- List of Conan sketches
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The following is a list of recurring sketches and characters which debuted on Conan on TBS. Conan is a talk/variety show starring Conan O'Brien and sidekick Andy Richter. Writers Brian McCann, Deon Cole, Brian Stack, Andres du Bouchet, Dan Cronin, graphic artist Pierre Bernard, and members of Jimmy Vivino and the Basic Cable Band often appear in sketches as well. Some sketches feature celebrity cameos.
Characters
Andy's sidekick
Andy hired Jimmy Pardo to be his sidekick for a week. Pardo would laugh at everything Andy said and stare blankly at everything Conan said. Conan eventually hired another sidekick. The second sidekicks then shuffled back and forth depending on the quality of the jokes.
The Flaming C
Conan and Bruce Timm created The Flaming C, a character based on Conan's appearance and jokingly referred to it as DC Comics' next superhero. The character has a comical appearance due to wearing things not associated with superheroes, such as a steaming ovenmit, a jai alai glove, ski goggles, a Star of David belt buckle, socks with garters, fishnet stockings and loafers. Faux videos have been made where the character appears on the show Young Justice. [1][2] Conan also played a faux trailer for an animated feature film about the character. The character also had a dedicated segment at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con International. Conan later brought in a lifesize Lego statue of the character made by a viewer.
Mascots That Should Never Dunk
Conan explains that one of his favorite parts of March Madness is the mascot slam dunk contest. He then introduces us to some mascots who should never compete in a slam dunk contest. As he lists them, a guy dressed as that mascot attempts to dunk the ball, usually resulting in failure. Some of these mascots include: The Solar System, Cop at a urinal,Congressman Anthony Weiner's underpants, and the Human Starfish. As of June 7, 2011, only 2 mascots have completed this feat successfully. Conan later did the skit for the NBA playoffs.
Minty, the Candy Cane That Fell on the Ground
Timed for the Christmas season, Minty is a giant candy cane (played by Brian McCann) who walks through the crowd throwing mini candy canes to the audience members as a 1940s crooner-style jingle plays in the background. According to the jingle, he fell on the ground for "just a moment or two", which was enough for him to be covered in "excrement". Actually, his costume is covered in the typical kind of garbage that might be found on a dirty floor, such as dead bugs, string, a penny and a cigarette butt. One loyal fan created a video game based on the character,[3] which was posted to the show's website.
Ted Turner
TBS founder Ted Turner, played by Will Forte, [4] appears on a stuffed buffalo named Teddy Jr. to harshly criticize Conan and his audience and claiming the show will ruin the reputation of TBS. Conan eventually brought out his own buffalo and challenged Turner to a duel but the buffaloes instead began mating, with Teddy Jr. being the "receiver".
Watson
The Jeopardy!-winning Watson supercomputer does Andy Richter's job for him. The computer kisses-up to Conan, and makes sexual jokes about Andy's wife. The sketches culminated in Andy beating the computer with a baseball bat, shooting it with a shotgun, and finally throwing it off of the studio's roof.
Segments
20 Air Fresheners in 20 Nights
In reference to big-ticket giveaways by hosts such as Oprah Winfrey, Conan responded by announcing his intent to give away 20 pine tree-scented air fresheners in 20 days. He later hastily added that each air freshener would come inside a Chevrolet Cruze, the air freshener being needed as La Bamba has slept in each one. The giveaway was conducted on the Team Coco website.
Angry Birds
To appease Finnish Internet viewers who can't get his show on TV, Conan and Andy play a live action version of the Finnish game Angry Birds, with the opponents being Ikea furniture (made in Sweden, Finland's rival). Later the targets were changed to a boombox playing Kim Kardashian's song "Jam (Turn It Up)", and the cast of Jersey Shore. Often, Conan is unable to destroy the items by catapulting the birds, so he and Andy resort to walking over and smashing them with baseball bats.
Andy Richter's Sports Blast
Andy hosts what seems like a traditional sports show, but instead gives off the impression that he has no clue about sports and is very ill prepared. Examples of this would be when he goes over the week's NFL games and picks the winners based on a real life matchup, (Redskins vs. Cowboys, he picks the Cowboys because he's seen enough western movies to know how it turns out.) and the Clip of the Week in which he shows a clip that has nothing to do with sports.
