Will the real Andy Richter please stand up 'Tonight'?

I'm sorry - I completely disagree. Richter is just not that funny in this role - maybe he was in the old "Late Night" days, but there is just not enough room or time with the announcer role for real humor to develop. Last night just looked creepy.

The real insult was the complete dismissal of the talented band members. The camera flashed to Max maybe twice for a total of three seconds TOTAL. We didn't even get to see any of the other band members except perhaps for a flash in a long shot of the studio. The jokes and chemistry between Conan and the band in the old show were really well-done and were a real hallmark of Conan's quirky humor. It would be an absolute shame if the band members were relegated to some dark, unseen corner for the rest of the show. I say - shut the announcer up and only trot him out for the occasional sketch (as was the case with Jay Leno's show) and bring the band more into the picture.

Ugh. It was their first night. Neither of them was on their game. Give it a chance.

Richter has never really been funny and has never succeeded at anything on his own. You are surprised he took the role of second banana? What else would he be doing with that stellar tv career he currently has? I bet he jumped at this quicker than a starving junkyard dog to food.

I agree with the article. Andy is great, but we wasn't used much last night. I hope once they get past all the "welcome to LA" nonsense, they can start making some comedy.

I think it's demeaning to Andy to make him stand/sit behind a podium, far away from the stage, and offer very little to the show. I love Conan and personally I don't feel he needs a sidekick. If Andy, is in fact his sidekick, he should be sitting on the couch contributing to the show. If I were Andy, I would quit right now, unless things change.

Stan wrote:

I'm sorry - I completely disagree. Richter is just not that funny in this role - maybe he was in the old "Late Night" days, but there is just not enough room or time with the announcer role for real humor to develop. Last night just looked creepy.
The real insult was the complete dismissal of the talented band members. The camera flashed to Max maybe twice for a total of three seconds TOTAL. We didn't even get to see any of the other band members except perhaps for a flash in a long shot of the studio. The jokes and chemistry between Conan and the band in the old show were really well-done and were a real hallmark of Conan's quirky humor. It would be an absolute shame if the band members were relegated to some dark, unseen corner for the rest of the show. I say - shut the announcer up and only trot him out for the occasional sketch (as was the case with Jay Leno's show) and bring the band more into the picture.

Stan, I totally agree with you about the band. On the other hand, maybe we should give it some time and Conan will start doing more with Max and La Bamba.

Ugh. I've never understood the appeal of Andy Richter. He just seems like dead weight on the show, and what's with the podium? Is a game show about to erupt? His loud laughter when no one else is laughing is very awkward.

I agree about Max and the band. Max's weird sullen stares were the best thing (one of the few good things) about the old Conan show.

The most disappointing thing about the first two nights of the New Tonight Show is the sight of Andy Richter standing at his podium. He should be alongside Conan on stage, like he (and Ed) used to be. Right now, all I think of is the sad excuse for a sidekick that Jay Leno had. Seventeen years on the air, and I still don't remember that guy's name. He was total dead weight that should have been gone after the first week. Hopefully, that won't be Andy's fate.

First and second shows were boring. Child like humor, silly.
Not funny, and painful to watch.
I can't wait until Jay returns in the fall a 10pm. I going to set my clock an hour and a haft ahead and watch Jay at 11:35.

That's not Andy Richter!

Arthur Treacher is back!

Andy Richter has never been funny at anything but I really can't ever remember laughing during any of Conan's shows, just not a funny person.

No late show personality has even been in the same league as Carson or even Letterman in his prime.

Andy Richter should host the show, not Conan. It should be "The Tonight Show with Andy Richter." That's alls I'm sayin'.

Conan has made two mistakes:

1)changing the name of the band without adding any band members

2)not having Andy on the couch next to him

Andy should be standing where Ed McMahon did -- offstage, until the host sat down. Then the announcer/sidekick sits next to him.
Their chemistry helped their show click when it was first on in 1993.
Andy left to pursue other roles but they should get back to what worked.
He shouldn't be standing behind a podium right in front of the office.
He looks like the union guy sent by the mob -- a show-up-and-do-nothing job.

I kind of feel Conan's ego might be slightly getting away from him. If that happens, forget it.

Andy is funny about 15% of the time. See how much you really laugh when he's on. He was booted from the first show for not being funny - why bring him back?

I think I was the first one who said that about Andy and the couch but I'm glad everyone agrees with me.

I also agree with Joe that the name of the band should have remained Max Weinberg and the Max Weinberg Seven.

Even so, he's still Conan and he'll find his way before too long! I will never stop watching my Coney! I do miss the intimacy of the Late Night stage.

Terry wrote:

Andy Richter has never been funny at anything but I really can't ever remember laughing during any of Conan's shows, just not a funny person.
No late show personality has even been in the same league as Carson or even Letterman in his prime.

Terry, you must not have any sense of humor if you don't think Conan is funny! Just my opinion.

The reason the band is not "MWATMW7" is because the band on the Tonight Show has always been the "Tonight Show Band." End of story. The only real sidekick the show has ever allowed has been Ed McMahon. No one has ever worked since. That NBC allowed Conan to bring back Richter in ANY capacity is a nod to how much they have invested in not pissing Conan off. You guys think of WAY too much of this with your hearts.

I'm with you...I want to see Andy back on the couch. The fact he's there at all is a miracle after he's proven that he cant even hold his own show! Conan had to vouch for him to bring him back! I LOVE the guy - ARCTUni was a hiLARious show but it had a limited audience.

Most of you are mistaking the Tonight Show to be just an earlier time slot for Conan. NOT the case. The Tonight Show IS the iconic late night show of the last 3 generations. NBC has a forumla for the show, and they've used it to some degree ever since its inception. While Conan will get a chance to do some more of his "either you get it or you dont" humor, the show has a pretty strict format that wont be very derived from.

Its the reason the show has been on since before Johnny Carson took over. Conan will get to make his mark. But NBC wont let it be TOO big.

Here's why Richter won't work. He has no props as a sidekick during the monologue. He shouldn't be out there during the monologue. Schaffer and Eubanks had the band as relief and backup during camera shots. Richter looks like a wacky professor grading Conan's material from a podium. They'll surely move him to the second segment, already sitting down when Conan comes back after the monologue. Either way, when the early interest rubs off, people will begin to realize the studio audience is too large and too far removed from the stage making Conan look like a Vegas act. Look for Letterman to finally surpass the Tonight Show in ratings on a consistent basis.

rick wrote:

Either way, when the early interest rubs off, people will begin to realize the studio audience is too large and too far removed from the stage making Conan look like a Vegas act.

Rick, I agree with you regarding the stage and it being too far removed from the audience.

Either way, I will continue to watch Conan. As with most things, I think there needs to be a period of adjustment for his fans and for Conan and his staff.

I wonder if his writers followed him to The Tonight Show?