Any Tonight Show fan will tell you about the importance of having strong recurring sketches, Leno had “Headlines” and Conan had “In the Year 3ooo”– which is why when Jimmy Fallon took over in early 2014 there were no worries, because he arrived with a load of them, some old and some new. To celebrate Jimmy Fallon turning the big 40 today, we take a look at some of the standout sketches he’s brought to The Tonight Show.
Pictionary
Fallon and celebrity guests pair up to compete against other celebrities in actual games of Pictionary.
Suggestion Box
Audience members write suggestions to Fallon, and he makes their wishes come true. Where else could you see what George Clooney would look like if he was Walter White, or how Two Fun Men(Tonight Show writers Arthur Meyer and John Haskell) like to have “really fun.”
Box of Lies
Fallon and a guest can only see each others faces, and take turns trying to trick one another into believing what item they removed from the box they pulled from a shelf.
Pros and Cons
Fallon weighs the Pros and Cons typically of a major event or holiday approaching, and in some cases the benefits of “Being a Mayor on Crack” like Rob Ford.
Ew
Set up as a Teen Nick show, Fallon plays a young girl who has friends such as Taylor Swift, Seth Rogen, Michelle Obama, to name a few, come into her basement, and comments on “Ew” they think everything is.
Real People, Fake Arms
One of the best absurdest sketches The Tonight Show offers delves into the world of a Canadian soap opera called Jacob’s Patience, and shows how Fallon and whoever the celebrity guest is had difficulties working on the show because they had to use fake arms for one reason or another. It perfectly captures Fallon’s silly sense of humor, as it’s heart is a sketch about getting away with using mannequin arms as props.
The Ragtime Gals
The best barbershop quartet since The Be Sharps. Sure you’ll hear some great vocal harmonies, but the greatest part is that they sing R&B songs like R. Kelly’s “Ignition(Remix)”, and Justin Timberlake’s “Sexy Back.”
Hashtags
Fallon gives a hashtag for viewers to Tweet to him over the course of a week, and he reads the best ones on the air. They’re equal parts charming, and embarrassing.
Evolution of Dance
Fallon and a guest go through the evolution of the most stereotypical ways people dance by dancing together. Watch Chris Christie do the “Belt Grabber” Michelle Obama do “Just The Hand Part Of Single Ladies” (Yes, I’m aware it was on Late Night) and Will Smith do the “Kid ‘N Play.”
Lip Sync Battle
Fallon and his guest battle it out in a Lip sync-off. The best part being when you see Paul Rudd lip sync Tina Turner, or Joseph Gordon-Levitt lip sync Elton John.
Thank You Notes
Every Friday Fallon catches up on the Thank You notes that he has to send out for the week, with the thanks being given to everyday things like scorpions for being goth lobsters, or to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie for “going back for seconds” when he was re-elected . Also Fallon and The Roots keyboardist James Poyser’s dynamic will have you in the fetal position laughing on the floor.
Brian Williams Rap
Have you ever been interviewed for local news and thought you sounded brilliant, but when it came time to air they whittled your story down to two words? Well here Fallon’s editing team flips the script and edits tons of NBC news anchor Brian Williams segments into rap songs including “Baby Got Back” and “Regulate.”
