TVSquad

Joan Rivers was in Pasadena in July to promote her show on TV Land, How'd You Get So Rich?, but when I spoke to her after her presentation, I was more interested in a couple of issues. First, her longevity in a business that takes even older comedians and tosses them to the side (Cosby, for instance, is more community activist than comedian these days). Second, I wanted to ask her about her experience on The Apprentice, which included her feuds with wedding planners, Clint Black, and Annie Duke.

But, Joan being Joan, she also randomly let loose on Brooke Shields, Sarah Palin, and whoever else was in her mind during the ten minutes we spoke.

We start off by talking about longevity. She feels one of the reasons she stays relevant is that she doesn't live in the past. "I don't give a shit about Johnny Carson," she said.

So it's been a week since our boy took to the airwaves and he has survived. He went a whole week without being canceled. Way to go, Jimmy! You've cost half of our commenters their share of the dough in their "When will Jimmy Fallon go down in flames?" pools. Now where will they find the money to stock up on Cheetos and duct tape for their slowly dying bean bag chairs?

So how did Jimmy do? The answer, as I've learned in my brief stint here at TV Squad Land, is totally subjective. Some people are going to like Jimmy and some won't and each will find their own reason to support their feelings.

So instead of giving a definitive "yes" or "no," here's a list of five good things and five bad things from the first block of shows.

It must have been hard to put a set together for a show like The Tonight Show. It's not the type of show you can do by season (way too many episodes), and Johnny Carson was host for 30 years (1962-92). A set like this is bound to disappoint some fans. But you know what? The set is just individual DVDs that have already been released in another form, and now they're packaging them under the Definitive DVD Collection title. That might tick off some fans who already bought the discs, but the set is well-done and has a variety of material to recommend it.

Talk about bizarre timing.

This morning I was just about to order two different Johnny Carson DVDs. I've been holding off on getting them for one reason or another but decided last night to just order them. Good thing I waited. Respond2 Entertainment has announced that they are going to release a 12 disc set this fall called Heeere's Johnny: The Definitive Collection. Yes, with three "e's."

Tommy Newsom, best known for being the bandleader on The Tonight Show when Doc Severinsen had the night off, died this weekend of cancer at his home in Virginia.

Newsom was also a saxophone player and joined the show in 1962, when Johnny Carson took over from Jack Parr. When Carson retired in 1992, so did Newsom. Newsom was a very dry, laid back guy, and Carson jokingly called him "Mr. Excitement."

Besides his work on The Tonight Show, Newsom also composed music for Kenny Rogers, John Denver, and Skitch Henderson, the first Tonight Show bandleader, who died in 2005.

Hey kids, it's time to break out that ol' guitar, trombone, washboard, monkey trumpet, or whatever the heck else you play and join me in listing the best bands to ever grace the small screen. Today we're going to focus on real bands, but don't worry, there's another "The Five" right around the corner where we'll discuss the best fictional bands on television. But for now:

The Tonight Show Band (under Doc Severinsen): The Johnny Carson era of The Tonight Show came to an end when I was a sophomore in high school, and while I never had the same loathing for Jay Leno many others did, I don't think the show will ever be able to duplicate the vibe created by Carson, Ed McMahon, and bandleader Carl H. Severinsen (his friends call him "Doc"). Don't get me wrong, Kevin Eubanks and the current musicians on the show all have chops to spare, but Doc and his fellow bandmates had a kind of old-time classiness about them I couldn't help but admire. And who could forget those glittery, kitschy suits he used to wear?