Here's Conan

In late night, the name of the show matters less than the name of the host.

Still, when it comes to names, NBC's The Tonight Show is the most storied in the business — the one associated with the longest tradition, the most expectations and the biggest ratings. Still, the show itself has always bent to the whims and skills of the host, from Steve Allen to Jack Paar to Johnny Carson to Jay Leno.

Which is why, if you thought Conan O'Brien's Tonight debut Monday felt a lot like an earlier, more richly produced, slightly overstuffed version of his Late Night, well, of course it did. He's been hosting a late night show for 16 years; by now, he does what he does.

Granted, it was a bit more frantic than the O'Brien norm, which is what you'd expect from a high-profile debut. Even so, if you like what he does — and I do — odds are you'll be happy for the chance to see him do it an hour earlier.

You can't say NBC stinted on the new studio or the set, a kind of bigger, bluer, shinier reinterpretation of Carson's old Tonight set, with Andy Richter off on a side at a podium and the audience once again seated as in a theater rather than in Leno's comedy club configuration. And by moving Conan to Los Angeles, the network not only gave him greater access to movie and TV stars, it gave him a night-long joke target that will no doubt recur.

The first star for his first show? Will Ferrell, brought in on a sedan chair by four muscle men in ancient Egyptian outfits.

Overall, the show wasn't O'Brien at his funniest, but it was funny enough to get by. After a brief monologue that was more centered on his move than on current events, he ran a number of pre-taped bits: running all the way to LA, leading a Universal Tour, and driving girls crazy with an old car. They were silly and goofy — and more amusing than Ferrell. Not to mention the clip from Land of the Lost.

And even if you didn't like the comedy, there was always Pearl Jam, which is a fairly good get as a TV musical guest.

All in all, O'Brien got his Tonight off to a decent start, though you still got the sense you were watching an introduction more than a settled production. But that's fine: The goal right now is just to put O'Brien's name on the show.

He'll eventually put his stamp on the show as well, but that will take more time than tonight.

Robert Bianco, USA Today