Report: NBC will let Conan keep Masturbating Bear and his other characters
According to TMZ, "Sources say Conan and NBC are 'close' on his 'Tonight Show' exit agreement — but one of the remaining sticking points is intellectual property. Conan's characters — like Triumph, the Pimpbot 5000 and the Masturbating Bear — are all legally the property of NBC (Triumph's rights are a little tricky and may be the property of Conan's longtime friend Robert Smigel). Conan wants to take them with him wherever he lands — and we're told NBC will ultimately give Conan the right to his characters, in return for conceding other points in the exit deal."
Lorne Michaels could've protected Conan — too bad "SNL" boss wasn't retained
Lorne Michaels, who made Conan O'Brien a household name, is reportedly "miffed" that Conan didn't invite him to become an executive producer on "The Tonight Show." And it appears that decision may have come back to haunt Conan. Lorne — who is pals with Conan-hating Dick Ebersol — could have helped Conan navigate the stormy political waters at NBC. He, obviously, is extremely well-respected there," a source tells the NY Daily News. "Lorne could have given great counsel on his show creatively, and he could have protected Conan politically." Another source claims there's tension between the two men, but a rep for Conan says that ""No one ever suggested to Conan that Lorne be a producer."
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He was funny at times, but not always: Says James Poniewozik: "It may partly be that Gervais works better as a counterprogrammer than a programmer—the guy who presents on someone else's show, goes off on a could-you-believe-he-said-that tear, and makes you wish he'd get his own awards show. I suspect another problem is that Gervais' comedy is as much about his delivery as his jokes: his adopting a cluelessly self-centered persona, his spinning out a bawdy or awkwardly hilarious riff until you're gasping."
As Robert Bianco notes, "With its central mother/daughter focus, there is, as CW hopes you'll notice, a lot of 'Gilmore Girls' here, though perhaps not enough. What's missing, aside from 'Gilmore's' pop-culture-ransacking wit, is its generous multigenerational spirit. Everyone was given their say and due respect in Gilmore, from teenagers to grandparents. Life seems to draw its boundary line somewhere around 35: Anyone older than that is a lush, harridan, martinet or idiot."
As settlement negotiations wrap up, Gavin Polone, who has known Conan O'Brien for 24 years, said 
No more Masturbating Bear!? According to The Hollywood Reporter, NBC is going to do what it did to David Letterman 17 years ago: "The Peacock owns the intellectual property behind such popular O'Brien characters as Pimpbot 5000 and Conando, as well as recurring segments such as In the Year 3000 and Desk Driving. Sources involved in the settlement negotiations say NBC is keeping the copyrighted and trademarked elements of O'Brien's shows as part of the deal. That means the bits and characters will likely never be seen after O'Brien's "Tonight" ends its run Jan. 22." But The Hollywood Reporter says Triumph the Insult Comic Dog's future is unclear, since it was originated by former "Late Night" head writer Robert Smigel.
Negotiations should be 
As "24' returns for its 8th season Sunday, Hank Stuever observes: "Personally, I always thought '24' worked best as a dark comedy about the despair of the inept American workplace — sort of like 'The Office,' only with more loss of limb. It was, and still is, a show about people trying to pass the buck to cover their asses, or take undeserved credit for the work of others, or scheme their way to the top of the Counter Terrorism Unit. The show's history is rife with bad bosses and horrible HR protocols. The harder he works, the worse Jack is treated, and I think this is the best reason to stick with '24.' Jack started out at the top and worked his way down, down, downsized — a non-entity, an ex-employee, a badgeless rogue who is always being thanklessly asked back to work."
Rosie is definitely on Team Conan, as she slammed Leno in the past, especially because he refused to let her guest-host "The Tonight Show." Today she told critics, "I think he’s forgotten his roots and what stand up comedy is about, and graciousness has never been his number one quality… I think it would serve him well to think about what might happen if he were able to let go and grab on to whatever the next rung is."
