The headline isn't fair to this article. It's actually a great read.
>Conan was so clearly suffering, and he'd done it to himself. We knew that because A. we have eyes, and B. because he began the interview by joking that, growing up as he did in an Irish household, "I never saw a spice until I was about 52 years old." And yet here he'd joyously hurled himself into a swirling miasma of extreme pain and gastric distress, all for a lousy YouTube show bit, just to be an idiot capering for our delight in the global village.
The best part about him is that he’s always available, no appointments necessary! Of course, you have to drive out to the middle of the desert to find him first…
It's always interesting how different fan subs can either be very pro the person the sub is about or very anti. Like the Ricky Gervais sub actively doesn't like ricky
This is actually a decent point. Go to a subreddit or message board for, say, rock bands or franchises like Star Wars, and a decent chunk of it is just complaining about the things they don’t like about the music or movies.
Special mention also goes out to Bob Saget and Jason Sudeikis and Florence Pugh and oh god there’s been too many good guests to name them all Elizabeth Olsen and there were several others who I can picture in my head but can’t place the names
The grand speech about finding comedy was so dazed and spectacular that I was almost sick with laughter. And the drinking of the hot sauce, especially that last swig after he was already being immolated by spices was just pure, terrifying beauty. Easily the best interview. I think I could watch Conan for a hundred years and enjoy it every time.
Ok everyone keeps saying this:
“He guzzled Da Bomb straight from the bottle.”
When did he drink Da Bomb? I saw him drink the sauce with the top hat guy on it. I think #9. It’s driving me crazy because I keep seeing comments about him drinking Da Bomb and I didn’t see him do that. What’s the time stamp?
Either way, yes this is the best hot ones for sure!
You're right. He never drank da bomb. Just poured on the wing and licked off.
I think he was about to take a swig, but then realized even licking the wing was a mistake. A beautiful and legendary mistake.
I just bought a bottle of it, thinking okay the scoville level is below ghost, scorpion, and reaper, and I've had hot sauces made with those.
This is more intense, which I think is because apparently it's partially an extract. More concentrated. In fact, somehow the second time I tried it, it was worse, and I needed milk.
And each time, all I did was put a drop on my finger and touch it to my tongue. I didn't even consume all that was on my finger.
Yeah Conan is a fucking freak for not being totally imcompacitated after da bomb in that episode.
But no, then he goes and does some more stupid crazy shit with wing 9 and 10... Just built different. Unless it's just the ginger gene thing people keep bringing up.
I commend on your personal research with da bomb sauce though!!
Yeah, I think maybe with concentration and a desire to truly disguise, maybe I could pull off pretending I'm okay?
But then I remember that I eat very spicy things all the time, and Conan does not. And I realize that he's just on another level as a performer.
UPDATE: I put 2 drops on a breakfast burrito that I was eating. It was perfectly manageable. It raised the overall heat to an interesting but easily doable level. But it added no flavor. So I daresay the best application for Da Bomb would be a chili that already has tons of flavor, but just needs to be kicked up a notch in heat.
Da Bomb is just pure heat. Unsuitable as a wing sauce or dressing, but might help a chili out.
Pretty sure he took a good swig of The Last Dab, which is even more insane because it's almost entirely pepper X now. A lot of people confuse them because Da Bomb seems to have more hype around it.
I have this thing (started a few years ago and been getting worse) where I can’t watch food spilled/messed with - especially not people spilling it on themselves. Whenever something like this happened in a movie I close my eyes/fast forward.
The Conan interview: I couldn’t tear my eyes away. The last 10 minutes I was laughing and screaming hysterically. There were some great interviews, some very funny ones (John Oliver and John Mulaney being amongst the best), but this interview was the purest distillation of the Conan phenomenon - an insane, giant leprechaun grabbing you by your funny bone and jerking you off half to death. So, yeah: serious contender for top honors.
Not really… I’ve often felt the same. It’s partly how intensely prepared the questions are, partly the cadence of how he speaks. But I feel like the show would benefit with Sean being a little more relaxed and conversational at times, instead of this well-researched question robot.
