i did enjoy the charades with emma thompson. that was funny. does fallon know sign language? his telling tim mcgraw “don’t do that, by the way, when emma’s here” was reallly funny. everyone looked a bit confused, even emma. that was great!
It’s worth noting that Leno’s last-hour-of-prime-time show (10 to 11pm in the Eastern and Pacific time zones; 9 to 10pm in Central and Mountain) was not a failure because it did poorly against other talk shows at that hour. It’s not as if Leno was being rejected by the audience in favor of other talk show hosts.
The show was a failure as a lead-in, instead, because it replaced five NBC dramas. Dramas (and reality shows) had been the mainstay of that time slot for decades.
People had trouble adjusting to the change in genre. And fans of the NBC dramas cancelled to make way for the Leno show were particularly interested in showing their displeasure by (essentially) taking their late-news-show viewing to non-NBC affiliates.
NBC tried this experiment, of course, not with the main purpose in mind of keeping Jay Leno happy. The real reason was that Leno’s show was MASSIVELY cheaper than were the hour-long dramas it replaced. If it had worked, all the networks would have gone to talk in that last prime-time hour.
But people were used to drama and demanded drama. (Well, some of it is “reality-show” drama, admittedly–but, again, that is far less expensive than is traditional scripted drama.)
If you can get people to pay for what they can just as easily get free, that’s a great business model. The problem is that the Wiig segment is right there on YouTube and has already been viewed a million times for nothing. So is anybody actually paying for it? If so, why?
I don’t know much about it. I don’t buy apps or mobile-platform content.
But my understanding is that people do pay less-than-a-dollar sums (charged to their smart-phone account, of course) for content of that kind–namely, the kind not available free on YouTube. Various content providers either prosecute unauthorized postings to YouTube or don’t make what IS available there, available to mobile platforms. So what you can see for free on your smart-phone isn’t synonymous with what’s available to see for free on your computer.
But maybe someone who’s more knowledgeable about the specifics will come along and offer more information.
That was an intentional “gag” slight, although it kind of fell flat in my opinion…
It was poorly thought out on the network’s part. Looking at total viewers, his 10 pm show seemed to capture 100% of his 11:30 audience; however, his huge late night audience was a pitiful prime time audience based on the way ratings are scaled.
No one has mentioned the “Ew” bit with Will Farrell and Michelle Obama. It was absolutely horrible.
I’m rooting for Fallon, watched most of the first week and will still give it a chance for the second week. But IMHO if it doesn’t get a lot better real fast, Fallon just might break Conan’s record for shortest tenure in that slot.
I’m unaware of any such thing happening. There are apps that people pay a monthly fee for (i.e. Hulu) that gives them access to a lot of content, but I’m not aware of any shows that sell snippets for $0.99.
Are you guys watching the same Tonight Show that I am? Because I am in love with the show and think it’s even better than Late Night, which is saying something. Sure, some bits have fallen flat, or gone on too long, or both; that happened on Late Night all the time, too. But from where I sit, Jimmy taking over The Tonight Show has been an unqualified, major success.
Yeah, it’s getting rave reviews and incredible ratings. I’m as confused by the critical posts in this thread as you are.
It wouldn’t be the SDMB without haters.
Overall I like his show. He sometimes has one bit that is bad and goes on too long, but most of his other bits are great.
I’m a little surprised but glad he hasn’t changed anything. The only thing I don’t think he’s done yet, but which I love the most, is giving out a hashtag and then the next night reading viewers embarrassing or funny stories. I love that segment and hope he starts it again soon.
It’s too soon to draw conclusions from the ratings (good or bad). He’s had the Olympics as a lead-in and it’s only been a week - people who may not continue to watch the show tuned in out of curiosity.
By the way I think Leno is under contract with NBC until September. So even if he wants to get back on TV, it’s unlikely you’ll see him anywhere on TV before then.
Stupid question. Does that mean he’s still getting paid, or does it mean he can’t get a paying gig (at least on TV) for seven months?
He’s set a 20-year Tonight Show record. Some of that may be because of the novelty, but I think we can safely conclude he’s had a pretty good show so far.
Thanks for that. My original musings were inspired by the frequent accounts, over the years, of Lorne Michaels’ strict control over clips from SNL. Much SNL content, for example, was (for years) quickly taken down from YouTube to avoid assaults from lawyers working for Michaels’ business entity Broadway Video, and/or NBC.
This has changed over time: unauthorized Lonely Island clips got massive views on YouTube and that probably influenced NBC and/or Michaels to want to go into business with YouTube. I believe Yahoo still holds some of the rights but there’s now a lot of SNL content available world-wide on ye olde YT.
The novelty and a very strong temporary lead-in. I’m not faulting him, but it’s not much to go on.
I liked the “Ew” skit. In fact I enjoyed most of the first week, with the exception of Kristen Wiig’s poorly-executed appearance. I have never been a Tonight Show watcher, but Fallon is such a likable guy and I love how musical he is. I’m in.
I had the exact same thought…
This isn’t the first Olympics in 20 years. Leno had the same lead-in 8 or 10 times.
Yes… But not when he was also in his first week on the air and getting all the hype and extra promotion and curiosity that come with that. There’s nothing wrong with the ratings, but it’s too soon to draw conclusions about how he’s doing.