Conan O’Brien isn’t worried that viewers will get tired of all the talk fests on TV. But just in case, the future “Tonight Show” host has a plan.

“I think at some point my show is going to have to morph into a detective show,” O’Brien said during a Tuesday conference call. “I think four weeks in, Andy Richter and I will be solving crimes. It’s going to be ‘Murder, She Wrote’ with a slightly younger demo.”

Posted at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, May 17

Will Ferrell—and a horde of other oldies—returned to the “Saturday Night Live” studio last night to make the season finale a fun reunion show.

Still, the finale didn’t outdo last week’s Justin Timberlake showcase.

Surprise appearances ruled the night. Besides Ferrell, “SNL” alums Norm Macdonald, Maya Rudolph, and Amy Poehler popped in. Tom Hanks, Anne Hathaway, Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Moss and Artie Lange also showed up, along with musical guest Green Day and a few others I'm sure I missed.

Posted at 12:15 p.m. Friday, May 15

Sign Mark-Paul Gosselaar up for that “Saved by the Bell” reunion Jimmy Fallon has been pushing.

Gosselaar, who played high school hunk Zack on the 1990s teen series, told RedEye on Friday that he and Fallon have “something good cooking.”

“I don’t want to give too much away but I’m doing his show June 8,” Gosselaar said. “I’m not going to do the standard interview, I’ll put it that way.”

Posted at 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 12

Eminem and Stewie Griffin will, um, rap, during Sunday's Animation Domination. Fox photo

So Eminem does have a sense of humor—and a heart.

The rapper—who's been getting dissed by Mariah Carey’s hubby, Nick Cannon—will take on Stewie Griffin from “Family Guy” this Sunday. An animated Eminem will appear with the cartoon kid in segments throughout Fox’s Animation Domination line-up. (MySpace Music will make a special Eminem announcement Sunday.)

"It was a thrill to work with Stewie," Eminem said in a Fox press release. "I'm a big fan of talking babies and their humor."

Posted at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, May 10

Justin Timberlake was back on “Saturday Night Live” this weekend, bringing some great surprise guests, favorite old sketches and a digital short to rival “[Bleep] in a Box.”

In “Motherlover,” Timberlake and Andy Samberg—dressed in the Jodeci-like get-ups—picked up where “[Bleep] in a Box” left off. As their crass crooners leave a police station, they dump their gift boxes into a garbage bin.

When they realize it’s Mother’s Day, they concoct “the second best idea that we’ve ever had” by deciding to “[bleep] each other’s moms.”

“It would be my honor to be your new stepfather,” they sing to each other.

Added bonus for the boys? Susan Sarandon and Patricia Clarkson play their mothers.

Posted at 10:15 p.m. Thursday, May 7

Leonard Nimoy, who first wore the pointy ears of the Vulcan Mr. Spock in the “Star Trek” series, delivers the Top 10 list of "Lines Never Before Said in a 'Star Trek' Film" on Thursday’s “Late Show with David Letterman.”

Nimoy reprises his iconic role in J.J. Abrams breathtaking new “Star Trek” film. He plays an older Spock to Zachary Quinto’s young version. They are both great, by the way.

Read the full list below.

Posted at 7 a.m. Wednesday, April 29

“Late Night” host self-professed gadget/computer geek Jimmy Fallon showed up on “Attack of the Show” Tuesday to play the first ever game of TweetTacToe on Twitter.

Fallon took on Kevin Pereira as their Tweeps tweeted tic-tac-toe moves live and they filled in the spots.

Watch the vid to see who wins. You can follow the guys on Twitter at @jimmyfallon and @kpereira. You can also see what the Twitterverse thought by searching #tweettactoe.

Posted at 10 a.m. Sunday, April 12

Zac Efron hosted “Saturday Night Live,” and it wasn’t awful. It also wasn’t great. The best skit featuring Efron was the post-“High School Musical” bit in the video above. Troy Bolton returned to high school after a year in college—disillusioned that not everyone in the world sings their feelings.

