Jaunted

The show opened with Conan sitting alone on a stool. He explained how Conan-mania swept Finalnd, and his role in President Tarja Halonen's come from behind victory in the recent election. Then he rolled the footage.

His arrival in Helsinki was reminiscent of the Beatles arrival at JFK for the first time, only with poofier hair. At the press conference after his arrival, Conan announced that he hoped to become "Inspector of Women's Saunas" while in Finland. He later visited a real sauna, though he did not partake in the naked dip in the Baltic that the other patrons did. Serious shrinkage, that.

Much of the show was similar to the taped bits Conan does in New York, pulling in random people on the street into his world. He met one Finn who, when he likes to get really wild and crazy, likes to run for public office, and visited another who had written him and invited him to her apartment. She was exceedingly surprised when he showed up.

Conan also appeared on what seemed to be every talk show in the nation, including one that is hosted by ten-year old boys in matching suits. Sounds better than Katie Couric to us, and we hope they get a show on NBC soon. We'd watch it.

For us, the highlight was Conan's visit to a reindeer farm in the north of the country. He met a Sami man who spoke Reindeer--it sounds a lot like Klingon--and then rode on a dogsled. Way better than Stupid Pet Tricks.

At the end of the show, Conan went into the audience, which was composed entirely of Finns. A bold move, considering they have a reputation for being pretty reserved. But why didn't he invite the reindeer to watch the show?

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