Late Night With Jimmy Fallon is here. Let's pretend to care about it.

http://i43.tinypic.com/2yz0ho1.jpg

DeNiro, Timberlake and Van Morrison is a pretty good line-up for a debut show, but it's surely all downhill from here for at least the next two years, right? Provided he keeps the seat that long...

pro: will be going to sleep earlier

can't wait to say it's terrible

why all the hate for jimmy? is he just not funny? all i know is he's cute

He's the reason I watched Conan in the first place. Conan's a funny weirdo; Fallon is a toolbox... and you don't to laugh with with the Old Navy-wearing tools this guy represents demographically. No sir. No way.

So far the best thing about this has been Conan's cameo before the opening titles.

This is where the bad habits of present day SNL carry over. He still can't read cue cards without giving away the fact he's reading cue cards.

I mean yeah, this guy is totally just not my style. Wow.

Okay, I was thinking monologues and bits may not be his strength and maybe his interviews will be decent. But this DeNiro segment is a complete trainwreck.

Justin Timberlake = A+

Everything else = F

did they show a sketch about a chair? one chair he didn't choose for the show that goes out and becomes a drug-addicted prostitute?

timberlake was awesome, i missed everything else

Van Morrison's nose is a different color than the rest of his face.

I mean yeah, this guy is totally just not my style. Wow.

― burt_stanton, Tuesday, March 3, 2009 12:54 AM (42 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

despite this i still dont like dude

Does anyone have the inside scoop on how Fallon was picked? It just seems mind-boggling given his resume (handful of years on SNL, few non-hit movies). Conan apparently got some flack for his lack of TV experience when he got picked, but that dude had amazing writer cred going in.

Just how powerful is Lorne Michaels?

I mean you saw Conan talkin bout how Lorne "MADE" his career and there wouldn't have been a show without him, not hard to imagine Lorne having similar pull to get Fallon in place.

Conan's show was rough in the beginning and stayed that way for a while. It wasn't until the third year or so that it settled into a rhythm and the writers started cutting loose.

Fallon's problem is that he's already a known entity. The only mystery about tonight's show was whether or not he could make a transition from sketch player to talk show host. All signs point to NO, and I really don't want to sit through this crap long enough for him to grow into it.

Just how powerful is Lorne Michaels?

Too powerful, apparently. The only other person with that much power at NBC is Dick Wolf. Come to think of it, Chris Meloni would probably be AWESOME as the host of Late Night.

At least with Conan you could say "he wrote some funny stuff on the Simpsons, so maybe he'll be funny here one day." With Fallon, you already know he doesn't make you laugh.

I thought Slow-Jammin' the News was funny when he wasn't talking.

Basically I just wanted The Roots to play all night long.

yeah, that was by far the best part, although I didn't stay up past the "brand integration" segment with audience members licking consumer electronics.

Conan definitely took some time to gain confidence and find a groove, but his show was always funny, from the very beginning.

too bad his movies make money (because my god do they suck). someone maybe could've wrangled Vince Vaughn into doing this.

*vince's movies

I turned it off halfway into the DeNiro segment. Too much pain to watch.

Vince Vaughan's a great idea. I'd love to see a talk show with a real surly host.

^^^ yes. i keep thinking, there's gotta be someone more high profile than Fallon and the various C-listers that auditioned before CBS hired Ferguson that's interested in a job like this. maybe there are some movie stars that are just scared of being the next Chevy Chase?

i was always pretty ambivalent about him, but he did an excellent job sitting in for Letterman back when Dave was out for his bypass.

xpost

also a registered Repub who supported Bush in '04 & McCain Palin, according to Wiki o_O

wouldn't vince vaughn be pretty much the same as craig kilborn?

lettermans a republican too. or was.

I turned it off halfway into the DeNiro segment. Too much pain to watch.

Yeah, that was uncomfortable. I understand that DeNiro's a big get, but why go after someone who's famously reticent?

Timberlake gave Fallon more of an opportunity for give and take, but Fallon also seemed visibly flustered when they got off-topic. Maybe just first show jitters...

didn't see it. There was a decent feature in the NY Times the other day on these late-night shows being the most ossified genre in TV; to succeed is to do what's expected. Is even 62-year-old Letterman better than Leno? Clearly. Are they really all that different? Hell no.

ie, anyone who was as offbeat (yet still derivative of Steve Allen) as '82 Dave would be off the air in a month now.

i don't think that's necessarily true...i don't think the networks would risk their timeslot on something more offbeat, but i think the right host doing weird things would be much more popular than Fallon doing a shaky rendition of the same old shit.

watching it just made me think that i would rather watch a justin timberlake talk show.

the right host doing weird things would be much more popular

no, he'd draw an enthusiastic cult, not deliver half-open eyeballs, which is the goal.

Question for those who have seen it:

TS: Jimmy Fallon's show vs. Carson Daly's show

Recognizing it's only been on the air for one night, but c'mon, gut reaction plz.

destroy both

this is actually one of those times where Morbs's cynicism and my cynicism align; everything he's said re: weird late-night hosts has been OTM

I think you mean laserlike realism!

I thought it would be impossible for anyone to approach the level of Carson Daly, who is offensively awful.

i'm pretty sure "enthusiastic cult" would describe the audience that kept Dave and Conan on the air for their first 5 years or so. you don't need to be a blockbuster hit to survive at 12:35, you just have to be popular enough and well liked, as far as i can tell.

that was then, this is now.

maybe it's just how godawful late Carson is on but anytime i'm unfortunate enough to be up watching his show i kind of enjoy how apologetically half-assed and lackadaisical it is. it's like he knows he shouldn't be there, is wondering why NBC even airs anything that late, but here we are, let's do this talk show thing. nothing special but definitely >>>> Fallon.

actually Carson was one of the best impressions Fallon ever did on SNL, totally depressed and full of contempt for all the TRL kids

Wow. I gotta catch a few episodes of Fallon. This is like getting the opportunity to catch Chevy Chase/Magic Johnson again!

of course i read sd's last 2 posts as being about JOHNNY until it got to "TRL"

ie, anyone who was as offbeat (yet still derivative of Steve Allen) as '82 Dave would be off the air in a month now.

― Dr Morbius, Tuesday, March 3, 2009 9:25 AM (34 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

oh for the heady, iconoclastic, irreverent days of 1982

entertainment-conglomerate bottom lines are way more stringent.

when im invited as a guest i will just flirt w/the camera giggle and bite my hand

will he ask tina fey abt josh

I can imagine a TV exec taking a look at Carson Daly's CV and feeling quite comfortable hiring him (hosted TRL, millions of hours radio interview exp. logged), but Jimmy Fallon has less on paper than Tim Meadows. It doesn't even make sense as a black-box business-school exercise.

There must have been some nefarious 'Light Night' machinations going on like when Kathy Bates screwed over Letterman and Leno had to fire her even though she sealed the Tonight Show spot for him.

I think of Fallon as the favorite son who flunks out of college and then gets to run the family business because dad just wants the kid to do something.

There must have been some nefarious 'Light Night' machinations going on like when Kathy Bates screwed over Letterman and Leno had to fire her even though she sealed the Tonight Show spot for him.

what are you talking about? Lorn Michaels, who chose the last host, who had absolutely zero on-camera experience and ended up being successful, got to choose the replacement, cause that's his job. How is that nefarious?

SNL is the skull and bones of comedy

lorne michaels explains this thread:
“When he was on ‘Saturday Night Live’ he had enormous appeal to young girls,” he said. “That means young men are going to be a bit ambivalent."

I think what's going on is that they have the weirdo on at 11:35, so they have somebody a little straighter and "normal" to balance the ticket. Leno was supposed to disappear into the ether when this whole thing went down.

Oh that makes perfect sense, because Late Night has always been about catering to young girls.

WAHT

dave foley could make a great talk show host

i love DF and he was kind of enjoyable on Celebrity Poker Showdown and Thank God You're Here but i dunno about that

he looks so creepy these days.

lettermans a republican too. or was.

― homie bhabha (max), Tuesday, March 3, 2009 3:17 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

really? that seems hard to believe after the last 8 years of him going at bush like every nite

the "young girls" thing is especially stupid because the guy is starting the job at the age of 34, and is already looking a little haggard compared to the SNL days. i mean they might as well just do a NKOTB variety hour if that's their logic.

I think all the people we would find funny on here would make NBC's late night programming totally niche and limited, with Conan on and then some bastard comedian after him... like, Michael Ian Black for instance. I'd watch the whole thing, but would precious MIDDLE AMERICA?

