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LUDACRIS TAKES OVER JIMMY FALLON LATE NIGHT SHOW WITH THE ROOTS

Jimmy Fallon has lasted until day four but that doesn't make him any less awkward interviewing guests. His flop sweat has dried up but the fact that he laughs at his own jokes and can't seem to talk about anything else but his unfunny days on Saturday Night Live and his failed attempt at a movie career have all the makings of a college drinking game. Throwback two shots for everytime Jimmy Fallon says Saturday Night Live to a guest. The breakout stars of the show are the phenomenal Roots who showcased their talent and charisma which outshined Jimmy Fallon on his first episode. The Roots were so great that everyone was singing their praises and saying that they deserved their own show.

Apparently NBC doesn't want to give the Roots their own show (more's the pity). And on talk shows and "Saturday Night Live," Timberlake always seems completely at ease -- no doubt any network would give him a show in a heartbeat.

But, well, for now, we've got Jimmy Fallon. At one point during his opening interview with Robert DeNiro, Fallon was sweating profusely. Sweaty, tense, uptight, nervous, wound-up, keyed up -- pick an adjective. Any one of them would describe Fallon's demeanor on opening night.

"I'm very nervous," he said to DeNiro. There was need to point it out -- we could tell. [Chicago Tribune]

We agree that their show would be must see tv with every guest flocking to their stage. The Roots would be able to capture the Dave Chapelle audience who are lacking sufficient entertainment since the funny man retired. Give the Roots their own TV show!!!  We are kicking off the campaign right now. It is a wrap for Jimmy Fallon who couldn't even think of a witty comeback when Ludacris joked he was taking over his gig. We'd tune in to watch Ludacris read the phonebook everynight on Late Night TV. Jimmy Fallon got a ratings boost because people are tuning in to watch him fail.

It did not occur until just now that the Roots on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon makes this particular 30 Rock soundstage into absolute ground zero for live rap. You now have arguably hip-hop's best live act, in residence: willing and able support for anybody with an album out. Jay-Z. Nas. T.I. Black Thought will now play hypeman to the Soulja Boys of the world, a scary prospect neatly balanced by performances like last night's, when Tariq and Luda made Ludacris's Theater of the Mind-medley, off an alright album at best, sound like total fire. Not that Jimmy's insanely awkward post-performance interview bodes particularly well. You know it's bad when your guests are threatening to take over your show on night four of your short run. Or when your house band's jokes--they played "Doin' the Butt" when Serena Williams came out; sorry, that's hilarious--are better than yours. [Village Voice]

Jimmy Fallon debuted late Monday night on NBC to mixed reviews, but he earned the network the best ratings in that timeslot for three years. Against CBS rival Craig Ferguson of "The Late Late Show" he was ahead by 35%. And versus the last half of "Jimmy Kimmel Live" on ABC, this Jimmy had the edge by 17%. Jimmy Fallon replaced Conan O'Brien, who left "Late Night" and New York City behind to take over L.A.-based "Tonight Show" from Jay Leno in June. Most critics gave Jimmy Fallon a passing grade for his first show, and none of his notices rivalled the savage reviews that greeted Conan O'Brien when he took over from David Letterman in 1993. Back then Conan O'Brien was a relatively unknown entity who had made his name, such as it was, as a writer for "Saturday Night Live" and "The Simpsons." It was "SNL" boss Lorne Michaels who gave Conan O'Brien the job.

And Lorne Michaels was the one to pick Jimmy Fallon -- another "SNL" alum -- to take over now. Since Fallon left that once-a-week gig in 2004 after a successful six-year run, he has starred in several movies that struck out ("Taxi," "Fever Pitch"), but he continued to hit home runs in his stand-up gigs. Perhaps when Fallon readjusts to performing on TV, he will find the right rhythm for the show. Indeed Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times concluded his critique by noting that, "In Fallon's defense, if he needs one, this is a form that develops in the fullness of time, as chances are taken and limits tested and you learn the things you can learn only in the doing, night after night after midnight."

Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly hopes, "Maybe pretty soon, he'll relax a bit and make some spontaneous, amusing noise himself." Even the curmudgeonly Tom Shales of the Washington Post thought, "though his opening night had disappointments, none were crushing or looked potentially fatal. Once Fallon relaxes, hunkers down and lightens up, the new 'Late Night' could win over many a semi-conscious heart and mind." Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune sounded the most cautionary note warning, "unless Fallon calms down a great deal, it's hard to see the new version of 'Late Night' being part of the pre-bedtime ritual for Conan's old crowd." [ LA TIMES]

JIMMY FALLON LATE NIGHT DEBUT REVIEW JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE INTERVIEW VIDEO

The first reviews are in on Jimmy Fallon's late night debut and he kind of blew it. We still can't get over the reality that a great hiphop group like the Roots is stuck as a house band. How many times can Jimmy Fallon say Saturday Night Live and "I can't believe I have a talk show"?  If it's any consolation to Jimmy Fallon maybe he should remember Jimmy Kimmel's disastrous unscripted talk show debut with Snoop Dogg and George Clooney on the couch.
 
Deadline Hollywood:

He looked like a deer caught in headlights during his first Late Night show. But it was a far better start than Conan O'Brien (who broke out in nerves-induced acne). But NBC once again is too lame to figure out how to freshen this stale formula. source

You have to give Jimmy Fallon credit for one thing: He has pretty great taste in music.

