LITTLE ROCK — Jimmy Fallon is a funny guy.
If you don’t stay up past Jay Leno to watch him host NBC’s Late Night With Jimmy Fallon at 11:37 p.m., then you might not realize Fallon’s also a gifted musician.
The 37-year-old comedian was a familiar face on Saturday Night Live from 1998 to 2004 and frequently combined his musical talents with comedy and impersonations.
The music and comedy continued once Fallon replaced Conan O’Brien as the host of Late Night in 2009.
Some of Fallon’s musical parodies and impersonations have been among the funniest stuff on late-night TV.
Fallon’s take on Neil Young singing the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song stands out. But then, Young frequently seems to be doing a parody of himself.
Those who’ve missed the skits are in for a treat when NBC presents Jimmy Fallon’s Primetime Music Special at 9 p.m. Wednesday.
The hour will feature some of Late Night’s best sketches, including the Fresh Prince parody.
Also included is Fallon’s “Tebowie,” where he channels quarterback Tim Tebow and singer David Bowie in a single character. It’s truly weird and bound to offend lots of folks who admire Tebow’s religious zeal on the field.
The special will also revisit some of Fallon’s greatest collaborations with musical guests, including Justin Timberlake on “History of Rap” and the impossibly adorable Carly Rae Jepsen on a delightful rendition of her hit “Call Me Maybe” using mainly classroom instruments such as a kazoo, triangle, toy xylophone and drum.
Jepsen, 26, placed third in 2007’s Season 5 of Canadian Idol. The now-defunct series was just like American Idol, only for Canadians, and farther north and more polite. Eh?
Other highlights include Fallon singing “Scrambled Eggs” with Paul McCartney.
Most Beatles fans already know that when McCartney was in the process of writing “Yesterday,” he composed the melody first, but called the tune “Scrambled Eggs” while he worked on the lyrics.
Opening stanza:
Scrambled eggs, oh, my baby how I love your legs.
Not as much as I love scrambled eggs.
Oh, we should eat some scrambled eggs.
One other performance to check out is “Whip My Hair” with Bruce Springsteen. There are others, but for me the highlight will be hearing the outstanding Late Nighthouse band, The Roots.
Idol changes.
So Stephen Tyler and Jennifer Lopez have bailed out as judges on American Idol. Can Randy Jackson be far behind?
The producers have already promised big changes in the aging talent contest and Tyler and Lopez probably read the writing on the wall.
Idol will milk the search for new judges for all it’s worth before announcing, but one thing is clear - Idol may still be TV’s top-ranked show, but the audience is slipping and growing older. If the show is to remain viable, it must appeal to younger viewers.
Can fresh, young judges be the only solution? I doubt it. Then the show becomes all about the celebrity judges and not the contestants.
Stay tuned.
Series renewed.
Disney Channel has ordered a fourth season of the family sitcom Good Luck Charlie.
Time change.
For those who’ve asked, ABC’s General Hospital will move to 1 p.m. starting Sept. 10.
For the record, GH will celebrate its golden anniversary on April 1 next year. ABC reminds us it’s “the longest running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in American television history.”
More intrigue.
ABC passed on the offer, so Lifetime has announced it will pick up the latest series from Marc Cherry, the creator of Desperate Housewives.
Aiming for a 2013 debut, Lifetime has ordered 13 episode of Devious Maids, a drama about the help working for the filthy rich in Beverly Hills.
The Devious Maids cast includes Susan Lucci, Ana Ortiz, Judy Reyes and Grant Show and is based on a Mexican telenovela.
More quacking.
A&E has ordered a 26-episode second season for Duck Dynasty, which it labels “a breakout hit.” An impressive (for a niche cable show) 2.6 million tuned in for the Season 1 finale.
The series follows the adventures of the Robertson family and their duck call business empire in Louisiana. Look for new episodes toward the end of the year.
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Style, Pages 28 on 07/24/2012