For Conan, it's true Lorne actively lobbied for him (the mental picture of which -- Lorne actively engaged in anything -- just goes counter to every self-satirizing self-depiction he's put on screen), but from what I read, it was some other NBC exec who greenlighted Conan, and basically saved him when he was cancelled for one day.

Also, Lorne wasn't able to save Norm McDonald from the wrath of some GE exec who didn't find him funny.

Has Lorne staged a quiet coup since then, leaving him supreme overlord of GE/NBC, answerable to no one?

yeah, i guess even middle-aged suit-wearing dave foley might be too misanthropic to be a talk show host.

i didn't think this was that bad! slow jamming the news was funny... and i guess i could see why the writers would think lick it for ten would be funny. target demo has some potential, altho blonde moms was a pretty hackish first subject. i think they've got ideas tho

lettermans a republican too. or was.

― homie bhabha (max), Tuesday, March 3, 2009 3:17 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

really? that seems hard to believe after the last 8 years of him going at bush like every nite

― simon peggle (M@tt He1ges0n), Tuesday, March 3, 2009 12:41 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

dont know that he was public abt it but i thought it was fairly common knowledge he was conservative/libertarian until bush

perhaps Dave Foley would think whoring out for celeb chat for another few years is an unacceptable fate. I'd hope.

Letterman always seemed like the most apolitical guy in the world.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080721204038AAyAMt9

IIRC when Conan first got the Tonight Show NBC was considering a lot of potential replacements, Fallon was always mentioned as one of them but I imagine they tried out or offered the gig to other people before ending up with him, not just Lorne forcing him through.

i don't think he has absolute power and sure some exec had to actually pull the trigger, but I don't see why it would take nefarious means for him to get jimmy fallon hired.

lol "Leno on the other hand is known to be a devoted Republican."

xp: Did you watch last night's show?

perhaps Dave Foley would think whoring out for celeb chat for another few years is an unacceptable fate. I'd hope.

― Dr Morbius, Tuesday, March 3, 2009 11:46 AM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

you're talking about the guy who hosted celebrity poker showdown on bravo btw

looool

It's too bad America's not ready for a Scott Thompson-hosted late night show.

scott thompson would be better tho

ha xp

i think they should let john mccain's twitter acct host the show

Scott Thompson would KILL. I think Foley's show would be pretty flat.

n/a, yeah -- that's why I said another few years. (you're extra fucking stupid today.)

starting to think "Tombot, here I come"...

tmi

I think n/a was saying your hope that David Foley, while rolling round in his small pile of Bravo money, would turn down a larger pile of NBC money, ludicrous.

Come to think of it, Chris Meloni would probably be AWESOME as the host of Late Night.

― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, March 3, 2009 6:58 AM (11 hours ago)

dude this is the most OTM thing so far on this thread.

maybe it's just how godawful late Carson is on but anytime i'm unfortunate enough to be up watching his show i kind of enjoy how apologetically half-assed and lackadaisical it is. it's like he knows he shouldn't be there, is wondering why NBC even airs anything that late, but here we are, let's do this talk show thing. nothing special but definitely >>>> Fallon.

OTM. It's like watching a public access channel talk show where the bad-ness is charming and unoffensive.

Carson's a dude who really seems to have gotten where he is in life 100% on accident and is seems pretty aware and amused by this. He's be a cool dude to have a beer with.

I guess he's alternate reality gwb

instead of weapons of mass destruction TONIGHT WE'VE GOT BIG BAD VOODOO DADDY SITTING IN AS THE HOUSE BAND EVERYBODY!

now I have the image of Carson Daly sitting in the oval office, furtively glancing at the red button on his desk

http://i40.tinypic.com/euk9ye.jpg

maybe it's just how godawful late Carson is on but anytime i'm unfortunate enough to be up watching his show i kind of enjoy how apologetically half-assed and lackadaisical it is. it's like he knows he shouldn't be there, is wondering why NBC even airs anything that late, but here we are, let's do this talk show thing. nothing special but definitely >>>> Fallon.

― go to club ban with me pls (some dude), Tuesday, March 3, 2009 3:36 PM (4 hours ago) Bookmark

yes

I don't think Carson Daly's all that bad at what he does, and I appreciate the fact that sometimes he'll devote his entire 30 minutes to one musical guest (some good, some not). The thing that's kept Last Call on the air for as long as it's been on is the move to California. Nobody at 30 Rock even pays attention to what he's doing anymore and he's operating with no fear.

I am in a sketch on the show tonight. I am the guy who walks up to a chair and drops some change into a cup. my acting debut

did they pay you $10 for it

no i was PAing and the dir. just kinda needed someone to do it so he picked me, for obvious reasons (good looks)

so to answer your question way more than 10 bucks

kewl

holy shit preview of the matrix 12 is a real life kenneth the page

i met ?uest and asked him about commuting every day from philly.

xp i wish. i am unemployed.

I guess I am rooting for Jimmy Fallon now because I felt bad for him last night but I don't think he is going to get a lot better. I wonder if he will get to the point where a pretty significant minority of his audience are hecklers who look like Jonah Hill like at the one Carson Daly taping I went to.

yeah...i didn't watch any of his online woodshedding mini-shows, but one of the reasons i tuned in last night to see if he was going to emerge clearly improved or honed since the SNL days, and he clearly hasn't.

dud was mad nervous to the point that it was a little distracting. but i think the show will get better. they've got rally good writers. A.D. Miles, the guy from Wet Hot American Summer and a bunch of other shit is really funny and he's the writer. we'll see.

I don't think using "social media" is the strongest marketing plan ever for a talk show but they seem to be getting a lot of people to watch the videos and stuff so that's good

yeah the writing showed enough promise that i was kinda curious what kinda brains they got working back there

i am watching the hulu of last night's ep and now understand why j0rdan asked me about $10

I don't think they picked you to be on the sketch for your looks; they picked you because you were the only one to say "yes".

s_b

you really think so burt_stanton? shit, and this whole time I've been walking around telling women I'm in showbiz.

He seems to be doing a syndicated afternoon talk show.

one of the writers is anthony jeselnik whose standup is tight (and dark) as fuck

anthony jeselnik

I hate that dude.

hah he looks pretty douchey i'll give you that

If these writers are so good, they should write something funny for Jimmy Fallon to do on his show, because you know ... he probably would appreciate it.

Well, I guess as a former copywriter I appreciated the premise of their stupid little brand thing... if they do more jokes about brand management, art direction, white space, and doing color checks, then I'm sold.

this facebook gag is funny

yeah, I'm chuckling.

alright getting old now

Already a huge improvement. Monologue was better tonight. And references to Castle Grayskull are always funny.

lol at "Sahn-tee-gold"

he sux at interviewing but im kind of loving this fey interview

yeah, I laughed. So what

hairstyles run-through had me rofling

I applaud the fact he had the good sense to sit back and let Tina Fey just riff for six minutes.

internet video of the day is laaaame

that hair style runthrough makes me wonder what I'll think of my haircut in 15 years. "dad, why does your hair look so stupid?" "I don't remember, son. I just don't remember."

Yeah, I remember liking Fallon's cuts on WU, but now that I've been reacquainted with them I can't figure out what I was thinking.

it was 2002 ... which know looks like 1992 did in 1999.

For some reason, I was expecting a person they brought in to sing Bon Jovi karaoke to actually be better at it than this.

they're kinda making up for the fact that he's a shaky interviewer - i guess it adds some spontaneity tho

lol was that preview of the matrix 12? "my legs were on jimmy fallon's second episode!!"

I thought they couldn't do laptop/dj shit on network tv because of union rules. ??

this performance licks my balls

actually maybe it's just spank rock

Yeah, not great. And I rather love Santi.

i didnt see van morrison last night but is this 'crowd-looking down on the performance' thing their 'thing'?

It might be. I wasn't paying close attention last night, but I remember the stage looking crowded.

OH WOW HERE IS NOTED RAP PHENOM CHARLES HAMILTON

PROLIFIC BLOGGER

Oh sweet, Carson's doing 30 mins on Charles Hamilton!

J0rdan, I can't tell if you're being sarcastic, but dude is tight.

im being sarcastic yeah - my official stance on dude is that i like his production, don't think he can rap, and that i think he's really overextending and overexposing himself before he's ready (as opposed to the internet doing it for him)

i do like "brooklyn girls" a lot tho - rappers need to stop performing w/ live bands tho unless they are jay-z

kid plays his cards right he could be the next lupe fiasco

he's gonna get the promo push at least

rap bands always hav corny guitars how come

cuz rappers like corny rock music

yo they totally screwed me!! they should have used one of the forward-facing shots! but pulling that stupid chair around rockefeller center on strings for a couple hours and sticking syringes into it was kinda funny.

