In an effort to avoid the sharp criticism that met Conan O'Brien's awkward 1993 Late Night debut, Lorne Michaels has announced that the first months of Jimmy Fallon's venture into late-night hosting will be posted online, rather than airing on television. Starting in the fall, Fallon will produce five to ten minutes of content every night, which will then be posted online at 12:30 — "so people will begin to look for Jimmy at that time," Michaels says. "Conan needed time to find his show. I think this will help Jimmy to do that," he adds.

We think this is a great idea! There's no medium more open-minded and polite than the Internet, and if Fallon's going to need time to find his feet as a host, it's best he do it on the Web, which of course is available only in a limited number of American households. Fallon can rest assured that his first few months of late-night will go politely uncommented on, with the online audience kindly ignoring his gaffes and boners in order to allow him to grow as a host.

Wait — what's that we hear? Like a faraway Klaxon … FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL

Fallon Will Start ‘Late Night’ on the Web [NYT]