Not sold on Jimmy Fallon

            I must admit that last night was the first time I was able to stomach a full episode of Jimmy Fallon. My morbid curiosity got the better of me and I watched his show. When he mentioned that it may be the first time certain people may have tuned into watch him, I was one of those he was speaking about. I have caught bits and pieces of his show before, but most of what I’ve seen was too “hipster” for me. I couldn’t change the channel fast enough. The music leans more hip hop than I like. His brand of humor seems too sophomoric for me. Craig Ferguson and Jimmy Kimmel suffer from the same thing, but not as bad. I’m sure Jimmy Fallon is a really nice guy. He hit the nail on the head when he pondered how he ever came to host the Tonight Show.

            It was a fluke. Conan O’Brien was supposed to take over the Tonight Show and odds are, Conan would have had a 15 to 20 year run. During this time, Jimmy Fallon would have paid his dues on Late Night. Older people tend to go to bed earlier. Late Night is the perfect time slot for a young guy like Jimmy. Go watch early Conan episodes from Late Night and you’ll notice how Conan grew up and matured in his Late Night slot. Due to the Leno/O’Brien debacle, Leno got back in, Conan got out, and Jimmy sat there in the successor chair.

            NBC for some reason wasn’t happy with Jay Leno. He was #1 for his time slot and consistently so, but he must have unsettled somebody’s stomach there in management. The decision was made to force Jay Leno into retirement (technically firing an old person) and Voila! Jimmy Fallon, all green and unprepared, fell into the Tonight Show chair.

            It shows. Last night’s episode was certainly aimed at a much younger crowd. Even I felt old watching it. Yes, I grew up with U2 and Will Smith, but that lame ass bit about hip hop dancing? Come on! I tried to imagine my parents watching that and finding any entertainment in it. I doubt many people over my age bracket enjoyed it. It was so “Saturday Night Live”. I don’t think he’ll retain the older crowd that Leno held, you know, the ones who had the money to purchase Mercedes Benzes and other fine items whose advertisers paid big money to flaunt their wares during the Tonight Show. We’ll probably see more commercials for Cheerios and Crest toothpaste during Fallon’s tenure. Oh well, as long as it pays NBC’s bills.

            I saw an article that said that NBC wasn’t too worried about losing the older crowd because Jimmy Kimmel is a young guy as well and David Letterman won’t be around long. How nice. That’s like admitting that your guy sucks, and you don’t care because your viewers have nowhere else to go. Guess what? I’m willing to bet those older people will watch the news, drink their Geritol, and decide to turn in early. They won’t watch any of the garbage. I sure won’t.