It's funny cos it's true. Guitarists in rap bands always have these jazz guitars.

o he was a homeless teen REALLY

my first question: r u aware no one listens to rap

IS BIZKIT THE SLEEP WALKING DOG HIS DOG?

INCUBUS IS HE FUCKING JOKING

getting in fite w/mom and sleeping on friends couches =/ homeless

cuz rappers like corny rock music

― burt_stanton and ernie (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, March 4, 2009 1:44 AM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

lool nice call

im hav trouble pinpointing the charles hamilton drug cocktail here

Just lost 88% of my respect for him over that Incubus crap.

imna go w/booze+coke+weed

I JUST GAVE YOU ART

i want to not hate this guy cuz he's just a young dude making musics but jeeeeeez

the charles hamilton drug cocktail

all pot if you ask me.

yall need to find his song that samples the hoobastank song IIIIIMMMMM NOOOOOOTTT A PEEEEERFEECCT PEEEEEEEERRSSOOONNN

Thank you, Carson Daly, for making me not like someone I liked 20 minutes ago. You provide a real service.

that stuttery eye buggy insistent thing doesnt come from teh weed

carson is lol retarded - "wasn't jimmy iovine mad about you putting out your music for free" - carson have you heard of this rapper called lil wayne?

sooo booring im having a hard time imagining what u guys could find compelling or unlikable or whatever ab this guy and his music - is it the indie clothes

He's about 102% better on record than he is live.

his music isn't that compelling - precisely why the amount of press is baffling - i mean tons of ppl get signed to interscope!

rappers need to stop performing w/ live bands tho unless they are jay-z

― burt_stanton and ernie (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, March 4, 2009 12:40 AM (18 minutes ago) Bookmark

rly tho dudes

ive heard a mix tape o lord its dullsville - kinda funny from a im a musician guy its all just rappin and rappin

i mean hes condescending to people who actually know how to do songs

his music isn't that compelling - precisely why the amount of press is baffling - i mean tons of ppl get signed to interscope!

― burt_stanton and ernie (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, March 4, 2009 1:59 AM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

its the saem thing w/like charlie rose tweeting - everyone is terrified of the internet

i mean hes condescending to people who actually know how to do songs

Eh, maybe? I just like the way he pieces together a track. He should be producing all over the place, but I can't blame him for wanting to hop on the mic.

hey joe maybe you could get him to play the bløg's 1 year anniversary party

i need to find the NEXT charles hamilton

btw, Carson profiles Little Boots tomorrow night and N.A.S.A. on Friday.

jimmy faggon lieks to have sexxup with phat nigga shemalez

and yah he like to bottom

ty bring back arch deluxe bitch

btw i am the next charles hamilton

yesterday's show was meh, hope it will get better, but have to say there are doubts in my mind

Matchin' Tats! was kind of funny.

This will be the last night I watch this for a while.

Carson's guests tonight are Patton Oswalt and M83.

Ain't nuthin' wrong with that

What painkillers is Stevie Nicks on right now?

Does it have to be just one kind?

So how much longer are The Roots going to be content with doing this?

The show's getting better, but there's no way they can feel creatively free being the house band on a late night show five nights a week.

people don't usually take day jobs in order to be "creatively free," they do it to "buy food"

they get to perform with lots of people they really like, get paid well, and do a weekly residency where they can play whatever they want, seems like a good deal to me

Yeah, I've been thinking about this, too -- seems like they had a good 15 years to make albums and tour and now they're looking for a little security.

I guess that makes sense, but I still catch glimpses of at least one of them every night with a look on his face that says "how did I get here?"

Re: the show itself. I'm getting more in synch with Fallon's pacing and approach now and the show's become this kind of diorama that I view from overhead and I see them taking away and adding things until it works just right. It's not there yet (can we get Steve Higgins and his DUD ass off the stage, plz?), but the progression is steady.

I kind of love the 7th Floor West saga, too.

I get the feeling that Higgins is there mostly to make Fallon feel more comfortable on stage.

i like 7th floor west and the roots and then the rest is just like the ellen show hosted by mike myers tethered up to the jungle gym. for a 1230 show, it's like they don't even try to be weird

the ellen show hosted by mike myers tethered up to the jungle gym

okay, this makes the show sound awesome

It's a pretty spot-on description too.

I kinda liked this:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/74648/late-night-with-jimmy-fallon-head-swap#http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hulu.com%2Ffeed%2Frecent%2Fvideos.rss%3Frd%3D0

does his nervousness qualify as a schtick, or is it just nervousness? b/c it's very off-putting in a way that i can see either as incompetence or some faint andy kaufman-like subversion. the way his eyes dart all around as if he's not sure what to look at while he's delivering his monologue. or how he shifts around in his chair during interviews.

I've been thinking his monologues have gotten much more solid/self-assured. His interview style is still amateurish, though, and depending on the guest either hilarious or very uncomfortable.

There are many faults of Fallon, but contemptuous subversion against guest/audience isn't one of them. If being tic-y and nervous got him this far, what could convince him to go against his nature? They never offered Phil Hartman a talk show as far as I know.

I think it's a genuine nervousness and I agree it can be off-putting it times, but it does also go along with his general eager-to-please puppy-doggish persona.

I sort of liked his interview with Keith Olbermann the other night, when they just geeked out about baseball cards the entire time, without any regard for the audience.

That's my favorite outcome for late night talk show interviews; when the host and guest go off script on some tangent and it's more like they're just having a discussion over drinks rather than pandering to the audience or promoting some film or show. I think Fallon's probably a more interesting cat than his public persona would suggest, and you can see a little glimpse of it every now and then when the right guest is being interviewed.

btw, I've been missing Conan pretty hard lately. Can't wait for Monday night!

(saw a peek of the new set on Access Hollywood last week...slightly disappointing, but whatevs)

Pls discuss 7th Fl West.

guys i really don't like jimmy fallon and his show frustrates me but will forte sang some kind of song with the roots last night about a 3 hour live tv show that he's doing or something? and like the roots were backing him up singing 'WILL FORTE!'. wtf?

http://jazztimes.com/articles/24584-steady-gigs-late-shows

“You’ll be neutered!” Marsalis reportedly told Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson, the drummer and bandleader of the Roots, warning him against the Late Night gig. But as Thompson admitted to the Associated Press, the numbers were just too convincing. “This would basically match or surpass what we would make touring 200-plus days out of the year,” he said, adding that the group would be commuting from Philadelphia, its home.

If this show fails, it won't be because of anyone but Fallon. The writers, the band, the skits are all excellent, and Fallon is the weak spot in every possible way.

JIMMY FALLON
LATE NIGHT DANCE CHALLENGE

this is a dumb idea but the song is cool - the roots biting soulja boy is dope, want more

this has been getting funnier lately

- rush limbaugh karaoke was genuine stomach cramp roffles
- celebrity head swap gag tonight was also amazing

Needs to be posted:

http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/blogs/2009/11/neil-young-sings-the-fresh-prince-theme-song/

This one is quite unnerving, as he gets it pitch-perfect.

^ Seconded, this Neil Young impression must be seen to be believed. And as an extra bonus, it's funny. I'm starting to like this Fallon character.

He makes the "Fresh Prince" theme sound like "Powderfinger". No, really.

Ha, I posted that here.

I watch this most nights now, btw. Almost never watch Conan anymore. 11:30 must just be a comic killer.

I watch this most nights now, btw. Almost never watch Conan anymore. 11:30 must just be a comic killer.

― Johnny Fever, Wednesday, November 25, 2009 1:41 AM (55 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

They really need to move Andy back to the couch.

ok at some point between the awkward first couple of episodes and now, did this show actually get really fucking funny and good or am i losing my mind?

i never watch the actual show but the musical guests (esp. all the rappers + the roots) are killing it. also i lolled @ "neil young" doing fresh prince.

I think reintroducing actual skits, which Fallon knows how to do, has helped tremendously.

weird thing is that i never really liked him much on snl and whatever, so having him be consistently funny is kind of odd - sketches def are the best part of the show.

also benefits from being sandwiched between the painfully unfunny new conan and that horrible abortion with the trl dude on it.

Neil Young bit was amazing.

I notice Fallon has a lot more fun with the interviews now, and that's helped him out.

Yeah, I just mentioned this on the Tonight Show thread. Fallon's show has really turned into something great after a really shaky start.

SPIN. THE. WHEEL. OF. CARPET. SAMPLES!

the musical guests

So awesome.

Some of the skits are good, it's true.

