Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Five things about Jimmy Fallon's first Tonight Show ... er, show

There's more, but this will suffice for now:
  1. Fallon does sincere, friendly and happy pretty well. (Of course, last night, he had good reason to be all of those things.) There was a moment or two when it nearly encroached on cloying, but only "nearly." Nice to have his folks there, good job talking about his wife and kids. He introduced himself as one would at a small party -- and then came out again for a monologue, underscoring the personal aspect of his initial opening. Jay's audience skewed older than his own and if they showed up for Fallon's first show, that'll help give them reason to stick around.
  2. Spike Lee directed the new opening; The Roots are the house band, Will Smith was the first guest. That's a long way from the New York City of "Friends."
  3. Speaking of New York City, Part 1: Holy cow, that rooftop setting had a beautiful backdrop. I almost don't care that Bono seemed to be lipsyncing.
  4. Speaking of New York City, Part 2: I trust Lorne Michaels. Guy knows how to put on a show. (Spare me your "But SNL sucks." comments. Here, just sit back and relax for a few minutes until the urge passes.)
  5. I counted four ... no, five ... attempts at producing Web-friendly (read: viral wannabe) videos. Funny how that's not even a new late-night content marketing strategy, just the new "normal."
Still don't think I toss over the successful guy beating everyone in the time slot, but if you're gonna go in that direction, Jimmy Fallon's the one to replace him.