Last night marked the end of Conan O’Brien’s 7 month run as host of NBC’s long-running franchise “The Tonight Show.” His successor, obviously, will be the same person he succeeded: Jay Leno. The chin returns. (Which I say with the utmost respect. I just like calling Jay Leno “the chin.”)

What will happen? Where will Conan O’Brien end up? Fox?

How will Jay Leno fare in his return? Huge ratings spike (beyond the initial guaranteed spike due to curiosity, of course)?

Who cares. Well, besides NBC. I mean, the cool thing to do is say that you don’t care…but deep down, everybody has an opinion on the feud that took place the last few weeks–unless they don’t care about either host, or television in general. I’ve already prepared myself for a world without Conan when he was originally on hiatus, waiting for The Tonight Show to begin. But that doesn’t mean I want it to be that way. The return to Jay Leno doesn’t seem “progressive” enough for the NBC. Oh well.

In case you missed Conan’s final show last night (weird to be typing that already), here it is, in it’s entirety, on Hulu.com. It’s good that NBC realized that no matter how much Conan badmouthed them these last two weeks, it was good for ratings, including online. Adios, Conando. (Too sentimental?) Here it is:

Brian Laesch will be awaiting the return of Conan O’Brien.

By now, you’ve heard the rumors about Jay Leno reclaiming “The Tonight Show,” moving back to the 11:35 p.m. timeslot, moving to Fox, or whatever other rumors are out there. (I may start a rumor that Jay Leno refuses to comply with his current contract unless NBC bring in James Cameron to shoot the show in 3D.) One thing seems certain: the status of Jay Leno’s new show seems completely uncertain. (THR: ‘Jay Leno Show’ future uncertain. See?)

But does Jay Leno own NBC? It’s all speculation at this point, but with all of the stories out there in the trades, the mainstream media, and the Twitter stream, it seems that the comedian/mechanic has the upper hand in all of this. NBC says they are committed to keeping Conan O’Brien…but they seem more interested in keeping Jay Leno and their affiliates happy, at any cost. I understand the concern over appeasing the affiliates who do not like Jay Leno leading into their local news. But shouldn’t they be just as worried about losing Conan? Sure, Conan’s ratings have come nowhere close to Leno’s on The Tonight Show…but isn’t Conan’s younger audience better for the future of The Tonight Show franchise? Or maybe NBC is ahead of it’s time. Maybe Conan should be the host of the Tonight Show in 10 years, when more of his long-time fans are more frequently settled down at home. Or maybe NBC should just move The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien to NYC and the magic will return.

Whatever happens, it seems as though Jay Leno will get his way, and go riding off into the sunset in some sort of antique car that he will only drive once.

Let’s face it, for whatever the reason, Jay Leno owns NBC. His monologue last night confirms it (via THR):

“What does NBC stand for — never believe your contract?” He also suggested he might switch networks. “If we did get canceled, it will give us time to do some traveling,” he said. “I understand that Fox is beautiful this time of year.”

Brian Laesch forms these opinions on very little “inside knowledge” and mostly the same information available to the general public…but in a cool way.

As you may have heard, Tiger Woods crashed his car into a tree after hitting a fire hydrant this Thanksgiving break after an apparent argument with his wife. In case you didn’t hear about it, here is the NBC report:

The media is in love with this story. I can only imagine the homes of media-centric families during their turkey dinners, discussing this event and providing enough speculation to give themselves a buzz big enough to battle the tryptophan. But I digress.

There is no doubt that this is a bizarre story involving the world’s best golfer and arguably the world’s most-recognizable athlete since MJ hung up his Air Jordan’s (the third time). But is it any of our business? Is there more than is being reported? While it is very hard to believe that alcohol was not involved, I guess we shall all see. And we won’t have much of a choice, considering you probably inadvertently heard about this story less than 24 hours after it occurred. Such is the state of things in news…and maybe it always has been. I guess we shall also see if this affects Tiger’s endorsement deals. Probably not…unless the investigation uncovers more details–which common sense would tell you will happen.

Late night talk shows are the hottest topic in TV these days, unfortunately not for the right reasons.  What used to be some of the best shows under the ‘Big Top’ of TV, are now wondering which host may fall off the tightrope first.

