We often define our lives by what our senses intake.By choice or coincidence, pop culture shapes our lives in ways we can’t fathom.Just think of how many people you know who shed tears when Ross ran to that airport and “Friends” came to a close. Or how about Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” serenading the final scenes of the seminal sitcom “Seinfeld.”That was before the song started being used for every kindergarten, grammar and, in extreme cases, high school graduation ceremonies. For a couple years, that song represented loss and moving on.Then it was gone.Poof.The generations before and after the song didn’t feel the brunt of it at all. It held no special meanings to them, just like Jennifer Aniston is slowly changing from Rachel Green to Brad Pitt’s ex to that woman in “Marley and Me.”Pop culture creates identity, but pop culture moves quickly. Once it moves on, it rarely goes back.So for an industry as static and stagnant as late night talk shows — which have primarily featured Jay Leno and David Letterman for about 17 years — one wonders what a change in to the industry’s core will bring.Well, that change is here.Jimmy Fallon replaced Connon O’Brien — who replaced Jay Leno — as the host of the “Late Night” on March 2.For those of you unaware of Jimmy Fallon’s existence, he’s the talent behind such cinematic gold as “Taxi,” and he helped destroy Saturday Night Live — the late night sketch show that used to have Will Ferrell … yeah, that one — in which he managed to laugh more than the audience and tell fewer jokes than Ghandi.As may be obvious, I think it’s a bad choice.They probably could have found a dancing donkey troupe to host the show for a lot cheaper.But talent aside, the move seems like an obvious one attempting to rope in younger viewers to a market dominated by older viewers. Because of the longevity of “Late Night,” it only stands to reason his fans were loyal but also fairly consistent. And while O’Brien is a bridge between older and younger viewers, because O’Brien created his identity purely as a late night talk show host, he was able to appease to older viewers.And the problem with older fans is they will die sooner.One generation out, another one in.The move will inevitably fail for a few reasons, the least of which being the fact that Fallon is not, nor will he ever be, funny, which is kind of important for, you know, a comedic talk show.That aside, the problem is not that Fallon isn’t funny. It’s that our generation tends not to watch late night talk shows.What late night television needs — if it wants to rope in younger viewers — is not a new “hip” host such as the regal Fallon but a new format and image. This was essentially attempted with Carson Daly a few years back and, while it didn’t fall on its face, it certainly did not change the face of late night television.Leno, like him or not, is a living legend.O’Brien, like him or not, has revitalized late night television.Fallon is the butt of many jokes.Late night television should just suffer a slow death.Because as much as our generation is defined by that acoustic Green Day song, it is not defined by late night talk shows.Maybe this is a recession-forced move. Who knows?All I know is that jobs at NBC seem pretty easy to come by.——Contact Travis Andrews at [email protected]