A Farewell to Conan

February 20th marked the final episode of "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" and the end of Conan's 16-year run on the show he inherited from David Letterman in 1993. This coming Monday, March 2 the "Late Night" mantle will officially be passed to new host Jimmy Fallon; Conan moves on to succeed Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show" on June 1st. Only because it aired at such a late hour and, well, I actually have to work during the week did I not watch Conan more often. However, his final week of shows coincided with a week break from school. So, I was able to relive highlights from the show each night as they re-aired favorite segments chosen by fans and "Late Night" staff.

Of all the segments and characters on "Late Night" I have to say that my all-time favorite was Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, a puppet performed by one time head writer Robert Smigel, who is perhaps better known for his "TV Funhouse" segments on "Saturday Night Live." Triumph was identified early on as a Siberian Mountain Hound, often had a cigar dangling from his mouth and his most well-known catch phrase is "... for me to poop on!" usually spoken to undo a compliment that preceded it. Triumph's debut was in a skit filmed at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show and he also showed up at 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston among other places.

However, my all-time favorite bit (see video in "Triumph and the Star Wars Fans" post below) was a remote filmed on the streets of New York City as devoted "Star Wars" fans waited to see "Attack of the Clones" in 2002. I am not even a hard core "Star Wars" fan but this segment still makes me laugh out loud after at least a half dozen viewings and is an example of Triumph at his finest. As Triumph might say, "This is a hilarious bit...for me to poop on." If you like Triumph as much as I do or, God forbid, more, I highly recommend the "Best of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog" DVD that came out in 2004. Enjoy!