Can Conan carry on the legacy?

Recently, talk-show magnate Jay Leno announced he will be leaving "The Tonight Show" on NBC and Conan O'Brien will replace him. Leno has had enough of the show, and so he will be stepping down in five years.\n"Well, I'm pretty worn out, I just don't think I can take another six years. Five? No big deal."\nJay Leno, a feverish workaholic, is calling it quits, and Conan O'Brien is taking over. The brilliant minds hard at work at NBC made a decision to keep Conan with the network on a very long-term basis. He took over the time slot when Letterman moved to CBS, and at that time, he wasn't getting so much support from NBC, who actually canceled him (but only for one show). Now O'Brien is almost as hot as his red hair. So to keep O'Brien from signing a huge deal with another network, NBC has given him the royal late night talk show throne: "The Tonight Show."\nMaybe some people are sad to see Leno go -- and those people are probably on their second pacemaker or retired in Florida. Others never liked him. You might have thought of him as cheesy or hated the way his voice squeaks or even just hated his obnoxious band leader. Either way, I think it is safe to say I won't be shedding a whole lot of tears over his departure. \nBut does this mean we want Conan to be on an hour earlier? I was never able to see Johnny Carson when he hosted the show. In fact, I've seen Dana Carvey doing an impression of Carson more than I've seen Carson himself. It was just before my time. I have seen highlights on TV, one in particular where a lady is sitting in the guest chair with a cat on her lap. She asks Johnny if he wants to pet her pussy. And Johnny says, "Sure, as soon as you move that damn cat." Good humor, I say, but not what I associate with Leno. Leno seems mild. Leno is something you can share with your parents or even grandparents. But Conan is different. He is somebody you could party with, even if you just had him dance around in a tiny leprechaun costume. \nConan is lovable at 12:35 a.m. He makes jokes about nobody watching or his green Ford Taurus. He has characters like the FedEx pope and Frankenstein. I mean, who can imagine the masturbating bear being on "The Tonight Show?" Can you imagine "Walker: Texas Ranger" clips on "The Tonight Show?" What I'm saying is, I think Conan is great, but I'm afraid "The Tonight Show" will change him. \nOne thing I've always liked about Conan is he has his show in New York City. "The Tonight Show" has traditionally been in Los Angeles, and Conan has said that he would probably make the cross country move for the show. All this while I can't enjoy the benefit of Conan on Comedy Central. During the early summer, I grew accustomed to breakfast with O'Brien at 11 a.m. There is truly nothing quite like a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Max Weinberg and the Max Weinberg Seven to start off a day.\nPerhaps I'm getting a little worked up over the whole issue. It isn't going to happen for another five years. FIVE YEARS! I don't even remember what I was like five years ago. There's a good chance I'll grow sick of Conan way before another five years go by.