The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien

It was vintage Conan stuff, proof that his absurdist sense of humor won't change much on the West Coast. And yet last night also contained some grand nods to O'Brien's fancy new home.

Admit it. Seeing O'Brien under direct sunlight in various bits was a jolt. But he looked giddily at home on the Tonight Show stage.

Though he seemed a little nervous and the humor seemed a bit broader, generally speaking, than it was on "Late Night," Conan on The Tonight Show worked just fine.

All in all, a large-scale, impressive debut.

After one show, let's say he's a work in progress.

Conan made it subtly clear that the new kid in town will be a little naughtier and that for better or worse, Tonight is now his ride.

Conan was simultaneously reassuring his fans that he wasn't going to change too much in the new gig, and telling the traditional Tonight audience what they might expect from the new landlord. This was the smart, and really only, play Conan could make on night one of such a high-profile job. I just wish the execution had been a little better.

O'Brien's debut was pretty much what one would expect from these kind of pre-hyped events. It was both funny and forced and the expectations of - what, exactly?--never seemed to materialize, even though Will Ferrell as the sole guest tried to drum something up and Pearl Jam, as the musical guest, at least kick-started an aural ruckus.

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.

Moving up to the big time, and relocating to the earlier time slot, seems to have robbed Conan of much of his charm. Much--but not all.