Conan O’Brien has taken his show on the road to some intriguing and exotic places over the last few years, with stops in Qatar, Armenia, Cuba, and South Korea (in an episode that airs Saturday at 11 p.m.). He did San Diego Comic-Con for a week last year and is set to do it again this year, and he’s also hosted shows in Dallas and Chicago. Because of all this globe trotting, you would think that a more exotic or at least unique locale would be next on the list, but instead, Conan is going back to New York from October 31 through November 3 for a week’s worth of episodes from the Apollo Theater. Bold? No, but what it lacks in that it makes up for with nostalgia, because, of course, Conan spent 16 years in the Big Apple, establishing himself as one of the most creative and daring late night hosts in television history during his Late Night run on NBC.
As for the venue, well, it’s a big theater, which is always the case when a late night host hits the road (in the U.S., at least) and it’s a slight disappointment because it robs these shows of whatever intimacy exists in this era of sprawling and gloriously appointed sets with their high ceilings. Why not do a show from an apartment or the rooftop of a building or on the street, like Conan did in October of 1996 when 30 Rock was (briefly) on fire? Also, make me young again and get off my lawn.
