Conan is the last real veteran of the 90s now. Kind of hard to believe, considering it's only a few years ago he was still the hip guy on Late Night ready to take on The Tonight Show.

Conan's tribute was really heartfelt. They even had a countdown to when you were suppose to switch over to letterman

God CBS is gonna suck now. Fallon will have dominance until he retires.

I can't disagree, even given my love for Colbert. I think the real Colbert will be a fun, engaging guy, but I just don't see CBS allowing him to be an edgy alternative to Fallon, which is exactly what Kimmel and Colbert need to do if they want to catch Fallon.

Then again, CBS devoted ten years to the most edgy, insane hour of television in The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson and no one watched, despite his many fans. Maybe you can't blame them if they make Colbert play it safe.

Not to sound evil, but I am almost relieved Letterman's final episode has come and gone. I began to find the nonstop, ultra-sentimental media coverage of his retirement exhausting.

I almost feel bad for Jay Leno, whose TWO exits felt like non-events by comparison. Sure, by the time you say goodbye a second time, people start to feel less nostalgic. But still.

My memory is short: there wasn't a primetime special devoted to Jay's best moments, was there? Then again, maybe there was only enough to fill a 30-second ad.

I mean let's not forget his famous battle with Leno actually brought in the idea that multiple shows can co exist.

Dave is the last of the Carson era, and so much more crazy stuff had happened over the years even if Jay had the better show overall. Really only Conan and Arsenio are the last two left of the old guard that were the first to really shake late night up (Arsenio is actually back now a lot people don't know that)

So I guess we can say anyone around before Carson retired is BC and anyone after Dave will be AD. I feel bad for Conan, he probably could have followed Dave yet again, But Conan has a perfect setup with TBS.

Basically just air the Hugh Grant post Divine interview. That was his defining moment - right place, right time.

As for Letterman - I think you needed to have watched his show in the 80s and 90s to really miss him. He was a the top of his game back then.

Anyone watching Corden lately? I've caught him a few times this week and it's pretty much the same show I saw in April. That says two things: 1. I still like Corden and the format, but not enough to watch all the time; and 2. CBS is giving him zero notes for improvement, which means they have no faith that he'll be there in 2016. He'll be given the chance after Colbert, but if things remain as dire, I say he's gone by Christmas.

Too bad, because he's a likable guy, but he's missing key ingredients for success. It still resembles a mix'n'match of all other late night shows. I still prefer him to Fallon, except Fallon gets the big stars and gets them to do fun things.

Colbert is going to dominate late night.

You know, I was just about to type how I thought he'll have easily the best show (his podcasts have been great), but how he won't be able to leap frog over Fallon, but you know what? He's going to easily out do Dave's numbers, and he's going to pull some people away from Fallon. I still think he'll come in second more times than not, but I think unlinke Jay/Dave there won't be an undisputed king.

Then again, since it's going to be a smart show, that alone will probably turn a lot of people off. And he's got to convince middle America that he won't be playing his Comedy Central character.

As for Corden, I just like Meyers more. He's becoming more and more comfortable with every show, and he's absolutely delivering when it comes to his monologue. And when I thought about tuning in again I saw that photo of him with Paula Abdul, and it just looked like he was trying way too hard. He seems desperate.

Well, he has to try hard. They're sticking repeats of Hawaii Five-O and The Mentalist in front of his show. His only hope is going viral.

But I also agree that he's not doing anything worth watching. I thought his lack of a real monologue would provide some Ferguson-style moments, but his desk bits are all kinds of awful.

As for Colbert, I don't think he'll dominate Fallon. Kimmel might end up getting pushed down, but Fallon has the youth demo that wouldn't have watched Colbert on CC and certainly won't watch him now.

No shit. Colbert might not even hit Meyers numbers after the initial month. Fallon is going to easily dominate.

The NBC CBS battle is dead. Too bad Conan didn't wait longer.

So, anyone watch The Late Show With Stephen Colbert?

I watched up to the first commercial so far and I'll catch the rest later, but I was very pleased with the debut show. Nothing gut-bustingly funny yet, but a few cute bits. And all I'm really looking for is a little edge, and that cursed amulet bit was something a guy like Fallon would never do. Not saying it was a home run, but at least it was a big swing.

I also find it funny about all the buzz surrounding the show boasting THE Stephen Colbert as himself, when in fact his comedy style is basically Stephen Colbert as himself channeling Stephen Colbert. I always figured the style would be the same, and that's not a bad thing. I love his delivery style and hope it continues.

