Jimmy Fallon gets cut back: He is in the wrong seat, bring back Conan O’Brien and Craig Ferguson
Cracking the code on my Father's bark-laugh was a life mission
“Predicting rain doesn’t count. Building arks does.”
– Warren Buffett
Cracking the code
The first time that I took notice of my father’s full-throttle laugh, I was in the general proximity of being eight years old. The emotional outburst was positively jarring. Typically, when he emitted a noise in response to something funny, he would offer a “tsk,” “chuckle,” or if feeling especially light, let out a short “ha-ha.” But that was it, two “ha’s.” I learned not to overdo it. The two “ha’s,” were all I would be getting.
When he threw his head back and bark-laughed, it was often when watching The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson during the 1970s. Typically it was Johnny playing Carmac the Magnificent or a quip from the monologue. Sometimes it was a guest’s humorous repartee. The old man loved Mel Brooks, Gene Wilder and Steve Martin to name a few. He loved the movie Blazing Saddles and especially loved John Cleese and the entire crew of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. We would watch that together.
I always felt comfortably insane after watching Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
When I first heard that bark-laugh, I thought, “Aha, a human is coming to life downstairs.”
He wasn’t being Father, as it were.
I aimed to make him laugh, full throttle. Somehow, I already knew the rules of the game. For example, pantomiming or extroversion of any sort would shut him down. It was like he was hurt. His shoulders would sag, and he would turn the other way.
Clever wit, sarcasm, malapropism, double entendre, metaphor, and simile usage in everyday conversation would do it — but I had to tread lightly, colloquialism was edging out of funny toward trying too hard. I recall after being away for two years in Alberta sitting at the table and referring to trigonometry as hard, “like putting socks on a rooster.”
That died on the vine like a grape in November. Perhaps it was the faux Dukes of Hazard American accent that took the air out of the room, but I learned not to do that again.
However, if he thought a comment was good, he would shoot a knowing glance with a gleam in his eye. I believe he saw wry wit as a manifestation of higher intelligence. I know he hated conflict and those who were verbose or gregarious horrified him; it was a confrontation of the highest order.
One time, my older brother who I pseudonymized “Ishemine” in earlier stories, said something particularly stupid. To this day, I do not remember what it was, but in perfect sync and with pristine timing, the Father and I made the same Michael Palin-esque face at him. It was impromptu and unexpected. We laughed ourselves silly. Ishemine just stood there confused.
I was aged 11 or 12. I had cracked the code.
NBC is cutting back on Jimmy Fallon
NBC is cutting back The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon from five nights a week to four. The Fridays will be reruns — becoming YouTube, in a sense.
The decision comes just months after the network announced it was eliminating the house band from Late Night with Seth Meyers due to budget cuts.
Fallon has been shooting Fridays despite his competitors Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Late Night Show with Stephen Colbert and The Daily Show, recording four weekly.
People go out on Friday night. They are not sitting on their sofas waiting for Friday to end by watching a fifth episode of late-night flora and fauna. People want to release steam, celebrate, and change the pace, after working all week. Plus, Saturday Night Live follows. You cannot expect diligent wholesome people to kill both weekend nights with scheduled TV.
Too much choice thickens the herd, and then the weak die off. Seth Myers? He is likable, but not nearly as funny as Fallon or Colbert or Kimmell even. No one touches Jon Stewart.
But the thickening of the herd is not just from classic late-night programming, no. Everyone has a podcast and some of those podcasters are talented. Conan O’Brien, with his Conan Needs a Friend is popular and there are no FCC rules to censor him.
Joe Rogan has The Joe Rogan Experience, which is distributed by Spotify. And there is a bazillion more.
Carson had competition, but they paled in comparison. Carson's ratings killed competitors like Les Crane, Bill Dana, David Frost, Regis Philbin, Alan Thicke, Jerry Lewis, Joan Rivers, David Brenner, Pat Sajak, Ron Reagan, Dennis Miller, Steve Allen, Arsenio Hall, Joey Bishop, Merv Griffin, and Dick Cavett.
All those shows came and left during Carson’s tenure. He was not facing all of them at the same time. And certainly, during the 1970s era, there were only twelve channels.
Channel thirteen was white noise, or as My Aunt Shirley would say, “Where my mind went,” in a self-deprecating fashion. That would get a gold-standard “ha-ha,” from Father.
David Letterman may have been the best
I remember in 1982 when Late Night with David Letterman aired. Now that was cool.
Letterman was a better interviewer than any of the late-night show hosts, including Carson. Only Dick Cavett had the skill to rival Letterman. Letterman’s off-beat humour and gags were a ratings dream come true. First, you had the old boy’s club, Carson, then for something completely different, you got Letterman, directly after, and on the same NBC channel.
Letterman is another show host who continues to kick around. Now, he hosts “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman.” He interviews conversationally with famous people in various settings, like studios, theatres, hotels, and homes, during golf and walking around.
From the late 1980s until about 1998, I recorded on VHS, every single Late Night with David Letterman episode. I would binge-watch (yes, before the term was coined) the full week on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday night.
While Leno was a particularly good stand-up comedian, he never could touch Letterman with interviews or follies, like throwing watermelons off the roof, wearing a Velcro suit to try to stick to a wall, or looking comfortable shooting baskets with an NBA player. Leno was never quite cool.
There is a particular skill to hosting a late-night talk show. Just watch the guest hosts when Fallon, Kimmell, Letterman, Carson or Leno take vacations. Or go back and look at Letterman’s final few years. He slowed enough to kill his rhythm. But as the host of, “My Next Guest Needs…” he is fine. It has a different tempo, pace, and rhythm. But make no mistake, each of the hosts has developed a skill to a sharp knife edge.
Fallon gets cut back
Jimmy Fallon is an incredibly talented comedian. His impressionism is at the next level (whatever that means). But his interview skills are weak. Fallon compensates for weak interview skills by pantomiming behind the desk, “That’s what I am talking about, right there,” he has yelled too many times. Or his fake laughter. Sometimes, he makes the show about himself. For a guy who can make an impression on just about anyone, it is odd that he cannot come across as more genuine as a show host.
Arsenio Hall suffered the very same fate. Poor ratings because he was never genuine.
Fallon’s ratings continue to drop. He is fourth behind Kimmell, Colbert and Greg Gutfeld — hey the Republicans need their comedic outlet too.
Conan O’Brien should have never been let go. He deserves Fallon’s spot. Craig Ferguson should replace Seth Myers if he accepts it.
Here, I am predicting rain, not building an ark, but that is NBC, ABC and CBS’s problem, as is YouTube.
Build an ark, boys. It has never been easy.
My father would have tsk’d Fallon, ha-ha’d at Colbert and appreciated Kimmell’s interview skills, but he would throw his head back and bark-laugh at Stewart and O’Brien, to be sure.
The late-night lineup should be:
Stewart, Kimmell, O’Brien, Colbert, and Ferguson.
A high tide brings the fish closer to the shore (I just made that up, tsk, tsk).