Posted at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, April 5, 2009

Get ready for a “High School Musical” parody on “Saturday Night Live.” Zac Efron is hosting the April 11 episode.

It’s the “HSM” star’s first time as host, as it is the Yeah Yeah Yeahs debut as “SNL” musical guests. Efron’s latest film, “17 Again,” opens April 17.

Efron’s past movies, including “Hairspray,” should offer “SNL” writers plenty of inspiration for comedy-musical skits. And his desire to dirty up his image should give Andy Samberg some real ammunition for a raunchy digital short a la “Natalie Raps” or “[Bleep] in a Box” or “[Bleep] in My Pants” or … You get the idea.

By the way: Does anyone else think Efron and "Gossip Girl" star Chace Crawford look alike? I just noticed the similarities in their arched eyebrows, scruffy dos, jawlines I envy ...

Efron recently appeared on “The Graham Norton Show,” where the Irish talk show host and comic David Walliams gently ribbed the 21-year-old star.

Posted at 2:15 p.m. Sunday, April 5

Rod Blagojevich made headlines last week when he was indicted, so it was inevitable he would appear on “Weekend Update” on Saturday.

Seth Meyers welcomed the former governor—actually Jason Sudeikis’ version of him—to the “Saturday Night Live” news skit. But I have to say, the real Blago might be funnier.

“Same ass, different D,” “Blago” said when asked by Meyers how he was doing. Either the audience didn’t get it, or like me they simply didn’t think it was funny. Very few people laughed.

The names Meyers came up with for Blago weren’t bad. Some might be good for future RedEye covers. Watch the video above for the complete skit and decide for yourself.

I’ve included other skits I liked from the episode, hosted by Seth Rogen. Just click the link below. For the show’s misses—such as Fred Armisen’s cold open as President Barack Obama—go to nbc.com.

Feel free to tell me in the comments section what you thought of the episode.

Posted at 9:21 a.m. Tuesday, March 24

Conan. Jay. Jimmy and Jimmy. The late-night talk show lineup has been undergoing some dramatic changes this year.

You can add George Lopez to the crowd. TBS has announced that Lopez will host a new talker beginning in November. It will air at 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays.

According to TBS, the show will be a typical chat fest, with celeb guests, live music and comedy, but Lopez will bring “an outdoor street-party atmosphere and a high-energy crowd,” the network says.

“While high-energy, Lopez’s new series will feature a casual environment that invites guests to engage fully with the crowd, giving audience members the chance to interact with the guests, ask questions and walk away feeling as though they’ve experienced something new,” the network says in a press release.

Lopez brings much needed flavor to late night on the broadcast networks. If memory serves, there hasn’t been a minority late-night talk show host on the broadcast nets since Arsenio Hall waay back when on Fox. Tavis Smiley currently airs on PBS.

“If change can come to the White House, then change can come to late night," Lopez says in the release. "Yes I can!”

Lopez joins an already crowded field. Since his show will air at 10 p.m, he’ll follow Jay Leno’s 9 p.m. talker on NBC, but will compete in his second half hour with David Letterman and Conan O’Brien. later at night, viewers can watch Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Craig Ferguson and Carson Daly.

Posted at 7:15 p.m. Monday, March 16

Candidate Barack Obama visits “The Tonight Show” on Oct. 17, 2007. NBC photo

President Barack Obama plans to sit down Thursday with Jay Leno on “The Tonight Show.”

It will be his first in-studio, live appearance on a talk show since becoming president. According to NBC, it’s the first time a sitting president has appeared live on a late-night talk show. The show airs at 10:35 p.m., although one reader tells me it’s really 10:37 p.m. nightly, on NBC.

Posted at 11:20 p.m. Thursday, March 12

Dwayne Johnson and the cast of “Saturday Night Live” might want to postpone any trip to Hawaii.

Hawaii Lt. Gov. James “Duke” Aiona and the state’s tourism board are worried a skit starring The Rock might hurt the state’s tourism, AP reports. Aiona said he plans to protest to “SNL” exec producer Lorne Michaels.

