The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon Recap – 1-18

The Tonight Show is back for it’s third week in a row. Last week had some serious guests in Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Monday’s episode brought the laughs with the always hilarious Tracy Morgan and Dancing with the Stars judge Juliane Hough. This was Morgan’s first appearance on the show since his tragic accident that put him in a coma. Here’s the full recap.

Monologue

Jimmy opened the monologue with some humor regarding last night’s democratic debate. Many people believe that Bernie Sanders won. Jimmy said that even Bernie thought he won because he yelled “Bingo!” at the end. Jimmy got some funny jabs in on Martin O’Malley, who is in a distant third place in the democratic race. He stayed political by wishing Michelle Obama a happy birthday, who just celebrated turning 52.

Joke of the Monologue: “Happy birthday to Michelle Obama who just turned 52. When asked about how she stays looking so young she said, “By standing next to Barack.”

To the Desk

Freestyling with the Roots

This is always a solid bit, and the first one the show has done since I started writing recaps of the show. Jimmy picks out a couple random members of the audience, asks them about themselves, and Tariq from the roots come up with a rap song about the person of the top of his head. It always amazes me how well they do, and it would be totally crushing if I ever found out that the whole bit was staged. The second audience member was so fired up to be picked. That’s always cool to see. Check out the clip below.

The Guests

Tracy Morgan

It’s always a fun night when Fallon’s old friends stop by. Tracy and Fallon were a powerhouse together on SNL and they haven’t lost a step. Tracy came out with his trademark energy. He was amped up talking about Rocky movies and Star Wars. Eventually conversation got to his accident and his family. He switched from comedy to heartfelt conversation about his daughter acting as his motivation to recover. He said he saw her take her first steps, and he wanted to get out of the wheelchair and take his first steps. It was a great and memorable interview between the two.

Pup Quiz

Pop Quiz was introduced with Kaley Cuoco. Two people answer questions and getting questions right grants them a puppy. Tracy and Jimmy had a showdown of wits. Check it out below.

Julianne Hough

Julianne is out to promote the upcoming Grease Live. Jimmy brought out his excellent Travolta impression to kick off the interview. She had great things to say about how the production is coming along. Apparently some of the original cast is in the live network production. Hough is also in the upcoming Dirty Grandpa starring Zac Efron and Robert DeNiro. The interview ended with a clip from the movie.

Next: Who's on late night this week? 1/18

Monday’s episode concluded with a performance from Hank Williams. Tune in tomorrow when Fallon welcomes guests Chelsea Handler and Fred Armisen.