I really never gave him due credit for his impressions on SNL, but he can do just about anyone.

this is the best show in late night.

Aside from the times when Letterman gets a particularly juicy interview, yes... it is.

Credit the same "nowhere to go but up/who gives a shit?" effect that saved Conan, if indeed Fallon is doing well these days. But the biggest impediment to me watching? Still Fallon. I'm content with the Roots+x musical performances.

this is the best show in late night.

― mizzell, Monday, March 8, 2010 2:25 PM (38 minutes ago) Bookmark

yeah i'll take daily show/colbert report, thanks

but i think late night w/ fallon is an utter disaster

yeah i'll take daily show/colbert report, thanks

I figured it was a given we were only considering the traditional network talk show. If you throw in TDS and Colbert, well yeah... they're clearly funnier/better.

yeah i wasn't really thinking about the comedy central shows. which basically means fallon doesn't have that much competition.

Are there any weird local market talk show hosts anymore? Like the local weatherman who is also an amateur ventriloquist who interviews city council members and j.v. jocks through his dummy, Xerxes the Invincible.

disaster jordan really?? i think ferguson is the best right now but fallon is usually as good as letterman.

not counting tds or cr which own

i havent been watching fallon regularly (i guess i'll start this week, not like i'm doing anything else) in the past month or so, but i just hated that all of his post monologue segments were like price is right style audience participation gags that didn't involve any jokes or anything

I love Wheel of Carpet Samples, so maybe I'm a sucker.

nahh i mean i dont watch it regularly at all but total disaster seems really harsh, its not the jay leno show

okay sure, but i just think he's too "straight" (not in sexual terms, obv) to be a great late night host -- he's like if your dorm RA hosted a "late night show" in the lounge -- let's throw hot dogs thru faces!! and... hey everyone... i have ipods!!

yeah hes not a genius yet but theres usually 2-3 consistently hilarious bits a week i find. plus he had christopher cross on the show~~

I think it's easy to overrate this show because it's almost kinda watchable and who the hell would imagine something w/ jimmy fallon would be almost kinda watchable? still not worth an hour of my day...

i liked him a ton on snl tho, he just seems to eager to please right now -- i'm confident that he could develop some sort of notable niche (beyond "show aimed at younger people") in a few years

the weekly highlights on hulu are def worth the time, imo.

i think the late night host thing suites him more than the acting thing

/comedy thing

i still wish he knew what to do with his eyes! they dart everywhere during his monologue. public speaking 101.

I saw how many new replies this thread and immediately assumed that something bad had happened to the Late Night With Jimmy Fallon universe! I think it speaks well of what they have accomplished that I could immediately recall a large number of players in the LNWJFiverse for whom I was concerned and it is probably not such a good thing that I didn't really even consider that maybe they turned out another viral klassik like Neil Young doing the Fresh Prince theme. It is true that Fallon himself remains the weak link in this premium late night show for luxury viewers but I also have to give him props for being so likable (if inept) that I stopped actively rooting for him to fail not that long into his first show

i mean, it probably doesn't speak that well of ME that I consider laughing during more cowbell to be hate crime level stuff, but like. it might just be that i was a 13-year-old girl in 1998 and am not quite yet so matronly as to get fluttery over mr. wick.

parnell & sandberg are doing "lazy sunday" live tonight

okay sure, but i just think he's too "straight" (not in sexual terms, obv) to be a great late night host -- he's like if your dorm RA hosted a "late night show" in the lounge -- let's throw hot dogs thru faces!! and... hey everyone... i have ipods!!

― jizzchin (J0rdan S.), Monday, March 8, 2010 4:31 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

haha yeah his show really isn't that far off from the Jarret's Room sketches. but yeah Fallon is really just reaping the rewards of low expectations right now, Ferguson is still doing a way better show in his timeslot.

Watching Craig Ferguson is like trying to have a conversation with my perfectly charming stepdad and hating it

And poor Chris Parnell, man,

poor Chris Parnell.

fallon seems to have a lot of good music guests.

not really, Joanna Newsom was on last week

om*g

lol yeah, Newsom was a real black mark on his recent string of successes.

is there a thread where we can discuss Joanna Newsom? i have some opinions about her that i'd like to share with everyone

search "magic unicorns."

or search "breadsticks." i can never remember which one.

i don't know, i never disliked jimmy fallon. and i love the show. the monologue is usually questionable but he pulls of a shitty monologue better than anybody else, besides letterman. when conan did an unfunny monologue, it was so showy and grinny and still POLISHED in an annoying over-the-top tv host way. but fallon, when he delivers bomb after bomb... i don't know... it just kills me, his dumb grin and his shrugs. when he gets to the desk, the bits are good, the wacky bits are actually funny. you know, i discovered recently that jimmy kimmel is the only good interviewer in late night, because they're loose and funny and natural, but fallon's enthusiasm makes for relatively okay interviews.

i like kimmel & think hes p underrated or maybe hes rated okay but i just really like him. i think the fact that hes an affable dick makes everyone he interviews seem more charming & likable. i also like his tendency to really drag a bit out making it both absurd and obv

I definitely agree that Jimmy Kimmel is underrated, I dunno whether the whole world tends to write him off because he's friends with Adam Carolla or if it's just me but it's happening and it's probs a shame

I mean maybe he's accurately rated and every other latenight host is overrated.

Watching Craig Ferguson is like trying to have a conversation with my perfectly charming stepdad and hating it

i haven't watched much CF at all, but what i've seen has the awkward quality you're describing.

Ferguson can definitely be corny and cringe-inducing, but I'll take that over Fallon's utter absence of a personality.

fallon seems a bit over-ingratiating, maybe?

Fallon is a terrible, terrible interviewer most of the time. Says "buddy" and "pal" constantly for no apparent reason. He has good writers, though, and some good bits.

he is like the chris farley show irl, most clearly seen in the episode with steve martin and paul simon

but like i said, he was cute in the late 90s so w/e

he was cute in the late 90s so w/e

pretty sure this was Lorne's pitch to NBC

might be the best thing I've ever worked on: http://bit.ly/ddO6Zb

I love the whole LATE series. Did you just work on that episode in particular?

I've done most of them. Also did most of 7th Fl West. Haven't/didn't done/do any of 6-Bee or Real Housewives of Late Night

The conclusion finale of LATE was effing brilliant!

^_^

Seriously, that whole "series" or whatever it would be called was completely great. Pat yourselves on the back for me.

Everyone, from ground-level me to higher-up money people, is SUPER pleased w/ how it turned out and the reaction it's gotten sooooooo THANK YOU!

Favorite bit is still the bowl of peppermints in the bathroom. Just thinking about it as I type is making me LOL.

see, that's a joke I don't get 100% having not seen lost

i gotta say, the hip hop medley was immensely enjoyable

best use of the roots yet

totally. i was rmdes when they started but shit was on point

this guy has really improved since he started. "Thank You Cards" is always good.

yeah exactly

it was a blast just to hear the roots run thru those instrumentals but fallon & timberlake pulled the vocals off really well, except when jimmy was too gassed to do "gin n juice"

Okay, so I guess I'm watching him now and it occurs to me: I'm officially a fan of this guy and his show. I've left "hey, it's the least painful of the late night options. don't judge me." and have entered the next level.

I got to that point a while ago. Every once in a while I'll watch Craig Ferguson for a change of pace, or if Jimmy's guests aren't of interest, but yeah...I'm a fan.

What all of you guys said. Much to my surprise I like this show, and now that he's toned down the fawning over big celebrities he's much more tolerable during interviews.

white dudes doing classic hip hop = :rolleyes:

pato handing out g passes

Pato still sticks up for the corpse of The Office, but clowns on Fallon & JT having an obvious good time.

i think they're still seeing season 3 out there tho

white dudes doing classic hip hop = :rolleyes:

I was pleasantly surprised at how much it wasn't this, though. It wasn't funny b/c they're white, it was funny b/c they were so good at it. (And their selection of songs demonstrated their enthusiasm; there were no "lol rap" moments.)

http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/6052/haterhomer.jpg

what's your karaoke banker again pato?

http://nymag.com/arts/tv/profiles/69366/

I think this article does a really good job of keying in on Fallon's appeal.

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxn62sEGkA1qcab3fo1_500.gif

http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxn6agoAcC1qadmdro1_r1_500.gif

He makes the "Fresh Prince" theme sound like "Powderfinger". No, really.

