I’m with Coco

I recognized the difference between Conan O’Brien and Jay Leno when I was 11 years old.

My family took a vacation to New York City, and, as Midwesterners, we made a point of hitting up every tourist spot the city had to offer. Perhaps the most memorable stop of the day was the tourist trap we explored while at “30 Rock.”

They called the shop “The NBC Experience Store.” It was actually a very cool place with lots of NBC merchandise my sisters and I begged our parents to buy and undoubtedly misplaced over the years.

However, at the bottom of our NBC Experience shopping bags were two tapes we made a point of keeping.

One tape features me, at the age of 11, sharing a few chuckles with Leno.

Don’t get too excited. I didn’t actually get to meet Mr. Leno.

There was an activity at the NBC Experience that gave each customer the opportunity to simulate being the special guest on an NBC talk show.

Leno had pre-recorded his lines and his script was generic in the interest of working to fit each individual customer’s responses.

The word “generic” is completely fitting. His script was about as generic as a skit of that variety can get.

My sisters decided to go with the Conan O’Brien experience. (Apparently they were “with Coco” from the start.) His writers came up with such a creative idea for his activity that my family would be devoted members of “Team Coco” from then on.

The skit’s name? “The Wild Desk Ride.” The script was witty and clever. He acknowledged how silly the customers were for talking to a screen while giving them plenty of reasons to laugh throughout the “Ride.”

From that day at the NBC Experience in New York City, I realized that Conan O’Brien cares about his audience and has made it his life’s goal to make them laugh. Even his address to the “People of Earth” had just the right amount of humor at the end.

I’m afraid to accept that his time hosting “The Tonight Show” will be cut short after seven months. As a faithful audience member, I am certain he and his writers would have continued to come up with fresh material night after night.

Last week, while visiting L.A., I got a seat in the studio audience of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” the night Kimmel appeared on his show impersonating Leno, wearing a gray wig and a fake Leno chin.  Kimmel proceeded to lisp throughout his show and mimicked other Leno mannerisms.

After a good three minutes of straight laughter at Kimmel’s hilarious display, I wondered why I didn’t feel guilty laughing at Leno’s expense. None of my fellow audience members seemed to feel remorse either. I guess we all agreed that, given Leno’s great success with marginal comedy, it’s OK to laugh at him.

Besides, he’s been on TV since 1992. It’s about time he gave us a reason to giggle.


E-mail: jzaslow@indiana.edu