Can you tell the difference between Conan O’Brien’s impression of Larry King and his impression of Sarah Palin? Take a close look at the pictures below. Use your mouse to hover over them to find out which is which.
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).
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?
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