In the skit from last weekend, Rock and Fred Armisen played hotel workers who were sick of tourists. They wore grass skirts, Hawaiian shirts and serenaded dinner patrons with bad hula dancing.

As you can see in the clip here, Johnson tells one visitor “a fun fact about Hawaii. Our biggest export is coffee. And our biggest import is fat white tourists!”

Earlier this season, and “SNL” parody of legally blind New York Gov. David Paterson drew protests from the governor and advocates for the disabled.

Posted at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday March 4

U2 is in the middle of its week-long gig on “Late Show with David Letterman.” On Wednesday’s show, taped earlier in the day, the band not only performed “I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight” from their new disc, “No Line on the Horizon,” they also deliver the Top 10 list.

Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. presented the list “Top Ten Things U2 Has Learned Over the Years.”

10. Bono: A lot of people think I'm the guy who sang with Cher.
9. The Edge: I suck at "Guitar Hero."
8. Adam Clayton: Dumb people send us videos all the time. They think we're You Tube.
7. Larry Mullen Jr.: Even my family asks, "Are you Adam or Larry?"
6. Bono: There's always quite a stir at Applebee's when they call, "U2 – party of four."
5. Edge: (Chryon reads: "Cool name: The Edge. Uncool name: The Itch"; The Edge ad libs: "Cool name: The Edge. Uncool name: Sting")
4. Adam: Melted cheese tastes good on practically everything.
3. Larry: Sometimes when we shout, "Are you ready to rock?!" I don't care if you're ready to rock.
2. Bono, Edge, Adam, Larry: It's never too soon to start working on a phony Irish accent.
1. Bono: Up close, you can totally see Letterman's hairpiece.

Updated at 12:42 a.m. Tuesday

I’m giving Jimmy Fallon a C on his first show, if you like it that way. He wasn’t horrible; he wasn’t great. Justin Timberlake and The Roots were the best part of the show.

Like I said before, I think Jimmy should really shake up late night and rethink the whole concept of the talk show. He didn't really utilize the Web as much as he promised, but his bloggers are busy on his Web site.

He should lose the coat and tie and relax. He should also make a relaxed set, and not so buttoned-up, curtain-to-desk like everyone else’s is. Lose the desk, man, and sit in chairs or something.

Have you guys ever seen “The Graham Norton Show” on BBC America? Jimmy should totally steal that kind of set and that vibe. It’s crazy and fun and off the cuff. That totally fits Jimmy’s personality. He’s already got the coolest house band on TV, The Roots (pictured), now he should make the coolest show on TV.

I’m sure things will get better, so I’m not damning him at all. Tina Fey’s on Tuesday, and I’m sure she’ll put him at ease. Hang in there Jimmy.

READ MY PLAY-BY-PLAY BY CLICKING, NOT LICKING, THE LINK BELOW

Posted at 10 p.m. Monday, March 2, 2009

U2 kicked off its week-long stint on “Late Show with David Letterman” by shoveling snow.

The Irish band pitched in after New York was covered in snow on Monday, according to CBS, who provided this early clip of the Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton not really working up a sweat. They were shoveling off the sidewalk on 53rd Street, CBS said.

“These guys are regular guys,” Letterman said during taping of the show. “Don’t just think that these are pretty boy rock-and-rollers. These guys, when there’s trouble, will, you know, roll up their sleeves and pitch in.”

The band came in from the cold to perform “Breathe” off their new CD, “No Line on the Horizon,” which drops Tuesday. The show airs at 10:35 p.m. Monday on CBS.

Posted at 2:15 p.m. Sunday, March 1

Jimmy Fallon worked the “Weekend Update” desk with Tina Fey during his time on “Saturday Night Live,” but he may be best known for cracking up during skits.

“I’m an easy laugh,” Fallon told reporters last week. “Any time I got around any, you know, super-talented comedians that were on ‘Saturday Night Live’ I would break out.”

One comedian in particular was Will Ferrell, an “SNL” co-star and, according to Fallon, “one of the funniest people on Earth.”

“I think his “Best of ...” [“SNL” DVD] apparently was me laughing at him,” Fallon said.