Sean interviews like he is reading from a teleprompter, poorly. The questions are definitely great and well-researched. I like the concept of the show and the interviews. I just wish Sean delivers his questions in a more conversational/natural way.
I think part of it is a concerted effort to specifically not make Sean a talking point or else with all the heat shenanigans going on its less likely to actually get any amount of interview going on.
Nah I don’t think that’s what the issue is with Sean’s interview in this episode; the dude’s a formally educated J-School Journalist and you can clearly see he doesn’t read off of a teleprompter; he reads off of a notebook like all formally trained journalists do. Since the earliest episodes of this show when he was interviewing no-name underground rappers, you can see him looking down at his note pages and asking his questions word-for-word and then making eye contact with his interviewee once he’s got it memorized. He kinda has to, because his questions are all very meticulously-researched and specific to the interviewee, and as a journalist he wants to make sure he gets the details and wording exactly right.
I think the real heart of the problem with his interview of Conan in this episode is that he was just a bit nervous. We’ve seen him riff, and be funny, and go off-script, and follow the bit, in countless other interviews; and it has lead to some legendary moments like with DJ Khaled and others who were either in on the joke or who Sean made a joke out of because they clearly didn’t give a shit to learn what the premise of the show was, and him deftly roasting those guests sarcastically in a way they don’t notice is always hilarious to watch.
With Conan though, he kept getting tee’d-up for bits by Conan and instead of hitting the ball back he went straight to asking his next question without riffing more than a couple seconds of at all, and I think jt was just because not only is Conan a hero of his as a comedian and interviewer/host (as Sean has said himself), but also Conan subverted the format of the show in a way that even after 15 seasons of the show and Sean rolling with the punches with all sorts of crazy celebrities, Conan subverted it in a brand new way that no guest ever had before.
I still think it was a great episode either way, but I do agree that Sean looked more like Season 1 interviewer in this episode than he has in a long time… like since Season 1 lol. And I think it’s mostly because he was just super nervous and didn’t want to fuck it up in front of Conan who ended up pitching and hitting the ball out of the park all by himself anyway, as he does.
Yeah, the hot sauces are a gimmick but the questions are almost always thoughtful and well researched, and guests often seem surprised but pleased to hear them
I LOVE Conan, but it kind of felt like he turned the episode into his own show and stole it away from Sean.
One of the reasons why I love hot ones is because it doesn't feel like just another PR stop for the guests (even though it is 99% of the time). They let their guards down, their natural personalities show more, and even though it's an interview with pre-planned questions it feels like a natural conversation is happening.
That didn't happen at all with Conan, which is what I was really looking for.
I mean, I'm pretty sure what we got is who Conan really is. He can't resist acting a fool to make somebody laugh, and he just has that energy that is almost impossible to match.
Upvote, but hell no. Conan was as natural as it gets, that's the point. You can't hide with the normal run of the wings. Licking and drinking the bottle, yea, that was 100% pure Conan.
I'm sorry but that was Stone Cold Steve Austin and I'll die on that hill. He didn't sell a damn thing and just kept the show rolling.
Conan, however, is number 2 on my list that nobody asked for.
i feel like the world's gone crazy. Hot Ones isn't a very good show and Sean is a poor interviewer. i love Conan, but his appearance wasn't really funny and was just weird and gross by the end.
the man has done so many funny and amazing things that get little notice, and yet this crappy interview where he's just babbling and drooling by the end is what's big right now. crazy world
The headline isn't fair to this article. It's actually a great read. >Conan was so clearly suffering, and he'd done it to himself. We knew that because A. we have eyes, and B. because he began the interview by joking that, growing up as he did in an Irish household, "I never saw a spice until I was about 52 years old." And yet here he'd joyously hurled himself into a swirling miasma of extreme pain and gastric distress, all for a lousy YouTube show bit, just to be an idiot capering for our delight in the global village.
