Conan Retains Comedic Chops

After months of questions about whether Conan O'Brien would be able to keep what Slate.com called his "brand of late-late-night, smart guy, outsider humor," upon taking over the "Tonight Show," O'Brien rose to the occasion in his first night as host. According to "Entertainment Weekly," the new host of America's favorite late-night program, previously presided over by classic comedians like Steve Allen, Johnny Carson and, of course, recently departed host Jay Leno, sunk his teeth into the new program immediately, with spectacular results.

O'Brien took advantage of the show's Los Angeles setting. O'Brien's previous engagement, "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," was filmed in New York. "The Tonight Show" began with a pre-filmed segment where the new host undertook a "Forrest Gump"-esque cross-country run to arrive at his new studio in time for the first episode, only to find he left his keys in New York. O'Brien also used the studio's spot on the Universal Studios lot in another section of his inaugural monologue, participating in a bizarro-world Universal Studios tour which ended with the tour tram taking to the streets in L.A. before stopping at a 99-cent store where O'Brien bought each of the tourists a gift, according to Collegenews.com.

The rest of O'Brien's first day at the new job was standard talk-show fare, he reintroduced former "Late Night" sidekick Andy Richter, returning to O'Brien's side for the first time in nearly 10 years, and the Max Weinberg 7, the house band on "Late Night," reported Collegenews.com. Comedic actor Will Ferrell was the show's first guest, stopping by to promote his new movie "Land of the Lost," as well as to provide O'Brien with tips to living well in LA, according to Entertainment Weekly. Musical guest Pearl Jam performed a new song from their upcoming album "Backspacer."

While O'Brien has, so far, won acclaim with his new gig as "Tonight Show" host, only time will tell if his kind of zany humor will continue to attract viewers in a different time slot, in a different location and in a different audience, reported Slate.com.