The mindless rantings of a filmaholic.
Ron James is a tool.
Published on February 11, 2004 By Phantom of the Night In Movies & TV & Books
Well that was fucking pathetic. When Conan was asked about the material he would be doing, he stated that he would just be doing the show up here. I'm sorry but I didn't notice any of this pandering last week. It's great that you're in Toronto, and I'm a big fan of the show, but this is no good.
We payed you the big bucks, to come here, promote Toronto, and bring some laughter to the city. We didn't ask you to force-feed us mindless Canadian dribble, that we've heard throughout our lives. You said you were going to get all the stereotypes out of the way at the beginning. Well? What the fuck happened? We paid for your comedic services, not a charity event. We might not be the international heavyweight that the U.S. is, but we're not some mentally challenged child that needs to be nursed throughout the show.

Speaking of the show, it wasn't too thrilling. The opening was nice, with a fast-paced overview of the city, but this did not last. The opening monologue was pretty good. I loved the "I love you too. It's legal up here." comment, but the Maple Leafs shtick was pointless. Not only did I find this childish and poorly written, but it was sad that Conan was only able to get the low-rank Leafs. While Klee, Fitzgerald, Kidd and Domi are exceptional players, I hardly see how any Americans are going to care about any of them. Maybe Domi, but with his personality, that's highly unlikely. From this bit, we're led through a childish interview with Mike Myers (who I think is not very good at interviews in general because he's just too damn silly) and a terrible, and extremely painful, stand-up bit by Ron James. There was also the pain of having to wait a commercial break to find out tomorrow's guests, and to see the Masturbating Bear. It's great that he brought some of the elements with him, but when you use them as sight gags, they lose their comedic effect. Yet, I did laugh at the Skydome spoof, only because I found humor in the fact that they added one and extra section to his retractable roof. The Skydome only has 3 (I've been an Argos season ticket holder since I was 8,so maybe I'm just being fanatical). It wasn't entirely bad though, I don't think he said "Eh?" even once.

It seems this stunt was merely an excuse for Americans to take a vacation from Conan. With jokes about Stephen Harper, and references to Scarborough schools, it is highly unlikely that they will be drawing much attention from the South. Conan's joke about dubbing over Myers voice, will sadly have to be done, if they wish to attract anybody from the States, who wasn't born in Canada. I sure hope that he moves out of this pathetic (I use that word again on purpose) attempt to keep his Canadian viewers by tomorrow. With more mature guests, I'm sure this will happen, and honestly, how many times can you make a back bacon on a bun joke? Even Conan should be able to realize that this material won't hold up. You don't need to do all this to keep your northern viewers, Conan. There is obviously a fan base up here, or why else would we pay you to come? We will still be here when you leave, only if you stop treating us like a bunch of crazy Canucks. For shame Conan....for shame.
Comments
on Feb 11, 2004
NO NO NONONON!!!! don't be mad at Conan, friend. YOu have to understand his humor, I guess. He could make fun of 18 year old american girls for a whole show, and I would still think him the funniest man alive. DONT BE MAD!! He didn't mean it, I promise. He loves Canadians.

Trinitie
on Feb 14, 2004
I agree the first show was abit annoying. Myers, who I am a big fan of, really didn't help be acting like some canuck idiot. But I must say the next 3 shows were pure GOLD! He was able to have canadian based stuff and yet not be stereotypical. the idiot audience still chanted go leafs go at every oppertunity, but I was glad he made fun of them.
on Feb 14, 2004

I think Conan is funny as anything, The joke was a riot, it was a little
childish but Canada's Government is blasting the episode as "racist,"
which seems to be en vogue, everything is "racist."  I liked the sign
replacement gag "Québec queer Street" and "Rue des Pussies." this
is hilarious materiel.

on Feb 14, 2004
Damn, people are just too sensitive today. I watched some of the Conan in Toronto episodes and I found the Canadian jokes funny. There was nothing racist about the show.
on Feb 14, 2004
"Blame Canada, Blame Canada! It's not a real country anyways."
on Feb 14, 2004

We are about to enter French Canada... ( The French Canada song )

.wav file
on Feb 14, 2004
I love South Park because they are not afraid to be politically incorrect.