Quote Originally Posted by Variety
Conan O'Brien off to a strong start
'Tonight Show' tops latenight, primetime ratings

By RICK KISSELL

Conan O'Brien's premiere on NBC's hallowed "The Tonight Show" produced the show's best Monday overnight rating in four years, standing as the evening's top-rated program -- latenight or primetime.

Three nights after Jay Leno averaged a monster 8.8 household rating/20 share in Nielsen's metered-market overnights, "The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien" bowed with a 7.1 rating/17 share. The rating represents an 82% improvement over the second-quarter average of "Tonight" (3.9) in the nation's 56 biggest markets.

This is the best Monday delivery for "The Tonight Show" since a January 2005 telecast featuring a special tribute to Johnny Carson. And it ranks as the seventh-highest Monday for the program since Leno took over "Tonight" in 1992.

I've been a fan of Conan O'Brien for a long time. I was never a fan of Jay Leno, and can probably count on one had the Tonight Shows I watched from beginning to end, with him hosting. I started watching Johnny Carson when I was 10 years old, and was luckly to watch the last half of his career. I was really hoping Letterman would have got the show back then, but at least he was over on CBS. I thought Conan's first show was very good. Conan knows how to work the recorded pieces into the show, without the entire show coming to a sceeching halt. That's something Jimmy Fallon still needs to work on. I'm glad I can start watching entire Tonight Shows again, and not just to see certain guest stars.