Fallon recalled the now-famous “More Cowbell” skit starring host Christopher Walken, in which Fallon, Ferrell, Chris Parnell, Horatio Sanz and Kris Kattan played a reunited Blue Oyster Cult. Ferrell rocked that cowbell, and Fallon couldn’t keep a straight face.

“I had just started on the show so I was just happy to be given a line. So I’m just nervous...,” Fallon said. “You know, it was so funny—his stomach is hanging out of his shirt.”

Fallon said he later apologized to Ferrell for flubbing his line and laughing. “No one was really happy with me for doing that,” he said. “But what are you going to do?”

FALLON SET FOR "LATE NIGHT DEBUT.
"LATE NIGHT" GOES HIGH TECH.

Thanks to snotr.com for having the video above. It was difficult to find, even though it's an all-time classic.

Posted at 1:55 p.m. Sunday, March 1

WHAT GUESTS JIMMY WANTS, GETS.
WHY JIMMY CRACKED UP DOING "MORE COWBELL."

If you want to know what to expect when Jimmy Fallon debuts as host of “Late Night” on Monday, don’t ask Fallon.

“We’re going to try everything, I guess,” he told reporters after doing two practice shows earlier this month. “I think right now my job is I’m going to focus on just hosting the show and making my guests look good. So if there’s anything I can do to make them look good, I’m going to do it.”

Fallon has been practicing for months, doing stand-up engagements, hosting a daily Web series at latenightwithjimmyfallon.com and doing practice tapings of his show. He’s been nothing if not charming in the daily video blogs. They’ve been engaging, down-to-earth and fun, if not outright funny.

On Monday night, though, Fallon steps in front of the cameras and a national TV audience for the first time since “Saturday Night Live.” He’s in the same Studio 6B at 30 Rockefeller Center where Johnny Carson taped his first 10 years of “The Tonight Show.”

By Tuesday morning, water cooler conversations across the U.S. will be focused on whether Fallon is a worthy successor to Conan O’Brien. Fallon remembers the critical lambasting O’Brien got 16 years ago when he replaced David Letterman on “Late Night,” but he’s not anticipating the same reception.

“That poor guy went through the ringer, like it was crazy almost; that was insane,” Fallon said. “... As bad as a ribbing as I could get for this I don’t see it being that bad.”

Fallon claims not to be thinking about the competition—chiefly Craig Ferguson and Jimmy Kimmel—and admits that there will be a lot of trial and error in the early going of his show. He plans to throw a lot at the screen to see what sticks. “I think that’s the fun of it being on at [11:30],” he said. “You can experiment with comedy and stuff like that.”

Obviously, Fallon’s counting on Web fans to fuel his success early on. His daily vlogs might even offer clues about what we can expect from his “Late Night.”

He’s thrown a bit of everything on the Web, including chats with guests such as his parents, his staff members and his house band, The Roots; skits like the hilarious “Jack McBrayer Response To The Internet Response To The Republican Response To The President’s Address To Congress” (watch below), and introductions of the show’s set and logo—which surfers had a hand in choosing.

The Web will be a big part of his show, too, he says. “I think it’ll be fun ... I’m currently on Twitter and Facebook and Flicker and Digg. I want to be as interactive as possible.” (Read more on his Web plans here.)

It’s as if Jarrett, the dreadlocked stoner from his “Jarrett’s Room” skits on “SNL,” grew up to have a bigger, better, more sober blog.

“I’m 34 years old and I’m like, I don’t have the dreadlocks and I’m actually doing this for real,” he said, recalling the skits he created with his current producer, Mike Shoemaker, who was an “SNL” writer at the time. “It was like, ‘God, it’s so weird.’ And we were spoofing this 10 years ago. It’s ridiculous.”

Guest interviews, Fallon said, still are the weakest part of his repertoire. When asked how he was working to improve his interview skills, he said he’s been practicing with his wife, film producer Nancy Juvonen.

“Every morning I sit my wife to the right of me and I ask her what she’s going to do that day,” he said. “And then ... we run a clip and then we go to commercial.”

