NBC's big announcement

Monday marked the beginning of the Jimmy Fallon VLOG, which will run for three months until march 2009, when Jimmy will take over for Conan O'Brien as the host of Late Night.  



I like Leno in the 10spot, if only to help Conan thrive @ 11:30 (as opposed to going head to head with Jay [on ABC] & Dave @ 11:30). It kinda screws Jimmy Fallon, as he is right when he jokes that people are going to be ready to watch a talk show after two hours of talk shows. Still, I hope he takes the opportunity to expand the talk show format into unexplored territories, considering NBC's holding onto Leno provides him justification to do so.

Also, I hope Leno takes his opportunity to mix things up thoroughly, loosen up (as he seems to have been doing of late), and innovate his show! If he maintains too much of that Tonight Show vibe, he'll be stepping on Conan's toes and boring people. So far, no good, as Jay seems intent on holding on to as much as he can in terms of format. This of course, has to change Conan's approach to his new job. Without Leno @ NBC, Conan would have been free to glide into that Johnny/Jay leitmotif guilt free. Now, with Jay sticking around, and presenting what will no doubt be a Tonight show template @ 10pm, Conan will be forced to innovate his approach to the classic chair.

Either way, I think NBC made a smooth move, cutting their production schedule by five hours a week, and lining up three of the more popular comedians of the day. I've never been a big Jay fan, but I'm psyched for Conan & Jimmy, and i am optimistic, to a point, that Leno will give us something worth watching @ 10 every once in a while.