Advice For Fallon

Chris Pratt (voice of "Emmett" in the Lego Movie) gives a Tonight Show Logo made of Lego bricks to the new host, Jimmy Fallon 

The new version of the "Tonight Show" which is back in New York with it's 6th different host, Jimmy Fallon, has finished it's first week. 

So far I think Fallon is in danger of making the same mistake that Conan O'Brien did. He's trying to take what he did on his Late Night show and just slap the "Tonight Show" label on it. 

That's not being the host of the "Tonight Show." That's using the prized late night time slot to perform your own material. 

This is evident from the very start of the show. The announcer starts off with "From Studio 6B in Rockerfeller Center in the heart of New York City it's the Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon." 

That's all wrong. The specific location (the studio and building) doesn't matter. The important things are that it's back in New York City and that it's the "Tonight Show." Those facts should be it's fanfare. 

"The Tonight Show" is a television institution that needs to be respected. That's the only way any new host is going to be there for any length of time.   

There's a formula and format that makes the "Tonight Show" the success that it is.

Opening billboard, monologue, comedy bit or sketch, 2 segments with guest #1 concluding with a clip of whatever guest #1 is promoting, segment with guest #2 (more than one if time allows), music or stand up comedian, wrap up.    

That's it. I know it's usually a positive thing to say "that's the way it's always been done but this format has worked for more than 50 years. It is the "Tonight Show." Now there is room for adding comedy premises, routines or styles associated with an individual host but only within that formula.  

Jimmy Fallon can take his Thank You notes and all the other bits he established during his 5 years as host of "Late Night" and fit them into the format. Even his music parodies, games, and stunts with guests could have their place. 

In his letter to NBC in 2009, in which he resigned as host,   Conan O'Brien referred to the Tonight Show as the greatest franchise in broadcasting history. Well part and parcel with that franchise is the format. 

The show has moved back to New York City and in doing so stirs up the echoes of it's past; which only serve to reverberate how deeply anchored it is in TV history. 

But also along with the change of venue comes opportunities for putting a fresh face with a subtext of nostalgic respect on the franchise. 

I'm not a real David Letterman fan anymore but I do give him the nod when it comes to his respect and acknowledgement of the history of the Ed Sullivan theater where he tapes his show. 

Right now, Fallon and his producers have simply taken the name "The Tonight Show" and pasted it over the "Late Night" sign on the studio doors while continuing to do the same show they did at 12:30. They've only moved up an hour. 

So if Fallon doesn't respectfully adapt to the formula that has made the Tonight Show TV's greatest franchise I really don't think he'll last very long. Because all he will have taken over is a time slot.  

Because it's new and exciting Fallon's ratings during this past debut week have been some of the "Tonight Show"s highest in recent years (tying Conan O'brien and Leno's 2009 debut ratings). Once the novelty of the new host and change of location wears off that's when the ratings will provide Fallon's real effect on his target audience. 

Now the preferences of that targeted 18-35 demographic are change as time goes along. Fallon is gaining popularity among that group; one that has been owned by ABC's Jimmy Kimmel. But the 35+ audience both men and women were owned by Leno. That audience is now up for grabs.  

Over the last couple of years I've watched Fallon on the "Late Night" show from time to time; only being able to take him in "small doses." A lot of times his shows make me feel like I'm watching a gathering of old "college buddies" who are laughing about a lot of inside jokes that I'm not in on. It's almost too casual. 

That being said, what do my personal "Tonight Show" habits look like for the future? I may occasionally tune in to see what he's offering but I will not have my DVR set up to tape the show every night. I wonder how many other views will do the same or will stop watching all together. 

Strap in NBC, I think you're in for a bumpy ride.