I’ve been a fan of “The Daily Show” for some time now, but I have noticed that, in the last few months, the show is getting less and less funny. I like Jon Stewart’s delivery and Lewis Black is hilarious, but the “reporters” have to go! The “field” reports CAN be funny, but the follow-ups are usually mind-numbingly boring. For those of you who remember SNL from the early 80’s and how they would let a bad sketch go on and on and on, you know what I mean. This type of show benefits greatly when the gags are fast and furious.
Gotta disagree. I think the follow ups are usually a good capper to the segments. I love Jon Stewart’s reactions to reports that are either mind-numbingly stupid (in a good way) or a barely concealed mass of the correspondant’s own neurosis. I have a great appreciation for a talented straight man.
Of course, the show was funnier when the stories were basically scathingly condescending interviews with the lunatic fringe, but apparently word got out that these guys weren’t “real” reporters. On the other hand, we had to put up with Craig Kilborn, so it wasn’t all good.
I think Craiggers was as good as Jon.
I know, it’s shocking but I really mean it. I’ve been watching this show for the whole 5 years and I really thinkg that Craig is underrated. I know the ratings are up 400% with Jon Stewart, but that has as much to do with his name than it does his quality(which I am not diminishing).
The reporters are bad, now. The only two good ones are Steve Colbert(however you spell it) and Steve Correll. Mo Rocha is good, but he is barely on anymore. Matt Walsh, Nancy Walls, and the new blonde-girl-with-glasses suck big time(the black guy too, who did one piece). They are basically imitating the older corespondants.
Since Vance Degeneres left, the show has been on a decline. They need some more good reporters. I have also noticed that ever since Clinton left office, the news has been less funny also. This has affected Leno and Letterman also. Lot’s of, “Cheney is in charge” “Dubya is dumb” jokes. The great thing about Clinton is that he was constantly giving us new things to laugh about. You never knew what(or who) he was gonna do next.
Leno and Letterman have commented extensively about how much they miss Clinton. Dubya is just plain boring.
No, no, no. Couldn’t disagree more.
This show is still more like SNL of the 70’s.
I agree, the new correspondants are still getting comfortable and trying to find their own voices and until they do, there will be some mixed-bag segments. And while I’m not a big fan of Matt Walsh, I think Lauren(?) Weedman, the “new blonde-girl-with-glasses’” has some real potential.
For instance, did you see the recent MTV -VJ parody ?
“Weedie M”, her hipness proved by the innovative font used to spell her name. Brilliant. And very, very funny.
It has been kind of a slow couple weeks, but as Jon himself admitted, “ya can’t win a Peabody every night”.
And Nancy Walls? You think she sucks? Have you seen her “Money Bunny” skits or her “We Love Hollywood” stuff? She’s great. Though not as funny perhaps as her husband Steve Colbert, she’s still a strong contender.
And what’s with the “it’s not as funny without Clinton” talk? The Daily Show has been one of the only late night talk shows to really cast some light on GW. Sure, there are the jokes about him simply being an idiot, but these are usually the exception. More often than not, the commentary is direct, no holds barred, and above all, hillarious.
“Dubya” has proved anything but boring for the Daily Show. There seems to be a nearly endless stream of laughable soundbites coming from this man which, if nothing else, proves what a poor speaker he is when what he has to say isn’t scripted. Hell, even when it is scripted he messes it up. Anyone see him leading the Pledge of Allegiance? Everyone please raise their right hand… I mean, place you hand over your heart…
And while I thought Kilborn was funny, his smarmy attitude grew tiresome after a while. Jon Stewart has more of an everyman’s persona which is much more tolerable in the long run. Outside of Craig’s wonderful, reoccuring “5 Questions” bit, he was a virtual one note song.
I liked it when the Craig was on. That’s the only time I actually watched it on a regular basis. Now I just catch TDS every now and then. Gotta love The Craig.
Every decade or so there’s a comedy show that features blackouts, skits, and a hack new report. I don’t know about anything like that in the 50s (or the 40s), but in the early 1960s there was **That Was The Week That Was[/B} (affectionately referred to at TWTWTW or TW3), which introduced the nation to the songs of Tom Lehrer, among other things. The later 1960s gave us Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-in. The 1970s gave us SNL, which has lasted a lot longer than anyone thought. But for the hack newscast part we now have The Daily Show and Dennis Miller as alternates. A good thing, too. I’ve pretty much given up on SNL.