Basic Cable Name That Tune
Conan plays Name That Tune with the audience, except the songs have alternate lyrics to avoid having to pay licensing fees. The contestants win strange prizes, with past prizes consisting of a 1 lbs. bag of Swedish fish, a jar of "Nuzz", and an unclaimed custom cake from a bakery.
Captain America / "Oh, it looks good!"
Conan explains that Entertainment Tonight has been showing clips from Captain America: The First Avenger. A clip of the 1979 made-for-TV movie, Captain America, is shown instead. The clip shown is usually something ridiculous like his bike turning into a hang glider, or Captain America using his shield to ward off three non-threatening dogs. Conan later began to mock the way Mark Steines closed the segment by saying "Oh, it looks good!" by repeatedly saying the phrase with a comical face, followed by the ET audio clip of the phrase, which has become a running gag on the show. Several crew and audience members have been given the chance to say it even when the Captain America clips aren't shown. A shirt with Conan's comical face and "Oh, it looks gooood!" in text was made available for purchase on Team Coco's store on Zazzle on July 27th. Steines later appeared and repeatedly said the line with Conan.
Citizenship test
Conan states he believes all Americans should pass the U.S. citizenship test before they are allowed to vote, then takes the test himself. His version consists of serious American history questions like the actual test, but contains mostly popular culture and sexual questions. One example of this is:
Andy: "When is it not appropriate to say the phrase "That's what she said."? Conan: "Never." Andy: "Conan, I'm surprised you're answering these correctly. They're really hard!" Conan: "Heh-heh! That's what she said."
Conan blimp
Main article: Conan blimpConan has repeatedly commented that he is the only talk show host with his own blimp, and has gotten his big orange blimp to do trivial things, such as film a bike race and stalk actor Gary Busey. The blimp later reappeared on TBS to promote the 2011 Major League Baseball playoffs, with Conan sending a random audience member to take a ride on the blimp in St. Louis during the NLCS.
Commercials for African-Americans
In response to TBS having a lot of Tyler Perry-created African-American based sitcoms, writer Deon Cole offered to create a series of commercials for the show to appeal to a black audience. A commercial typically consists of black people in a club with a TV airing Conan doing silly monologues with the words "Conan's back on TBS" sung in a mellow R&B style. The commercials end with an afro substituting Conan's hairstyle in the Conan logo with the slogan: "TBS: Righteously funny".
Conan's Peanut Players
Conan mentions a recent celebrity or other unusual newsworthy incident, but says there's no actual footage of it. Instead, he shows a reenactment of it using shelled peanuts and toys.
Conan's Video Blog
Conan announces he is going to share his thoughts via a blog to appeal to his broadening online following and gain teenage viewers. The screen then cuts to a simulation of a camcorder with Conan in front of a wall in what looks like a typical teenager's room. Much of the segment is devoted to Conan saying things that are stereotypically said in teenagers' YouTube videos. After a few minutes, Andy comes in and asks what's taking so long and that they have a show to do. Conan responds by getting annoyed at Andy and yelling for him to get out of his room. After continuing the segment, LaBamba walks onto the set and receives the same treatment from Conan.
Conan O'Brien Boulevard
Conan mentions that Oprah Winfrey was recently awarded an honorary street in Chicago. Conan then claims he deserves a street named after him. He even picked one: a short one way, dead end street in a run down part of Van Nuys. He later "fixed it up" by adding on to graffiti and putting in a potted plant. He later held a block party and added a traffic light.
Facebook photos
Conan will pick a member of the audience and take a photo of them with himself using a green screen and props and suggest they make it their Facebook profile picture.
Fan Corrections
Every Monday, Conan shows videos from viewers who believe they've caught a mistake made on the show. However, Conan will make up a ridiculous story to explain the error and back it up with doctored footage, while berating the accuser. Even Conan's beard was questioned; but we come to find out that he "glued" on a beard made of shredded paper for 6 months.
