from a Broadcasting & Cable interview with Jimmy Fallon:
Have you been watching the ratings?
I really don't want to hear about them. I know we had the big number after the president was on Leno. But I try not to look for them.
You know no one believes you when you say that, right?
Yeah. But I really don't. [Ratings] wouldn't make me change my show either way right now.
A lot of people are watching your ratings. For instance, I'm getting numbers from Kimmel's people more often since you started.
Good for them. Someone cares about it. I don't.
Chances that Jimmy Fallon actually has seen the ratings, follows the ratings regularly and cares about the ratings? I'd probably have them at around 100%. Though I do believe him when he says that the ratings would not impact how the show is made at this point. But in the end, the show has his name on it -- there's no way he isn't following the ratings!
I have not noticed receiving more data and numbers about Jimmy Kimmel from ABC than we did before Fallon went on the air, but we're just receiving the press releases (though we are definitely receiving ALL of ABC's press releases) and nobody at ABC is working us directly to pump up Kimmel.
For what it's worth, Kimmel says he is not a fan of the ratings either.
That’s like an employee saying he doesn’t care about his/her perfomance review. Unless you just think Nielsen is totally useless.
nielsen is useless If a show is good it should be kept around no matter how many people are watching. Im not referring to the fallon show cause I could care less if they cancel him, hes annoying, but Im talkin about real shows that I love that have been canceled and its getting me MAD
@ tvmegafan
You obviously don’t own stock in any of the networks since you don’t care if they go broke.
Jimmy Kimmel’s use of dry comedy is boring. His is very very dry and monotonous. I have actually seen Fallon on Late Nite, but he was Oprah and was pretty funny to me. Ratings aside, I would rather Fallon.
Fallon and Kimmel are *artists*, what care they about the moneygrubbing in the marketplace?
Because his show is horrible, he is horrible.
Plus the set is overly brown and looks bad. So bad jokes, bad host, and bad sets… it’s a real winner of a show!
This very much reminds me of the most recent episode of “The Chris Isaak Hour.” Chris Isaak hosted Billy Corgan and the drummer (name?) of Smashing Pumpkins. In the sit-down interview portion, Corgan and Isaak discussed the notion that they NEVER read reviews of their work. Corgan, to paraphrase, believes critics cannot understand an artist’s process, or critics would be artists themselves; Isaak, to paraphrase, noted that he enjoys believing he’s a lot better than he really is, so he refuses to read critical opinions.
Both artists insisted that they don’t focus on sales, either. They simply produce works that are meaningful to them as artists. If people buy, fine. If not…that’s OK too.
I guess Jimmy Fallon is an “artist” – he’ll do his show however it makes sense to him, whether or not people are “buying.” Jimmy Kimmel could be the same way. Some entertainers, or artists, might not follow rates, sales, and critics. They may just do what they enjoy doing until no one pays them to do it anymore.
“Plus the set is overly brown and looks bad. So bad jokes, bad host, and bad sets… it’s a real winner of a show!”
- His show is better then Conan O’Brien’s. Conan is just annoying. Good-bye Tonight Show this summer!
This is the same crap Josh Friedman said at WonderCon and in his blog – he said he was “ratings challenged”.
Yeah, right.
I suppose the ratings TSCC got pretty much prove it.
I can believe Fallon when he says he’s going to do it his way, but that will last until the ratings really tank.
I’ve only watched his show a few times and I don’t think he does nearly as good a job as Leno in terms of interacting with his guests. He tends to interrupt more and doesn’t handle it well when the guest overrides him. He’s just too fast and not as laid back as the other talk show hosts. Maybe he’ll learn.
But in general I don’t see any significant difference between his show and every other talk show.
Except Craig Ferguson. I like him because he’s completely nuts and obviously doesn’t give a shit.
Fallon and his show fall into the category of “so bad it’s funny”. I watch the monologue in disbelief. Excruciating. Bad writing + bad delivery. He was never funny on snl. he’s not funny now either.
Fallon is just following Jeff Tucker’s lead.
Jeff Zucker’s lead. Oops.
My Fallon verdict: God awful with monologues and sketches, great with guests. Especially guests he’s clearly friends with. The only laughs for that whole hour are when he’s with a guest.
I was a loyal Conan viewer, and he can’t come back soon enough, I gave Fallon a chance, but Craig Ferguson is a genius. He is just on another level, a level that Fallon will never reach. I’ll be so glad this June when my late night dreams finally come true and I can watch Conan at 10:35 and Craig at 11:35.
Of course he’s not worried, the ratings are doing well. And they will continue to do very well as long as he has Leno for a lead in and then Conan as his new audience lead in. It will carry him through enough to hopefully improve his show. I watched him a few times when Ferguson was on reruns. Just wasn’t enough to keep me coming back.
Susan, it’s one thing not to be worried, it’s another to claim he’s never looked at them at all.
Sorry, Richard, that’s a bunch of crap. Friedman and Fallon are not even comparable. Fallon says he doesn’t check the ratings, nor does he care about them. Friedman says his show is ratings challenged and hopes it would find an audience on Fridays. Friedman clearly said the ratings were bad, so obviously, he was looking at them! How you got the same message from these two just amazes me. Quit trying to stir the hornet’s nest of Terminator fans.
Fallon isn’t that good right now, but I still watch him almost every night. I think he’ll improve in time, he just needs to work on delivery. and hire better writers. Ive noticed he often waits too long to move on to the next joke. either the cue card guy isn’t keeping up or Fallon thinks the joke still has a chance.
About the set, I think Connan and Leno’s first set was horrible looking too, so there’s no reason to judge the show based on that. I’m sure it’ll be remodeled to look more appealing. I dont mind the brown, but he definitely needs more dimension in the background. its all flat right bow because its a screen, which is is stupid. it needs a miniature of New York or just anything to make it more eye catching.
Vader, I got the message directly from Friedman, both at WonderCon and on his blog the previous week.
Friedman did not say his SHOW was ratings challenged, he said HE was ratings challenged. But backstage at WonderCon giving interviews, he was telling the interviewers that the Friday ratings were as good as the Monday ratings adjusted for Fridays. Which means he was watching them and what he told the WonderCon fans was a flat lie.
He obviously was lying but that was the point of my post. Fallon is lying too. Both of them watched the ratings but act like it didn’t matter.
I agree with Jesse. Fallon’s monologue sucks but his interviews with guests are usually pretty damn funny especially when he’s interviewiing people he knows.
Why did they put they on in the first place? Does there have to be yet another interview show on with the same warmed over jokes? Why not try something different?