Harry Connick, Jr was so tough on Conan O’Brien; it makes you wonder if they are actually good friends or Connick just has a wicked sense of humor? I must say I liked seeing Connick cut the usually egocentric O’Brien off and make him squirm. It was one-upsmanship at its finest. Connick was discussing his kids, finally having to come to grips with the fact that he’s a man and realizing that he needed to give up dressing as a woman for many years on Halloween. Conan said “it took them that long to figure it out?” Connick, slowing and deliberately putting his hand on Conan’s knee and caressing it, said “Didn’t take you that long!” A flustered Conan, after a very pregnant pause and several facial contortions, said “that’s not really my leg,” thinking he had ended it. In perfect stride, Connick topped him with “that’s not really my hand.” By this point, both host and audience were in hysterics.
There to promote his Lifetime film Living Proof, Connick showed a serious side when talking about the importance of this true story and although there was no clip to watch (hello Lifetime?), he made the film seem very compelling.
Connick does have a biting essence and dry delivery, which made for a very enjoyable appearance. His different approach of teasing and harassing the host was such a welcome change of pace that I wish more guests had the confidence to be bold and take control or make a statement and ultimately an appearance worth watching. Bravo.

The Ted Koppel who showed up to Conan O’Brien’s show recently was not what you’d expect from someone of his stature and import. Koppel was funny, slightly awkward and a bit goofy.
The first thing he said upon greeting O’Brien was “You’re goin’ down.” It seems he threw the gauntlet down to O’Brien when, during the writers strike, O’Brien aired writer-less shows (to which Koppel commented, “I noticed that!”) and desperately started spinning his wedding ring on his desk. A distraction Koppel claims to have been doing since “Conan was running coffee for the editor of the Harvard Lampoon.” Koppel said as much in a magazine article and challenged the talk show host to The North American Wedding Ring Spin-off saying if Conan loses, “he’s gonna have to promote my China series every night it’s on. If I lose…well, I don’t intend to lose.”
He even chided O’Brien saying, “Are we using the piss ant desk?”
So, off they went to a boxing ring set up with ropes, a desk and two chairs…oh and even a bikini-clad round/card girl, who would later be blamed for the loser’s failure. And that loser was… Koppel. The stunt went well and the audience loved it.
After the break, they spent the rest of the time discussing Koppel on Discovery – The People’s Republic of Capitalism. The series sounds very interesting, partly because it is and partly because Koppel made it so by talking to O’Brien, making eye contact and engaging him in conversation, which, in turn, made O’Brien behave more maturely than usual. Koppel then flipped the frame by getting bleeped while talking about Chinglish signs in China and how they are not well translated. One in particular was about things that happen in a bathroom. “The irony is I bring you on this show to class it up,” Conan retorted. “And it’s my opportunity to come down to my natural level,” Koppel replied.
And that’s how you felt watching him. He was having fun, being a regular guy and making what could have been a yawner, appealing. Not the typical newsman.

Watching Marisa Tomei on Conan O’Brien’s show was like being at Kitty Hawk with the Wright Brothers – you thought something good was going to happen, but it never really got off the ground. Not only did she dress in a nondescript frock, but the tone of the whole interview was, dare I say it, boring.

There to promote her new movie War Inc., Tomei actually spent more time talking about the film she’s making now with Micky Rourke, The Wrestler, in which she plays a stripper. Now, you would think, and hope, that would lead to some fun, provocative conversation… not so much. She did manage to laugh and giggle a lot (which is often all one can do when dealing with Conan O’Brien), but not much else. She didn’t even know what clip to set up.

It’s a shame, really, because you get the sense she has so much more to offer. Oh yes, she also plugged the play she’s currently doing on Broadway, Top Girls. Come to think of it, maybe she was just tired.

Today’s challenge: you’re a successful comic actress in your mid-30s. Your show, which was the highest-rated new sitcom last fall, disappeared like many series under the weight of the writers’ strike, and is about to return. So what do you do? If you’re Christina Applegate star of Samantha Who?, you pop up on Late Night to remind viewers that you’re still here. But what does a guest do when the host is having an off night, with a weak monologue and a luke warm comedy sketch that are your unavoidable lead in?  Take a page from the Applegate Almanac.

First, you adapt to the low-key, if deflated, atmosphere. Then you affirm your status as a Conan fan by asking him why he doesn’t do his “string dance” during the monologue anymore? Following through by engaging your host in a dance duet. Then you have some fun by getting in a crotch joke as you take a shot at your recent Self Magazine cover.

While Applegate has mastered the knack of being sexy and funny, what really serves her well as a guest is her ability to react. She fine tunes her expressions and responses so that they fit the less than perfect mood of the night, while still getting in her own gags and, most importantly, feeding her host with solid set-up lines.

Not every show permits the guest to hit the ball out of the park, but Applegate played to her natural charm, making the audience feel comfortable in what could have been an awkward interview. Typically we’d saddle Applegate with a less than perfect score, but for her careful read of the situation and adaptability to the tone of the show, we give her the maximum grade.

If ever you wanted a case study on how to be a good talk show guest, take a page out of the Meredith Vieira play book. This seasoned professional on the other side of the desk, knows what to give and how often to give it in an interview situation. Not everyone does as well when the tables are turned. Her fearless approach, combined with energy and charm came shining through in her recent appearance on Late Night with Conan O’Brien.

Nothing phased Vieira, not a recounting of Jane Fonda’s “c**t” utterance that slipped out during a live interview; or even the “audio-erotic” sounds Meredith appeared to be making during a Today Show stunt in England — even jokingly claiming “that’s not the way I sound (during sex).” She had all the right answers and held nothing back.

Perhaps getting up at 4:30 in the morning does have its upside if you’re a student in the art of the interview. NBC not only made the right choice in their replacement for Katie Couric to keep the show on top, as the ratings of the past 18 months has proven, they also picked a seasoned veteran who is a perfect emissary for adding to their success.