Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Now that Jimmy Fallon surpassed his 1,000th episode in 2014 it is safe to say that late night TV was never better with Jimmy Fallon hosting. There are a couple of things that I find that stood out on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon that helped him sustain the largest late night TV audience ever and which catapulted him to the prime time (earlier) late night spot at 11:30 PM to replace an aging but still very popular Jay Leno on the Tonight Show.

Firstly, there is his hip hop/neo soul band The Roots which has been with Jimmy Fallon from his late night show indoctrination in 2009 and who remain with him to this day in March 2016 on the current 11:30 PM time slot the Tonight Show. Jimmy Fallon has a natural love for dance and music and the Roots band has seamlessly made Jimmy an even greater entertainer because who doesn't love great music, dance and musical guest stars?

Secondly, if you get a chance to watch any reruns of the defunct 2009-2014 Late Night with Jimmy Fallon you will see how much fun he has with his guests and more importantly how much enthusiasm and fun his guests have on Jimmy's now defunct late night show. (There is no point in even mentioning Seth Meyers because who watches it since Jimmy departed?)

Of course the Late Night show would most likely still be top in its time slot if Jimmy Fallon was still hosting but as success breeds more success Jimmy Fallon was destined to be promoted to the earlier 11:30 PM time slot as host of the Tonight Show taking over the reigns from a then very popular Jay Leno. Too bad, so sad that Jimmy left the Late Night time slot, but his current hosting of the Tonight Show on NBC at 11:30 PM shows no signs of letting up any time soon.

I admit some of the comedy on this show is stale and not funny, though lets not forget that Conan O'Brien wasn't even considered funny until his 4th year! Jimmy is only on his second for crying out loud. And His monologue may be short, but I still laugh out loud at many jokes he says throughout. His skits are priceless, have me laughing out loud every time. Particularly the "Lost", "Glee" and "Twilight" parody. Though there are some things he needs to work on: Stop laughing at his own jokes. Get some fresh new writers. Get more interaction between The Roots and Jimmy. Get a longer monologue

Other than that Late Night With Jimmy Fallon proudly continues the tradition of the Late Night franchise.

I will say right off the bat, this is not as good as it was with Conan, but I do not think Fallon is to blame. The problem with this show is simple, bad writing. When watching this show, I wonder if any of the writing staff stayed on from Conan, especially the later episodes; there was still a lot of unfunny jokes when O'Brien was the host. The difference? Conan can roll with the punches and has a lightning fast sense of humour. I can think of many jokes saved by said humour. As such, one should note that Fallon is a baby, while Conan has been doing this for a very long time. Don't put the blame on Jimmy Fallon, give him some time to hone his skills and let's hope the jokes improve as well. Knock wood.

As of this writing, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon is in its third week on NBC. I've seen the show criticized many times, but I enjoy it and I like Fallon in this role. It's not a polished show by any stretch of the imagination; there are still some wrinkles to be ironed out. The opening monologues aren't great and many of the jokes fall flat. But Fallon never seems discouraged. The pre-interview segments can also use some work. It's clear that the show has been trying out different things to see if one would stick. Little contests and comedy bits. It's important to remember that the show just started and that Fallon's never done this kind of thing before, so of course there'll be some kinks to work out.

I think Jimmy Fallon is great on this show. On SNL he'd have to play characters and people would get on his case for laughing during sketches and breaking up "the illusion". But on Late Night, Fallon gets to be himself and he laughs all the time. It works here, as he acknowledges the ridiculousness of everything around him. The show is ridiculous, he has to say ridiculous things, there are a slew of technical difficulties, and he sees that and doesn't try to hide it. Like David Letterman, a lot of Fallon's quips are aimed at the show itself. He's not *great* at interviews with people he doesn't already have a history with, but he's new and he's trying. And there's something refreshing about the inexperienced guy, who feels like he's one of us.

Fallon's show is very fan-friendly and he tries to incorporate the audience in as many ways as he can. Before the show premiered Fallon would interact with fans and give some behind-the-scenes insight on his daily video blog. He let the fans choose the show's logo. On the show he likes to get the audience involved. Sometimes they participate in game show bits. Once they elected a President of the Audience from three candidates. One audience member was selected in an experiment to boost his popularity on the social networking website Twitter. The other day a lucky audience member was selected to come on the show and be interviewed like a regular guest. At the end of every show Fallon runs into the audience and gives everyone high fives.

I love the fan interaction on Fallon's Late Night, but I must say my favorite thing about the show is that Fallon always gets the celebrities to do fun things. It lets you see celebrities in ways you've never seen them, out of their element. Amanda Peet did an impromptu green screen-type skit with Jimmy, Justin Timberlake did his John Mayer impression, Emily Blunt was brought two Auntie Anne's pretzels and then gave one to an audience member, Tracy Morgan did the interview in a blue Snuggie, Gary Sinise played bass with house band The Roots, Michael Stipe from R.E.M. recorded a new voice mail message for Fallon's cell phone, and Bill Paxton and the Kardashian girls joined announcer Steve Higgins at an Irish pub for St. Patrick's Day. I love seeing celebrities interact with each other and I think one of the best things about late night talk shows is that the first guest sometimes stays on the set for the next guest. I love Letterman's show, but he never has that.

Late Night With Jimmy Fallon is a fun show. It could use some work, but in its infancy it shows promise. Jimmy Fallon is a funny guy and a lot of fun to watch and it looks like his guests have a lot of fun too. The audience has fun... It's like one big party.

Over the years since both Jay and Dave have folded the tent I would have to say that the best around on the tube for late night entertainment is on NBC and that's Jimmy Fallon as he's very funny and sharp with wit in his stand up. As Fallon should be since he's an ex "Saturday Night Live" alum. And it's neat and nice to see Jimmy playing trivia games and contest with his famous guest from well known actors, and actresses to politicians and sports figures as all are tested! And Jimmy is always on top of things as his opening headlines and stand up reflects the issues and current going on topics of the day. So break down stand up shout and watch Jimmy Fallon! And his band also rocks!