Interactive backdrop
The landscape backdrop has a video element that allows some interaction with Conan and his guests. In one episode, he watched a ship sink. In another, Conan and Tom Hanks watched some whales jump through the ocean. One of the whales jumped very close to Hanks, spraying him with water.
One of the more common gags of the interactive backdrop is the moon. Since the moon in Conan's backdrop is a separate element, he can manipulate it with a remote control. Sometimes he just makes it go back and forth. Other times more happens, such as a man dubbed Moondancer coming out to prance behind the moving moon. A few months ago, he put Charlie Sheen's face on it.
On the show of November 15th, 2011, the moon's fuses or wiring blew out. This left the moon obviously and visibly darkened. During the commercial break, many crew members were hastily attempting to fix the moon. Conan mocked them as the crew didn't want the audience to know that the moon was "fake", despite being unrealistically larger than the actual moon. The moon was repaired momentarily but then blew out again. Conan kept mentioning the broken moon during each interview.
Local News Round-Up
Conan explains that since the show airs during local newscasts, they decided to make one of their own, with stories and items stereotypically found in them (a fire on the bad part of town, a city council meeting, a short weather forecast, the local sports team won, and a lighthearted animal video at the end). Other sketches have featured Ritcher as an investigative reporter or as a weatherman (reporting on a flurry of snow on LaBamba).
Movie Casting
Conan mentions that a certain actor has been given a certain movie role in a superhero or fantasy movie sequel, an audience member dressed in the character's costume asks if he's sure. When Conan assures them that the part has been cast, the costumed-audience member leaves disappointed. So far, the roles included Gandalf and an African American Bilbo Baggins (The Hobbit), Superman (Superman: Man of Steel) and a man dressed as Catwoman (The Dark Knight Rises).
Nicolas Cage Warning System
Conan announces that the United States Department of Homeland Security has changed their warning system from colors to scenes from Nicolas Cage films, ranked by how poorly he overacts in the scenes.
Opening credits
A running gag is deviating slightly from the opening involving a family driving home from the city to their home to watch TV. The gags have included the car being catapulted, the family being abducted by aliens, the city being destroyed by a giant monster, the car being a clown car that includes many other people in addition to the family, and the family driving to an Opening Day baseball game instead of home.
Oscar moments
Conan, Andy and Pierre (poorly) reenact scenes from films nominated for Best Picture at the 83rd Academy Awards. They performed clips from 127 Hours, Black Swan, The Social Network, and Inception.
Oscar Winner F-Bomb Hall of Fame
This list includes all Academy Awards winners who have appeared on the show and say the word "Fuck" during the interview.[5] After the celebrity is inducted, Andy Richter reveals a bust statue that does not resemble the celebrity at all. So far there are two members of this Hall of Fame:
A potential third member, Natalie Portman (who was at the time in the running for an Oscar at the 83rd Academy Awards), did say the word "fuck" during her interview. Conan stated during her interview that he would add her to the hall if she won later (which she now has), but it has not happened yet.
Racial Perspective
After Conan mentions a story about something in the news that's controversial because of suspected racism, writer Deon Cole appears and gives a brief commentary, which is usually only a few words. The latest version was about a class action lawsuit by animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals against Sea World which alleges the theme park treats its whales like African slaves in the United States prior to the American Civil War, to which Cole's comment was "Are you shitting me?!"
Ronnie Jancor for President
Conan selects stagehand Ronnie Jancor to run for U.S. President, and has him do stereotypical campaign actions like kiss babies, flip-flop on issues and be endorsed by a country music singer. Conan later said he needed a running mate, someone with qualities similar to Sarah Palin (ultra-conservative, uneducated, an "aww shucks appeal"), and determined Jack McBrayer to be the perfect fit.
Spider-Man musical
Parodying the musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, Conan claims his show was selected for a special screening. This "screening" is then performed by a man in a poorly made Spider-Man suit and gym shoes, a man dressed as Doctor Octopus with dryer tubes for tentacles, and other varying cast members. After the performance, an assortment of characters completely unrelated to the performance will come out and bow with the performers. This group usually includes a very apathetic looking man wearing a Wonder Woman uniform. This random assortment of characters grows every time the sketch is performed. In the most recent version, an ensemble of injured characters was shown, referencing the numerous injuries that have occurred to the actual play's cast. Another version of the skit showcased new villains.