I have no idea how this will play to the average American. The saying "Will it play in Peoria?" rings true. The younger viewers who just want a cheap, lifeless laugh will continue to go with Fallon's internet-ready show. Those who watched Colbert five minutes earlier will likely stick around but those viewers won't win him timeslots. And his style probably won't play to average audiences. I'm afraid after a week or two he'll be in competition with Kimmel for third place.

My directv cut out about 20 minutes in so I just caught up this morning. It has the Colbert flair, which I love. I think it's going to continue being fantastic.

I'm a bit surprised at the tepid reviews I've read so far. It wasn't a game-changing episode for sure, but no one is hot out of the gate. I watched the whole show and dug a lot of it. Yeah, the amulet bit went a little long, and sure the Clooney interview was mostly fluff, but I thought Colbert made a great first impression as Late Show host.

It's worth noting that Colbert probably has had the most daunting job of taking over a late night show ever. Not only is he taking over for a three-decade veteran like Letterman, but he's also leap-frogging past his highly-acclaimed The Colbert Report. Leno only had Carson to live up to, and settled quickly for a mediocre substitution. By the time Conan took The Tonight Show, he was handed damaged goods, thanks to the announcement of The Jay Leno Show for that fall. And Fallon's move to Tonight was destined to be seamless. When something goes so horribly wrong as it did with Conan, there's little else to do but go up.

If Colbert delivered a subpar premiere, I can't imagine it not getting better.

So I also recorded Seth Meyers and James Corden.

-Late Night's latest development (Seth sitting behind the desk at the top to do his monlogue jokes, a la Weekend Update) is a welcome treat, even if it lacks originality. Since his 2014 debut, Seth Meyers has changed almost nothing, and it's not a bad thing. He has a charm and likability that's hard to deny. No, he has zero edge and it feels like the show belongs sometime between Live With Kelly and Michael and The View in daytime, but I still like the show.

-James Corden has also changed nothing since his debut, and I feel a lack of necessity to ever watch again. It's too bad because I had a lot of kind words for him, and I stand by what I said, but I expected the show to get better and tighter. But it felt like they basically kept the show on auto-pilot until Colbert debuted. Now when ratings suck, CBS will have no alternative to firing Corden. Too bad because there are still flashes of brilliance (especially the interviews, his strong suit so far), but way too many liabilities (Remote pieces should provide the host ample opportunity to be funny and off the cuff, but Corden doesn't cut it in his Pizza or Mystery Box game).

Man, do I miss Craig Ferguson and Conan's earlier days.

I greatly enjoyed and was surprised by the similarness to The Colbert Report. It's just so great to have him back.

I love reading all the anti-hummus bit comments I've read from obvious non-fans. Even though it went a little long, it was classic Colbert Report.

Honestly once he took to the desk, it felt like old times. Anyone who felt he lost some charm from his Colbert gimmick is crazy. Aside from lack of his leaner, tighter focus on politics, much of the show felt like The Colbert Report in an hour-long format.

This was about my favorite thing ever. The low growl of the amulet was amazingly hilarious.

Night Two Thoughts:

The furry hat bit was fun and I can see it becoming a recurring staple.

His interview style is breezy but he's spent ten years interviewing politicians and other media figures while in character so I think the interviews will improve as time progresses. He's more Conan than Fallon thankfully, trying to be funny instead of just fawning over every guest.

I'm undecided on his celebrity bits. The fake movie clips with Clooney were funny, but I didn't love the Scarlett one last night looking at the "stars". It feels like CBS is forcing Colbert and Corden to do viral-ready bits to compete with Fallon and while I know that's what is needed to compete right now, it would be better if they didn't feel forced and especially not funny.

The opening non-ologue needs some work. It feels like he has five minutes of time to fill and he's not sure what to do. If they're not going to do a traditional monologue, there needs to be something more.

So... ratings are way down. As expected. But maybe more than expected?

I'm worried. I don't think he's going to start climbing once the fall TV shows come back. I have no idea where CBS starts to wonder.

Corden is kind of fucked.

Jimmy's doing bigger than ever (if I remember right) and is always going to have wider appeal, so if Colbert can get anywhere close to him on a regular basis, that'd be a huge accomplishment.

I've enjoyed the first two nights a lot and I wasn't even the biggest fan of Colbert Report (though it was a strong show). Furry hat has been the best part yet.

In the 18-49 demo on Wednesday night...

Fallon - 1.2
Colbert - 0.8
Kimmel - 0.5

Viewer numbers...

Fallon - 4.064m
Colbert - 3.657m
Kimmel - 1.846m

I mean, of course if those numbers stuck, that's awesome. But I'm afraid numbers will keep going down until he's behind Kimmel. And that's not good.