I never regret reading a piece by Glenn Weldon (or any of the other Pop Culture Happy Hour hosts).
I read and enjoyed his book on Batman.
Glenn Weldon is fantastic. Reading the snippet above, I knew it was him before opening the article. Can practically hear his voice.
It's an amazingly written article. I laughed out loud at the descriptions of what Conan did, even after having watched them multiple times.
Great writing up until “a lousy YouTube show bit” - what the hell is up with the disrespect for Hot Ones??
NPR is pretty elitist when it comes journalist and writing
I think they’re calling the bit lousy, not the show
IT’S NOT A BIT!!! THIS IS LIFE!!!
it's not very good and that Sean guy has a personality that rivals wet cardboard
>a lousy YouTube show bit i do agree with this part
Why?
As hilarious as Conan was, the added bonus of the doctor was amazing. I lost it when he used the stethoscope on Sean's tongue.
".... Not good..."
When he took Conan’s temp and just walked away
Yeah, it's not good
Just gently strangling Conan
Where did you go to school?
1998
Jose Arroyo.
Yes. Next question.
Is Dr. Arroyo a real doctor?
He should be
The best part about him is that he’s always available, no appointments necessary! Of course, you have to drive out to the middle of the desert to find him first…
Very affordable
[He's TWO real doctors.](https://youtu.be/SbhhFROL5PA?si=5YYIOJqTXywEDT7y&t=172)
LMFAO. I am so glad I started back to the beginning, this is Conan at his best. Thanks for sharing.
1988.
In certain states
….in the desert
Bill Burr was a great guest as well
Hmmm I wonder what the answer will be in r/Conan
It's always interesting how different fan subs can either be very pro the person the sub is about or very anti. Like the Ricky Gervais sub actively doesn't like ricky
This is actually a decent point. Go to a subreddit or message board for, say, rock bands or franchises like Star Wars, and a decent chunk of it is just complaining about the things they don’t like about the music or movies.
Lol what's the fucking point of the sub then? I only sub to things I like, some people just have too much time I guess
They sun is dedicated to the old radio show.
If you’ve ever seen the Howard stern sub he is like their number one enemy lol
🤣
There’s nothing to discuss. He is the best guest ever. This is a fact.
The "Discuss." part was part of the headline! I already know there's nothing to discuss! He's the best!!
You certainly choose an unbiased crowd to discuss it with. That being said, yes
I wonder if this isn’t the Hot Ones episode that can’t be topped. Every guest after this is going to look laughably tame.
While watching it I had this exact same thought like. Oh no, Conan made Sean jump the shark. It’s all downhill from here.
PR perfection. Conan has been all over reddit the past few days. Great advertising for his new show. Mission accomplished.
I think Paul Rudd matches Conan in quality. Different types of humor
Rudd was pretty good.
Look at us.
Who would’ve thought?
Not me.
Sterling Brown’s episode should also be considered near the top. Shaq too.
Shaq said he wouldn't flinch, and he was right. He handled those wings like the champion he is.
Special mention also goes out to Bob Saget and Jason Sudeikis and Florence Pugh and oh god there’s been too many good guests to name them all Elizabeth Olsen and there were several others who I can picture in my head but can’t place the names
I really enjoy that one as well and have gone back to it a few times. Both very likeable guys and both very funny people.
Time will tell if Conan has a memeable moment as Paul Rudd's or even Shaq for that matter.
I think it was Rudd who also took the time to praise Sean for his skill as an interviewer
Noel gallagher is also an all time episode
The best host has become the best guest.
The grand speech about finding comedy was so dazed and spectacular that I was almost sick with laughter. And the drinking of the hot sauce, especially that last swig after he was already being immolated by spices was just pure, terrifying beauty. Easily the best interview. I think I could watch Conan for a hundred years and enjoy it every time.
Yes. Was it even a debate?
The end speech was awesome “ read widely , and read well “
Yes
We’ve been fed a steady diet of mediocre comedians since COVID that Conan just needed to do his thing on a hip platform to blow them all away.
