We really were rooting for Jimmy Fallon on the opening of his latenight talk show (12:35 a.m. weekdays on NBC). This is an immensely likable guy, doing what he's always wanted to do.
Still, it's tough to deny: This was an awful start.
Sure, there were a few good things -- The Roots as the house band, Van Morrison as musical guest, an occasional sharp one-liner. Discussing some new computer stores, Fallon said they are sort of like regular stores, "except that when you ask the clerks a question, they freeze up."
Mostly, though, nothing went right. Fallon's done some stand-up comedy, but he still has little experience talking to an audience. The opening monolog had some decent lines, but it was stiff and faltering.
The next bit -- a game called "Lick It For Ten" -- was much worse. Audience members were brought onstage, to see if they would lick things for $10. Hint: People will lick anything on camera, even with zero dollars involved; these things -- a new lawnmower, etc. -- weren't even terribly unlickable. There was little fun to be found here and Fallon found none. Given a half-year to think of something, that was the best they could do?
Robert De Niro was pleasantly uncommunicative, Justin Timberlake tried to helpfully do some musical imitations. Mostly, Fallon was lost.
Things will be better tonight (technically, 12:35 a.m. Wednesday) for his second show, with Tina Fey as a guest. She's not as good an actor as Robert De Niro (few people are), but she's more of a talker than he is (almost everyone is).
Meanwhile, please drop in some comments about Fallon and (see previous blogs) about the "Bachelor" finale and "American Idol." We'll hope Fallon's show gets better quickly; it has to.