Since taking over Late Night and later the Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon has pretty much created the manual for how TV personalities should utilize social media. In today's world, it had become much more rare for viewers to sit down and watch television live. With Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and other subscription based streaming services, the appeal of live TV just isn't what it used to be. So for shows to get into public view, they need to take advantage of all the mediums now available. While all programs should utilize Youtube, Facebook and Twitter, I would argue that it is most valuable for talk show and late night programs. These type of programs often play more like variety shows then one long piece, making them perfect for Internet. With so many different blocks/segments on late night TV, internet videos services are the perfect way to share chunks of the show without having to push the entire hour of content.
Over the last few years, no late night personality has done this better then Jimmy Fallon. A staple of Fallon's Tonight Show has been his many different comedy bits. Fallon consistently rolls off hugely popular segments, with great celebrity cameos and his popular band The Roots. He does everything from funny games, to musical numbers, to surprise reunions. Each of these 2-10 minute segments, instantly goes on to Youtube, where they are viewed, and shared and a rapid rate. These blocks are perfect for Youtube and almost always build enough buzz to start trending on social media. The great thing about sharing these individual segments is that they show the greatest part of Fallon's show while allowing viewers to skip the rest of his program. On a show like the Tonight show that airs five times a week, not every bit hits, but with Youtube, Fallon fans can skip the mediocre parts, pretty much getting a best of highlight reel instead.
Last night, Fallon continued his streak of popular segments, when he reunited Kenan and Kel, popular Nickelodeon stars from the 90's for a "Good Burger" sketch. A big chunk of the Tonight Show's audience has been college students, a group the Fallon usually plays to in his segments. During his run he has staged a series of 90 reunions from "Full House", to "Save By The Bell." These videos have millions of views on Youtube and I'm sure his latest bit will reach high numbers. The "Good Burger" sketch is just the latest example of how Fallon uses perfectly utilizes YouTube, something I'm sure we'll see more of during his reign.
Most kids that watched TV in the 90's would agree that Nickelodeon was one of the best channels to watch. I decided to watch some of my favorite shows I enjoyed as a kid to see if I still enjoy them as an adult. For anyone that missed out on 'Kenan & Kel' as a kid and doesn't know what it's about; this series follows two best friends in high school, played by Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell. Kenan would be the one to think of something mischievous to do and Kel being a good best friend, would join him and help Kenan with his plans. Kel was always entertaining and reckless. These two characters together were priceless!
I watched an episode that I remember being one of my favorites. I found out that episode is called "The Tainting of the Screw" and I was surprised to find out that it was only the second episode of this great series.
When I was a kid I liked when I watched 'Kenan & Kel' becuase it never felt like a "Kids" show to me. After watching it as a 21 year old I still laugh and enjoy this show. My two favorite characters besides Kenan and Kel would have to be Kenan's grocery store boss Chris [Dan Frischman] and Kenan's father [Ken Foree]. Chris was a geeky boss that had some funny one liners and he was a bit of a push over. Kenan's dad was a BIG intense guy that did not like Kel very much. The interactions between Kel and Kenan's dad were funny becuase Kel would always get him upset unintentionally.
"Kenan & Kel" aired from 1996-2000 and has a rating of 7.9/10 on IMDb. A more recent show that was similar to "Kenan & Kel" that was also on Nickelodeon was "Drake & Josh" (2004-07), this series received a 7.5/10 on IMDb. A third attempt to a similar show, "Sam & Cat" was on Nickelodeon from 2013-14. They had Ariana Grande co-star in this series and the show still only received a 6/10 on IMDb. I don't think Nickelodeon will ever produce a sitcom as good as the original two best friends "Kenan & Kel".
The theme song for "Kenan & Kel" has to be the best song for any kids show...ENJOY:
