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Fallon seemed a bit nervous in his monologue (who wouldn't be?), but quickly found his rhythm, firing off some snappy one-liners.
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60Jimmy Fallon took NBC's late-night slot for his first test drive early this morning, and it needs a little tuning up. It also showed some promise.
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60It was an encouraging start.
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An attempt to be silly like O’Brien, his Late Night predecessor, instead had a trying-too-hard feel that approached Carson Daly territory (a place you do not want to be).
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50Fallon is far from such stature, but though his opening night had disappointments, none were crushing or looked potentially fatal. Once Fallon relaxes, hunkers down and lightens up, the new "Late Night" could win over many a semi-conscious heart and mind.
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50Neither great, nor horrible, nor propitious nor preposterous. It was just a start, and in the late-night TV game, sometimes that's good enough.
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50Fallon's monologue was understandably nervous and unremarkable joke-wise, but there were glimmers of potential.
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40The way things turned out, it was no worse than rather bad, and Fallon, if he can quit squirming long enough, should take a modest bow.
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40Despite solid tune-in out of curiosity about the new kid, Fallon’s Late Night got off to a rocky start, with uninspired writing and taped pieces, an at-times visibly nervous host and a first guest, Robert De Niro, whose taciturn nature made him a poor choice for the assignment.
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40The NBC talk show wasn't a legendary late-night train wreck so much as a train stalled between stations, going nowhere, filled with impatient passengers.
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40The "Saturday Night Live" alum and occasional film actor began life as a man of chat by giving his best impression of a deer caught in the headlights while at the same time exhibiting flashes of comic flair.
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40On a late-night show, either the non-interview comedic bits have to be inspired, or the interviews have to be smooth. With a few exceptions, neither worked all that well during Fallon's first show. The comedy frequently fell flat, and as a host, Fallon is underwhelming at the moment.
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30Even granting lots of leeway for opening-night nerves, this was a pretty bad beginning for the Saturday Night Live alum.