The most recent newcomer looking to balance on the wire is George Lopez, whose Lopez Tonight premiered last night.  Lopez’ known niche is poking fun at his own Mexican culture and other ethnic stereotypes.  A similar platform continued last night as his monologue and skits both pushed the prejudice envelope.  I hope Lopez doesn’t used all his material all in the first week.  TBS may have to rewrite their tag line, TBS: very funny, to TBS: sorry about that.

Although Lopez is new to the talk show game, longtime late night leaders, Jay Leno and David Letterman have received their own ridicule.  Both are in hot water, with Letterman’s recent reported internal relationships and Leno’s lack of ratings with his primetime slot.  Recently I attended a taping of The Jay Leno Show, now considered a questionable experiment for NBC.  Leno continues to connect to his wide ranged audience but their were moments at the live taping where Leno looked tired, fighting a losing battle.

On the brighter side I would give the ‘up and coming ring leader award’ to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.  Since taking over Conan’s late night spot, Fallon is still fine-tuning his personal hosting style but the rest of the show around him is strong.  Backed by The Roots as his house band, Fallon and the band team up for many of the sketches:  Real Housewives of Late Night, 7th Floor West (Parody of The Hills) and Slow Jam the News when Fallon and The Roots MC, Black Thought serenade the audience with the current new topics.

At this point, late night talk shows are stuck in a funk.  Along with Eleventh Hour, we are hopeful this funk is only an intermission, allowing the drama to blow over, with their best acts yet to come.

Matt Suttner usually watches late night talk shows before going to sleep but lately they have just been putting him to sleep.

Last night’s episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon was a blast from the past when Mark-Paul Gosselaar stopped by the show in his Converse high tops and stonewashed jeans.  Gosselaar stayed in the character of Zack Morris, all grown-up, for the entire interview.  Morris visited Jimmy Fallon’s show to promote his second season of Raising the Bar, which his alter ego, Mark Paul stars in.

From one of the early episodes of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Fallon has pushed for a Saved By The Bell reunion and after the classic performance by Gosselaar, it may just become a reality of his show!  Tell me this doesn’t bring back some memories for you thirty somethings…

To read more about the hopeful reunion of the Bayside classmates, check out the after show interview with Zack Morris.  Come on Kelly and Screech, it’s alright, cause you’re saved by the bell.

Matt Suttner enjoyed all the references, the brick sized cell phone and the Zack Attack rendition, Friends Forever, with The Roots.

Yes, here at Eleventh Hour we are huge Conan O’Brien fans and stoked for his debut on “The Tonight Show.”  Only a little more than a week away, 11thr followed Conan through his new studio to find out what’s new in store.  As you can see below Conan is his wacky self as usual.

So…I lied; not the real set.  Man, I really had you there huh?  OK, Access Hollywood DID get the opportunity to join Conan on the new “Tonight Show” set.  I promise this time!

With Will Ferrell and Pearl Jam headlining the first show, there is a strong possibility for a leprechaun sighting!

Matt Suttner is already on the hunt for requesting tickets for a live Conan taping.

It has been announced that The Walt Disney Company has agreed to join NBC Universal, FOX Entertainment Group (News Corp.) and Providence Equity in a collective partnership with Hulu.

Hulu, known for their online commercial supported streaming video of TV shows and movies, will now be showing shows and movies from networks such as ABC, ABC Family, Disney Channel, Soapnet, Comedy Central, PBS, USA Network, Bravo, Fuel TV, FX, Speed Channel, Sci Fi, Sundance, E!, G4, Versus, and Oxygen.

“From our landmark iTunes deal to our pioneering decision to stream ad-supported shows on our ABC.com player, Disney has sought to meet the constantly evolving viewing habits of our consumers,” Robert A. Iger, Disney’s president and chief executive, said in a statement. “Today’s Hulu announcement is the next extremely important step in that ongoing journey.”

The biggest reason for the move is for Disney to reach an audience that isn’t coming to their own site.  Hulu offers a whole new audience of viewers.

Eleventh Hour has also learned that Disney will also obtain three seats on the Hulu board.

The question now is when CBS will jump on board with Hulu.

Matt Suttner thinks Hulu will soon take over the world as depicted in their Super Bowl ad.