Goodbye Jay, hello Jimmy. Even though losing “The Tonight Show” was a blow to the LA economy, it was a thrill to see the debut of Jimmy Fallon’s version of the leading late-night variety program at its ancestral home – back in New York City after 42 years– in a meticulously renovated studio at NBC’s 30 Rock.
We been a long-time Fallon fan going back to his days at “Saturday Night Live” when he hosted Weekend Update with Tina Fey and did all sorts of other memorable characters. We were thrilled when he got his own NBC late night show about five years ago and remember quite clearly how nervous he was on his first night – and first few weeks–before he settled into a comfortable rhythm with The Roots, who thankfully maintain their position as his house band.
His sketches with musical artists like Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and Justin Timberlake served to show off his strengths as a performer as well as his growing influence in the entertainment industry, which is cemented now by taking over the 60-year-old franchise..
So it was only fitting that a sketch called “The Evolution of Hip Hop Dance” with first guest Will Smith and one of the world’s top bands will be going down in TV history as his first musical guests. In a move credited to executive producer Lorne Michaels, U2 performed its new song, “Invisible” on a Rockefeller Center rooftop against the backdrop of a stunning sunset that made the New York skyline even more iconic than it already is.
The new “Tonight Show” set is pretty swank too, with Fallon emerging from blue curtains reminiscent of the Johnny Carson era in doing his monologue in front of them atop a four-leaf clover.
His first one was not that funny– he used the time to introduce himself to people who may not be familiar with him and pointed out his proud parents in the audience before moving on to some Olympics-themed jokes, like a pink eyed Bob Costas having trouble telling the difference between a mop and snowboarder Shaun White.
The 39-year-old Fallon also shouted out his wife Nancy and their new baby Winnie, and reflected that he used to ask his parents to stay up late so he could watch Carson. And now, drumroll, he’s hosting the show and hopes to be an inspiration to others like Johnny was for him. He also named all the previous hosts: Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien and Jay Leno.
“My goal is to make you laugh and put a smile on your face before you go to bed,” he said, before lamenting all those who had bet against him ever becoming host.
A series of boldfaced names then made their way onto the stage in his new desk to plant a crisp hundred dollar bill on it. Everyone from Robert DeNiro – Fallon’s first guest on “Late Night,” Joe Namath to Tina Fey, Mariah Carey, Rudy Giuliani, Tracy Morgan, Joan Rivers, Seth Rogen, Sarah Jessica Parker, Mike Tyson and Lady Gaga paid tribute with a grudgingly forked-over Benjamin.
But it was direct competitor Steven Colbert who came out last and dumped a bucket of pennies all over Fallon, posing for a selfie and bottom lined the parade by saying: “Welcome to 11:30, bitch.”
And even though the show started at midnight due to the network’s Sochi Winter Olympics coverage, it scored huge ratings. In Nielsen- metered markets, the premiere episode of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” averaged a 7.1 household rating and 20 share. For comparison, the average “Tonight Show” rating was about a 2.1.
–Hillary Atkin
