Tonight begins Jimmy Fallon’s new reign as the host of “Late Night,” and for Fallon’s final webisode, he chatted with Lorne Michaels about expectations for the show.  Michaels was the one who plucked Conan O’Brien out of obscurity to replace Letterman as the host “Late Night” 16 years ago, so that might indicate why he’s willing to be patient with Fallon at the reins.  Some of Lorne’s quotes:

“The worst that can happen is that [the show] is very, very bad.”
“If the show doesn’t work, just blame it on the economy.”

I don’t want to despise Fallon.  I really don’t.  I think all the ways that he’s trying to interact with viewers via the Internet is a good decision, and I don’t want to rush to judgment before he’s even done a single show.

That said, I totally expect him to suck.   But at least my expectations are easy to surpass.  If he can look into the camera for 15 straight seconds during the monologue I’ll consider the show a success.