Conan O'Brien Back on TBS

"Welcome to my second annual first show," said Conan O'Brien, kicking off his monologue in the premiere of his new talk show, Conan (TBS, weeknights at 11 p.m. ET) on Monday night. 

If any fans worried that the show would be different on TBS, those concerns were quickly put to rest. O'Brien's signature quirky humor was on display from the opening sequence, spoofing the events of the last year. (Lost his NBC job. Took funny-sad jobs to get by. Contemplated suicide. And finally, took Larry King's suggestion to try a show on basic cable.) What came next was an hour of self-deprecating jokes about both himself and his new network.

"People asked me why I named the show Conan," he cracked. "I did it so I would be harder to replace." And later: "I'm really glad to be on cable," he said. "I have dreamed of being a talk show host on basic cable ever since I was 46." Naturally, there was the obligatory stab at TBS's modest stature: "We are already number one in TBS' key demo -- people who cannot afford HBO."

Aside from a new set with an ocean view and a remote-controlled moon, the show was very much what you expect from O'Brien. He had plenty of goofy stunts, like when he announced the winner of "our rigged first guest contest," an elderly woman who's the curator of the Nutcracker museum. Then he and sidekick Andy Richter modeled some hideous Halloween masks of Conan's face. "For legal reasons they couldn't call it a Conan O'Brien mask," he explained. Viewers then got a close-up of the mask's label, which read "Ex-Talk Show Host."

The rest of the show was typical, self-effacing Conan fare. There was a pre-taped bit from Ricky Gervais, who wished his friend well but expected that he'd be downgraded to a radio show within seven months. When guest Seth Rogan used the "s" word, Conan blanched and said, "Thank god we're on TBS." And when a knocking noise interrupted Glee's Lea Michele mid-sentence, he quipped, "Basic cable. Someone rented out a space right there. There's a Meineke muffler shop."

O'Brien joined rocker Jack White during his musical performance, and then, almost as soon as it started, his premiere was over. "That went fast," he said. But with a little luck, the show itself will have a good, long run. Longer than the last one, anyway.

What did you think of Conan's first show on TBS? Chime in below!

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/conan-obrien-back-tbs/1-a-297106

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