Staffers' Kids Say the Darndest Things
Conan records his staffers' kids talking about what their parents tell them about working for Conan. All of the comments are negative, and talk about how Conan abuses them.
TBS Shelf of Excellence
In a parody of Turner Classic Movies' intros, Conan adds a cheesy comedy film that has aired on TBS to the "TBS Shelf of Excellence".
Thrice
Conan does not like the new words introduced in the dictionaries, and declares that there are other words that are not used frequently enough, like "Thrice". A sketch then shows how the word could be used in everyday situations. The examples included an armed man warning the police forces, a man finding his wife in bed with his friend, and two parachutists whose parachutes do not open. Once the word "thrice" is said, it is shown on screen and is said again in an enthusiastic voice, with the characters smiling at the camera.
TSA screening
Following the uproar over revised TSA screening policies deemed by many as invasive, Conan invited TSA agent George Bautista to demonstrate a TSA screening. On Thanksgiving, Conan invited Bautista back to stuff a turkey. In both cases, the sketch involved excessive touching and other inappropriate behavior by Bautista.
Tyler Perry's Row 11
A parody of Tyler Perry's House of Payne. Conan says that director Tyler Perry has a lot of power on TBS, and even has a show-within-a-show called Tyler Perry's Row 11.[6] The sketch features an African-American family who resides on Row 11 of Conan's studio and bickers constantly but always comes together at the end. Perry made a cameo on one episode when he was Conan's guest, and solved the family's financial problems.
A variation of this was Tyler Perry's House of Kennedy, featuring an African-American version of the Kennedys who speak with Boston accents and enjoy clam chowder. This was done as a parody of the controversial miniseries.
Why China Is Kicking Our Ass
Once there was a competition among interns on the set to prove who could suck up to O'Brien the best, out of nowhere a Chinese teenager emerges victorious when the others had just gotten their instructions. Unfortunately, the Chinese translation that appears on screen reads 瓷为什么踢我们的屁股 (Why Porcelain Is Kicking Our Ass) instead of 为什么中国在踢我们的屁股. The mistake was noticed by several viewers during a recent "Fan Corrections" segment, with Conan claiming they were all wrong, and showed a speech of Mao Se Tung after the Chinese Civil War (with mistranslated subtitles), declaring China's new name as the "People's Republic of Porcelain."
- Drew Beaumier auditions for American Idol as a Transformers robot.
- Gary Busey Vs. Meat Loaf on Celebrity Apprentice.
- Sam B's performance on America's Got Talent.
Celebrity cameos
Jon Cryer is a troll
In response to Two and a Half Men co-star Charlie Sheen's comment that he was a troll, Cryer appeared in a cameo and confessed that he was indeed born a troll doll, and that other celebrities such as Helen Mirren were also once trolls.
Larry King's new show
Conan announced that Larry King is hosting a new show in the rafters of his own studio. King appeared in a cameo and began taking calls from viewers, similar to the format of Larry King Live.
Theme song lyrics
Conan mentions his theme song now has lyrics and "Weird Al" Yankovic appeared and performed it. The first half was normal, describing the show in general, but then turned dark, describing the time Yankovic and Conan went camping and Conan killed someone and swore Al to secrecy (which he had just broke by announcing it on national television, and feared Conan would kill him too).
Super Dave's lawsuit
Super Dave Osborne appeared and explained he sued a plastic surgeon for a botched lip enhancement procedure. He explained the judge would award him $10,000,000 if he would go on a talk show, tell three dirty jokes, and prove the people weren't laughing at them, but at his ridiculous lips. After doing so, Conan claims he won the case.
Conan and a fan meet Simon Baker
Conan mentions The Mentalist is shot on the same lot as his show, and offers a fan of it accompany him to meet its star Simon Baker. After finding him reading a magazine behind the show's studio, Baker ran off as fast as he could.
Jersey Shore Audition Tapes
Conan mentioned Jersey Shore is looking for new male cast members. He then showed audition tapes featuring Jack McBrayer, DJ Qualls, Jesse Eisenberg, and John Lithgow. Actual Jersey Shore cast member Mike Sorrentino also briefly appeared, however the casting director quickly yelled "NEXT!"
