I just saw the show. I thought he was hilarious, but more importantly, he showed great craft - his standup experience showed. Yay.
I agree. Jon Stewart (in my view) is a national treasure, and I’ll miss knowing what he thinks of the story of the day, for the next several weeks. But Oliver is smart and (as you point out) has the timing and presence to put across the comedy and satire nicely.
“Our guest tonight is Seth Rogen. I look forward to explaining to him who the #!*% I am.”
Funny stuff.
He did a good job, but I don’t know why your are crediting him with any of the jokes, seeing as they are written by the same people. He just apparently can deliver the same jokes Jon can. He felt perfectly natural in the role, and it actually did not seem awkward like he claimed it would.
The only thing I’m unsure about are his chops as an interviewer, where Jon excels. I mean, he did fine this time, but it was actor and one who held his own. Plus they cut away for a bit to cut the time short.
But, for the first part of the show, John Oliver is literally just as good as Jon Stewart. At least, so far.
If you like John Oliver I highly recommend his podcast he does in conjunction with Andy Zaltzman , it is out most Fridays, although will probably be pretty spotty over the next few months.
The Bugle
Armando Iannucci guests tonight? Has anyone over here even heard of him? Have his series been on BBC America? Or is this the first step in the Invasion of the British Panel Shows? Because I’d be all for it.
I’m pissed. I should have been ahead of John Oliver in line for the job.
“He seemed natural at reading the writer’s lines.”
Dude - do you have any idea how hard that is?!?!?!
:rolleyes:
He created/writes/directs the HBO show “Veep” and previously was responsible for the very excellent political comedy “In the Loop.”
John Oliver has writing credits on 876 episodes of The Daily Show. So he isn’t just reading the TelePrompTer.
I was happily impressed. Didn’t know what to expect. I’m not of fan of the fake-reporter part of the show, so it was good seeing him out of that role.
Good job, John.
So what you’re saying is that nobody’s heard of him? 
I have an intense crush on John Oliver . . . and he’s funny too. It’s gonna be a great summer.
I’m Ron Burgundy?
After watching the second one tonight, I’m having a problem seeing him as just John Oliver, if that makes any sense. During the interview, it feels like he is still doing a “bit” and not just being himself talking to someone. Of course, that’s my perception from only having ever seen him do the scripted comedy stuff. And I think he did fine with that. I guess I don’t feel like I “know” him outside of that which makes the interviews feel weird.
I’m guessing he’ll be showing up via satellite occasionally. It would be almost impossible for him no to, I would think. (I’m very excited about the movie he’s making.)
I don’t think you’re giving either of them enough credit. Jon Stewart is involved in choosing the stories they do and refining the ideas for the segments. He doesn’t just read jokes written by other people. I assume Oliver is filling that role now. So far the show hasn’t sounded much different with Oliver at the desk and I’m interested to see if he keeps things pretty much as they are or if he gets more active on the editorial side of things and changes the voice of the show at all. His seems comfortable standup experience definitely shows. I also found myself hoping for a recurring “Jon Stewart is off tonight” joke after the first show and they kind of did one last night, so I hope that continues.
I think John Oliver’s political tone last night was different than Jon Stewart’s. I found that interesting, and credited Oliver’s heavy involvement with the writing. He’s doing a great job.
I’m relieved, because I hate his podcast. 
Well, the same people minus Jon. I’m sure he contributes some of the material.
Certainly it’s changing the voice of the show; did you hear how he pronounced privacy? And I wonder if Armando Iannucci’s guest appearance was John Oliver’s idea; he mentioned that Iannucci’s shows were among his favorites.