All kidding aside, Fallon knows he’s got his work cut out for him, and a lot of room to improve his chat skills. He knows he has to loosen up; he says the practice shows have helped.

“The first couple I’ve done I’ve been a little nervous and I’ve been like, ‘Hey, where you from?’ ‘Connecticut.’ ‘Oh good. Do you do impressions? Oh great. I heard you went on vacation and you had a hang-gliding incident. Oh good. We’ll be right back,’” he said. “And I was like, wait, that was the worst conversation I’ve ever had in my life.”

“Last night I did three guests and they got better. So I think with time I’ll get better.”

Fallon claims not to be nervous about his debut, even though, he says, “right now probably the only thing that could screw it up is me.”

Click the link below to take a look at Fallon's late-night competitors.

Posted at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 25

In Hollywood, it’s important to open big. It must be in New York too.

Jimmy Fallon is adding more guests to his premiere week of "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" on NBC. It’s filmed in Studio 6B of NBC’s 30 Rockefeller headquarters in New York City.

On March 2, Justin Timberlake joins Robert De Niro and Van Morrison for the first show. The band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah will entertain on March 4. And on March 6, "Gossip Girl" star Chace Crawford will sit on Fallon’s couch.

Here's Fallon's "Late Night" guest line-up so far:
Monday: Robert De Niro, Justin Timberlake, Van Morrison
Tuesday: Tina Fey, Jon Bon Jovi, Santigold
Wednesday: Cameron Diaz, Billy Crudup, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Thursday: Donald Trump, Serena Williams, Ludacris
Friday: Drew Barrymore, Chace Crawford, Mario Batali
March 9: Rose Byrne, The Lonely Island
March 10: Emily Blunt, Michael Stipe, Pussycat Dolls
March 11: Russell Brand, Kevin Rose & Alex Albrecht, The Virgins
March 12: Tracy Morgan, Malin Akerman
March 13: Brian Williams, Kristen Wiig, Trace Adkins

Click here for my previous post on Jimmy's guests.

Posted at 2:45 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24

Andy Richter and Conan O'Brien—together again.

Richter, who was O’Brien’s sidekick for seven years on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” will be the announcer when his buddy takes over as host of NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien” on June 1, the network has announced.

It’s been almost nine years since they worked together on a daily basis. They should have never stopped working together, which was obvious during O'Brien's final "Late Night" on Friday, when Richter helped O’Brien say goodbye by showing clips of some of their favorite old skits.

Thankfully Richter also will participate in comedy bits on "The Tonight Show."

“Andy is one of the funniest people I know and we've maintained a close friendship since he left "Late Night," O'Brien said in a press statement. “We have a proven chemistry that will be an incredible asset to ‘The Tonight Show.’ I'm looking forward to working with Andy on a daily basis again, particularly since he owes me $300.”

Posted at 1:45 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22

NEXT FOR JIMMY: QUEEN ELIZABETH?

Jimmy Fallon and Martha Stewart. Photo by Anders Krusberg/The Martha Stewart Show

Jimmy Fallon is off and promoting his new “Late Night” duties. On Monday, he appears on "The Martha Stewart Show." You can watch it at 11 a.m. on WMAQ-Ch. 5.

The episode is dedicated to the world of “pot”—the word, not the weed. Martha and Jimmy cook Crock-Pot chili; she does a segment about potbelly pigs and chats with potters Guy and Ben Wolf about how to create clay pots.

When Fallon first comes on the set, he brings Martha a plate of brownies.

"I made you some special brownies,” he said. “I was over at Michael Phelps house. Apparently he loves to cook."

Martha then presents Jimmy with a potted plant (watch video here). You can read some of the exchanges between the two, provided by Martha’s show, by clicking the link below.

Posted at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21

JIMMY FALLON PREVIEWS HIS "LATE NIGHT"

Conan O’Brien signed off as host of “Late Night” on Friday, but not before getting a pat on the butt from “George Bush.”

“That was a weird thing to do,” O’Brien told “Bush,” actually Will Ferrell, who’s playing Bush in a one-man Broadway show right now.

