan.  There's only one guy here who has any respect for what the Tonight Show means, and it's the one who'd leave a dream job rather than let NBC destroy it further.

A few years back, there was an Emmy tribute to Johnny Carson.  David Letterman, in a rare show of emotion, spoke of Johnny's influence.  If I recall correctly, Conan was hosting the Emmys, and the next time he took the stage he said something like "Dave talked about how much Johnny Carson meant to him as a young comedian, and I just want to say that for my generation, David Letterman had that same influence on us."  It was a cool, heartfelt moment where Conan had a minute to address his hero, go off book, and pay tribute.

It's not hard to be the class act when you're being compared to Jay Leno and desperate NBC executives, but Conan has been amazingly mature and classy.  (And also hilarious, if you've seen any of his recent monologues.)  And the thing is, what Carson was to Dave's generation, and Dave was to Conan's generation, Conan is to a whole new generation.  He's bigger than late night.  In the end, we don't remember Tonight or The Late Show; we remember Johnny and Dave.  And whether he's hosting Late Night, Tonight, or a yet-to-be-announced show on a better network, it's really going to be The Conan O'Brien Show. He doesn't need the famous Burbank studio, or the title.  In the end, Conan's going to be a historic host, regardless of the title of the show.  He does a brilliant show, he's well-respected in the industry, loved by other comedians, and a genuine class act.  And that's why I'm on Team Conan.

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