THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH CONAN O'BRIEN

First night went by smoothly, amusingly.

There were lots of filmed bits. Funny. Not hilarious. Opening was a good start: Conan discovering he was on the wrong coast twenty minutes before the show; couldn't catch a cab; had to run all the way to LA. Didn't seem all that out of breath when he arrived.

Monolog was OK. Conan shed many (but not all) of his quirky moves. It worked.

The set is very ornate. Lush. Big.

Band sounded good. Sidekick timing wasn't there yet. Will Farrell came on with some lame bits. (Warning to Conan: Tom Hanks -- tomorrow's visitor -- is a popular film star, but he can be a tough guest to handle.)

Pearl Jam was a hit, I think. (At night I can never turn the sound on TV up to where I can really hear the music well.) Conan was very appreciative of everything and everyone... and Pearl Jam especially.

On Late Night, Conan got getting better and better. He's a smart, funny, hard working comic. Carson & Leno were very different when they started than they were later on.

Paar was best at attitude; Carson was best with guests; Leno was best with just plain comedy; on scant evidence, I'd guess Conan will have comic media bits defining his show, at least for a while.

I think it will be a good show. I look forward to staying up too late. Wait! Sorry, NBC. I've got a DVR now. I'll see you in the daytime, Conan.

The web site has extra features:

The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien:
http://www.tonightshowwithconanobrien.com/

Good luck Conan!