So I kept my tired ass up to watch last night’s premiere of “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” and I have to say I wasn’t disappointed. Now don’t get me wrong there is A LOT of work that needs to be done on this program,but it definitely has a lot of promise.

First,Jimmy needs to get comfortable in his role. Obviously everyone is going to be nervous on their first real first day at their new gig,but I can’t imagine if it was say televised and the media obsession of the day. The great thing about Fallon is that he is likable and unassuming so his personality works well with this type of format. Fallon was obviously nervous,a bit unable to grab control of the crowd and stumbled over words when interviewing his guests. I think the first mistake was bringing on Robert DeNiro as his first guest. This is because DeNiro is typically a terrible talk show guest and with his lack of promotional skills,it fell a bit flat. But once Justin Timberlake came out and things started rolling,I think Fallon started finding his niche. There is one thing that SHOULD DEFINITELY NOT CHANGE and that is the presence of “The Roots”. This amazing hip hop band has enough personality to host their own show,but are such a wonderful addition to late night. I think once the kinks are worked out,they will be incredibly integral to the show.

So here are my suggestions for the kinks and issues that need to be worked out. First,Fallon is essentially a wonderful wing man. His ability to make people comfortable and provide hilarious stories is what made him who he was on SNL. I do not think he is the quintessential funny guy,so he does have to work on it. I used to think the same way about Conan O’Brien. I thought his show as a whole was great,but I wasn’t sure if left to his own devices he could carry it all (I now know I was wrong). I think it was smart to stack the first week’s shows with friends and allies of Fallon’s but they have to realize that he will need to be able to make things work with everyone who comes on that set. First and foremost,a good late night host should be a perfect wing man. They should be the person who has the uncanny ability to make people open up and tell their stories. I am pretty sure Fallon has it in him,as long as he gets more comfortable. I think if he reworks his skits in the beginning and really finds a few that work and speak to his target audience,this show can definitely be a hit. And anyone who sees last night’s episode and ?doesn’t give the show a chance really never wanted it to work to begin with. I think overall,give this a show a few months to find its footing and work out the kinks and it could become a quality late night property.

Here is the highlight of last night’s episode,when Fallon and pal Justin Timberlake played around. The ability Timberlake has to make himself comfortable everywhere and those around him feel the same way is a hell of a characteristic that I am very jealous of. Can they bottle this and sell it?

What did you all think? Will you tune in again?

Image Courtesy of:NBC.com