While Jay Leno took his third potshot in a row at his NBC bosses during his Tonight Show monologue last night, Jimmy Fallon took a notably lighter approach to addressing the all-but-confirmed rumors that he will be taking over the 11:30pm slot by next year.
Fallon opened his Late Night monologue by saying, “Before we get started, I have to talk about the rumors that came out today, which says that I’ll be moving up to 11:30. Or as my parents call it, ‘Eh, that’s still too late.’” From there he quickly moved on to making jokes about ABC’s new surprise prime-time hit Splash, an easy and benign target if there ever was one.
The joke was classic Fallon: endearing, self-deprecating, silly. Contrasted with Leno’s latest “NBC is extinct” joke, it perfectly sums up the relationships each man currently has with the network that employs them. Leno is sounding more and more bitter, ready to get out. And Fallon seems eager to show that he can take on the Tonight Show behemoth after just five years hosting Late Night.
(Source: NBC-TV and Mediaite.com)
