Not Cool, Zeus. Not Cool. (Part Two)

As introduced previously, this is the letter of an artist who respects the administrative side of things, but also gets that it isn't--it can't be--his job to do it. Conan has respect and devotion to the Tonight Show as an artistic institution, and is pissed that the administration isn't willing to see it the same way (or don't trust him to keep it safe). Below is Nikki Finke's take on his statement, and I'm right there with her:

I'm proud of O'Brien for standing his ground and protecting his own and The Tonight Show's future from NBC's nitwits. There's a rich legacy of that among his predecessors, from Steve Allen through Jack Paar and during Johnny Carson: they all refused to knuckle under to the network. Only Jay Leno didn't. Instead, he begged like a dog for The Tonight Show, and then rolled over and played dead even after Zucker canned him. Then Leno stayed with the network and agreed to a 10 PM show doomed from the outset. What a doormat. Obviously, NBCU thought Conan would be just as compliant. I'm thrilled that he's not. Hollywood should be, too, and publicly support him.

But it isn't just about fighting back against the big man. The littler regional men with the tinny voices need to be considered, too:

The move to redirect Mr. Leno from prime time, where his new show has struggled since September, back to late night was fueled by complaints from NBC’s affiliated stations that they were seeing diminished ratings for their 11 o’clock local newscasts as a result of low lead-in audiences each night in the 10 o’clock hour.

Poor, dear local affiliates. Declining lead-ins are the problem for your news shows? Sure. Sure they are.

So--is there a solution? Not one that I can puzzle out. All sides have valid points and concerns, but I like and trust (and know) Conan more than anyone else involved, so in his camp I will stay. And if you need any more prodding to join Team Conan, let Finke remind you (and Jeff Gaspin, to whom this comment is directed) of Conan's true colors:

Go back and watch O'Brien's charm and wit when he was hosting Late Night during the writers strike. That was a glimpse of the real Conan, not the uncomfortable twitching wreck doing Tonight Show duty. Play to his strengths.

The proof is in the strike beard.

Go Team Conan, whatever field we end up on.

POSTSCRIPT: Got this from @ebertchicago on Twitter. Barely made it through Leno and Kimmel's bit...yeesh, that was uncomfortable ("Conan and I have children! You have cars! Leave our shows alone!"). Nice mention of Jimmy's random fear of Mt. Rainier, though.