- Joined: May 2002
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So what'd you think?
His interview skills need a bit of polishing. DeNiro may not have been the best "get" as he didn't have much to say; by contrast his time with Justin Timberlake was too familiar. So with neither guest did he become a liaison between us and the celebrities.
The other option is just not available to him yet - to be a personality in his own right that the viewer wants to see interacting with guests.
The comedy bits were so-so and the pacing a little sedate.
But we all have to start somewhere.
He was one of those people who would be neither a follower nor a leader, but only an aspiring heart, impatient in the failing body which imprisoned it. -- T. H. White, "The Once and Future King"
- Joined: August 2001
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Re: Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
I think it was ok for a first try. Hopefully, he will get better a time goes by. He will be able to find what works and what doesnt and make the appropriate changes.
I agree that Deniro was not a very good guest. I did like how Jimmy even sort of acknowledged this when mentioning the questions that had one word answers.
I am willing to give it some time to grow.
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Scott
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Re: Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
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Originally Posted by Adam Lenhardt
The problem is that Jimmy Fallon is the weakest link in Jimmy Fallon's show. The only thing that saved his opening monologue was the lively, seemingly inebriated crowd and the steady flow of hilariously inappropriate outbursts. The Roots transitioned perfectly to being a house band, and made "Slow Jamming the News" the most tolerable scripted part of the show. "Lick it for $10" was dead air; what's supposed be funny about paying people to lick completely clean, seemingly random things? The DeNiro segment was awful, especially the scripted "Space Train" bit. In the case of both DeNiro and Timberlake, Fallon did most of the talking. Why have someone on if you're not going to let them talk? Hopefully Fallon learns to relax, shut up and let his guests talk. Timberlake's John Mayer and Michael McDonald impressions were the highlight of the show overall.
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You just wrote pretty much EXACTLY what I was thinking. "Lick it for $10" is probably one of the worst ideas for a skit I've ever seen in my life and "Space Train" isn't too far behind on the suckage scale. As for Fallon talking too much, the only thing I will say in his defense is that DeNiro is basically like having a corpse on the couch so he had to do most of the talking in that scenario.
"If you're good at something, never do it for free."
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Re: Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Joe_H
His interview with Tina Fey just now was a lot better than either one last night, so that's a plus. He still talked a little bit too much alike old friends with her (which of course they obviously are, but who knows how it'll be when it's someone he doesn't know.)
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I enjoyed the interview with Fey.
I can't say I like the set. It feels so small. I know they aren't that big to begin with and are smaller than what they seem on TV, so it must be miniscule.
He was one of those people who would be neither a follower nor a leader, but only an aspiring heart, impatient in the failing body which imprisoned it. -- T. H. White, "The Once and Future King"
- Joined: May 2002
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Re: Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
It feels small to me because there's no apparent depth to the set. It feels much more boxed in compared to Conan's or Letterman's sets, which have fake skylines and layers behind them.
I don't think the direction has really helped either as they'll cut to wide shots that show the entire set and follow Fallon as he goes from one area to the other. It seems like the other shows keep the performance stage very separate from the talking stage and you rarely get a sense they are right next to each other. So far with Fallon you seem him get up and walk five paces and he's there. Maybe they want things to feel more intimate, but it winds up feeling a little rinky dink.
He was one of those people who would be neither a follower nor a leader, but only an aspiring heart, impatient in the failing body which imprisoned it. -- T. H. White, "The Once and Future King"
- Joined: August 2001
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Re: Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
So far, So good for me. Jimmy seems to be getting better as the days goes by. That should mean good things are to come.
I am afraid that the skits like the "Wheel of Carpet Samples" might turn some people off.
I also wanted ask, Who is this band, the Roots? Everyone mentions them like we all should have heard about them. I have never heard of them before watching this show. I think they are doing a great job, but I find it weird that all the guests mention them as if the show managed to get U2 to be the house band.
Are they a New York thing?
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Scott
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Re: Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Quote:
I also wanted ask, Who is this band, the Roots? Everyone mentions them like we all should have heard about them. I have never heard of them before watching this show. I think they are doing a great job, but I find it weird that all the guests mention them as if the show managed to get U2 to be the house band.
Are they a New York thing? |
I'd heard of them, maybe heard some of their stuff in in passing and I live on the opposite side of the country. When I heard they were go to do Late Night I was intrigued, in part because of their relative popularity and the fact the last "name musician" to take a late show gig was Branford Marsalis and he didn't last long because the gig was ultimately too restricting.
