Conan, Kimmel Jab at Late Night Shuffle
At the beginning of the "Tonight Show" Tuesday night, Conan O'Brien joked with his audience that their applause was "using valuable time."
It was the first in a series of digs at NBC that ran through his opening monologue, which aired the same day O'Brien released a statement saying he wouldn't stay with the program if the network moved the show to 12:05 a.m.
"Hello, my name is Conan O'Brien and I may soon be available for children's parties," he continued, adding, "No, seriously - welcome to NBC where our new slogan is 'No longer just screwing up prime time.'"
The snark continued with a mention of the most famous "Tonight Show" host.
"When I was a little boy," O'Brien said, "I remember watching 'The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson' and thinking, 'Someday, I'm going to host that show for seven months.'"
He wasn't the only late night-host to poke fun at the situation last night. Jimmy Kimmel came out dressed as Jay Leno - complete with a wig, fake chin and lisp - and announced that "My name is Jay Leno, and let it hereby be known I'm taking over all the shows in late night."
Watch Kimmel's Opening Monologue
Kimmel continued the gag throughout his entire program, even doing one of Leno's signature "Headlines" bits. When guests Elisha Cuthbert and Chevy Chase came out, they played along, with Chase making an entrance in a Conan wig.
The shakeup also provided some jokes for David Letterman on the "Late Show."
"You know what this means - that's right, I knocked off another competitor," he quipped.
Even while talking about "American Idol," Letterman brought the subject back to late night, adding, "Simon Cowell is leaving, but we checked: Jay's fingerprints are nowhere on this one."
Watch Letterman's Opening Monologue
Leno, whose move from 10 p.m. back to 11:35 is the source of the shakeup, brought up the controversy after telling his audience that NBC was ending "The Jay Leno Show" on Feb, 12.
He added that the NBC brass "don't handle these things well, they don't have a lot of tact" but did offer him a job alternative for after his show ended.
"They told me if I gained 10 pounds I could get on 'The Biggest Loser.'"