2003 replies to this topic

[While A Coyote]

The show doesn't officially start until March 2, 2009, but that hasn't stopped them from putting out early "content".

There's a daily Vlog.

NBC page: http://www.latenight...immyfallon.com/
Hulu version: http://www.hulu.com/...th-jimmy-fallon

The house band is the hip hop band, The Roots. Which is actually kind of cool.

Studio 6B is right across from Conan's 6A. Milton Berle, Jack Paar and Johnny Carson all had shows out of it. In recent decades, the local NBC affiliates news has been done out of it (something we've actually often seen, when first Dave Letterman, and then later Conan, would walk across the hall and disturb local Anchor Sue Simmons while she was on the air).

Having been to 6A, I know its minuscule. It leaves me wondering about the size of 6B--which I've walked by but never really got inside of.

[Trikywu]

It's the same size. All the studios at 30 Rock, with the exception of 8H - SNL's studio - which takes up two floors, and perhaps the news studios, are virtually the same size as 6A. Although 6A is the former studio for WNBC news Live At Five.

Edited by Trikywu, Dec 15, 2008 @ 3:31 PM.

[While A Coyote]

Although 6A is the former studio for WNBC news Live At Five.

Actually, isn't 6B the ex-Live at Five?

As for them all being the same size? I guess they could be. I DO recall thinking that the studio that Rosie O'Donnell used to be in looked bigger though, especially when compared to Late Night's studio.

I notice that NBC.com has been advertising the show, and Fallon's blog, prominently from their front page. But somehow I just don't FEEL the buzz yet. Even with his SNL past, I bet there's still a lot of "Jimmy Who?" out there, and I'll bet most people have NO idea he's taking over in 3 months.

[Lulus Pie Shop]

I've watched a couple of the videos...Fallon's much better when he sits. If he's standing he waves his arms around and shifts his weight, which just looks like it makes him more nervous.

[While A Coyote]

I'm wondering how much of the public is simply blurring the two Jimmys together in their minds, and thus totally ignoring Mr. Fallon.

Really, its rather ridiculous to have two people named Jimmy in the same late nite spot, competing against a Scotsman, for a mere sausage. If it wasn't real, who could invent a scenario like this?

Hey, look. NBC made a Countdown To Jimmy Widget nobody's going to use! I won't try and embed it here (yuck, yuck!), but if you REALLY want one, the code for it is on http://www.latenight...immyfallon.com/ in the right hand column. I bet DOZENS of people worldwide have embedded it on THEIR webpages! Boo ya! Snicker.

[cutecouple]

Le bump. I hope he does well, though I'm not particularly invested in him doing so. Van Morrison is an interesting first musical guest.

[dbrits]

As an owner of "The Bathroom Wall," I wonder if Jimmy will suck as much as some people expect him to suck. If it's that bad, it can only get better, right? Either way, Craig is ahead of Jimmy on my personal late night pecking order. That won't be changing any time soon. But I like Van Morrison, and I like Robert De Niro. (When you've got Lorne Michaels in your corner, you can get some top-notch guests, even as an untested newbie.) Plus, I want to see what some have suggested will be an immediate train wreck. Curiosity will get the better of my DVR on March 2nd. After that, it's back to the status quo.

[Morbs]

I immediately always think Jimmy Fallon isn't funny but then I can't remember any of his jokes. I think it is just because I hated how he and Horatio Sans always laughed during sketches on SNL.

[samsnee]

He's in an unfortunate situation. At least Conan started, no one knew him really, so there wasn't pre-existing idea of how he might do. Plus, I think having Andy really helped.

Sounds like Jimmy is on his own.

[Morning Angel]

He's in an unfortunate situation. At least Conan started, no one knew him really, so there wasn't pre-existing idea of how he might do. Plus, I think having Andy really helped.

But people were so tough on Conan for the first year or two. I remember that there used to be articles on how he should be fired or replaced. He was lucky that NBC kept him on the air because he did get better over time and/or his humour grew on viewers.

I remember initially liking Jimmy Fallon on SNL, and then starting to dislike him for giggling at every single joke. But I'm definitely willing to give him a shot and see how he does. He may totally suck and get canned, but he deserves to get the chance to prove he can deliver.

