The second show in Toronto for Late Night with Conan O'Brien featured Michael J. Fox, some guy who does moose calls, and Nickelback, Canada's answer to Creed. The results would have been even more mixed than yesterday's show if it were not for the presence of former Kids in the Hall member Scott Thompson in a pre-recorded romp through some Toronto landmarks, including City Hall, where he and Conan considered legally-sanctioned marital bliss. Unfortunately, the segment must have been recorded sometime in the last couple of weeks when Toronto actually received some snow (the city doesn't normally get that much snow; in fact, other parts of Ontario ridicule Torontonians for their typically hysterical response to a little snowfall).
The snow meant two unfortunate things: first, it wasn't a clear day for filming, so some of the otherwise attractive sites were obscured by snow; and second, and perhaps more important, the segment once again left the impression with Americans that even Canadians in large cities spend the year buried in snow. I know I sound like a nervous nelly prattling on about not wanting to give Americans the wrong impression about Canada (and the show continually doing just that). But, really, I don't want to give Americans the wrong impression. Toronto, and much of southern Ontario, gets maybe a few weeks of snowfall every year (thank you, global warming). The day the Thompson segment was filmed was probably one of maybe three or four days this winter that Toronto has experienced serious snowfall.
Michael J. Fox was a fair guest, but he didn't have the same sense of belonging that Mike Myers did the night before. Maybe it's because Fox has lived in the States longer than Myers. I don't know. I think he has to deal with the disadvantage of being out of the spotlight for some time. I'm sure fans were happy to see him, but Fox hasn't been a mainstay of popular culture since, what, Spin City? And how many people watched that? He'll always be welcomed in Canada; I'm not disputing that. Just saying that his celebrity now is more related to his battle with Parkinsons than with his film or television work.
The moose calling guy was the Canadian equivalent of one of those old ladies who used to appear on the Tonight Show with potato chips that look like people: an oddity, and not very entertaining at that. But Conan did a decent job of milking some comedy from the bit.
Let's see. That means in two nights we have seen a lame plaid-shirted maritimer comedian and a camouflage-shirted champion moose caller. Equal opportunity, or just Stereotype City?
Finally, Nickelback. Where the hell are the cool Canadian bands? (And don't say it, American reader. Because there are some.) Nickelback is one of those Canadian bands that deserves to be in a South Park parody for the damage they have done the reputation of our music industry. Why does Canada always export shitty bands? Why can't American record labels and radio stations discover the good Canadian bands? Instead, the American public has an insatiable appetite for Celine Dion and Nickelback. Look, America, don't blame Canada for your listening habits. If you guys would just stop listening to them, they'd never escape the Canadian music scene, living out their days earning beer money from some bar gig in Saskatoon.
The funniest bit in the first two nights of Conan in Toronto is the "Canadian Small Talk Moment," where Conan and Max put on Hockey Canada ball caps and talk about Canadian politics. I don't know how this plays in America, but I find it hilarious, and I don't even recognize all of the Canadian current events they are referencing. I think it's funny because Canadian politics sounds so bland and inconsequential, or maybe it's just because it's an American celebrity talking about Canadian things that American celebrities don't talk about. Whatever the reason, I think it's hysterical.
I think most Conan fans are anticipating Friday's show because Jim Carrey is on. He's a local boy, sure, but more importantly Carrey is a guest who prepares material for his appearances. I'm looking forward to whatever he has in mind for Friday.
2:15:24 AM 
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