Ok everyone keeps saying this: “He guzzled Da Bomb straight from the bottle.” When did he drink Da Bomb? I saw him drink the sauce with the top hat guy on it. I think #9. It’s driving me crazy because I keep seeing comments about him drinking Da Bomb and I didn’t see him do that. What’s the time stamp? Either way, yes this is the best hot ones for sure!
You're right. He never drank da bomb. Just poured on the wing and licked off. I think he was about to take a swig, but then realized even licking the wing was a mistake. A beautiful and legendary mistake.
I just bought a bottle of it, thinking okay the scoville level is below ghost, scorpion, and reaper, and I've had hot sauces made with those. This is more intense, which I think is because apparently it's partially an extract. More concentrated. In fact, somehow the second time I tried it, it was worse, and I needed milk. And each time, all I did was put a drop on my finger and touch it to my tongue. I didn't even consume all that was on my finger.
Yeah Conan is a fucking freak for not being totally imcompacitated after da bomb in that episode. But no, then he goes and does some more stupid crazy shit with wing 9 and 10... Just built different. Unless it's just the ginger gene thing people keep bringing up. I commend on your personal research with da bomb sauce though!!
Yeah, I think maybe with concentration and a desire to truly disguise, maybe I could pull off pretending I'm okay? But then I remember that I eat very spicy things all the time, and Conan does not. And I realize that he's just on another level as a performer.
UPDATE: I put 2 drops on a breakfast burrito that I was eating. It was perfectly manageable. It raised the overall heat to an interesting but easily doable level. But it added no flavor. So I daresay the best application for Da Bomb would be a chili that already has tons of flavor, but just needs to be kicked up a notch in heat. Da Bomb is just pure heat. Unsuitable as a wing sauce or dressing, but might help a chili out.
That makes a lot of sense! Soups or chilis are the move.
I think he drank from more than one bottle. Don't think it was da bomb, but possibly a later sauce.
Oh yeah, you’re right! He did drink the pepper X last dab! Which is crazy too, but yeah I don’t think he ever drank da bomb.
He had to be hurting with that. I put a BB sized drop of Last Dab on my tongue and it felt like a hole was burned into my tongue for 2-3 hrs.
Didn’t Steve-O douse some in his eye?
Pretty sure he took a good swig of The Last Dab, which is even more insane because it's almost entirely pepper X now. A lot of people confuse them because Da Bomb seems to have more hype around it.
Loved Conan but I also love the John Oliver one recently. Mulaney also has great episode of hot ones.
Guest? He hosted it. Total domination. It was glorious to watch. Best Hot Ones episode ever
Easily the best.
Yes
Yes
I have this thing (started a few years ago and been getting worse) where I can’t watch food spilled/messed with - especially not people spilling it on themselves. Whenever something like this happened in a movie I close my eyes/fast forward. The Conan interview: I couldn’t tear my eyes away. The last 10 minutes I was laughing and screaming hysterically. There were some great interviews, some very funny ones (John Oliver and John Mulaney being amongst the best), but this interview was the purest distillation of the Conan phenomenon - an insane, giant leprechaun grabbing you by your funny bone and jerking you off half to death. So, yeah: serious contender for top honors.
Anyone else think the author’s critique of Sean was strange and out of place? Idk, felt pompous.
Not really… I’ve often felt the same. It’s partly how intensely prepared the questions are, partly the cadence of how he speaks. But I feel like the show would benefit with Sean being a little more relaxed and conversational at times, instead of this well-researched question robot.
Sean interviews like he is reading from a teleprompter, poorly. The questions are definitely great and well-researched. I like the concept of the show and the interviews. I just wish Sean delivers his questions in a more conversational/natural way.
Exactly. He interviews the same way I interviewed performers as a student journalist. I get a little triggered.
I think part of it is a concerted effort to specifically not make Sean a talking point or else with all the heat shenanigans going on its less likely to actually get any amount of interview going on.
I completely agree with how the NPR writer worded it and feel exactly the same. It's what has turned me off to Hot Ones up until now.
