# Jimmy Fallon - Why? Oh, God, why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 6, 2002, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-fallon-why-oh-god-why/127325 "2002-09-06T19:17:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2002, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-fallon-why-oh-god-why/127325/1 "2002-09-06T19:17:05Z")
And to think that at one time, I thought Tim Meadows was the undisputed king of really unfunny SNL performers. ---
**Author:** ![Skerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Skerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skerri)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2002, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-fallon-why-oh-god-why/127325/2 "2002-09-06T19:40:04Z")
Why? Because he is hot, oh God, hot. Seriously, he has done some funny stuff. (Although I would not recommend the 2002 MTV VMAs as an example. What crap!) I have seen some decent, funny stuff on SNL with him in it. It’s few and far between, but occasionally you get lucky. (The bit about working at “Jeffrey’s” with Sean Hayes is hillarious.) I’ve seen him on other shows, and he cracks me up. Just because you are stuck in the comedic wasteland known as SNL doesn’t mean you’re not funny. The only one I can’t stand on SNL is Tracy Morgan. The man has no timing, no inflection, no talent. They could probably put in a cardboard cut-out and it would get better laughs. ---
**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2002, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-fallon-why-oh-god-why/127325/3 "2002-09-06T19:43:01Z")
(Disclaimer: I have not watched SNL since the early 80’s) Enlighten me: what makes him (or both of them) unfunny? Bad timing? Lousy delivery? Smarmy? Attitude? Lack of talent? Does not mesh with rest of cast? Bad impressions? Examples? What sorts of characters does he (attempt) to portray? Why do they not work (IYHO)? ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2002, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-fallon-why-oh-god-why/127325/4 "2002-09-06T20:09:39Z")
He did a nice job in _Almost Famous_ as the hotshot manager. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Green\_Fool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@Mr.Green\_Fool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Green_Fool)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2002, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-fallon-why-oh-god-why/127325/5 "2002-09-06T21:10:19Z")
Fallon is okay… but he is the hot shot on SNL right now ONLY because the other guys all look like… well…comedians (IE ugly mo fos). He’s okay on Weekend Update because he does come across as -almost- too dumb to do it. Fey is great. Funny, smart and charismatic. I had a crush on her since I saw her in Paradigm Lost at the Second City… And now she is actually attractive …so there you go. I like Tracy Morgan though. He has about three characters but he does them well. ---
**Author:** ![Genseric](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Genseric](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genseric)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2002, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-fallon-why-oh-god-why/127325/6 "2002-09-06T22:10:15Z")
Tracy Morgan doing _Astronaut Jones_ is funny as hell, I think. Brian Fellows is painfully bad, though. Jimmy Fallon does some good impersonations (Seinfeld, Robin Williams, and others), plus his “songs” are usually pretty good. If you know computer guys like I know computer guys, then Nick Burns is spot on, but it is getting kind of old now. BTW, Colin Quinn is the undisputed king of non-funny SNL performers. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Green\_Fool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@Mr.Green\_Fool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Green_Fool)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2002, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-fallon-why-oh-god-why/127325/7 "2002-09-06T22:16:07Z")
Holy shit! They still do the Nick Burns Computer guy sketches? Wow, that’s sad and pathetic all in one. That idea was played out by 2000. Tell they only brought him back to make Windows XP jokes. Is Brian Fellows the guy who go fired and then re-hired because he is friends with Ferrel? Yeah that guy ain’t that good. He’s the Monica Potter to Phil Hartman’s Julia Roberts. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Green\_Fool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@Mr.Green\_Fool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Green_Fool)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2002, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-fallon-why-oh-god-why/127325/8 "2002-09-06T22:17:03Z")
Holy shit! They still do the Nick Burns Computer guy sketches? Wow, that’s sad and pathetic all in one. That idea was played out by 2000. Tell me they only brought him back to make Windows XP jokes. Fallon in terms of songs Fallon is a warmed over Sandler… Which they acknowledge on the show which I do like. Is Brian Fellows the guy who go fired and then re-hired because he is friends with Ferrel? Yeah that guy ain’t that good. He’s the Monica Potter to Phil Hartman’s Julia Roberts. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Green\_Fool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@Mr.Green\_Fool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Green_Fool)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2002, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-fallon-why-oh-god-why/127325/9 "2002-09-06T22:55:48Z")
Holy shit! They still do the Nick Burns Computer guy sketches? Wow, that’s sad and pathetic all in one. That idea was played out by 2000. Tell me they only brought him back to make Windows XP jokes. Fallon in terms of songs Fallon is a warmed over Sandler… Which they acknowledge on the show which I do like. Is Brian Fellows the guy who go fired and then re-hired because he is friends with Ferrel? Yeah that guy ain’t that good. He’s the Monica Potter to Phil Hartman’s Julia Roberts. ---
**Author:** ![Genseric](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Genseric](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genseric)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2002, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-fallon-why-oh-god-why/127325/10 "2002-09-06T23:36:37Z")
Brian Fellows is a Tracy Morgan character. It’s a sketch called Brian Fellows’ Safari Planet. He plays a clueless, low-IQ (that’s being charitable) host of a TV show about animals. It sucks incredibly. I haven’t seen a Nick Burns sketch in a while. I think Jimmy doesn’t have as many sketches now that he’s on Weekend Update, (or they realized they had reached the end of the sketch being funny. Wait, SNL would never do that!) ---