― Of course I want frosting. I'm a Scorpio. (kenan), Tuesday, November 24, 2009 8:37 PM (2 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

If he already did the Fresh Prince theme (news to me), it makes sense that 'whip my hair' would be his follow-up. I know this has been around for a while, but I was only recently introduced to it (really, just fucking uncanny and amazing). I guess we know who will be playing Neil in the biopic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N799R_mDx_U

http://tweetscenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/tebowie.jpg

when late night with jimmy fallon began i was VERY ANGRY but now that it's settled into this nice groove where we get THE BEST MUSICAL PERFORMANCES ON NETWORK TV also an opportunity to see, like, THE ROOTS JAM WITH WEIRD AL YANKOVIC, i am less angry and more...pleased.

that article jaymc posted is pretty good

the christmas episode of snl was pretty dire however

this is still on the air, huh?

this show rules. fuiud.

pretty unfortunate that the rash of profiles and thinkpieces seeking to convince readers how great fallon's show is coincide with those credit card commercials where his big punchline is "i'll make it raiiiiin up in hee-ya"

http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/blogs/2012/02/head-swap-from-indianapolis-with-bob-costas/

YES! That was one of the best Head Swap bits ever.

Anyone know where I can find the video for the Doors doing the Reading Rainbow theme bit? It's "unavailable" on nbc.com and hulu, good job guys!

http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/blogs/2012/04/the-premiere-of-downton-sixbey/

love this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEsPhTbJhuo

that's great.

http://tvline.com/2013/03/20/jimmy-fallon-tonight-show-host-new-york/

Moving the Tonight Show back to NYC is the best idea NBC has had in a zillion years. If they'd let Conan stay there, it would've been a better show. But anyway, Fallon staying in NYC is the first step. Whether or not they'll let him basically just do "Late Night" an hour earlier remains to be seen.

i hope he does some more of those hi-LAR-ious impressions! Jeez what is he Rich Little? Cannot take him

sorry, rough day--he's david letterman-great compared to leno!

good for jimmy fallon. i was extremely skeptical when he first started because i wasn't a fan of anything he did on SNL, but i think he's actually watchable, certainly 10000x more than jay leno, and not a complete asshole like conan o'brien probably always was/gradually revealed more and more as time went on.

Fallon is basically the only late-night show I watch.

Yeah, same here (not counting Stewart/Colbert). Letterman is the crypt keeper at this point, I've never found Leno funny, Kimmel annoys me with extended exposure (but it alright in bits). I do like Ferguson, but he comes on opposite Fallon so I never get to watch. Basically, it's time that late night embraced its diminished audience and moved Fallon's direction instead of trying to move Fallon in the old direction. I hope that's what happens, at least.

I was on Team Coco when he was getting the Tonight Show stolen from him, but if I'm completely honest with myself he's just not that funny anymore. I don't know if it's the move West or the earlier slot or what, but it was just a funnier operation when he had less supervision.

i had no idea conan was such a tool, i don't remember him being that way when i occasionally saw him years ago. his self-regard is like laughably over the top!

The best part of this is that Leno is completely out of workable options. Before 2009, he threatened to go to ABC, but now, who the fuck wants the guy?

I was five minutes from the Burbank studio when I read the Fallon news, and I contemplated jumping in stand-by to catch the taping, going so far as to grab the first stand by pass of the day from guest relations, but I ultimately didn't go. Would've been a fun show to see. :-/

i had no idea conan was such a tool, i don't remember him being that way when i occasionally saw him years ago. his self-regard is like laughably over the top

It all started with him releasing that documentary of his two years ago. Kind of sad that NBC is only learning now to move the tonight show to NYC -- that Fallon shouldn't be tinkered with. Had they let Conan stay he might still have the show.

i appreciate that fallon busts his ass to put on a fun and entertaining show, but there's no edge to him and he displays little in the way of off-the-cuff wit... it's just not my kind of show

This means the Roots will be...the Tonight Show Band!

ferguson hits the spot a lot more whenever i see him, which isnt often. i wonder if he'd seem so unpredictable if i were a regular viewer

from my limited exposure ferguson seems like the most entertaining of the bunch. idgaf about conan anymore, i was w/him at the time but eventually i think the whole team coco response to the leno thing was pathetic overkill. kimmel is pretty boring and seems like a tedious douche half-heartedly masquerading as a man of the people. fallon seems nice. leno obv lame but when your power grabs are targeted at other multimillionaires i can't care too much at this point.

http://tvline.com/2013/03/22/late-night-with-seth-meyers-replace-jimmy-fallon/

Seth Meyers at Late Night? It could work, but it's the most boring choice ever.

I've also read some speculation that it would be Joel McHale, but as much as I like Joel, I don't like that idea AT ALL.

Seth and Fallon seem too similar. You're creating late night show A and show B.

Conan could be great if you moved him back later in the night and gave him a bigger budget, a lead-in Tonight Show audience. Idk.

Lots of people I trust seem to like Ferguson, but whenever I happen upon his show, his aren't-I-a-naughty-schoolboy mugging antics turn me off.

As much as I like Jimmy Fallon now, the minute Jon Stewart takes over from Letterman is when I switch to CBS.

As for Late Night, though, I'd like them go outside the SNL circle. There are a lot of funny people in America, and some of them aren't even white males.

Agreed. Although a friend of mine pointed out that the Ferguson show works even better if you imagine that no one is in the studio audience, that it's a Pee Wee's Playhouse type bizarro show. Xpost

you realize you are setting the stage for "Late Night with Whitney Cummings" right

Leno was sometimes funny 30-35 years ago. Fallon never has been.

That's possible, but I don't think Whitney Cummings is inherently unfunny. I just think her ideas about sitcoms are. xp

in fairness her E! talk show isn't unbearable, I just figured she's someone almost everyone here hates

Even though he is a white male, I'd be down with Thomas Lennon hosting Late Night. Possibly Michael Ian Black too. Or, fuck it, Kerri Kenney.

Possibly Michael Ian Black too

yeah, I'd watch it

that whole crew is pretty much everywhere these days so, why not

As much as I like Jimmy Fallon now, the minute Jon Stewart takes over from Letterman is when I switch to CBS.

Stewart has no reason to ever consider this.

Yeah, he'd never do it. iirc, he's turned down offers from ABC and CBS.

bring back Wanda Sykes IMO

Amy Poehler would be a fun choice. That would require her movie and TV career to be worth scrapping in her eyes, however.

Leno story: my mom had to do an improv scene with him during an audition in the 70s. She said he turned it into a standup routine and just made fun of her for however many minutes, no engagement in anything else. Just an obvious cut-thoat type if he think it helps him.

bring back Wanda Sykes IMO

^ THIS. Her Fox show was hit-or-miss, but when it hit, it was hilarious. And when it missed, it was still engaging and entertaining.

Would watch Late Night with Wanda Sykes def.

For that matter, I always thought DL Hughley's CNN (lol!) show was good too.

I thought Letterman had unofficially picked Conan as his replacement.

Wyatt Cenac!

Oh did that happen? I haven't been keeping up. I thought conventional wisdom was that Stewart was just accomplishing some shit he wants to do before taking that Late Show job (and Letterman doesn't want to leave yet).

Wyatt Cenac!

FUCK YES TO THIS

wait until they replace Colin Ferguson with Danny Bhoy

Problem with Late Night is, NBC's in such shitty shape that they're not likely to take a chance on someone who hasn't already been on tv for a decade or two.

fallon is so barely functional as a host, writers don't even seem try with the monologue jokes because they know he'l toss them out indifferently. His show gets pretty fun (but still more fun than funny) when someone he knows and has rapport with is a guest, but it's like a gen x/y pop culture reference bingo even then. Timberlake week was obviously a blast, shoulda offered the tonight show gig to jt, he'd prolly be relieved at an excuse to not make an album for another 6+ years.

so in the '00s, concerned about losing the youth audience, NBC chickenshittedly told Leno they wanted to replace him with the SNL vet hosting Late Night after him, lest they lose the relatively younger host to another network. After a few months, they decide making Leno happy is more important keeping the SNL vet after all.

And here we are again.

I can't stand Leno, but the guy has more of the 18-34 audience than Kimmel, despite being on a channel that has started losing in the ratings to Unvision, so what the fucking fuck.

Supposedly fox is thinking of offering leno a show. Can you imagine what a clusterfuck it'll be if jay still has no intention of retiring? Shit is like the van halen saga.

I think the Jay @ 10 debacle settled the question of whether or not Leno could be successful at another place/time. If Leno goes to Fox, he'll tank spectacularly.

But I can't imagine Fox giving Jay a show. One of the reasons they didn't go with Conan in 2009 was that their affiliates' Seinfeld reruns were doing well in the ratings (and decidedly less costly than a talk show).

you guys

Late Night with ERIC ANDRE

I still believe the only reason Fallon got the SNL gig was because he looks like a composite of Mike Myers and Chris Kataan. It's like he was engineered and assembled in an SNL laboratory but they forgot to add the funny.

