If they had just shut down for the week, then the guy’s coworkers wouldn’t have seen each other for three weeks after his suicide. So it might actually help for people to be back at work today, so they can talk to co-workers and counselors about their feelings. (I have to admit never having been all that close to my co-workers, so I don’t know how much it would affect me were this to happen in my office.)
It’s been so many years, I couldn’t tell you. Most likely it was printed in On the Damned Human Race or A Pen Warmed Up In Hell.
I read it that way as well.
I think the “Show Must Go On” mentality is reflected in the fact that they are finishing out the week’s worth of new programming.
Their pre-taped bits can and have been shuffled around any number of times. but the article states in plain English that most of the people on the show found out about the suicide when they arrived on Monday morning. I’d be hard-pressed to spend the morning trying to turn the day’s sound-bites into some sort of yuk-fest by that evening if something like that hit me with my donut in hand.
Also, life is a little different for a TV production that can show a rerun. A live performance has thousands of people showing up who paid a lot of money specifically to see the show. Cancelling it involves all sort of headaches with refunds and inconvience for fans who may have driven miles to attend. Showing a rerun instead of a new show means that - at most - Comedy Central might need to discount its advertisers for that timeslot a little (and back when I did media buying - oh, twenty years ago - we bought timeslots, not a guarentee of not having a rerun). And people who tune into the rerun will say “wha?” and either watch it or not - they haven’t driven in from Minot, North Dakota to see it.
Actually, The Daily Show does have a studio audience, although I don’t think they pay for their tickets. So they did inconvenience some fans.
Tickets are free, which I think it standard for TV tapings. There’s a long waiting list for Daily Show tickets last I knew, so I hope the people who were unable to go to Monday’s show were rescheduled. Other than that, there wouldn’t be too much inconvenience for most of them.
I misread the article. I knew they were going on hiatus next week, but I did not realize they canceled only Monday’s episode. Mod, please change thread title accordingly.
Wasn’t that an Onion joke?
Oops, my bad. Turns out he did go on stage the next night. The bit in The Onion was about, er, a fake parody he performed. God they’re dark.
Anybody else here see tonight’s ep? Their tribute was actually pretty touching. I don’t know what movie clip that was from, but ending the show without the theme song did send a message. It made it hard to get right into Colbert, but oh well.
That was the infamous Linda Evans/Joan Collins catfight from Dynasty.
I thought the clip was either Dynasty or Knots Landing.
So infamous I’ve never heard of it! Thanks, Superdude; ignorance fought. I’m always sad when I don’t get a pop culture reference.
IMO, it’s classier to not go on with the show.
Bob Hope was quite famous for never cancelling a performance–but he did the day that Bing Crosby died. He went on the next noc, but that hiatus spokes volumes.
Jon Stewart just keeps proving that he is one classy guy–his end of the show was very moving–I didn’t understand Billy’s moment of zen, but I’m sure it meant alot to those who knew him. Good going, TDS.
Born in 1982 - Good God. What a waste.
Yeah, that was a little alarming. I was born in 1982. (The news story at the top of this thread said he was 25.)
… and after the tributed “moment of Zen” – pictures of the intern from previous endeavors (knot’s landing ? I couldn’t tell) – and the show ended in a pan-back, in silence with no band music. I thought it was as respectful and classy as it gets.
Now, as to the rest of the show, interviewing Howard Stern would scare me – about like holding a meat-microphone up to a polar bear. Polar bears might be fun/funny to watch, but you don’t want them sniffing at that tempting morsel in your posession.
They are friendly though not friends. Jon Stewart has known Howard for a long time. He was even on one of Howard’s New Year’s Eve Shows sometime in the distant past. I think the same one that had Sherman (George Jefferson) Hemsley on it. Not sure anymore.
Jon Stewart has been on the Radio show more than once, I don’t know if it is a lot or twice. I understood they were friendly and respect each other.
Jim
It always bothers me when I dn’t get a pop culture reference, too.
I only know that one because I’ve got nine years on you.
I’m still surprised they cancelled the show. This means that people who had tickets have to be accomodated (which can be especially bad for vacationers or those who’ve made arrangements long in advance), the guest for the evening has to be rescheduled (which can be really difficult, especially if they’re on a publicity tour for a movie/book/etc.) and some of the segments will have to be scrapped due to timeliness and to accomodate other segments.
This guy must really have meant a lot to them. I wonder why he committed suicide.