“I want to personally thank you for 16 years of humortastical wonderment and stupendistical giggleocity,” “Bush” said. “… I loved it, Cone-bone.”

Ferrell then stripped down to his creepy leprechaun outfit—green Speedos, pirate shirt and St. Patrick’s Day hat—and grinded against O’Brien as he has in the past.

Ferrell’s was one of many zips down memory lane for O’Brien during his 2,725th and final episode. In a funny taped segment, O’Brien “freed” actor Abe Vigoda because the host couldn’t bring him to L.A. when he takes over “Tonight” from Jay Leno in June (see below).

O’Brien also welcomed his old sidekick, Andy Richter, who helped his buddy introduce several clips from the past 16 years, including Richter strolling naked onto the “Today” set, thinking it was a spa; the claymation show; O’Brien playing the kissing game with Rebecca Romijn; O’Brien learning how to bartend; and the Harvard grad schooling Jennifer Garner on the word “snuck.” (You can watch the clips by clicking on the jump below.)

The White Stripes performed, and John Mayer sent in a taped video tribute to O’Brien.

"I used to live in NYC, now I'm as douchey as a man can be ... L.A. is gonna eat you alive," Mayer sang.

O’Brien closed the show with an obviously heartfelt extended thank you to his staff, band, people at NBC, David Letterman, Leno and Lorne Michaels.

“This just has meant the world to me,” he said (See video by clicking link at bottom of page).

He also promised he wouldn’t lose his goofiness on “Tonight.”

"I want to say something about—we're going on to this next gig, and sometimes I read that it's time for Conan to grow up because he's going to 11:30," he said. "And I assure you, that's just not going to happen. I can't. This is who I am, for better or for worse."

You can watch O’Brien’s complete final “Late Night” show by clicking here.

Posted at 7:15 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19

JIMMY FALLON'S "LATE NIGHT" WILL USE WEB

Jimmy Fallon says he wants Queen Elizabeth as a guest after Robert De Niro. NBC, AP photos

Jimmy Fallon says his dream “Late Night” guests include Queen Elizabeth, Richard Branson and David Bowie.

He’ll have to settle for Robert De Niro and musical guest Van Morrison. They will be the first guests when he takes over for Conan O’Brien as host of the NBC late-night show on March 2.

“De Niro was my first choice,” Fallon told reporters Thursday. “He’s quintessential New York. He’s a legendary actor. I love him.”

Fallon is equally excited about musical guest Van Morrison, who will perform from his acclaimed album “Astral Weeks.” Fallon, who has said he wants his show to appeal to younger viewers, defended having an older act on his first show.

“Someone asked me about having an older act on,” Fallon said. “And I just thought he had to be old, because if you’re young you realize its a cool record,” he said. “Just because the person is old doesn’t mean anything.”

Other guests for his first week include Tina Fey, Fallon’s old “Weekend Update” deskmate from “Saturday Night Live.”

“I figured [I’d] call in the favors early,” he said. “I love her. She’s the nicest person ever ... She’s fun to work with. We play well together.”

But, back to those dream guests. Fallon joked that he’d love to play Wii games with the Queen of England, or travel into space with Bowie and adventurer Branson, who he said is building “some kind of space machine.”

“I could be the first talk-show host in space. That’d be awesome,” Fallon said, adding, “My publicist just dropped her phone.”

FALLON’S 1ST WEEK GUEST LIST
NBC released the list of guest on the first week of “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon”:
March 2: Robert De Niro, Van Morrison
March 3: Tina Fey, Jon Bon Jovi, Santigold
March 4: Cameron Diaz, Billy Crudup
March 5: Donald Trump, Serena Williams, Ludacris
March 6: Drew Barrymore, Mario Batali

Posted at 6:45 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19

FALLON SET FOR "LATE NIGHT DEBUT.

Jimmy Fallon wants to create the first late-night talk show for the Internet age.

Fallon, who takes over for Conan O’Brien as host of NBC’s “Late Night” on March 2, will launch a blog on the same day, he told reporters Thursday during a conference call.

