by Professor » Wed Feb 12, 2014 9:20 am
Yeah, I just don't get the attraction of them. And, I lump them in with things like SNL.
Sure, they all have a funny moment or two. But, to sit and watch every night for that once-per-year funny part?
Think about SNL for a sec. Everyone says that "it was so much better back when". But, was it really? Everyone remembers the funny bits. Belushi with his samurai sword. Carvey doing Church Lady. But, when you were watching those things in real time, you had to go through a month's worth of totally forgettable crap to get that little nugget. Basically, everything is better when it's a "best of", which is how we remember the past.
In 30 years, everyone is going to look at current SNL and say how it was so much better than what they have in 2045. They'll point to Justin's "D*ck in a Box" or something similar. But, they'll forget that we had to go through a year of crappy episodes to see that one bit.
So, back to Fallon and Leno. Leno had some funny bits, but mostly crap. Fallon will have some funny bits, but mostly crap.
Why? Because they are trying to recreate something. A copy is never as good as the original. It's why "the next Michael Jordan" is never as good as Michael Jordan. They need to scrap the idea of recreating Johnny Carson, and try something new.