Late In The Evening

Hmm...

So what's your take on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon"?

For me, Fallon's foray into late night talk is more interesting a story than the current Conan/Letterman ratings war. I suppose I watched the new "Late Night" at its beginnings partly out of curiosity and mainly because as a musician/creative person I always enjoy witnessing the genesis of pretty much anything, warts and all. Predictably, the show was pretty rough at the start and still is three months in, but for my money, that roughness, that 'we're-just-working-this-thing-out' vibe, that's the charm. As such, I have to admit I'm enjoying the current incarnation of this continuing NBC franchise (shout out to The Roots too; interesting house-band choice and very cool).

Sure it could be said that Fallon comes across as affable almost to a fault - the fumbling underdog, the super nice "dude" who's eager to please and make everyone happy but, yet again, that's the charm of it. Maybe it's part of the act and I'm naive, but I'm starting to believe Fallon genuinely is the person, like him or not, you see on camera - A nice guy who's been handed a job we think he can do but one that's just slightly above his skill set right now. He will, of course, grow into the assignment and really that's part of the fun; we all get to see that happen real-time. In my opinion, Conan's "Tonight Show" debut was fairly uninteresting for all the opposite reasons; sure he too faces a new version of a show with a daunting, hallowed legacy but truth be told, Conan's already a seasoned pro, (& as astutely noted in a recent Blog by Bob Lefsetz) just as emotionally guarded as his counterpart, Dave. With nary a glimpse of true internal trepidation in sight regarding his "new" gig, O'Brien's big night fell a little flat.

Fallon may not be able to outshine his two slick, seasoned mentors but at present time, in all his freshman roughness, Jimmy seems a whole lot better than both at just being real.