List of Late Night with Conan O'Brien sketches
The sketch was invented prior to the actual year 2000, but the show's writers decided to keep the named year the same even after the passing of the titular year, in a sort of ironic twist. However, when the sketch was revived on "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien", Richter heaped ridicule upon O'Brien for failing to update the name of the skit nine years after the year 2000 had passed. The sketch is renamed "In the Year 3000", with the black robe (referred to as a 'ratty smock' by Richter) being replaced with a more futuristic-looking outfit consisting of a large metallic collar with a series of blinking lights, which Conan said were very expensive to make and Andy said smelled bad. Appearing on "Tonight" June 3, 2009, it was the first "Late Night" sketch to be carried over to Conan's "Tonight Show". The open to the sketch included narration by William Shatner and, on one occasion, George Takei.
Conan O'Brien
O'Brien moved to Los Angeles after graduation to join the writing staff of HBO's "Not Necessarily the News". He was also a writer on the short-lived "The Wilton North Report". He spent two years with that show and performed regularly with improvisational groups, including The Groundlings. In January 1988, "Saturday Night Live"'s executive producer, Lorne Michaels, hired O'Brien as a writer. During his three years on "Saturday Night Live (SNL)", he wrote such recurring sketches as "Mr. Short-Term memory" and "The Girl Watchers"; the latter was first performed by Tom Hanks and Jon Lovitz. While on a writers' strike from "Saturday Night Live" following the 1987–88 season, O'Brien put on an improvisational comedy revue in Chicago with fellow "SNL" writers Bob Odenkirk and Robert Smigel called "Happy Happy Good Show". While living in Chicago, O'Brien briefly roomed with Jeff Garlin. In 1989, O'Brien and his fellow "SNL" writers received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy or Variety Series.