Jimmy Fallon, new host of Late Night, has already become funnier from his first episode to his fifth. He’s risen to the rank of my second favorite late night show, which isn’t saying much because Conan’s not on right now and the only other host I find funny anymore is Letterman.
Favorite monologue joke: [From Friday, 3/6/09] “A special Beatles version of the video game Rock Band is coming out… You can play as John. You can play as Paul. You can play as George, or Ringo. And it comes with a full warranty in case Yoko shows up. [Liverpudlian accent while miming playing a guitar] Green, green, red, green, red, green, orange.”*
Favorite celebrity interview: [From Friday, 3/6/09] Drew Barrymore.
Favorite comedy bit: [From Monday, 3/2/09] Conan packing up his dressing room.
Favorite host: Jimmy Fallon (not much competition there).
Favorite episode overall: Friday 3/6/09.
* This could actually be the song “Hey Bulldog” (sort of).
Television
Jimmy Fallon, Late Night TV, The Beatles: Rock Band
So… I just watched Jimmy Fallon’s first show as host of “Late Night” which means it’s time to make my snap judgments for the entire rest of the series based on his first show.
The Opening Bit: 8/10. It was great to see Conan back on late night TV after so long. Conan backhandedly insults both Jimmy Fallon and Jay Leno when he casually tells Jimmy that he was unaware when Jimmy’s first show was to air, and when he blankly reminds Jimmy that “Jay’s not leaving.” (Did you notice Conan packed his Eisenhower mug and a singing fish?)
The Monologue: 6.5/10. I thought he had pretty funny jokes. Was it just me or did his hand gestures seem exactly like Conan’s? Also, he said, “Did you hear about this?” That’s Conan’s thing… Anyway, the sketch with the Roots was amusing for a few seconds and the video about the Blond Mothers from Connecticut was confusing to me.
The Audience-Participation Game: 5/10. Some things are funny the first time, and then never funny again. It was entertaining to see someone lick a lawnmower, but after that, the whole thing seemed a bit dull.
The Interview with Robert De Niro: 4/10. As iconic as he is, Robert De Niro is not a good first guest for someone who has not done a talk show before. He didn’t seem to have much to say or much of a reason for being there.
The Interview with Justin Timberlake: 4.5/10. Mildly entertaining. I felt like there was an inside joke going the whole time, but I couldn’t place it because I’d seen the Barry Gibb talk show sketch they kept referencing.
Van Morrison/The Sign-Off: 5/10. Van Morrison was entertaining… but Jimmy forgot to thank Conan for his brief, but incredibly memorable cameo on what would’ve been an otherwise sub-par first show.
Final Score: 5.5/10. All in all, not a bad show… it just wasn’t very good either. I don’t know if it can stand up to Conan’s first show… what’s better than a leg wrestle between John Goodman and George Wendt topped off with a heartwarming duet by Conan and Tony Randall?
Television
Jimmy Fallon, Late Night TV
“Late Night with Conan O’Brien” was hilarious in its last two weeks as Conan showed classic clips and brought back gags that never should’ve gone away in the first place, such as the Walker Texas Ranger Lever. “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” was one of my favorite shows on TV, and now it’s gone… but I’m happy to hear that “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” is going to be basically the same show.
It’ll have Conan O’Brien, the entire Max Weinberg 7 (as announced by Conan in one of his last shows), and Andy Richter (as announcer, according to a little “blurb” I read on Yahoo!’s homepage). So… should I feel happy that Conan’s old show will be very similar to his new show, or should I feel angry because his new show should be new. Either way, I think I’m good because Conan is so darn funny that no matter what he does, you just know it’ll be good.
I’m not sure if I can say the same thing about Jimmy Fallon…
Television
Conan O'Brien, Late Night TV
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