Does Jon know what’s going to happen during these, or is he left out entirely to raise the humor? In the most recent post on the site, with Jon’s Endangered Fish and Tiger Cub Warehouse, they both lose it cracking up during the bit. Now admittedly it’s funny, and that’s probably why they both start laughing, but it almost seems as if Jon doesn’t know what the script’s going to say and is just laughing at what ridiculous thing Stephen comes up with next. I remember thinking this before when similar mutual laughter occurred.
Since it’s mostly Stephen driving the gag anyway, it seems feasible enough for Jon to either ad lib or just read the teleprompter without prior warning. Anyone have any insights?
I’m positive there as no script there, on either end. Jon and Stephen are both seasoned comedians who work well together; why should they bother writing anything down if they can just riff off each other for a couple of minutes?
Maybe I didn’t mean just script, but more situation. Even if Stephen is ad libbing the whole thing, he still has to have the concept set up of what he’s doing. So maybe that’s more my question-- is Jon let in on the situation, or does he just wait for Stephen to present it to him?
I think initially they were very tightly scripted because the lead-in was so important to Colbert’s ratings, but I guess it’s possible now that Stewart doesn’t read the script too closely for the toss.
The other possibility is that things are much funnier when Colbert actually reads them than they are when they just sit on the page. That is my guess. I’ve certainly been in planned sketches in which I broke, simply because I had never seen the line or character actually performed by a funny person. Funny on the page is a different kind of funny.
Stewart seems to break quite a bit and for some reason I think it is because he truly enjoys all of these people so much- The Daily Show has long since outstripped SNL in terms of the show that comedians respect, so Jon is essentially playing with a fantasy comedy team made up of precisely the people that he thinks are extra hilarious. Also, he seems not to have that jealous aspect that lots of comedians have where they are hesitant to really truly laugh at a fellow comedian. Therefore, I understand the frequent laughter.
I never assumed the conversations were completely off-the-cuff, just that the “Endangered Fish and Tiger Cub Warehouse” bit was just so off-the-wall that Colbert started to crack up, which made Stewart crack up.
That said, the bits are simple enough that a 20-second phone conversation during Stewart’s last commercial break would be enough:
Colbert: Jon?
Stewart: Yeah?
Colbert: Okay, this time I’m going to pretend to be counting my money before Obama takes it all away.
Stewart: Cool. Bobby’s signalling me we’re go for video in 10. Have a good show.
Colbert: Thanks. Say hi to Tracey for me.
If they’re worked out ahead of time, it has to be earlier than that. The toss is taped sequentially, at the end of a Daily Show taping and before the start of that day’s Colbert Report. At the CR taping I attended he didn’t tip off Stewart as to what they would be talking about at all. They chatted for a few seconds before TDS came back from its last commercial break and then went straight into whatever toss they did that day. But I’m not sure there’s any preparation on the Daily Show end: Stewart plays the straight man all the time, so I think Colbert and his writers just make up the toss and Stewart doesn’t know what’s coming. Unless there’s something he has to say to set up a specific joke, which isn’t usually the case.
I think they broke down on this one just because it’s so ridiculous. It’s a great toss with twice as much material as usual - usually the “vintage phone shop” thing would have been enough on its own. Making Stewart laugh is a goal in its own right.
I think there is a mix of ad-libbed and scripted material. I’ve noticed a few times after a particularly tricky, bizarre, or longwinded joke, in which they keep their composure together, one of them, usually Jon, will say something to the effect of “we did it!”
…and, as I feel the need to almost everytime I post in a Daily Show thread; ftr- there is no relation between TDS and tds…
I don’t care if it is scripted or not (I doubt it). There is just so much joy and fun in their banter–it’s great to see. Craig Ferguson has that note as well–an undercurrent of love of life. It’s like ambrosia, especially now. IMO, Stewart and Colbert are on the top of their game and it’s poetry in motion sometimes to watch them.
[irrelevant aside]the weakest link is Jason Jones and he needs to go.[/IA]
“Corpsing” can be a huge pain in the butt as well. Your honor, the prosecution calls Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz.
Breaking can make things funnier, but you have to at least make an effort to stay together, especially in a character. In my opinion, that struggle to stay straight is what makes the break funny. That’s why outtakes are so great, not because of the messing up, but because of the few seconds where the actors are still in their character trying to fit the flub into the scene.
Jon Stewart is more of an audience surrogate than a character, hence he can break a lot more than Colbert, it’s less jarring (and probably less funny, as well).
It’s much more tolerable if the actors are laughing at something that’s actually funny. That covers Colbert and Stewart , but Fallon and Sanz appeared to just find themselves unbearably amusing even when they were just standing around.
Colbert breaking character is hilarious in itself. Filliam H. Muffman would have been a fairly forgettable joke except that it was the first time Colbert broke character on the show. I was howling.
He needs to be replaced . . . by me.
Not replaced by me in his job- he can keep his job, I think he’s funny- he needs to be replaced by me in his marriage. Growl! I so want to service that woman.
I thought it was a very funny joke, but the way he collapsed made it a lot funnier. Same goes for the infamous report about Prince Charles where Colbert gobbled the banana.
Did you guys see the one where they did the Alphabet Game? That was pretty funny, and I wondered if it was ad libbed or what. If it was, it was a good showcase for their improv skills. Hilarious, as was the one mentioned in the OP.
I was amazed by the alphabet game! I had never heard of it, and it was a delight to see it done!
I remember reading an interview with Colbert that it is every correspondent’s goal to crack up Stewart. Nothing make them happier than to see him collapse into giggles. That must’ve been a very good day for Colbert.
I wish we allowed socks - I would so choose Filliam H. Muffman as a User Name.
It’s a very common improv exercise. With their comedy backgrounds I’ve no doubt they’ve done it unscripted many times before either with each other or with other performers.
This particular round is especially smooth. So smooth, I wonder if it was scripted. Still, the fact that it is one of the basic, most common improv exercises allows me to believe that they were doing just that- improvising.
