On Monday night's debut show, Conan was far from the skittish, camera shy kid he was at the onset of his "Late Night" run - he arrived as a man fully equipped for the job, polished, confident and firing on all pistons, even if there were a few growing pains. 

 

Granted, the debut monologue was a little nerve-wracking, and the pacing of his first interview (with Will Ferrell, who did his best not to upstage the host) left a little room for improvement, but it was to be expected. Pearl Jam christened the new digs with a new song called Got Some off their upcoming ninth studio album Backspacer (named after a giant sea turtle the band sponsored in an ocean race last year), breaking from their tradition of near-exclusive loyalty to David Letterman when performing on the talk show circuit. 

 

 

All that was, of course, after an opening montage that found O'Brien running across the country (literally) to get to his new set, only to find himself locked out of it. A hilarious start. 

 

O'Brien's writers are already displaying an interesting blend of comedy pandering, bouncing between for-the-grandmas bits (such as the stupid Hollywood backlot tour bus skit) and youth-pulling content. For instance, throughout a portion of the show his backdrop bore an uncanny resemblance to Super Mario Bros.  Coincidence? Probably not, especially when one of his band members looks a lot like Mario in a Panama hat (that means you, La Bamba!)

 

The mix of old and new was on full display Wednesday, as in the reinvented bit now known as "In The Year 3000" - formerly known to most Conan fans as "In The Year 2000," the satirical look into the distant future. The newly designed outfits are, fittingly, just as absurd as the old ones. 

 

 

The return of Andy Richter as sidekick/announcer certainly upstages the odd chemistry Conan's had with Max Weinberg for years, but it's good to have the man back. We'll get used to the new dynamic. 

 

Other funny bits included a spot on Tuesday's show that featured Conan mistakenly going on a shopping spree not on Rodeo Drive, but Rodeo Road, causing some unexpected difficulties. And like Jay did on his farewell show, Conan trotted out all the kids of his crewmembers that were conceived in the 16 years that Late Night was on the air - except unlike Jay's segment, all the kids were suspiciously red-headed and freckled.

 

As the successor to Leno, Conan's got his job cut out for him. Geriatrics are a hard sell on new faces, and for the millions who used to tune out each week once Leno ended, this young ginger-headed whippersnapper's got some work to do to win them over. 

 

My Grandma's no fan - she thinks he's a smartass who needs to brush his hair (ha!) - but then again, she's a big Jimmy Fallon fan, so take that as you will.

 

Critics are gloating over the fact that the "Tonight Show" ratings have consistently declined throughout the week, but that's to be expected of any new talk show. Besides, one week is hardly an indicator of overall performance and longevity - if you'll remember, it took more than a few months for Conan to find his stride on Late Night. Still tough, Conan now has to deliver to a new audience, which means that he'll have to do some high-wire walking to please the die-hards and the crossovers. 

 

Can he pull it off? Not a doubt in my mind.