That said, he is a perfectly fine late night host.

I dig Ferguson. Was he at all "big" in the U.S. when he got his late night gig? Seems like he skipped over a celebrity tier or something.

I don't like the camera angle on Ferguson's show.

this is ancient history, but Ferguson was on the Drew Carey Show which was pretty popular in its heyday. that was so long ago i doubt there's any association b/t him and that anymore.

ahhhh ok thx, spectrum

ferguson was just the guy from the Drew Carey Show. i didnt even know he was a comedian until he started hosting the late late show. also i cant believe he's been doing it since '05. i dont think i even watched him once until like 2 years ago

It's v telling that several of fallon's go-to impressions are of 90s snl guys: meyers, sandler, even, horrifyingly enough, chris rock in blackface that one time. A lot of his celeb impressions are once removed things like, he does mick jagger as mike myers doing jagger.

i still think of Ferguson as Drew Carey's boss

late night wars! late night wars! my favorite moment of every half to full decade

third time is the charm, right? how much longer can they let leno be on the air? id be so thrilled if kimmel got his spot but i really hate seeing conan on that cable channel i cant even remember the name of right now

I can't stand Leno, but the guy has more of the 18-34 audience than Kimmel, despite being on a channel that has started losing in the ratings to Unvision, so what the fucking fuck.

― da croupier, Friday, March 22, 2013 11:30 AM (4 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

show me these 18-34 year olds . i need to kick their collective asses

xposts iirc, Ferguson was a frequent guest on the Craig Kilborn late show, even guesthosting from time to time.

i'm just going to correct 2 things (last year i read the war for late night which i don't recommend, but this stuff is fresher in my mind at least)

Yeah, (Jon Stewart)'d never do it. iirc, he's turned down offers from ABC and CBS.

ABC courted him but they decided Kimmel would have more popular appeal. Stewart did not turn it down. don't know about cbs.

I thought Letterman had unofficially picked Conan as his replacement.

Letterman picked Ferguson.

I wonder if this next shuffle will be the last. Late night viewers haven't started going to bed earlier or anything, but there's so much choice now that late night talk shows just have fewer eyeballs.

It might not, though. I mean, Ferguson's show looks like it's produced for a couple hundred bucks a night.

The idea of Leno on Fox is laughable. Right now after the news my affiliate (and probably others as well) runs TMZ TV, which is a way more entertaining and funnythe celebrity comedy show that Leno's Tonight Show.

We'd probably all be better just going to bed at 11 pm tbqf

http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/04/03/official-jimmy-fallon-to-replace-jay-leno/

I guess it's officially official now.

I'm a bit perplexed at what Leno did to get fired at this particular point in time

NBC is opting not to renew his contract, I think.

I imagine Jimmy Fallon is a cheaper prospect.

I'm a bit perplexed at what Leno did to get fired at this particular point in time

According to Bill Carter, Leno said, “This time it feels right.”

It felt right in 2009, asshole.

haha god what a dick

prob with conan is that he grew into the kind-of guy who just want to see taken down a notch. fallon seems a little more humble.

Doesn't Fallon have an even younger following than Conan? Wasn't it that Conan wasn't appealing enough to older demos?

The late night demo is basically a wasteland no matter the host (I think I read somewhere that even Jimmy Fallon's median demo is early 50s).

I thought Fallon skewed younger, but then my 74-year-old dad thinks he's hilarious, so who knows. In 2009 all the oldsters went to Letterman. Ratings-wise, this'll probably be a repeat of 2009, and Letterman will have a chance to go out on top.

I would lol forever if NBC turned 'Late Night' over to Dan Harmon.

I mean, of course that won't happen, and I originally just said it to be flip, but now I think I want to watch Late Night with Dan Harmon.

prob with conan is that he grew into the kind-of guy who just want to see taken down a notch. fallon seems a little more humble.

― Spectrum, Wednesday, April 3, 2013 1:29 PM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

see from where i'm sitting Conan was the unlikely writer-turned-host who persevered in the 12:35 spot for a decade Letterman-style and earned his shot at the big leagues. Fallon failed upward from popular (but not respected) SNL favorite to failed movies and comedy album while staying in Lorne's good graces enough to be in the right place at the right time when Leno was finally ready to chill. Fallon is more "likable" than Conan, sure, and that counts for something, but w/e, i hate how this all went down.

I think Leno has destroyed the 'tonight show' brand enough that it really doesn't matter who has the show with that title these days.

He's gone even further. Any host who takes it over (based on just one example, granted) will have the funny sucked from his very marrow.

I think Leno has destroyed the 'tonight show' brand enough that it really doesn't matter who has the show with that title these days.

That's what made it so perplexing that Conan wanted it so bad. It was like he'd deluded himself into thinking he was taking over directly from Carson.

conan was obv the sympathetic one in '09, though leno would have been sympathetic if he'd a) not given a whole big speech on TV in '04 or whatever that the "early retirement in 5 years" plan was dandy and swell and b) had the stones to actually move to another network instead of hanging around until NBC once again admitted they can't do better than him ratings-wise. That said, lost a lot of respect for Conan when it became clear, despite his huffing and puffing, that he didn't actually want to experiment format-wise, and wound up just doing his standard shit on TBS to gradual disinterest. Dude was screwed out of a glamorous gig, sure, but sure got paid for pain.

it's impossible watching conan now. the few times i watched him I got the feeling he just didn't want to be doing a show anymore, and that he was somehow too good for it all. he was great in the 90s, but what made him appealing then is just about all gone.

Agreed. I think the combination of him winging it during the writers strike and then the sentimentality of his tenure at Late Night ending, combined with the poor treatment he got during his Tonight Show tenure made me root for him, but now that it's all behind us it's pretty clear Conan is basically just coasting at this point, and it's ugly.

i have no complaints about Conan's current show, feels like him and Andy just having fun doing their brand of comedy (as opposed to Jimmy just having fun doing mash-up songs and flashmobs that occasionally resemble comedy)

Andy Richter is such a blight on comedy

Conan hasn't been funny since Andy left the first time around.

All kind of pointless because local news will be dead in a decade and then no one will give a shit about what follows it.

watched local news evening broadcast the other night, they literally showed three random youtube clips - no news aspect, no local aspect (not even 'atlanta man goes viral' type of excuse), just three random 'dude check out this shit on youtube' segments.

That's about 1/4 of our local newscast. "Caught on tape: a crash or something! And maybe a kitten!"

And it was still funnier than Leno.

Something that was missing from Leno's tenure (and Conan's as well) is that informality of The Tonight Show. Carson had regulars who could just stop by and contribute to the show. Fallon has the same kind of relationships, especially in New York. I'd be a fan of losing the desk altogether and making the primary set more of a lounge (kind of like Arsenio's old interview setting, but less cheap).

Conan seems to have Seth Rogen on his TBS show about once a month, but that's not a good thing

i love that the inability to comprehend and accept the consistent success and profitability of Leno extends all the way up to the NBC brass.

leno 2.0 ratings haven't been nearly what leno 1.0 ratings were. this is kinda a panic move on nbc's part, similar motivation to last time. funny how a point of weakness has caused nbc to fuck up what was one of their few areas of strength this century while cbs in a position of strength can be comfortable enough to say repeatedly letterman's got that slot for as long as he wants it.

arent everyone's ratings not what they were 3-4 years ago though? leno's beating letterman again iirc

yeah leno 2.0 ratings are pretty impressive considering he's still number 1 (inc in 18-31s, despite kimmel) and his network gets its ass kicked by univision on occasion.

During the February sweeps, for example, Leno's margin of victory over Dave among adults under 50 was 8 percent; in February 2012, it was only 2 percent. Leno's ratings are down, but so are Dave's, and so is virtually everything in prime time. What's key is that Leno's lead over his rivals, including the buzzier Kimmel, is as solid as his chin.

Fun fact: NBC was drawing bigger ratings with Conan in early 2010 than they are now with Leno.

Granted, it was Event TV, but Leno's never come close to the numbers for Conan's last Tonight Show. Then again, I'm pretty sure neither has Conan.

i'm not sure i get why the hurry though, w/ conan there was the worry that he would jump networks and they tried to ease the situation by making the transfer several years out. it's not like fallon's going anywhere or like fallon would ever be likely to do his show w/o lorne producing anyway so not sure what the urgency is beyond 'we have to try something new' flailing. part of me wonders if this is some elaborate scheme to get seth myers late night, that if myers had gotten the nod over strahan for the kelly ripa slot leno could conceivably have lasted a couple of more years, one last contract.

yeah i get wanting to keep fallon because he's more of a leno type than a letterman type in the first place, but he doesn't seem like he's chomping at the bit

maybe nbc is just trying to get rid of anyone who remembers what life was like there in the 90s

By 2014, Fallon will have hosted for less than half of Letterman's time at Late Night (and less than a third of Conan's).

