Colbert’s show seems to be getting funnier as he hones it, and Stewart’s show seems to be getting lamer. Or is this just a recent slump for the Jonster?
I thought TDS was brilliant last noc–and I see Colbert improving daily.
Peggy Noonan is now on the list of people who scare me in a creepy way.
I liked the New Yorker writer on TDS.
If anything, I think Jon is getting softer in the interview portion–not a good thing, but the rest is fine.
Colbert was very funny in his interview with Teri Gross on NPR earlier this week.
I am just glad the two are on the air these days.
I thought Jon’s throwdown to Bill O’Reilly was the funniest thing they’ve done in a while. Colbert’s fake thing with David Cross doesn’t quite measure up. 
I usually just watch the monologue and the report segment of TDS unless the guest is someone I enjoy.
What has been the criticism of the interview segments lately?
Colbert has funny bits, but the show is really uneven. While some of this is no doubt due to the learning curve for a new show, I think part of it is 2/3rds of the show is just Colbert talking to the camera. That’s a lot of time to fill 4 nights a week. He also has the problem of avoiding making fun of the big news events of the day since chances are John Stewart will have already used much of that material during the previous half-hour.
I’ve only seen a few of the Colbert interviews, but they were kinda meh. He’s to obviously steering the conversation so that he can hit his pre-written jokes, and not giving the impression he’s interested in the actual guest. JS on the other hand, has mastered the format of the five minute comedic interview. The OP suggests Stewart is becoming soft, but I don’t think that’s true. He only rarely grills guests, I think we just remember those interviews more, and so they seem more common in retrospect then they really were.
elenorrigby said this, not the OP. Appologies.
I recommend listening to the NPR interview of Colbert. His intent is to NOT mock the big events in the news cycle. He stated in that interview that he wants to achieve what O’Reilly has–whatever O’Reilly wants to hash out on his show that day–IS the show that day. O’Reilly chooses from the menu, so to speak. That’s what Colbert wants to get to. Colbert wants it to be his character’s 30 minute riff on current events.
See above comment. Colbert tells the guests(pre-show) to remember that he is a “professional idiot” and then does the show. Some guests “get” it and some don’t. I doubt Noonan got it. Colbert is NOT interested in delving into the guest’s successes or impact except where it can be spun to build him. It’s not a real interview. Jon’s are genuine, with a satirical twist.
I may be wrong about Jon’s interviews–maybe they just haven’t interested me lately.
I don’t think they try to avoid doing the same material, since they’re doing it in a different way.
And wouldn’t it be like Conan O’Brien avoiding jokes in his monologue because Jay Leno may have covered the same topics?
Of course, these monologues have less time between them…
Is Colbert kicking Stewart’s ass? YES!
I always liked Jon Stewart – in principle. But the Daily Show is on too late for me, so I only catch it occasionally in a subsequent airing. I enjoy the opening and the interviews, but a lot of the comedy segments annoy me.
A few weeks ago, I caught an 8:30 p.m. airing of the Colbert Report. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so much. So I started taping the full 11:00 - midnight hour every night for viewing the next morning. At first I’d watch it straight through. Then I started watching the Colbert Report first. Just this week I’ve been thinking that I should stop taping the Daily Show entirely. I just don’t find it as interesting or as funny as the Report.
I think the Daily Show is good for people who want some serious political commentary with their satire. But some of Jon’s interviews are just plain dull (Doris Kearns Goodwin and Ken Auletta, I’m looking at you). Colbert’s interviews are hysterical – either the guest is playing along, and it’s an inside joke, or the guest is clueless and is getting skewered. I have noticed that Colbert focuses less on the news events of the day, and I think that’s a good thing – whatever will make the show the funniest.
I think Colbert is doing great and has improved a lot since the show’s beginning. But I’m not sure what to make of the interviews. Sometimes they just don’t do it for me. When they’re really ridiculous I do enjoy them, though. I think my favorite was the Ken Burns documentary of the Colbert interview.
At the same time, the Daily Show interviews are interesting me less. I’m growing a bit tired of hearing the same political discussion over and over, which is what 50% of the interviews seem to be. But at least Jon never fails to get a good joke or two into an interview, so it’s not like I turn off the TV or anythng.
It’s a toss-up in my opinion.
I’m going to chime in and disagree with everyone and say that I think Colbert sucks. I’ve tried watching his show three times recently, and i just couldn’t get past 10 minutes. I just didn’t laugh. It wasn’t funny.
I’m enjoying The Colbert Report, because Stephen Colbert is so obviously Our People. By which I mean, he is a geek. Total freakin’ geek. He’s interviewed two major scientists already. He makes some very incisive jokes about Scientology, not just “Woooo, Tom Cruise is a Scientologist and he’s c-r-a-z-y!” but “The Church of Scientology is out to get me because I rid myself of body thetans without auditing.” He’s as funny as Jon Stewart, but he puts a nerdy twist on things that makes my toes curl with pleasure.
I think at the moment he’s edging out Jon as Current-Events Satirist Whose Babies I Most Want to Have.
But just barely.
Yummm…Jon and Stephen sandwich…nummy!
I think they’re framing Colbert all wrong. He’s freekin’ hilarious in smaller doses. He needs a co-host to play off of, for starters. I hope they fix that. I love him and Stewart both.
Ken Auletta was a last minute substitute, and it is clear Jon was not prepared - tough when interviewing someone about a story that has not come out yet.
TDS still wins in the interviews - Colbert doing the interview in character is a crippling problem, IMO. The problem lately with TDS is that the level of correspondents has gone down. The correspondents are more making fun of themselves rather than the situation. This may be because everyone is on to them, or the writing quality, but there are fewer drop dead funny moments any more.
One thing on Colbert that is getting better and better is The Word. The one on Chavez offering oil to NY was the funniest thing I’ve seen in ages. It is a great concept, done brilliantly, and really plays off Colbert’s character very well.
That’s true. Corddry has stepped up nicely in Colbert’s absence, but most of the others are kind of nondescript so far. It’s also December, which tends to be political downtime: elections are over, Congress goes out of session, legislators go on vacation, that kind of thing. The Daily Show always gets better when there’s more political absurdity in the news and they have more and crazier material to work with.
I think Colbert is starting to hit his stride. Last night’s movie guide segment was hilarious, and I look forward to taking a group of kids to see Brokeback Mountain so they can get some good manly anti-bear values.
Posted by eleanor rigbey:
You and me both. Check out this column: “Ssssshhhhhhhh”
Condescending, based on an absurd analogy, and – I don’t say this lightly – un-American in a basic sense.
Make that eleanorigby. Sorry. (Eleanor Igby?)
Colbert is definitely honing. I had stopped Tivoing it after the first week, now it’s back on my daily necessities.
Stewart is maybe getting a little complacent, but if anyone can pull out of it he can.