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The final week of The Tonight Show hosted by Conan O’Brien was extremely entertaining and plain good television. Guests during the week were Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Robin Williams and Adam Sandler. Surprise guests during the week included Ben Stiller and Pee Wee Herman in comedy skits centered on O’Brien’s departure from The tonight show. Conan O’Brien’s final show on Friday was geared up to be a fun one. Conan was treated to a surprise visit by Steve Carell who proceeded to do an exit interview with Conan for NBC. Conan was in hysterics by the time Carell finished his interview and the audience was revved up for the rest of the show.

During the week Conan had a bit about being vindictive and charging whatever he could to The Tonight Show, with NBC unable to do anything about it. The first expensive item featured during the week was a Bugatti Veyron car dressed up in mouse ears while an original recording of the song “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” by The Rolling Stones played in the background. O’Brien claimed the car and the cost of playing the original song would cost NBC $1.5 million. The second expensive item was the purchase of 2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, with the racehorse wearing a mink Snuggie while watching restricted Super Bowl footage. O’Brien claimed this hijink cost NBC $4.8 million. Conan showed the final expensive item on Friday night: a credit card purchased skeleton of a ground sloth from the Smithsonian institution, spraying Beluga caviar spraying through a hose on to an original Picasso, costing $65 million dollars paid for by NBC. Conan then made sure the audience knew the expensive buys at NBC’s expense was a joke all along.

Guests on Friday night included Tom Hanks who brought out what was thought to be scotch to toast Conan, who then proclaimed the drink to actually be cream soda, and diet cream soda at that. Friday’s musical guest was Neil Young, who played an acoustic version of his song “Long May You Run”.

In a very serious moment towards the end of the show, Conan thanked NBC for the years of employment with them and thanked his many fans:

“Here’s what all of you have done: you made a sad situation joyous and inspirational. So to all the people watching, I can never, ever thank you enough for the kindness to me, I’ll think about it for the rest of my life, and all I ask is one thing, and I’m asking this particularly of young people that watch:

Please do not be cynical. I hate cynicism. For the record, it’s my least favorite quality, it doesn’t lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen. I’m telling you, amazing things will happen.”

Will Ferrell finished the show dressed in a long blond wig, hat, Neil Young t-shirt and jeans, singing “Free Bird” while bringing Conan onstage to play guitar along with the band. The in-joke of “Free Bird” for those that don’t know the tradition is one concert goers began in the 1970’s when the band Lynyrd Skynyrd didn’t play their signature song “Free Bird” before exiting the stage. The audience yelled “play Free Bird”, lighting bic lighters as is often the case at concerts. Yelling “Free Bird” has become a running joke at concerts ever since, with concert goers yelling “play Free Bird” during all sorts of rock concerts.

Ferrell then added a cow bell towards the end of the song, bringing enormous laughs from SNL fans remembering his skit as a member of the Blue Oyster Cult recording the song “Don’t Fear The Reaper” and featuring Ferrell’s extremely loud cow bell. Ferrell made the most of singing “Free Bird”, lightening a difficult situation for O’Brien and making the show a true celebration to the end.