It seems premature, yeah, but I'm behind any accelerated plan to get Jay Leno off my tv.

between prime time problems and the today show thing, curious if bob greenblatt is going to survive long enough to even see if fallon manages to keep that number one spot

the article i quoted had a theory that it's basically a cost cutting move. if they can lose a little bit of the ratings while cutting a bunch of the costs, profits might increase. still thought it was a bad idea, business wise though.

i wish there was some kind-of essence of leno i could inject in my veins so I could get the most powerful leno experience possible

lol that 10pm leno show was also supposed to be a cost-cutting move. gonna be hilarious if nbc has to pretend to some "we're willing to let jimmy grow into the role" pr if he's consistently beneath kimmel and/or letterman, as if they know how to grow anything into anything right now.

yeah the 10pm leno logic was ratings would average lower overall (though not much lower cuz leno would in theory get amazing ratings when other shows were in reruns) but would be so less expensive than a slate of 10pm dramas that's they'd actually come out ahead on the back end. it was the future of television. it was the epiphany of someone in accounting noticing that dateline doesn't do so bad in that ten spot compared to drams but is so cheaper to produce and what if we did that five nights a week and omg i've solved our leno problem. it didn't work for a lot of reasons but there was enough logic there that i thought tbs should've put conan on at ten.

I think they actually made their profit projections during the Leno@10 debacle, but the outcry from affiliates -- whose local newscasts were tanking because of Leno -- was overwhelming.

but what about George Lopez?

I enjoyed this Mark Harris article from 1992. Dennis Miller on his way out! Whoopi Goldberg is about to have a show!

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,311445,00.html

lol i think i watched almost all those shows that popped up in the immediate carson void. dennis miller's was worthless (his hbo show was much better and wasn't that great either). whoopi's was actually worthwhile iirc, she went costas/snyder approach, in depth (for a talk show at least) conversation. would like to see something like that again, i used to love costas' later, one guest every night for a week. impossible to imagine it airing now, even at 1:30 - 'here's a five hour interview w/ hank aaron'.

Tom Snyder's Tomorrow show is a wonder to behold for real

Charlie Rose is still going, for some reason, if yr into that kind of thing...

The Magic Hour, The Chevy Chase Show, Into the Night with Rick Dees, ...

yeah i watched so many short-lived talk shows back then. one of my greatest shames was when my first time seeing Rush Limbaugh was the syndicated late night show he had from '92 to '96 and i was like 'hey it's a funny fat guy! i'll watch this after conan!' and it took me a while to realize he he was a right wing wingnut and not just another guy making Clinton jokes.

It's amazing how many of the daytime talk shows all started at the same time. Almost all of them are '90-'92.

Family Ties star Tina Yothers and a live studio audience discuss important issues affecting today's teens and young adults.

I fell into the Limbaugh trap, too. I got the feeling something was a little off when he'd call the audience members "dittoheads" and they'd do this cult-like call and response thing.

lol was talking to someone last night about 90s daytime talk shows. somehow i'd forgotten jim j bullock and tammy faye bakker had a show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYI1EB-KFHQ

I used to watch the Jim and Tammy show. Discussed in one of my favorite docs, The Eyes of Tammy Faye.

Knowing Me, Knowing You in 1994. Beat to the punch by Larry Sanders but still fairly au courant.

lines from Letterman's monologue tonight:

How many of you folks earlier today saw the white smoke coming out of the chimney at NBC? Anybody see that?

I got a call from my mom today, she says, ‘Well, David, I see you didn’t get the ‘Tonight Show’ again.'

NBC, God bless ‘em, announced the official date for Jay Leno’s departure. No mention of his official date of return however

I happen to know Jay’s got another job on network that has greater viewership, higher ratings – Univision.

Sounds like Letterman's going to be funny for the next three weeks again before sliding off.

It's telling how these little crises/dramas bring out the best in Dave, Conan, Kimmel...but not Jay.

haha yeah the times Jay would try to address the Conan thing in his monologues were just so awkward and uncomfortable

i used to love costas' later, one guest every night for a week.

YES, so glad someone else remembers.

Sounds like Letterman's going to be funny for the next three weeks again before sliding off.

I like a guy that can't be bothered to try unless its about his mortal enemy

I'm a bit perplexed at what Leno did to get fired at this particular point in time

According to Bill Carter, Leno said, “This time it feels right.”

It felt right in 2009, asshole.

― Pope Frank is the messenger of your doom (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, April 3, 2013 12:27 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Felt right in 1992 tbh

So Dave's contract is up soon too right? And Conan's contract with TBS. I know that Scottish guy is supposed to be Dave's successor but holy crap who can deal with his monologue camera angle at 11:35?

also, i love this:

Just days before Carson's death, The New York Times published a story revealing that he occasionally sent jokes to Letterman. Letterman would then use these jokes in the monologue of his show, which Carson got "a big kick out of" according to Worldwide Pants, Inc., Senior Vice-President Peter Lassally, who formerly produced both men's programs. He also claimed that Carson had always believed Letterman, not Leno, to be his "rightful successor."

Seth Meyers to Succeed Fallon on NBC’s ‘Late Night’

i never disliked the fallon pick. i understood it. there's even a post above with me gushing about his goofy monologues, which i still mostly stand by.

seth meyers is a horrible, horrible choice.

When Carson died, Letterman did a whole monologue of the jokes Carson sent him. Despite what a shady dude Letterman is, it was somehow endearing.

so will the roots move on with fallon? or stay with myers? or go back to being a touring group, etc?

they're moving

how is letterman shady, intern-schtupping aside?

less shady than just an unpleasant guy

letterman is incredibly important to me. it meant a lot to me to find out how kimmel feels about letterman ("l8 nite" license plate + 18th birthday late night cake + continuing repping for letterman as the king). when dave's gone, my loyalty will shift to kimmel.

I don't understand how Seth Meyers is even a consideration but whatevs

Seems weird having a guy older than the tonight show guy hosting late night

it does seem weird.

with late night, i want a host that seems to be a lifer, someone that i can grow old with. i can't see fallon or seth meyers wanting to stay in the late night game for very long. i think nbc is probably playing short term with these choices but... who knows.

As boring as he Seth Myers choice is, keep in mind that choices #2-7 were probably "Lol RANDOM' late 20-something (but look younger) dudes from Youtube.

I was pulling for Wyatt Cenac. I can even imagine him in the Late Night seat. But he's not a commodity yet.

I like Seth Meyers okay. He's gotten really good with prepared material (see his ESPY hosting turns), but I expect it will take him a minute to adjust to carrying his own show.

Meyers is alright, but he's just kind of smug and distant, like if David Spade did jokes about politics and current events instead of just The Hollywood Minute. it works for Update fine, but a lot of personality is going to have to come out in the interviews if this is gonna work.

but he's just kind of smug and distant

You say this like it hasn't worked for David Letterman for 40 years.

totally apples and oranges there

Oh yeah, I know. tbh I'm neither excited about nor disappointed by Seth's ascension to Late Night, which is probably what makes it a good hire. Not a controversial, exciting or inspired hire, but a good and totally safe hire. He'll be no better or worse than Greg Kinnear was in the format, I'd bet.

next up, after the snl weekend update host, it's the snl weekend update host

It kinda made more sense when Seth was rumored to be Kelly Ripa's new co-host.

I kinda hope Seth retains at least some of his dickishness. Fallon is way, way too nice.

Fallon and Justin Timberlake are such great satirists. So cutting and political.

@morbs_ebooks?

Jimmy Fallon's lesser version of lettermen's incredibly strange records
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNeXy2zsW80
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfVeBxSjjNc

Some hints about the direction of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/13/business/media/fallon-nearing-tonight-debut-says-he-has-first-guest-in-mind.html

“I’m growing up. But I’m not going to actively change. My wardrobe won’t change. My toupee will stay the same color.” (Mr. Fallon has a full head of hair.)

I'm assuming you guys don't want to bother starting a TONIGHT SHOW thread? Haven't seen this guy in years, is he doing anything newer than the chipmunky cub reporter demeanor and the sweaty musical parodies?

He basically moved his version of Late Night up an hour. That's what Conan should've done, but didn't do.

The new set is VERY BROWN.