[BigPaul25]

Just wondering if Jimmy will resist the urge at the end of the show to say "Stay tuned for Carson Daily...he's an enormous tool!"

I remember initially liking Jimmy Fallon on SNL, and then starting to dislike him for giggling at every single joke.

At least nobody played around with the idea of Horatio Sanz as his sidekick.

Edited by BigPaul25, Feb 27, 2009 @ 2:40 AM.

[brandmed]

There's an article and a nice picture in the new issue of Entertainment Weekly that came out today.

[dustdevil]

I watched the webisode where he interviews Jack McBrayer about the Bobby Jindal resemblance. I was never a huge Fallon fan when he was on SNL (except for the "I wish it was Christmas today song"), but I might be tempted to watch him host. His tendency to crack up, which was annoying in the sketch comedy format of SNL, is sort of endearing in the context of a late night host. Plus he always seemed like a total slacker on SNL, and he really does actually seem to be *working* at doing a good job on Late Night, so that's changed my impression of him for the better.

[Clare]

But I'm definitely willing to give him a shot and see how he does.

I'm going to give him a shot too. I never thought I would be such a big fan of Jimmy Kimmel but it happened. I also remember thinking when I heard Craig ferguson got his own talk show "That's weird". I didn't have a bad opinion of him it just seemed a little random to me and he's awesome. I think the format either works for you or it doesn't. I don't think they will give him 2 years to find his legs though like they did for Conan.

[MuppetCoat]

I saw one of the rehearsal shows a week+ ago... I was set to hate him (the SNL laughing thing drove me insane) but he had his moments. I will reserve judgement for now because I don't think his writers were trying particularly hard since it was just a rehearsal.

[hoosier]

Jimmy Fallon as host = Immediate Fail.

I don't see that he has the interview skills to pull off this big show. By himself? No way. He just isn't talented enough to handle it.

ITA about how he couldn't get through any SNL sketches without busting up. Very unprofessional, and very unfunny.

I will watch the first week to see this ship sink fast. It's historical, after all.

[nowandlater]

Fallon's thing is to be as interactive as possible. He's on Facebook, he has a blog, he does Twitter, but will it all work?

Is interactivity entertaining?

I've been following his blog for the past few months, but maybe not anymore.

He hired a team of 3 bloggers to document "the best of the web."

But I already go to 5 million blogs that tell me the best of the web...

[hoosier]

Carson, Leno, Letterman, Ferguson, and Conan all succeed because they interact with the audience. In studio, and at home. This is where Fallon needs to concentrate.

If he hires bloggers, and he just reads blogs, but doesn't focus on real live people, he's done. That's what I think.

I guess tonight, we'll see? I hope I'm wrong. But I still smell fail.

[cek125]

Jimmy Fallon = not funny.

[Sarah8579]

I'm gonna give him a shot, the dvr is set. We'll see how he does.

[Quill]

Fallon's not the guy I would have picked, but he at least deserves a few months to figure out what does and doesn't work. It is pretty jarring though transitioning from media interviews with Conan which are usually a running dialogue with himself cracking jokes to Fallon, who seems very sedate.

[melgal]

I had an opportunity to be in today's studio audience. (I went to Regis & Kelly this morning, and met up with some nice out-of-towners who offered me an extra ticket to Jimmy Fallon).

Because the show hasn't aired, I don't want to comment on specifics in too much detail, so I will try to talk about some 'behind the scenes' things. The warm-up comedian was great, the house band, Roots, was awesome, and Conan did a pre-taped appearance at the beginning of the show. The show itself was pretty good. Now, understand this is seeing it live, for free, so I'm a bit biased. I'm not sure how it will translate in TV land... I'll have to wait a few more hours to see. I'm an enormous Conan fan, so I would have to say there was no comparison.

One pretty funny thing was a 'space' skit between Jimmy/Robert.... I don't know if it will come across this way when it airs, but the acting was in 'real time'... that skit wasn't pre-taped, in other words. Jimmy/Robert dressed/undressed in the suits while the pre/postamble to the skit ran. (I'm not sure if that makes sense?). The DeNiro interview was awkward, typical DeNiro, but the Timberlake one was definitely on. Van Morrison was great - I've listened to his music forever - but wow, he's a small man!

