Late Night Shuffle

On vacation last week, I didn't get around to reporting the news that former "SNL" cast member Jimmy Fallon will be replacing Conan O'Brien on NBC's "Late Night" when O'Brien gets the "Tonight Show" gig next year.

My brother and his friends, who follow the late night talk show circuit a lot more than I do, seem to think this will be a disaster of Titanic proportions because none seem to be fans of Fallon. They aren't the only ones that are worried.

One TV critic, Tim Goodman, wrote a column wondering if would-be movie star Fallon would be able to reduce his own ego in favor of his guest's, something that every talk show host needs to do (though somehow Larry King has managed a career for 40 years without being able to do this). Another critic, Alan Sepinwall, seemed to think the opposite, that Fallon wouldn't have enough of a personality to make a go of things.

My thoughts? Let Fallon actually tape a show or two before passing judgment.

Here's the thing. I remember when O'Brien was first named Letterman's replacement. Here was a guy who hadn't appeared regularly in front of a camera or an audience who was taking over for the most popular host on TV at that point. Needless to say, no one thought much of Conan's chances, but a decade-plus later, he seems to have done well enough for himself.

The late night circuit is something of a crapshoot, anyway. I never thought much of Jimmy Kimmel before, but with his recent brilliant Matt Damon-Ben Affleck-Sarah Silverman love triangle videos, he's riding a huge wave of popularity.

On the other hand, Chevy Chase, who had a very successful movie career, may go down as the worst talk show host in history.

Now people are questioning whether Conan, arguably the top host right now not on a show produced by Comedy Central, can take over "The Tonight Show," which skews to an older audience than his. I'm guessing if you ask an NBC exec, they are counting on Conan's appeal among younger viewers to cut into the Comedy Central juggernaut of "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report."

Meanwhile, people are pointing to Fallon's lackluster movie career and the success of his former SNL partner Tina Fey as to reasons why he will fail. I'll point out that A) few people are as hot as Tina Fey right now, or as funny in general, and B) the six people who watched the movie "Collision Course" probably never imagined that Pat Morita's partner in that flick would be able to successfully replace the legendary Johnny Carson.

Let's see Fallon do his thing, and then pass judgment.

AROUND THE DIAL: It's going to be very difficult for anyone to replace the late Stanley Kamel as a recurring character on "Monk," but the producers have signed the always reliable Hector Elizondo to play Monk's (Tony Shalhoub) new therapist. ... Oscar nominee Amy Ryan will be joining "The Office" as a guest star as Toby's replacement, while Oscar and Emmy nominee Angela Bassett will be joining the cast of "ER" for its final season next year. ...

WEDNESDAY'S BEST BETS: Can we please siphon just one of Thursday's great shows over to Wednesday's? Just one? Seriously, it'd free up my TV watching greatly to spread the wealth.

As it is, "American Idol" (Fox, 9 p.m.) dominates the night following new episodes of "Til Death" and "Back To You" on Fox.

"Criminal Minds" (CBS, 9 p.m.) is new, as is "CSI: NY" at 10 p.m., which squares off with a new episode of "Boston Legal" (ABC, 10 p.m.) "Law & Order" (NBC, 10 p.m.) follows a two-hour "Deal Or No Deal."

The CW is debuting the new reality show "Farmer Wants a Wife" at 9 p.m. I'd watch, but I'm worried my liver will force its way into my neck, cutting the flow of blood off to my brain. Come to think of it, that may be the only way to watch this show.

Finally, the documentary series "Carrier" (PBS, 9 p.m.) continues tonight.

Late Night Shows To Return

NBC is already rolling out the ads promoting the return of "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno and "Late Night" with Conan O'Brien, scheduled (right now) for Jan. 2.

Both shows had been pulled for the WGA strike, but both are set to return -- without writers. What's another name for a late-night comedy show without comedy writers? Usually, it's train wreck.

This is actually a good thing for the writers, since late-night shows without jokes for the hosts are going to wear thin real quick for viewers, and ratings are likely going to drop fast, putting more pressure on the studios to return to the bargaining table.

Meanwhile, "The Late Show With David Letterman" is negotiating individually its own deal with the WGA through Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants. Once a deal is struck, "The Late Show" would return with a full writing staff. Again, with individual deals being struck, it would again force the studios as a whole to return to the negotiations, something they have refused to do for nearly two weeks now in a gamble to try to break the union.

And once Letterman does return, he's one of the most vocal pro-union guys anyway, so it would give the writers a great forum on the air to plead their side of the strike.

AROUND THE DIAL: Some people have been asking, when will the lone filmed-but-unaired episode of "Desperate Housewives" actually return? According to TVGuide.com, Jan. 6. This is the follow-up to the cliffhanger about the tornado that hit Wisteria Lane. If you don't want to find out who lives and dies before the episode, then DON'T go to TVGuide's Web site, because spoilers are posted. ...

Not a TV item, but the new, frakkin' awesome trailer for "The Dark Knight" is posted here: http://www.atasteforthetheatrical.com. I can't believe I've got to wait another seven months for this movie! ...

MONDAY RECAP: So, I checked out "Duel" last night on ABC. Not bad, not great. Mike Greenberg was solid as a host, but enough with the freaking commercials already. It's as bad as "Deal or No Deal," where they try to make every big moment a cliffhanger by inserting another commercial. Even the contestants last night were exasperated, which was actually pretty amusing. Meanwhile, the contestants themselves seemed to be an annoying group of wankers, with the exception of the girl who is leading right now. She seems OK. The questions themselves haven't proven too difficult, either. You can check it out again tonight at 8 p.m.

Meanwhile, "Journeyman" continues to show great flashes of brilliance, which makes it a shame that Wednesday's episode is the series finale. However, producers have said they anticipated this might be the end, so expect several questions about Dan's (Kevin McKidd) time-traveling to be wrapped up.

TUESDAY'S BEST BETS: The networks continue to horde new episodes like squirrels with chestnuts, offering them slowly and reluctantly. But CBS is all-new tonight, with "NCIS" leading things off, followed by "The Unit" and "Cane."

"Duel" is followed by new installments of "According to Jim" (ABC, 9:30 p.m.) and "Boston Legal" (ABC, 10 p.m.)

NBC is all-reality tonight, continuing with "Clash of the Choirs" at 8 p.m. and followed by "The Biggest Loser" season finale at 9 p.m. Fear not, "Loser" fans; NBC is returning with "The Biggest Loser: Couples Edition" in January.

Finally, cable puts out some interesting offerings, with a new episode of "Nip/Tuck" (FX, 10 p.m.) But the pick of the night is the insanely clever "Life On Mars" (BBC America, 9 p.m.)