I saw a little of CO'B's Tonight... was it really that different? Wasn't the problem that his style was always too weird to deliver what NBC considered an 11:35-sized audience?

Conan's delivery was much more deliberate and less spontaneous on The Tonight Show. It reminded me of his Late Night shows in Chicago and Toronto: he's speaking to a much larger group of people, SO. HE. TALKS. LIKE. THIS (relatively speaking). My recollection is that Conan's Tonight gags weren't as odd as his Late Night bits had been, until the last week or two of shows when he went nuts and finally did what he should've been doing the whole time. Of course, it took NBC/Leno's shenanigans to force Conan back into wackyland.

anyone who was as offbeat (yet still derivative of Steve Allen) as '82 Dave would be off the air in a month now.

― Dr Morbius, Tuesday, March 3, 2009 9:25 AM (34 minutes ago)

oh for the heady, iconoclastic, irreverent days of 1982

― congratulations (n/a), Tuesday, March 3, 2009 11:02 AM (4 years ago)

byw yes and piss off

until the last week or two of shows when he went nuts and finally did what he should've been doing the whole time

otm

Every time I tune in to the TBS show, it seems he's somewhere in between his restraint from The Tonight Show and his old zany Late Night delivery. I don't catch him regularly though.

oh for the heady, iconoclastic, irreverent days of 2009.

"piss off" is a dish best served cold

seth myers said he would have authors on. taking notes from cavett, synder, etc

fallon seems like a good bet to be the equal of leno. seth myers will never be the equal of dick cavett.

Fallon's one Tonight was vastly more entertaining than every Leno Tonight combined.

it IS hard to be that neurasthenic and annoying

xp

No one in television worked harder at being funny than Jay Leno - and it showed.

fallon seems like a good bet to be the equal of leno.[...]
― Aimless, Tuesday, February 18, 2014 1:36 PM (35 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I don't think ive ever been as insulted by an ilx post as I am by this.

Imagine what I could do if I tried!

fallon is pretty clearly a case of falling upward, and he's admitted as much. so I give him points for honesty and humility. that said, he still seems to have only a slight idea of what to do in front of a camera. e.g. he can't make "eye" contact with the camera for more than a few saccades. which is the definition of a rookie mistake. as always, I like that the roots are his house band.

also re. spike lee's sort-of-vaunted commission to do the opening sequence for the new Tonight Show: seriously? it took spike lee to make an even less convincing/interesting (and much briefer) version of the SNL opening?

at the least he could have had fallon recite john turturro's racist monologue from Do the Right Thing while a camera set on a wheelchair careens toward him. or had some ladies in funky-fresh pastel-colored tights breakdance in the NBC lobby.

Spike Lee's thing was kind of zzzzzz. Fallon's Late Night opening was better without even trying.

I've come to really adore Fallon, though. He seems as surprised and enthusiastic about being there as someone who waited three months to get a ticket.

http://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show/episodes/1

I've come to really adore Fallon, though. He seems as surprised and enthusiastic about being there as someone who waited three months to get a ticket.

his self-deprecation and modesty is endearing, but unfortunately it's also warranted.

enthusiasm on late night... that's almost as bad as on a morning show.

morbs, i picture you sitting on a stool onstage at a cafe, in a bright spotlight, chain smoking (you ash in the general direction of a tray sitting on the stage floor). loooong pauses between jokes. slight chuckles. when someone laughs too late, you hold your cigarette between your 2nd and 3rd fingers, point at the offender, and say scornfully, "who the fuck are you?" looooong pause. "late night... late night.... enthusiasm on late night." pause. "that's almost as bad as on a morning show." drag on the cigarette. pause.

http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/8402/krusty.jpg

basically.

Three nights is all it took him to make a Tonight Show episode as good as any Late Night episode from the last four years. I wonder if he's still going to involve audience members in things, or if that's gauche for 11:37.

i will remain loyal to david letterman until he chooses to leave and then i will never watch tv after 9:35 again.

amateurist, youre my favorite poster on ilx alltime. but you gotta love morbius repping for steve allen and 82 letterman.

i havent checked it out yet but i mean

Jimmy Fallon is continuing his The Tonight Show premiere week with yet another amazing and must see highlight – Brian Williams rapping the song “Rapper’s Delight”!

The clip is made out of a ton of old news clips that were pieced together to have the NBC Nightly News anchor perform the Sugar Hill Gang‘s classic song. So so funny!

Brian isn’t the only one to join in on the fun during the clip – Lester Holt is also dragged into the video.

not lesster holt omg

i saw that while gooling to see how iold jimy fallon is

39

i'm watching a late replay of it now
some woman, a guy in a leather cowboy hat, jimmy fallon and bradley cooper are going to play charades.

as much as i hate leno i guess i appreciate that he has some comedic instincts and knew how to come with a slick line whereas jmimy fallon betrays his roots as a dude that got on snl with a bit where he held a troll doll and did voices. i fuckin hate this shit makes jay leno changing a flat on his studebaker in a denim bodysuit look edgy.

on nightline it appears kate upton is going to get topless on a space ship

"and that's just the latest stop on her rocket ride to fame" zantac commercial depends commercial macy's commercial good morning america LISA KUDROW IS IN COURT chrysler president's day event

dylannn on the mark in last dozen posts or so.

especially re: launching kate upton into zero gravity.

let me refine my hilarious hateful misanthropic take: I like Letterman's classic "enthusiasm" for his job, or Steve Allen's, or Ernie Kovacs'. Fallon's has always struck me as the kind that's missing the megaphone and letter sweater.

Have you seen the Eric Andre Show yet? Man, if you're looking for the 21st Century Kovacs...

I don't hate Fallon (don't like him much, either), but that's otm.

And yeah, Letterman in the 80s (say, 1982-1986) was brilliant.

xp

The lede of the NYT review of Fallon's debut was "What a nice young man"

lester holt was the main chicago anchor for a long time when I was growing up. then i moved away and didn't see him on TV. in recent years he's suddenly back on my TV. i admit I'm kind of proud of him. he looks very good for his age, dresses impeccably, and has a decent sense of humor. not much more you can expect from these guys.

kovacs is great to watch, but his schtick only succeeds about 33% of the time I think.

fallon is just a nonentity.

rmde at all these relics in this thread and their "get off my lawn" posts

Yah Fallon is cool. I remember how bad at interviewing he was when he started but he's figured it out.

I like letterman too tho fwiw.

i watched the monologue tonight and it was okay. i guess i find that i can't get into fallon because i don't know what his deal is... letterman i love because he was the one i stayed up to watch but his character the bad suit got any gum? creepiness "midwestern lutheran guilt" the general prickliness about the job... even jay even if i hated him for spurious reasons he still had a character that i could hate... conan the weird harvard comedy nerd self deprecation thing... kimmmel whatever, i don't want to go into it. i mean they have something that makes it more than a funny dude reading jokes or doing bits. i guess he has a character but it's so gross and unrelatable to me.

i think i just want him to be more visibly unhappy or uncomfortable.

doctor morbius can you explain "missing the megaphone and letter sweater"?

eh I find his general nice guy positivity kinda refreshing, doesn't register as gross to me at all. Relatibility doesn't matter to me at all tbf.

I like Letterman too. Among the broadcast late night shows, he has by some margin the best interview skills—especially when a topic comes up that's a particular thorn in his paw. His mannerisms and monologue style went on autopilot many years ago, though, and when I find myself watching him now I often think "oh, he's doing this thing still?"

I have the same reaction to Conan O'Brien much of the time now as well, and I used to love him.

Jimmy Fallon was pretty terrible before Late Night. I hated him on SNL, thought his movies were stupid, and generally thought he was undertalented and overemployed. After a while on Late Night, though, he finally found a platform for what he does and he got better and better. ymmv, of course, but I love that there's not "tv Jimmy" and "real world Jimmy". Dude wakes up every morning like that, does every episode like that, and goes to bed every night like that.

Johnny Fever otm

He's just legit out to have fun, and that's pretty much it. And while The Roots stay part of Jimmy's Funtimez, I'm 100% down with it.

i hated jimmy fallon on snl. i hate the roots. i hate everyone associated with the groundlings. i hate comedy that's "fun." i hate bruce springsteen and neil young.

seth meyers could be good, though.

bring back ernie kovacs, megaphones and letter jackets.

someone hates the roots!?

the roots don't get any love on ILX. I think they work well as a house band tho.

Some Roots is great and some Roots is abysmal. As a tv band, though, they're fucking sick as hell.

?uest is one of my favorite people too. I really need to crack his book open.

I'm pretty sure hating The Roots means you are a space alien