During the show, Fallon had his iPhone close to him at all times, appearing to text / twitter? during commercial breaks, and even during the Van Morrison performance. At the end of the show, Fallon did a 'lap' up, around, and back down the studio audience shaking hands and high-fiving..... which was cool, because the studio was completely packed, with a dozen or so people even standing at the back.

Oh - and the studio was quite nice and intimate, it held I'm guessing 300-400 people? However, it was FRIGID!!!! If you're going to a taping, make sure you bring a sweater!

Edited by melgal, Mar 3, 2009 @ 4:09 PM.

[brandmed]

I am biased toward the announcer because he was in an episode of my all-time favorite show, "Freaks and Geeks."

The show was really hit or miss. The DeNiro stuff was awful as expected. The monologue was mostly decent. The game was crap. Timberlake was fun. The Roots were pretty awesome. And I love Conan so the opening was my favorite part.

[nowandlater]

The announcer, Steve Higgins, is a longtime Weekend Update writer.

Okay. That doesn't mean he's a good announcer though.

Just an FYI...

Yeah, the first show sucked, but I remember critics killing Kimmel's first show. And he's still around 7 Super Bowls later.

But can Fallon succeed in a 24/7 Internet opionated world? I was following 40 pages of instantaneous reaction on Twitter, and there was hardly any praise.

BTW, Robert De Niro did the same Jimmy Fallon impression on Weekend Update in 2000.

Edited by nowandlater, Mar 3, 2009 @ 1:40 AM.

[bookemdano]

Flop sweat much? I noticed they had to mop Jimmy's brow after the first DeNiro segment.

Jimmy was pretty awkward but I will probably tune in until Conan's show starts--then I will reward myself with an extra hour of sleep each night!

[Vaeran]

Starting off badly and only getting worse, this was absolutely painful to watch. You'd think Jimmy Fallon had never been on TV before from how nervous he was. I was cringing so hard during the Deniro interview that I think I pulled something, especially when Fallon tried to get Deniro to help him set up the awful unfunny Space Train skit and Deniro wasn't even interested in playing along (or even making eye contact). Slowjam the news? Lick a lawnmower and win ten dollars? This was so anti-funny it was almost surreal. Just an awkward, embarrassing mess all around.

I made myself watch the entire episode for historical purposes, as I want to be fully informed for the inevitable media shitstorm we're going to see over this tomorrow. But I don't see any reason to subject myself to one more minute of Amateur Hour with Jimmy Fallon.

[Scottus0]

Carson, Leno, Letterman, Ferguson, and Conan all succeed because they interact with the audience. In studio, and at home. This is where Fallon needs to concentrate.

If he hires bloggers, and he just reads blogs, but doesn't focus on real live people, he's done. That's what I think.

I can tell you, communicating directly to the audience is something Jimmy's doing very right. He had a daily video blog for months leading up to the show, where he detailed behind-the-scenes stuff and took viewer questions on Fridays. He even had a post where he did a video chat with a viewer. And I know he uses Twitter a lot to communicate with fans.

Anyway, I thought the show tonight was pretty good. Loving the amount of Roots, and the Timberlake interview was great.

[nydude]

I wanted him to do really well on his first show but wow he was so nervous. I hope he gets over the jitters soon otherwise things will go south pretty quickly.

[hoosier]

Scottus0, what I meant by interacting with people, live? I meant on the stage, in the audience - not online. Yes, online stuff can be part of his act. But on a regular basis, the man needs to be involved with in studio people. He did this tonight, but he was nervous (who wouldn't be?) So I'm cutting him some slack.

That said, I think a DeNiro interview on the first night was daunting. The guy is a known tough guest anyway. Why on earth DeNiro does chat shows at all is beyond me; he obviously hates it so much. Which makes for a poor show.

I'll try Jimmy again on another night this week. All-in-all, he did fine for being so rattled. And he had right to be with such big shoes to fill.

[umme]

I didn't like the 'Lick for $10' game. Hopefully that isn't a regular thing. As others have said, DeNiro was awkward, but I wasn't expecting much. And while JT was entertaining, it was NOT an interview. I felt like I was watching two friends laughing and hanging out with each other. "Oh remember when we did this? And we usually do this. HAHAHA." But I'll keep watching a few more shows.