I have spoken often about the lack of spontaneity on late night TV talk shows. The hosts and guests don’t even seem interested in pretending that they’re unaware of what’s about to happen. Much of this is driven by the fear of saying the wrong thing or not being able to ad-lib in the moment, plus managers and publicists who insist the show not spring anything unexpected on their clients.
While this is true of all the hosts (Colbert, Kimmel, Meyers, and Corden), Jimmy Fallon continues to be the worst offender. Here’s yet another example from last night, when “Big Bang Theory” star Kaley Cuoco was in the guest chair. Fallon acted as if, on a whim, he decided to “open it up for the audience to ask something,” which led to a couple of lame questions and answers. Then, for the third one…
Cuoco must have known the question was coming, because she’s obviously reading those lyrics off cue cards while looking at the camera, rather than at Fallon or the audience member who requested the song. Plus, The Roots jumped in as musical accompaniment immediately — because they knew it was coming, too, and had enough lead time to rehearse it.
Is anyone fooled by this non-spontaneity?