Jimmy Fallon ready to move in

Lorne Michaels readies his latest creation

By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER

Lorne Michaels is helping Jimmy Fallon transition to 'Late Night.'

The first step in this year's big latenight transition takes place tonight, as "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" signs off after 2,725 episodes.

Lorne Michaels, the man who plucked O'Brien from obscurity -- and who is now overseeing Jimmy Fallon's transition to from actor-comedian to talkshow host -- admits to feeling a little nostalgic this week.

"I've been watching these final shows and getting a bit wistful," Michaels told Daily Variety. "It was 16 years ago that Conan came in as a complete unknown and with such low expectations.

"Watching it every night, you go, 'Wow, what a body of work,' " he said. "I'm so proud of how Conan handled himself early on, it was particularly hard in that first year. For him to have emerged as the host of 'The Tonight Show,' it's incredible."

Now, 16 years later, Michaels is once again prepping a "Late Night" transition -- but this time with a star who's already known to latenight viewers, thanks to Fallon's lengthy stint on "Saturday Night Live."

That perhaps puts more pressure on Fallon than what O'Brien once faced. Past "SNL" alums who've made the leap to latenight talk haven't fared well: Fox's Chevy Chase experiment was a disaster; Dennis Miller's nightly gabber didn't last long either.

Because he's already been known for years as an entertainer, viewers and crix will likely expect Fallon to deliver right off the bat. And some wonder if Fallon will ever deliver.

"In the case of Jimmy, there's an expectation of what his show will be like," Michaels said. "I think that it won't be given as much time to find itself on the air ... but it's so much a process. He will succeed, but it will be bumpy at first."

"Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" launches March 2. Fallon and his team -- led by producer Michael Shoemaker and co-producer Gavin Purcell -- taped two test shows this week in preparation, both of which went pretty well, Michaels said.

"I think to the extent that you know these things before they go on, the center is holding," he said. "And the center is Jimmy. He looks comfortable and he's funny."

Fallon will have plenty of help his first week: NBC announced Thursday that "Late Night's" guests will include Robert De Niro and Van Morrison on night one; the first week will also include Tina Fey, Jon Bon Jovi, Cameron Diaz, Donald Trump, Serena Williams, Ludacris, Drew Barrymore and Mario Batali.

Also expected to appear: Justin Timberlake, who starred in several popular sketches with Fallon on "SNL."

But Michaels said "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" will live or die after those big bookings dry up -- and the show begins to depend on Fallon's hosting skills.

"The show is much more formed when you don't have the bookings," Michaels said. "When you have huge movie stars or national political figures, that's an easy show to do. When you don't, that's when you make a connection between viewers and the host. Your identity and what a show looks and stands for is much more important."

In the case of Fallon, Michaels said viewers should expect to see much more interaction between him and the audience. Michaels said O'Brien may have been most influenced by his predecessor, David Letterman, whereas Fallon's style is much more reminiscent of Johnny Carson.

"That's who he is, he's got that pride when he leaves the stage and has connected with the audience," Michaels said of Fallon.

Even before launch, Fallon has been busy connecting with viewers, via a nightly webcast -- as well as frequent messages on his Twitter account. The new "Late Night" blog has been chronicling the show's development, from rehearsals by house band the Roots to showing the set's construction.

"People have appreciated being a part of the process," Michaels said. "And these webisodes have been helpful, building significantly over the six weeks."

As many obstacles as O'Brien faced in 1993 -- including the constant fear of cancellation as NBC renewed his contract for just 13 weeks at a time -- Fallon will compete in a much more competitive environment.

NBC still had most of the latenight marketplace to itself 16 years ago, with the exception of ABC's "Nightline" and the just-launched "Late Show With David Letterman" on CBS. Now, the landscape is crowded with additional yakkers on the Eye and ABC, as well as the popular young adult-targeted Adult Swim block on Cartoon Network and Comedy Central's hot "The Daily Show" and "Colbert Report."

And then there's NBC itself, which will eventually program Leno and O'Brien in the hours before Fallon. Will viewers reach talk show fatigue by the time Fallon airs at 12:35?

San Francisco Chronicle TV critic Tim Goodman recently wrote that he believed it was unfair to critique the first six weeks of a talk show host -- and urged others to cut Fallon some slack. But he did add that he wondered "what the attraction is."

"Since NBC never actually let go of Jay Leno, there hasn't exactly been a late night vacuum," he wrote. "Do we really need another show? And other than the fact that Conan will be "on vacation" or moving into his house for three months of invisibility, what's the draw in seeking out Fallon to fill that time? What's his signature style? Is he going to do anything we haven't seen before in late night? Other than the curiosity factor, I'm wondering about long-term appeal."

Michaels said that he wouldn't have chosen Fallon "if I didn't think he was the guy for it."

"He is determined and throwing himself so totally into this show," he said. "Thank God March 2 is coming, he'd explode if we didn't go on the air soon. He so agonizes over every part of the show, and wants it to be great and perfect.

"Of course, it will be neither of those things in the beginning. But it's a long race, and once he settles into a groove, he will succeed."