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Monday, June 13, 2011

Oh, You Kids! From Conan O'Brien's Dartmouth Commencement Speech

Posted by Wm.™ Steven Humphrey on Mon, Jun 13, 2011 at 10:15 AM

"One of the reasons it's so tough to find work is that aging baby boomers refuse to leave their jobs. Trust me on this. Even if they promise you for five years they are going to leave, and say it on television — you can go on YouTube right now and watch the guy do it — there's no guarantee they won't come back. I'm speaking generally."

Watch all of it here.

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Comments (21) RSS

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I think Jay Leno deserves to be shamed for as long as he stays on air.

Posted by derp derp derp derrrrrrrr on June 13, 2011 at 10:18 AM

No amount of grief is too much to give Leno. He's more than earned it, and he's such an amusing target.

Posted by Prettybetsy on June 13, 2011 at 10:18 AM

The more time the world can be reminded how stupid and unfunny Leno is, the better.

Posted by Enigma

on June 13, 2011 at 10:30 AM

Conan lost the Tonight Show audience and no amount of whining by him or his fans (or commenters here) is going to change that.

In TV, it's the numbers, stupid. Conan couldn't get them. Simple as that.

Posted by Citizen R on June 13, 2011 at 10:30 AM

Continue to allow. Dartmouth didn't hire him to speak about things other than what he usually speaks about. It'd be like Dan accepting a fee to speak at some college, then talking about nothing but Stephen Sondheim.

Posted by gloomy gus on June 13, 2011 at 10:31 AM

...and he is right, more generally, about that whole Boomer thing.

Posted by Timrrr on June 13, 2011 at 10:31 AM

@4 is correct. Nobody "screwed" Conan. Enough whining, already - he's got no-one to blame but himself.

Posted by Fifty-Two-Eighty

on June 13, 2011 at 10:47 AM

Continue to allow, not because of Conan, but because Leno is such a gigantic asshole that any and all ridicule in his direction is more than warranted.

Posted by Lynx on June 13, 2011 at 11:00 AM

Jay Leno hands-down destroyed the legacy of the Tonight Show.

For those of you with amnesia out there, as opposed to spending real money and developing new content, NBC had the not-even-1/4-cocked, bonehead idea to have Jay Leno for an hour at 10PM, FIVE NIGHTS A WEEK, leading in to the local news/Conan. THAT'S what hurt their numbers. Do you not remember all the affiliates decrying the banality of the Jay Leno China Bukkake Hour, or whatever the hell it was called?

So for that alone, yes, Conan gets to rip on Jay as long as Leno continues to host the Tonight Show.

Posted by Cui Bono on June 13, 2011 at 11:07 AM

one would have hoped that the 40 million dollars in severance pay and another talk show of his very own would have taken the sting out of this harrowing common person ordeal.

Posted by Josh Bis

on June 13, 2011 at 11:14 AM

It is important that each of us take the time to support the interests of one bloated, audience-killing multimillionaire over another bloated, audience-killing multimillionaire.

Posted by Fnarf

on June 13, 2011 at 11:31 AM

I'm with several of the aboves. Leno is so stupid that Conan can continue to milk the joke as much as he wants.

Posted by STJA on June 13, 2011 at 11:52 AM

Seeing as he's also correct about the boomers being terrible, I will allow it.

Posted by undead ayn rand on June 13, 2011 at 12:18 PM

I'm sorry, but shitting on NBC never gets old.

Posted by sirkowski

on June 13, 2011 at 1:00 PM

how much did they pay him? something in the millions, less taxes and legal... can he not survive on a few million? really?

it was funny once, but it's been played. if he can't be funny and relevant, he needs to retire.

of course, jay leno is obnoxious, too.

Posted by Allyn on June 13, 2011 at 1:26 PM

Keep on, Conan, you can say it every day for the next 50 years and it still won't undo the stupidity and injustice that "nice guy" Leno inflicted on you and the rest of us.

Posted by Bugnroolet on June 13, 2011 at 1:32 PM

@9 The sad part about Jay's failed 10PM experiment is that it is an idea that could really work with the right plan, and most importantly, the right host.

Five nights a week works with weekly resident guests, themes, and a host with the depth & breadth to handle all situations. There's just not too many Steve Allen types out there, and the staffing would be costly. NBC wanted cheap (other than Leno's salary), and the result is that the whole concept now has such a stink on it that even the right host may not get a shot at it again.

Posted by Sir Vic on June 13, 2011 at 1:42 PM

Nothing wrong with bringing it up when applicable. It was material in a commencement speech, not a press release.

Posted by Dougsf on June 13, 2011 at 1:54 PM

@17: "the result is that the whole concept now has such a stink on it that even the right host may not get a shot at it again."

I don't see that as a negative, really.

Posted by undead ayn rand on June 13, 2011 at 2:16 PM