Returning sketches
These are sketches that have appeared on O'Brien's previous NBC programs, Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.
Mike Merritt's Inner Thoughts
As Conan responds to a news article about race and civil rights, the camera cuts to bassist Mike Merritt making comments, via voice over, about how Conan knows nothing about African Americans and cracks a joke about Conan's race.
TV Movie Casting
A fictitious new made-for-TV movie is announced, based on a real-life event Conan has mentioned. Conan then says he has the inside scoop on the movie's casting. Viewers are shown two photos side-by-side of a person or thing who will be portrayed in the movie and the person that will be playing the role. The casting first starts off with people who strikingly resemble the person they are playing but then goes off to extremes with, usually, objects or fictitious characters bearing some resemblance to the person they are playing. The humor is in how similar the two photos are despite how vastly different the two people/things pictured are or vice versa, with Conan often commenting on how great the casting is.
The Audiencey Awards
Conan awards members of the studio audience for various talents. Typically this will always include "best celebrity impression" to highlight lookalikes (as in movie casting), and then a variety of other awards which are achieved with props and superimposed images. For example, the winner of "Best Foreign Language Audience Member" was shown with a large superimposed moustache and sombrero, and the "Audience Member Who Smells the Most Like Fresh Salmon" was attacked by a man in a bear costume. Awards show intermission segments (red carpet, how the award is built, etc.) are also parodied.
Someone is thrown off the studio's roof by security
Conan has demonstrated zero tolerance for obnoxious audience members, Andy's antics, and even a mascot for Anthony Weiner's penis. There have been five or more instances where Conan has motioned for security to take away an offending character. They drag the person to the top of the studio's roof and launch them off the roof onto the hard concrete lot below.
References
- ^ Watch "Conan: The Flaming C" [Young Justice New York Magazine
- ^ Conan O'Brien's The Flaming C Meets Superboy Comics Alliance February 11, 2011
- ^ Minty The Candy Cane - THE GAME Team Coco December 22, 2010
- ^ Conan Berated By Will Forte As Ted Turner The Huffington Post November 11, 2011
- ^ Oscar Winner F Bomb Hall of Fame Team Coco January 1, 2011
- ^ Tyler Perry's Row 11 Team Coco December 6, 2010
Conan O'Brien Television hosting Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993–2009) (episodes · sketches) · 54th Primetime Emmy Awards (2002) · 58th Primetime Emmy Awards (2006) · The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (2009–2010) (episodes · sketches) · Conan (2010–) (episodes · sketches)Major appearances "Bart Gets Famous" (The Simpsons, 1994) · "Xmas Story" (Futurama, 1999) · "The Denial Twist" (The White Stripes 2005 music video) · "Valentine's Day" (The Office, 2006) · "Tracy Does Conan" (30 Rock, 2006) · Who Made Huckabee? (2008)Other television work Not Necessarily the News (writer, 1985–1987) · The Wilton North Report (writer, 1987–1988) · Saturday Night Live (writer, 1988–1991) · Lookwell (writer, 1991) · The Simpsons (writer, producer, 1991–1993) · Andy Barker, P.I. (creator, 2007) · Operating Instructions (executive producer, 2010) · Outlaw (executive co-producer, 2010) · Eagleheart (executive producer, 2011–)Other work Harvard Lampoon (writer, editor, president, 1981–1985) · Happy Happy Good Show (cast, 1988) · The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour (2010) · Live at Third Man (live album, 2010) · Conan O'Brien Can't Stop (documentary, 2011)Collaborators The Basic Cable Band · Pierre Bernard · Joel Godard · Steven Ho · Brian McCann · Mike Mitchell · Jimmy Pardo · Andy Richter · Robert Smigel · Brian Stack · Abe Vigoda · Reggie Watts · Max Weinberg · Jack White · Will ForteRelated articles Conaco · Pale Force · Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog · Finnish presidential election, 2006 · 2010 Tonight Show conflict · The War for Late Night · Conan blimp · The Flaming C DC Comics characterCategories:- Comedy sketches
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