He was one of those people who would be neither a follower nor a leader, but only an aspiring heart, impatient in the failing body which imprisoned it. -- T. H. White, "The Once and Future King"
- Joined: July 2003
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Been watching this more and more. Jimmy seems to be finding a groove and his child-like sincerity makes him fun to watch - at least for me. Did anyone catch the episode earlier this week with Alec Baldwin? I watched this on my DVR last night - my wife and I were howling. The bit where they were improvising with Baldwin as Tracy Morgan a tennis pro and Fallon as DeNiro a ball boy had us in stiches. You can catch this whole episode on Hulu.
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- Joined: October 2001
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Obviously a highly IMO thread.
After giving up on Fallon after March and April, I'd heard he's improved (how could he do otherwise) so I went back to watching for a while.
I've honestly tried to watch Fallon, I;ve forced myself to watch full shows for several weeks just to see if my first impressions were coloring my judgement, but when I sit through an hour and don't even come close to laughing it's just not working for me. Other than a couple interviews or skits he's done with the Old SNL people like Tina and Amy where they carried the work I don't think I've seen anything remotely worthwhile -- that excludes the atrociously bad Sanz and Farrell shows.
His monologues are awful, his guest interview technique is worse (shut up Jimmy while the guest is talking), most of his skits are just not funny (audience air guitar/air drums, Jeopardy, Lick It). The Band is OK, but so what. I actually liked Fallon on SNL and a couple movies he did so I thought the show would be fine. He seems to to better with the non Celebs (or peripheral celebs) far more than the A-list guests that he stomps all over.
I've gone back to Craig Ferguson and find myself laughing a lot more at him than any of the major Late Night shows. Conan is pretty decent at 11:30 though I still prefer Letterman;s show even in it's current state. Kimmel I don't like though vs Fallon I'd have a hard time choosing, Carson Daly is a waste most nights for me and i rarely even watch anymore.
"I sit in my cube with my headphones on and try to let my competence hold back the tide for as long as possible, then move on when the flood of stupidity breaches the levee. I'm a refugee from Hurricane Stupid."
- Joined: October 2001
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
ChristopherG 
Been watching this more and more. Jimmy seems to be finding a groove and his child-like sincerity makes him fun to watch - at least for me. Did anyone catch the episode earlier this week with Alec Baldwin? I watched this on my DVR last night - my wife and I were howling. The bit where they were improvising with Baldwin as Tracy Morgan a tennis pro and Fallon as DeNiro a ball boy had us in stiches. You can catch this whole episode on Hulu.
I never watch his show, but I just happened to be flipping channels the other night and saw Alec Baldwin in the crazy white Elvis-style jumpsuit so I had to watch. It was pretty damn funny, but I have to say it was almost solely due to Baldwin. Fallon did a pretty good DeNiro, but Baldwin doing Tracy Morgan absolutely stole the show. I don't know if Fallon will ultimately grow into the role of a good talk show host, but at this point I'd say his chances aren't too good. Time will tell.
"If you're good at something, never do it for free."
- Joined: October 2001
- Post Count: 1,038
Fallon continues to be a lost cause. I happened to catch a 3am show last night for some reason and had a new experience -- I actually laughed twice during the hour long show so I guess he's improving. Those ridiculous audience participation things are just annoying and. his interview abilities haven't improved a bit in 6 months and for the most part are just cringe inducing. It's to the point I don't even watch the show even when there's a guest I'm interested in.
I just don't understand since I used to like much of his stuff from SNL. I know some of it is writing, but I know he can deliver a punchline better than what I've seen on Late Night.
"I sit in my cube with my headphones on and try to let my competence hold back the tide for as long as possible, then move on when the flood of stupidity breaches the levee. I'm a refugee from Hurricane Stupid."
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The writers on Fallon are terrible; they've been terrible from the beginning; I suspect that if they don't turn over the writing staff the show won't last very long. The monologues are especially excruciating, every time I tune in. The super-random bits (carpet samples, hot-dog throwing, etc.) feel like filler but they seem to be featured every night.
His on-air personality is OK, but he's been stuck with garbage. He should start begging (if he hasn't already) to borrow some of Conan's people.
"How wonderful it will be to have a leader unburdened by the twin horrors of knowledge and experience." -- Mr. Wick
