# Daily Show --- How real is it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 1, 2003, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daily-show-how-real-is-it/192459 "2003-08-01T23:23:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2003, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daily-show-how-real-is-it/192459/21 "2003-08-03T04:01:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zebra \* > \*\ ***HPL** > > You do realize that they were re-creating a scene from the movie ‘An Officer adn a Gentleman’, right? That is what that bit was. During that interview the Admiral showed a pretty good sense of humor. > \*\* I haven’t seen the movie, but I figured as much. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2003, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daily-show-how-real-is-it/192459/22 "2003-08-03T05:57:49Z")
The people are real, but the questions/answers may not be. A lot of the time, they probably ask a serious sounding question designed to get a certain response, then later on tape themselves asking a totally different question so that the answer sounds bizarre. There’s lots of ways you can screw with an interview. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2003, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daily-show-how-real-is-it/192459/23 "2003-08-03T05:59:06Z")
Oh, and why would it be so hard to believe an Admiral would go along with that gag? Military people have senses of humor just like anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![initech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/439d5e/32.png) [@initech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/initech)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2003, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daily-show-how-real-is-it/192459/24 "2003-08-03T07:14:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fern Forest \* > \*\*What was the award they won for “Indecision 2000”? \*\* The [Peabody](http://www.peabody.uga.edu/). Probably the most prestigious award in television. The Daily Show was the only organization so recognized for its coverage of election night. Side note: if you like the Daily Show, you might want to check out Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Certainly a “real” news program, but similarly infused with actual personality and humor. I’m sure it won’t last… ---
**Author:** ![ladybug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@ladybug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladybug)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2003, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daily-show-how-real-is-it/192459/25 "2003-08-03T18:01:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Evil Captor \* > \*\*I heard that Jon Stewart is a hand puppet and that it’s actually Mike Nelson and Trace Beaulieu under the desk doing all the talking. \*\* 😃 Remember the story about the town that outlawed Satan? That was real. The town isn’t too far north of where my parents live. I’m pretty sure I even read local news coverage about it. ---
**Author:** ![Blackeyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f6c823/32.png) [@Blackeyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackeyes)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2003, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daily-show-how-real-is-it/192459/26 "2003-08-03T21:36:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Apos \* > \*\*They interviewed my father’s boss at the Council of Foriegn relations. It wasn’t a fake, and it was pretty darn funny (because he seemed sort of flustered and confused). I don’t think the Daily Show actually identifies itself as a humor program when they set these things up: I guess they cover up the “Comedy Central” stickers on their news vans. \*\* They have this joke about not having “Comedy Central” vans but instead their vans have an advertisement on the side where you can rent them 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c2a13f/32.png) [@The\_Man\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_Who)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2003, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daily-show-how-real-is-it/192459/27 "2003-08-03T21:45:46Z")
The D page of the Onion A.V. Club archive is mis-alphabetized. [http://www.theonionavclub.com/avclub3902/avfeature\_3902.html](http://www.theonionavclub.com/avclub3902/avfeature_3902.html) That’s the link to the interview, for anyone else who might be interested. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daily-show-how-real-is-it/192459/28 "2003-08-04T13:26:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zebra \* > \*\*However I must point out that most of these interviews are in a way staged but the guest does not know it. They only have one camera so they tape the interview ‘over the shoulder’ of the reporter. Later when the guest is gone they tape the questions. So some of the questions the guest never heard or they were asked in a really different way. They also take lots of footage of the guest and use what ever works as a funny ‘reaction shot’ so the guest usually comes off seeming crazier than a s-h rat when really they are only as crazy as a s-h rat. \*\* Do you have a cite for this? I really, really want this to be true! I love the Daily Show, but the interviews make me cringe and look away…I can’t bear to see people embarrass themselves or get genuinely upset on TV. It would be so nice to know for sure that the interviews didn’t really transpire in the way that they appeared. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daily-show-how-real-is-it/192459/29 "2003-08-04T14:38:19Z")
I just posted this in the other Daily Show thread. A friend of mine was on the show a little while ago with his dad, who happens to race cows. So, I can certainly verify that the eccentric characters they interview are real. I suppose if anyone has any specific questions, I can ask him about how the interview was conducted. ---
**Author:** ![evilbeth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/evilbeth/32/2268_2.png) [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daily-show-how-real-is-it/192459/30 "2003-08-04T16:04:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pepperlandgirl \* > \*\*How sad is it that the show that dubs itself (proudly) “The Fake News” is the onlyplace I trust to get news from anymore? \*\* I just realized that this is true for me as well. I trust Jon Stewart more than any other newscaster. I’d be interested to know how widespread a phenomenon this is. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daily-show-how-real-is-it/192459/31 "2003-08-04T16:42:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gallows fodder \* > \*\*Do you have a cite for this? I really, really want this to be true! I love the Daily Show, but the interviews make me cringe and look away…I can’t bear to see people embarrass themselves or get genuinely upset on TV. It would be so nice to know for sure that the interviews didn’t really transpire in the way that they appeared. \*\* Yes, yes, yes. For a long time I didn’t watch the Daily Show because I hated, hated, hated, hated these interviews (as Roger Ebert might say). They’ve cut back on them considerably in recent years (partly because the show is now famous enough that they can’t get away with it as easily) but they still reek. The political humor and the good guest interviews and Lewis Black are the reasons to watch the show. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daily-show-how-real-is-it/192459.md?page=1)