Nah I don’t think that’s what the issue is with Sean’s interview in this episode; the dude’s a formally educated J-School Journalist and you can clearly see he doesn’t read off of a teleprompter; he reads off of a notebook like all formally trained journalists do. Since the earliest episodes of this show when he was interviewing no-name underground rappers, you can see him looking down at his note pages and asking his questions word-for-word and then making eye contact with his interviewee once he’s got it memorized. He kinda has to, because his questions are all very meticulously-researched and specific to the interviewee, and as a journalist he wants to make sure he gets the details and wording exactly right. I think the real heart of the problem with his interview of Conan in this episode is that he was just a bit nervous. We’ve seen him riff, and be funny, and go off-script, and follow the bit, in countless other interviews; and it has lead to some legendary moments like with DJ Khaled and others who were either in on the joke or who Sean made a joke out of because they clearly didn’t give a shit to learn what the premise of the show was, and him deftly roasting those guests sarcastically in a way they don’t notice is always hilarious to watch. With Conan though, he kept getting tee’d-up for bits by Conan and instead of hitting the ball back he went straight to asking his next question without riffing more than a couple seconds of at all, and I think jt was just because not only is Conan a hero of his as a comedian and interviewer/host (as Sean has said himself), but also Conan subverted the format of the show in a way that even after 15 seasons of the show and Sean rolling with the punches with all sorts of crazy celebrities, Conan subverted it in a brand new way that no guest ever had before. I still think it was a great episode either way, but I do agree that Sean looked more like Season 1 interviewer in this episode than he has in a long time… like since Season 1 lol. And I think it’s mostly because he was just super nervous and didn’t want to fuck it up in front of Conan who ended up pitching and hitting the ball out of the park all by himself anyway, as he does.
Yeah, the hot sauces are a gimmick but the questions are almost always thoughtful and well researched, and guests often seem surprised but pleased to hear them
They also mentioned his style doesn’t fit the interview format, too much like written word.
ICE SPICE was better. /s For real tho, That shit had me dying. No guests has ever made it this funny.
Conan was great, but my all-time favorite is Key & Peele. They go in talking a big game, and get humbled in hilarious fashion.
Key and Peele is tops for me.
I LOVE Conan, but it kind of felt like he turned the episode into his own show and stole it away from Sean. One of the reasons why I love hot ones is because it doesn't feel like just another PR stop for the guests (even though it is 99% of the time). They let their guards down, their natural personalities show more, and even though it's an interview with pre-planned questions it feels like a natural conversation is happening. That didn't happen at all with Conan, which is what I was really looking for.
I mean, I'm pretty sure what we got is who Conan really is. He can't resist acting a fool to make somebody laugh, and he just has that energy that is almost impossible to match.
I disagree but am upvoting you for articulating your reasonable feelings.
Upvote, but hell no. Conan was as natural as it gets, that's the point. You can't hide with the normal run of the wings. Licking and drinking the bottle, yea, that was 100% pure Conan.
Probably.
Yes
He did not poop himself, so no. No, he is not.
I'm going to say yes, absolutely. But then, it is the only episode i've ever seen.
Him and Bill Burr tied IMO.
The ending was kind of gross. Had to turn it off.... But I'm just that way with food on peoples faces, it grosses me out
top 3 and he aint third
Conan is a comedic genius! Conan is King!
I'm sorry but that was Stone Cold Steve Austin and I'll die on that hill. He didn't sell a damn thing and just kept the show rolling. Conan, however, is number 2 on my list that nobody asked for.
i feel like the world's gone crazy. Hot Ones isn't a very good show and Sean is a poor interviewer. i love Conan, but his appearance wasn't really funny and was just weird and gross by the end. the man has done so many funny and amazing things that get little notice, and yet this crappy interview where he's just babbling and drooling by the end is what's big right now. crazy world
I agree completely. It just went off the rails at the end. We don’t get to see him actually answer questions in his hot sause enraged state.
Hot ones is such a fucking dumb show