Okay, so let’s get this out of the way at the top: I’m a big Conan O’Brien fan, and I’m thrilled the red haired one has returned. But was I the only one who thought the opening night show was a little…meh? The cold open video, repurposing Conan as Sonny from The Godfather was hilarious. But the rest felt just a little… awkward, as Conan was constrained by the need to be self-referential – to constantly mention that this was his first night back after a long while. Where was the insanity? The absurd asides, that helped to make this guy a late night icon? It seemed as if the context often trumped the comedy. Well Tuesday, during night number two, he actually paused the monologue halfway through, to ask the audience’s permission to skew more topical. And then later in the show, he followed that up with three genuinely inventive bursts of craziness, proving to all those hesitant fans out there (read: me) that yes, Team CoCo is indeed ready to rejoin the majors. Videos after the jump.
