TV News and Reviews

Tonight marked the first episode of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. Jimmy Fallon’s first guests were Robert DeNiro, Justin Timberlake, and Van Morrison. For a first episode, there wasn’t a lot of bang, even with the big names. The monologue was okay, the audience game was kind of lame (though I’ve never been big into talk show games anyway), and the sketches seemed like they’d been made up the night before. It was the equivalent of the Wayne’s World Cable Access show–you could easily picture Jimmy Fallon as a hyped-up teenager, snickering and fidgeting as he attempted to get longer-than-one-word answers from Robert DeNiro.

DeNiro was a good sport, and they played up the whole famous-for-not-talking-during-interviews bit, but the feigned awkwardness turned into actual awkwardness when Fallon attempted to ask real questions about the Tribeca Film Festival. I did get a laugh out of the train graphics in the DeNiro/Fallon sketch, but it seems like over all they could have come up with something a little more clever for a first show.

(IE users may need to *go here* for the video.)

Justin Timberlake proved to be the highlight of the show, doing impressions of John Mayer and Michael McDonald, and reprising his BeeGees role with Fallon as they sang along with the house band, The Roots. Here’s a clip of some of Justin’s hilarious roles on Saturday Night Live:

(IE users may need to *go here * for the video.)

As expected, Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake had good improv rapport, and the show got a bit smoother during his segment. When Fallon’s in his comfort zone–which is basic zaniness and riffing with other comedians–he’s a lot of fun. While some of the interviews could continue to be awkward, there’s a chance that Fallon’s unorthodox style could bloom into something exciting. Getting other actors and comdedians to go off on tangents and burst into song and do sketches holds a lot of promise for entertaining unpredictability–and is a good way to keep the audience on their toes and awake when you’re on in the late night time slot.

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is pretty raw right now…but hopefully it will turn into raw-in-a-fun-way in future episodes.

Watch Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on NBC, weeknights at 12:30am Eastern/11:30pm Central.

March starts bringing us new TV again–with brand new shows and returning old favorites. This Monday, March 2, we get one of each:

Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, NBC, 12:30am Eastern/11:30pm Central: The long-awaited changing of the guard from Conan to Jimmy is here. Reported first guests were Robert DeNiro and Van Morrison, but now they’ve also thrown Justin Timberlake into the mix. Considering Timberlake’s ridiculously funny sketches and videos on Saturday Night Live, we may be in for some craziness. And I certainly can’t predict how the DeNiro exchange will go. This is definitely one to watch.

Rules of Engagement, CBS, 9:30pm Eastern/8:30pm Central: One of those rare birds on television–not only is it a traditional sitcom, but it’s funny. Following a group of friends in varying stages of life–single, engaged, and long-time marrieds–Rules of Engagement gives us three different perspectives and lots of great banter. Audrey (Megyn Price) and Jeff (Patrick Warburton) have great rapport, with comfortable, drawling zingers directed at one another–but in the end it’s still all about the love. And both couples have fun tormenting the eternally single and sleazy Russell (David Spade), who dishes it right back. The show is clever and fun and good for steady laughs.

Enjoy the shows!
_________________________

Buy Rules of Engagement Seasons 1 & 2 on DVD from Buy.com

Tomorrow night is Conan O’Brien’s last show in the 12:35/11:35c  late night timeslot. Jimmy Fallon takes over his spot on March 2. Later this year, Conan will replace Jay Leno as The Tonight Show host at 11:35/10:35c slot, while Leno will move to his own primetime show in the 10/9c spot. Anyone confused yet? This is almost as tough as deciphering Lost…

Here is a great clip of Jimmy Fallon on Conan O’Brien’s Late Night show on February 11 of this year. The two actually have great rapport–sometimes two comedians on a talk show gets awkward as they step all over each other’s jokes, but these two make for a great partnership. *WARNING* Just so you know, there’s a bit of a graphic clip towards the end of the video, because Jimmy filmed his recent eye surgery. The clip is short, but I just wanted you to be aware it’s there in case you find it squicky.

I’m happy to see Fallon more energetic and slightly more at ease in this format. I can remember seeing him in interviews where he was huddled up in the chair, nervously bouncing his legs like a teenager. I’ve been wondering how he’s going to handle conducting interviews–especially since his first guest on the show will be Robert DeNiro. Maybe DeNiro’s loosened up in his later years, but I can remember him being extremely reticent and not exactly thrilled at being on talk shows. I’m not sure who decided that would be a great first interview, unless they’re hoping it will be completely insane. It is the past midnight spot, so zaniness has always been part of the territory. We’ll have to see how it turns out!

Watch the Late Night with Conan O’Brien show this week at 12:35/11:35c on NBC. Then watch Jimmy Fallon take over on March 2.