“We’re younger,” the 34-year-old former “Saturday Night Live” star said when describing his show. “We’re into tech stuff—gadgets, phones, video games. We’ll treat a video game premiere like a movie premiere.

“I’m just going to be honest with what I like and what I do and what I enjoy.”

Fallon said he recognizes that “people are on the Internet all day,” from kids who check their e-mails and IMs constantly to 9-to-5 office employees “watching videos at work.” Fallon’s show has hired three full-time bloggers, and his Web site will offer fans “funny things from the Internet,” celeb news, videos clips and original videos, he said.

“I’ll be in as much as I can,” he said. “We’re going to give our fans as many different ways as possible to enjoy our show.”

He’s already entrenched on several social networking sites including Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Digg, he said, which he plans to incorporate into the show—although he hasn’t figured out exactly how to do that yet.

“I want to be as interactive as possible,” he said.

His use of the Internet also will make him a destination, even though his will be the third talk show to air on NBC each night—after Jay Leno’s new 9 p.m. show (starting in the fall) and O’Brien’s 10:30 p.m. “Tonight” (starting in June). Being the third talker of the night won’t affect his audience, he said, because “either you’re awake at 12:30 or you’re not.”

Besides, he said, his show tapes before those two West Coast-filmed talkers, so technically he gets the first chance at mocking the day’s news.

“But probably after you watch it you’ll be like, ‘Dude, I just saw Jay and Conan do that joke,’” he cracked Thursday. “We’re going to get a lot of our humor from Dubai or BBC World News.”

“Honestly, I just want to keep people awake,” Fallon said. “Or at least give you one good joke to go to bed with.”

He’ll also bring his audience some great music. His house band is the rap group The Roots, including members Black Thought (Tariq Trotter) and Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson.

“Don’t even watch for me,” he said. “The band alone will freak your bean. They’re going to give you a heart attack.”

Check back here for more from the Fallon interview this weekend.

FALLON WANTS LATE-NIGHT DATE WITH QUEEN ELIZABETH

Posted at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 15

Alec Baldwin opened his 14th gig hosting “Saturday Night Live” by fielding questions about his “30 Rock” co-star Jack McBrayer. He probably wishes McBrayer was hosting the show.

I doubt that even Baldwin’s “30 Rock” character, NBC exec Jack Donaghy, would have liked it. None of Baldwin’s skits holds up against his past appearances. In fact, most of the show was a snoozer.

Musical guests the Jonas Brothers were used way too much, and sorry, but the boys should stick to singing, or posing for photos. Whatever. On the flip side, “SNL” missed a chance for humor and creepiness by not using them in the “Cougar Den” sketch in which Cameron Diaz made a surprise appearance. Baldwin was funny in this skit, coining my new fave term (because it so exists)—Cou-gay—but they could have let him do more with the character, I think.

Click the link below to watch a few of the skits. I didn’t include the real stinkers, but you can see them at the NBC site. Unfortunately, Baldwin’s best bit and the best skit of the night—his excellent Richard Burton impersonation during another one of Bill Hader's always-funny Vincent Price sketches—is not available for me to share with you.

Posted at 6:45 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13

Joaquin Phoenix didn’t say much to David Letterman on Wednesday, but he’s been a boon for the “Late Show” host online.

CBS reports that the video of the Feb. 11 interview, with Dave cracking jokes and the “former” actor chewing gum, was viewed more than 2.5 million times at cbs.com within 36 hours of it airing on CBS. It earned the most streams for “Late Show” since Sen. John McCain appeared on the show in October, CBS says.

Phoenix was truly weird on Wednesday. But is he the strangest Letterman guest ever? Click here for a photo gallery of some odd appearances, and if you have time, watch three other choice interviews by clicking the link below, then tell me what you think in the comments section.

Posted at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12

The Jonas Brothers deliver the Top 10 list on "Late Show with David Letterman," airing at 11:35 p.m. Thursday on CBS. Read more about their appearance by clicking the link after their list below.

Top Ten Surprising Facts About the Jonas Brothers