Fallon Hits His Stride

This is a TV review I wrote for my journalism class. Enjoy!

In the midst of the biggest controversy in the world of late night television in nearly two decades, many jokes were made and many fingers were pointed. As Jay Leno left The Tonght Show, the Conan O’Brien took over, then Leno’s new prime time show bombed, then O’Brien was asked to delay the start of The Tonight Show until after midnight, then O’Brien quit, then Leno returned to his original time slot, then O’Brien left NBC and the network suffered bad public relations, talk show hosts from every other channel were providing some commentary of their own. Throughout all this changing of the networks and personalities of late night, one new guy has quietly gained confidence and respect within the community. And now, he is being rewarded for his recent success by getting the opportunity to host the biggest annual event in celebration of television.

Jimmy Fallon’s talk show career began last year when Conan O’Brien left his Late Night show to head west and take the reins at Tonight. Since then, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon has become a very entertaining hour of TV. The charming, humorous former Saturday Night Live cast member has a great ability to connect with the guests he interviews and the audience members that participate in his games and sketches. Late Night’s new in-house band, The Roots, are an exciting and energetic hip-hop act that is refreshing and completely different from any other late night TV band out there. Fallon keeps the show loose by playing games with contestants like “Battle of the Instant Bands”, where two teams of musicians who have never met have ten minutes back stage to create a band name, an album cover and then perform their new hit song. He also keeps things loose with his celebrity guests by playing games with them. On several occasions, he has challenged guests to a game of beer pong and he has played against people like Kelly Ripa, Sigourney Weaver, and Betty White.

Another quality of Fallon’s that is valuable as an entertainer is his extensive knowledge of TV shows, movies, and music. Whether he is imitating Kate Gosselin’s “Paparazzi” dance from Dancing with the Stars or filming a parody of Glee with rival glee clubs formed by the casts of the different shows at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, or giving a fascinating interview with iconic Pink Floyd singer, bass player, and songwriter Roger Waters, his perceptive view of pop-culture and the entertainment makes the show as interesting as it is hilarious.

After Conan O’Brien left Tonight, Fallon made it very clear that he understands his place in the late night hierarchy. He did not want to take sides in the Jay-Conan controversy or the Jay-Dave (Letterman) rivalry because all of them are comedians that he looks up to. He also said that O’Brien and Letterman, the two previous Late Night hosts, made him realize that hosting that show “is a one-way ticket to not hosting The Tonight Show.” Even if he never gets the 11:30 time slot, he is developing quite a legacy for himself as it is. He is already recognized as one of the great performers to come out of SNL in recent years and it was recently announced that he will be hosting the Primetime Emmy Awards this fall. In 2010, the biggest celebration of TV will be hosted by America’s newest talk show star.

Monday Morning Peyton: Priceless

Peyton Manning just missed an opportunity of a lifetime. He had the chance to cross the threshold that separates Hall of Fame caliber quarterbacks. There are those quarterbacks who hold all the major records, people like Brett Favre and Dan Marino, and there are those who win multiple championships, people like Otto Graham, Bart Starr, Roger Staubach, Tom Brady, Terry Bradshaw, Troy Aikman, John Elway, and Joe Montana, and Peyton Manning had the chance to be both. Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints had different ideas though.

Don't worry, I'm not just talking about football. If that does not interest you, I will also be discussing the halftime show and the commercials.

It was great to see Drew Brees, the Saints QB who is five inches shorter than his Indianapolis counterpart and has spent most of his career overshadowed by other talent around the NFL. It was great to see the city of New Orleans with something to cheer about. After Hurricane Katrina and forty-four mostly forgettable years of Saints football, there is finally something to celebrate on Bourbon Street before Mardi Gras. Manning had a great season, one of the best in history, but his only critical mistake was in the biggest game of the year at the most crucial time. Tracey Porter's interception showed the world that even Peyton Manning, the four time MVP, considered by many to be the greatest QB in football history, is human.

Now, back to the other stuff.

The Who in the halftime show:

I know that they have been trying to get older musicians because they are more tame and family friendly ever since the Janet Jackson incident, but this is starting to get bad. Sixty-Five year old men should not be the headline event in the halftime show. Since Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake in 2004, they have had Paul McCartney (pretty good), The Rolling Stones (pretty bad), Prince (can't remember), Tom Petty (the Pats were in the Super Bowl so I ate during halftime and didn't see it), Bruce Springsteen (awesome), and The Who last night. For the most part, these older guys can't really bring a whole lot of excitement to the event especially when the games themselves this past decade have been better than usual. A lot of the people who listen to classic rock will be watching the game anyway. The NFL could appeal to a larger audience if they got more relevant musicians. They had an Arcade Fire song in the NFL Network commercials last night. I think Arcade Fire would be a really cool halftime show. The Who came across as old and tired. Their best concerts are a few decades behind them. It is time for something new.

Commercials:

I really liked the McDonalds commercial with Lebron James and Dwight Howard. The best part was when Larry Bird came in at the end. It was a great tribute to a classic commercial that starred Larry Bird and Michael Jordan. I had no idea that today's NBA stars were too ignorant to know who Larry Legend is. It's a shame.

The Budweiser human bridge commercial was great. They always do good work on Super Bowl Sunday. The Bud Light ads on the desert island and the asteroid lab were also funny.

It was great to see the Griswolds going on vacation again.

The Super Bowl shuffle remake was a bit of a disappointment. It just isn't the same without Walter Payton and Mike Singletary. Ditka's cameo was good but they, like The Who, just looked old and tired.

The Etrade babies are starting to get boring.

The commercial that really bothered me was the ad for the Late Show with Dave Letterman. It just seemed forced and awkward (I get that that is what they were going for but it didn't make me want to watch the show) to see Leno and Letterman on the same couch with Oprah keeping the peace. It didn't help either of them. I do not understand why Jay Leno agreed to be in the commercial. Oprah seemed like the only one who has any sense of empathy or humanity anymore. Clearly, these two old talk show hosts only care about themselves and "their" network rivalry. They think that everything is about them just because of the Tonight Show replacement controversy 17 years ago. It is unfortunate that a classy guy like Conan O'Brien is off the air and America still has to see these tired old timers battling it out for a few more years. What do I know? I guess I am not the typical viewer seeing as all my favorite shows are on 4th place NBC.

All in all, Super Bowl XLIV was a good night of football surrounded by an okay night of ads and a bad night of music. It will be interesting to see what the next Super Bowl will bring.