**Author:** ![widdershins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2002, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-fallon-why-oh-god-why/127325/11 "2002-09-07T01:04:33Z")
They’re probably just hibernating the character while working up a Nick Burns Movie for 2003. Isn’t that the SOP for played out characters. Fallon can be okay, I like him on Weekend Update, but he is very limited. He does a few things fairly well, but his songs are dreadful. Tracy Morgan could be the only black guy on SNL, and I would still think of him as “the other black guy”, as he called himself once. He totally shatters the mood of any sketch he is in. He plays everything too broad, too loud, too much. He comes across as a show-off running on attitude instead of talent, as noted earlier Colin Quinn just looked grateful to be working on TV, but he was totally wrong for the show. They should have let him do the news like his standup act, he might have stood a chance then. Leather jacket, standing up, smoking a cig, riffing. He always looked uncomfortable doing Update, and he can’t act for anything. But except when he was doing Bob Dole, I vote for Norm MacDonald for most unfunny SNL performer of recent times. I couldn’t believe it took that long for him to be fired for being unfunny, or hammering OJ, or whatever the “official” story is. ---
**Author:** ![stofsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@stofsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stofsky)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2002, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-fallon-why-oh-god-why/127325/12 "2002-09-07T01:16:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by screech-owl \* > [B Bad timing? Lousy delivery? Smarmy? Attitude? Lack of talent? Does not mesh with rest of cast? Bad impressions? > \*\* Yes. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2002, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-fallon-why-oh-god-why/127325/13 "2002-09-07T02:05:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by screech-owl \* > \*\*(Disclaimer: I have not watched SNL since the early 80’s) > > Enlighten me: what makes him (or both of them) unfunny? Bad timing? Lousy delivery? Smarmy? Attitude? Lack of talent? Does not mesh with rest of cast? Bad impressions? > > Examples? What sorts of characters does he (attempt) to portray? Why do they not work (IYHO)? \*\* All of the above. If I see his friggin video on MTV one more time, I’ll tear my eyeballs out! ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2002, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-fallon-why-oh-god-why/127325/14 "2002-09-07T02:11:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by widdershins \* > \*\* > Colin Quinn just looked grateful to be working on TV, but he was totally wrong for the show. They should have let him do the news like his standup act, he might have stood a chance then. Leather jacket, standing up, smoking a cig, riffing. He always looked uncomfortable doing Update, and he can’t act for anything. > > But except when he was doing Bob Dole, I vote for Norm MacDonald for most unfunny SNL performer of recent times. I couldn’t believe it took that long for him to be fired for being unfunny, or hammering OJ, or whatever the “official” story is. \*\* But when they fired McDonald, his replacement on Weekend Update was _Colin Quin!!_:eek: However, the least funny anchor ever had to be Kevin Nealon. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2002, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-fallon-why-oh-god-why/127325/15 "2002-09-07T02:25:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by widdershins \* > \*\* > Colin Quinn just looked grateful to be working on TV, but he was totally wrong for the show. They should have let him do the news like his standup act, he might have stood a chance then. Leather jacket, standing up, smoking a cig, riffing. He always looked uncomfortable doing Update, and he can’t act for anything. > > But except when he was doing Bob Dole, I vote for Norm MacDonald for most unfunny SNL performer of recent times. I couldn’t believe it took that long for him to be fired for being unfunny, or hammering OJ, or whatever the “official” story is. \*\* But when they fired McDonald, his replacement on Weekend Update was _Colin Quin!!_:eek: However, the least funny anchor ever had to be Kevin Nealon. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2002, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-fallon-why-oh-god-why/127325/16 "2002-09-07T02:32:54Z")
I’m actually kinda surprised that only appeared twice, considering hte number of times I had to submit it before it would take 😕 ---
**Author:** ![widdershins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2002, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-fallon-why-oh-god-why/127325/17 "2002-09-07T03:08:16Z")
I guess I have a soft spot for Quinn from his MTV days, but after the smug catatonia of MacDonald, even the flop sweat of Colin Quinn was more amusing. Kevin Nealon was bland and mostly unfunny, but Norm actually made me stop watching for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2002, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-fallon-why-oh-god-why/127325/18 "2002-09-07T05:35:05Z")
Nealon’s performance was marred by the fact that he would occasionally flub his lines, which I thought ruined the news segment, since it is (essentially) a parody of a deadpan news broadcast. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Wrong\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b782af/32.png) [@The\_Wrong\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Wrong_Girl)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2002, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-fallon-why-oh-god-why/127325/19 "2002-09-07T05:42:56Z")
Colin Quinn never did anything for me, but I think Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey are great together. And don’t be hatin’ on Bryan Fellows! He’s hilarious (“ooh! is that a snappin’ turtle?”) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2002, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-fallon-why-oh-god-why/127325/20 "2002-09-07T06:08:40Z")
I think Fey & Fallon put out the best WU since Dennis Miller. I agree that Colin Quinn looked awkward up there, and Nealon was bland. But I thought Norm was OK, nothing great though. I’m just waiting for Jimmy to say, “Tina, you ignorant slut.” Happy [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-fallon-why-oh-god-why/127325.md?page=2)