n Wed, Feb 19, 2014 at 6:14 PM, Kevin M. <[email protected]> wrote:
> > On Wed, Feb 19, 2014 at 4:29 PM, PGage <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> I am puzzled by Kevin's aggressive animosity towards Fallon, since at >> worst he is mostly inoffensive, while Leno was a blight on the human >> species (ok, that may have been hyperbole). >> > > My problem with Fallon is he has never demonstrated that he is up to the > task. Say what you will about Leno, but you cannot deny there was a time > when he was emulated, respected, and often copied by comics across the > country. He was edgy and hip and a huge part of the stand-up boom in the > late 1970s to the early 1980s. Leno ceased being that decades ago, of > course, but at least at one point he had something Fallon never had. > > Some people find Fallon funny, and since comedy is subjective my own > criticisms won't alter that, but do even the Fallon fans think his > abilities are legacy-worthy? And if you are a fan, please don't reply that > anybody can follow Leno -- I'm speaking of the much higher bar that comes > with "starring" as host of The Tonight Show. My "aggressive animosity" (a > phrase I actually enjoy) is that Fallon can never elevate the Tonight Show > brand. At best he will shamelessly pander the way Leno did. At worst he > will listen to every network suit and murder the entire franchise. > I do see this point. While many (including me) were pissed when Leno was named the Tonight Show host, clearly he had the kind of stature, both as a comic and a replacement host, for the job. Fallon is a couple of notches lower. OTOH, I argue that Leno has lowered the bar so much over the last 2 decades, that even someone like Fallon can only raise it. We have now had three Tonight Show hosts since Carson - what they have in common is Late Night. All three made their national TV reputation by their accomplishments on the 12:35 show (and if you include Dave in that group, which in a way you can and must, then it is four). Carson was younger than Fallon is now when he took over Tonight, and had been a successful game show host, which does not seem that much of a higher stature position that Fallon's work on SNL and Late Night. Seth Meyers I now note is actually a year older than Fallon, which raises interesting questions about the next succession (I guess I mean the one after Leno comes back next year). Unless something horrible happens to Fallon, it seems unlikely that Meyers will ever take over; indeed it seems more likely that Meyers will relatively quickly be too old for the kind of show NBC wants at 12:35, so that they will have a chance to get a 30-something in there in 5 to 10 years and groom him (her?) to replace Fallon 8 years after that. Meanwhile, while I still have it on DVR, I have not felt the need yet to watch the second half of the premier, and have not recorded or watched any of the other episodes this week. I have been living in an Olympic bubble however, so it is possible that might change next week. -- -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
