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.

Please Just Say 'You're Fired' Already

It's almost become mandatory that reality shows must produce a so-called "celebrity" edition.

Tonight, "The Apprentice" (NBC, 9 p.m.) is no exception.

Of course, there are no celebrities people might want to see, no Brad Pitt, no George Clooney, hell, no Lindsay Lohan (who'd at least keep things interesting).

Instead, we get country artist Trace Adkins; rocker Gene Simmons; actors Stephen Baldwin and Marilu Henner; model-actress Carol Alt; boxer Lennox Lewis; and reality figures Omarosa and Piers Morgan, among others.

"The Apprentice" has really been on the decline for the past few years. Starting with Donald Trump making his kids his sidekicks, and introducing gimmicks like having the losing team sleep in tents and not replacing project managers, this show really fails to live up to earlier editions.

And with celebrities playing for charity rather than a job with Trump, how much motivation will there be among the contestants, especially since none of them have a business background.

And before anyone blames the writers' strike, this show has been on the books for months.

Time for NBC to tell Trump he's fired.

THURSDAY'S BEST BETS: For old school "ER" (NBC, 10 p.m.) fans, tonight's episode marks a return to the old days, as Gloria Reuben reprises her role as HIV-positive physician's assistant Jeannie Boulet.

Tonight marks what should be another thrilling bowl, as Virginia Tech battles Kansas in the Orange Bowl (Fox, 8 p.m.) C'mon, guys, let's have at least one interesting and close BCS game.

Strike-related Stuff

One of the plans the networks had in place in case of a writers' strike was to show more TV news programs, such as "60 Minutes" or "20/20."

Ah, the best-laid plans of mice and men...

CBS is in the midst of waiting to see if its various radio and TV news reporters will join the WGA on the picket lines. The union covering those workers is expected to vote today and Friday in favor of a strike.

The networks' broadcast news divisions have suffered for years through cutbacks and low ratings, not to mention various controversies and scandals, and a strike certainly wouldn't help matters.

Considering that "60 Minutes" is one of the few news programs on the air that's a consistently strong performer in the Nielsens, and considering all of the money CBS has thrown Katie Couric's way, not having writers and producers to put together news programs could be devastating to the network.

Meanwhile, over on Broadway, theaters are quiet as a walkoff by the stagehands union has shut down 27 productions, perhaps most notably the debut of Aaron Sorkin's new play "The Farnsworth Invention," starring Hank Azaria ("The Simpsons) as Philo T. Farnsworth, the inventor of television. (Sorkin, the creator of "SportsNight" and "The West Wing," has been trying to do some sort of Farnsworth bio for years).

It's perhaps a little ironic that people are criticizing the WGA for putting electricians, key grips and other below-the-line labor out of work in Hollywood; on Broadway, the exact opposite is true. The stagehands union includes the electricians, the sound and lighting guys and so forth, and the actors, writers and producers can't mount their productions without them.

At least on Broadway, the warring parties are set to return to the negotiating table this weekend. No such word on what's happening in Hollywood.

CORRECTION: I posted yesterday that "Star Trek: The Menagerie" was scheduled to run Tuesday and Wednesday, because that's what it said in our "Out & About" section. Well, someone had something wrong, because I skipped poker and drove all the way down to Centerville to find out that it wasn't showing Wednesday, but tonight. So, good news for those who want one more chance to see it, bad news for me. The showtime is 7:30 p.m. at the Galleria Cinemas in Centerville.

THURSDAY'S BEST BETS: A bunch of comings and goings tonight. Goran Visnijc is set to return to "ER" (NBC, 10 p.m.) tonight, less than an hour after former "ER" star Jorja Fox leaves "CSI" (CBS, 9 p.m.) for good, apparently. Having not watched either show in a few years, I really don't know what this means dramatically, but the networks have been promoting the heck out of them, so I thought I'd pass it along.

Enjoy these new episodes while you can. Preceding "ER" are the NBC comedies, all of which are new this week, but are being yanked next week - for Thanksgiving, not because of the strike.

ABC will be showing a new "Ugly Betty" (ABC, 8 p.m.) next week, one of the few bits of first-run programming during the holiday. It's followed tonight by "Grey's Anatomy" at 9 p.m. and a special showing of "Women's Murder Club" at 10 p.m.

Helen Slater reprises her role as Lara on tonight's "Smallville," (CW, 8 p.m.), followed by "Supernatural" at 9 p.m.

Finally, while there has been a marked dropoff in quality all season, I should note that tonight is the season finale for "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" (FX, 10 p.m.)