The house band for "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," which premiered Monday night on NBC, is the outstanding Philadelphia hip-hop/R&B band the Roots. Closing out Fallon's jittery first show was the legendary Van Morrison. And guest Justin Timberlake provided comic relief by imitating John Mayer, Barry Gibb and Michael McDonald during his stint on Fallon's couch.

Apparently NBC doesn't want to give the Roots their own show (more's the pity). And on talk shows and "Saturday Night Live," Timberlake always seems completely at ease -- no doubt any network would give him a show in a heartbeat.

But, well, for now, we've got Jimmy Fallon. At one point during his opening interview with Robert DeNiro, Fallon was sweating profusely. Sweaty, tense, uptight, nervous, wound-up, keyed up -- pick an adjective. Any one of them would describe Fallon's demeanor on opening night.

"I'm very nervous," he said to DeNiro. There was need to point it out -- we could tell.

Of course, it isn't fair to judge a late-night host by his first outing. We'll have to see if, in a few weeks, Fallon still looks like he's had four too many double-espressos before the show.

But it is still valid to wonder if Fallon is suited to this gig. On a late-night show, either the non-interview comedic bits have to be inspired, or the interviews have to be smooth (in a perfect world, both halves of the late-night formula succeed). But, with a few exceptions, neither worked all that well during Fallon's first show. The comedy frequently fell flat, and as a host, Fallon is underwhelming at the moment.

One thing that did work: A bit in which Fallon sang a "slow jam" version of the news succeeded, in large part, thanks to Roots' typically taut playing and singer Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter's impeccable voice and surprisingly good comic timing.

Timberlake's musical impressions were funny, but, this being the we-shill-anything-anytime era at NBC, one of the singer's impression involved a pitch for a beer. The uncomfortable-looking DeNiro isn't a great late-night guest, but at least Fallon had the sense to draw attention to the actor's reticence. He even said he'd devised a series of questions that required one-word answers, but DeNiro occasionally was generous enough to give Fallon four-word answers. The minutes flew by like hours.

At least the show opened on a humorous note, with Fallon finding Conan O'Brien, the previous "Late Night" host, in his dressing room. Fallon asked if O'Brien would be taking over Jay Leno's old dressing room when Leno steps down from "The Tonight Show," which O'Brien is taking over. source

JIMMY FALLON TO TAKE OVER FOR CONAN O'BRIEN ON LATE NIGHT IN 09

Former Saturday Night Live funny man Jimmy Fallon was chosen to take over Conan O'Brien's hosting duties on Late Night in 2009. Conan O'Brien is replacing Jay Leno on the Tonight Show. Not everyone's a diehard Jimmy Fallon fan. 

Entertainment Weekly gave their opinion on the announcement on their Popwatch Blog.

Am I the only one whose initial reaction to the news that Jimmy Fallon will take over Conan O'Brien's chair in 2009 was... why? source

We figure that Jimmy Fallon will stick with the traditional scripted late night talk show format and do comedy sketches. Remember when Jimmy Kimmel first launched his show? He wanted to have the show be similar to the Man Show and decided not to have a structured scripted show with a monologue. Click here to learn more about Jimmy Kimmels debut.

  TV critics have given Jimmy Kimmel decent notices in his late-night debut on ABC. "Kimmel was overwound, which is not surprising given the pressure on him," Noel Holston writes in Newsday. "He'll be more effective when he quits trying so hard." Several critics suggest that Kimmel reminded them of Conan O'Brien during his early days as a late-night host, when he was still trying to get used to doing whatever he was supposed to do. David Kronke in the Los Angeles Daily News takes note of Kimmel's greeting to his audience before the show, when he said, "This is either going to be a very big night or a very humiliating experience." Kronke suggests it was the former. Meanwhile, Don Kaplan in the New York Post noted that Disney chairman Michael Eisner and ABC boss Lloyd Braun were sitting in the audience as Kimmel and guests George Clooney and Snoop Dogg drank liquor on the air, swore, and in Snoop Dogg's case, gave "the finger" to the camera. "The network had a meltdown," executive producer Daniel Killison told Kaplan. source

That format didn't go over too well and rapper Snoop Dogg who had guest side kick duties was accused of sexual assault.  The Jimmy Kimmel show ratings suffered until it was successfully overhauled and changed. Watch Jimmy Kimmel interview Tron Guy.

Idiot Boyfriend - Jimmy Fallon

Jimmy Fallon will officially be given the keys to NBC's "Late Night" franchise following Conan O'Brien's exit.   The network announced Monday that the former "Saturday Night Live" comedian will take over "Late Night" in 2009.

"Jimmy's proven track record and personality make him a natural for this important role that will bring a new generation of fans to 'Late Night,' " said Marc Graboff, who co-chairs NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios with Ben Silverman, in a statement. "He will put his own distinct mark on late night humor just as he did on 'SNL' and in his other creative endeavors."

"Simply put, Jimmy has all of the qualities for a late night host -- in addition to being funny, he loves talking to people on and off camera, he's a talented comedy writer and his time at 'SNL' demonstrated not only his ability to entertain, but also the work ethic and dedication it takes to succeed at hosting a nightly show," added Rick Ludwin, Executive Vice President, Late Night and Primetime Series, NBC Entertainment.

A person close to the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement hadn't been made confirmed the widely rumored change Sunday to The Associated Press.

All that's left is an official date for NBC's transition: O'Brien moving out West to take over for Jay Leno on the "Tonight" show and Fallon following in the next time slot.

Fallon was a "Saturday Night Live" cast member before leaving for a movie career in 2004. He has had mixed success, with his most notable role as a childlike Boston Red Sox fan and Drew Barrymore's paramour in "Fever Pitch."source