I wouldn’t be surprised if plan B was Horatio Sanz.
How can a guy with that much TV time behind him look so uncomfortable?
Several weeks in now, I wonder what people’s impressions are?
His interviewing has improved, but still needs ome work, his monologues are still awful. The skits generally are poor, although he has had some pretty funny ones as well.
I dunno, he needs a lot of improving in my mind, but it is still too early to say. Conan took quite a while to get his groove going.
I think Fallon has some very good writers, and his monologues have some very funny jokes… but he keeps butchering them!
I’ve seen enough episodes to conclude that this would be a pretty decent show with almost anyone else as host!
By far the best thing about the show is The Roots. They’re wasted on here, and their lead has better comic timing than Fallon.
Fallon seems like a generally nice but stupid person. I’ve wondered if he’s an inspiration for “The Bubble” episode of **30 ROCK **because the fact he’s cute (though his looks are beginning to fade) made people overlook his lack of talent, and if it’d been Chris Parnell (talented but not as good looking) constantly cracking up in sketches he’d have been out of there a lot sooner (ala Sanz). And as Walloon said, I remember the interview where he admitted he didn’t watch the news or read newspapers and rarely knew who he was talking about on Weekend Update.
Not saying you need to be an Ivy League grad or political junkie to be a good host, but you do have to be quick on your feet, able to come up with great material on your own (can you imagine if Fallon had to endure the writer’s strike that Letterman/Stewart/O’Brien/etc. had to endure?) and, well, smart. And I don’t think he has any of these things.
I should mention that he does not seem very nervous anymore.
This is a really good point. His biggest downfall on the show was his biggest downfall on SNL, he just laughs too hard at his own (or his writers’ I guess) jokes. Conan does/did it sometimes, but his seem better timed, and unless something went wrong it never interfered with the overall production. It’s not a terrible show by any stretch, but there is definite room for improvement.
(Also props for saying you don’t have to be “an Ivy League grad” to be a good host…and that is precisely what Conan is…ba dum chee)
I liked tonight’s idea of sending out the Asian dude to do the monologue. Maybe they should do that … a lot. And maybe keep him around to do the rest of the show, too!
Isn’t this canceled yet? Didn’t they consult with ANYBODY before giving him that gig?
I remember when Conan took that slot and he was awkward, but with potential. NOBODY who has followed Fallon’s career, outside of the NBC brass, had any hope that he would ever go beyond the minimum he was asked to do on SNL. Said minimum was to NOT LAUGH AT HIS OWN JOKES!