Goodnight and Goodbye, Coco

As I'm watching the last Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, tears of sadness are sneaking out of the corners of my eyes. I can't believe this is the last time I'm going to fall asleep with Conan on in the background (or is it?), as I've done every week night since he took over a too-short, seven months ago. I'm going to miss: the "the Fonz" and "Tom Cruise"; La Bamba; Andy; Conan's emo Vampire intern-who always hilariously runs out into the sunlight and burns to a crisp when his 'emo'tions get the best of him; in the year 3000 bits; the Universal Studios tour tram stop; and countless other bits that made me smile before I drifted off into dreamland.

I've been a fan of Conan's since he was a writer on SNL and The Simpson's 20 years ago. I stayed up many nights in the past 16 years, way past my bedtime to catch the first 10 or 20 minutes of Late Night. So of course "I'm with Coco!"...

Okay. Sappy time over. Now the rant...Have NBC executives lost their flippin' minds? I realize that they have new owners and the network is DYING due to their past mismanagement, but to jeopardize the future and integrity of the Tonight Show for some short, very short, term gains, is insanity. Did they think this through? Answer: NO! Jay Leno's tenure is over, period. Bringing him back for what should hopefully be only one or two years is just insane. They made a commitment to Conan who has patiently waited over 16 years to have his dream job and they pissed all over that commitment. Who do they have to take over for Jay when he's really done? Jimmy Fallon? Carson Daly? Are they going to try to steal Jimmy Kimmel from ABC, who I also love and have been a fan of since his days as Jimmy the Sports Guy on KROQ, but he has lower ratings than Conan. It's a travesty that NBC gave Conan very little time to grow his audience. Leno had low ratings and lost to Letterman his first few years, until the Hugh Grant, post-scandal interview, tuned viewers in.

When Jay Leno finally does the right thing and really retires, I hope NBC gets on it's knees and begs Conan to come back. Then he'll have the last laugh when he is winning the 11:00 hour while hosting on FOX or wherever he ends up.

As I'm listening to Conan's final remarks, I'm struck by the class and appreciation he is showing to the very unclassy NBC. Now I'm really crying...Goodnight Coco.