Did I mention that it’s lame? I’ve tried really hard, but I must say that I don’t find Jon Stewart funny at all. I don’t know why. It’s not the politics, I think that Leno and Letterman are funny when they take shots at the politicians. I’m sure that the topics could be funny, but not the way they address them. The correspondents could be funny, but they come off like the dweebs on Weekend Update on SNL. It’s like the Onion, and I don’t like that either. The Onion is far too obnoxious for me.
Robin loves the show. She watches it (and the equally unfunny Colbert Report) every night. I can’t stand them. For me it’s like watching Law and Order, over and over and over again. It’s just grating.
Given the well-known enjoyment that most people on the SDMB get from the Daily Show I know I’m in for it as soon as I hit submit, but I don’t care. I can’t stand the show, I turn it off every chance I get, and it’s because of this that I am seriously contemplating locking out Comedy Central for all eternity.
I like Stewart, but I don’t particularly like the field reporters or the reports they file unless it’s about some hapless fool with a weird vocation. Since I’m not into politics, I usually skip the interview if it’s with some political pundit or author (unless it’s a major political figure like Dole, Gore, or some such).
I’d rather have white hot knitting needles jammed in my eyes than watch Stephen Colbert.
Kilborn is where he belongs - in obscurity. Smarm can only take you so far (see also, Dennis Miller).
Stewart can make some funny jokes, but his basic delivery of humor is not well-polished. In fact, few times when I had thought he made a good subtle joke, he spoilt it by going on and becoming explicit. Even Conan is somewhat guilty of the same.
I think TDS is hilarious, though less so with Colbert gone. Still, no amount of your saying it is lame will make me thing it is lame. And no amount of me sayng it is funny will make you think it is funny. So we shall have to agree to disagree.
I think of the show as essential viewing, and I catch it almost every night. As far as Jon’s delivery goes, here’s the way I see it: he was sharper in his earlier years on the show, when he was more like a newscaster and TDS was more of a parody of news shows. These days, it’s less polished, and the show has ceased to be a parody newscast. Now it’s a sendup of American media and political culture. That was Jon’s vision, as far as I can tell. It’s made his delivery less sharp, and he’s settled into what he does. But those changes are also what’s made TDS such an influential show, and even if mugs for the camera a lot more, it’s part of why the show has lasted. I doubt those observations add up to anything, but there you have it.
And I think their current batch of correspondents is weak. Colbert was the best (and I watch him almost every night as well), and Helms and Corddry have both stepped up some - but they’re not on as frequently, and some of the others are duds. They’ve had other duds, but it seems like there’s been a bunch of turnover lately with Colbert gone and Samantha Bee doing the baby thing.
To each his own, I guess. But to me the Daily Show is the finest satire anywhere, and the most consistently funny, intelligent and informative show on television. The only show I enjoy more is the Colbert Report.
At the risk of contradicting the OP on his own opinion*, I think it really is Jon Stewart’s politics that makes the OP not like The Daily Show. It’s hard to imagine a more popular lightning rod for the anti-right wing element in the U.S. right now, so Stewart is pretty much the Anti-Airman Doors.
Because, after all, someone should really know their own opinion better than me, right? Usually, I’m loathe to do that, but I think I’m right in this one case.
It’s long been a guilty secret of mine that I don’t particularly like the Daily Show under Jon Stewart. People feel so passionately about it that I hate to bring it up. Once in conversation I mentioned it to a female friend, and the temperature instantly dropped 50 degrees – turns out she was a die-hard fan.
My biggest problem is with Stewart himself. He’s constantly mugging to the cameras, and I get the impression that his success has gone to his head. He seems to want to be taken seriously until someone challenges him, and then he instantly retreats behind the “it’s all just a fake show” routine. He’s not particularly good as a comedian, and he seems to specialize in that type of incessant irony and sarcasm that I find more wearying than funny. I usually watch the Oscars, but when I read that he’s going to be hosting this year, I’m not so sure anymore.
The correspondents on the show are by far the best part for me, though I don’t watch it regularly enough to be able to list any particular favorites.
The Colbert Report, on the other hand, I find hilarious. Admittedly I’ve only been watching for a couple weeks and I’m afraid the formula will wear thin, but for now I love it, and find it far funnier than The Daily Show. Colbert is a far better comedian – and satirizer – than Stewart in my book.
The Onion is funny, Leno is not, and Letterman was at least when I used to watch him in the early 90s.
Let’s see, you don’t like The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, or the Onion. You do like Letterman and Leno. Are you from some kind of parallel universe messageboard that’s like the sick and twisted Satanic analogue of SDMB?
Seriously, though. You’re entitled to your opinions, just don’t expect me to understand them.
Most of the time it’s so-so, and the rest of the time is an even split between unbelievably funny and painfully awful. IMO, the unbelievably funny stuff is so good that it merits me keeping the show on my must see list, despite there being plenty of duds to wade through.
So it’s not crazy talk you’re spewing here. And I’m speaking as a huge fan of the show.
Also, 90% of the time, there is no point to watching anything past the first commercial break.
There’s definitely a divide between the hip, sarcastic, and liberal-minded humor (Onion, Stewart, Colbert) and the more mainstream, less political late nite shows like Leno, Letterman, and to some extent Conan O’Brien. Some people prefer the former, and others are really put off by the smugness and sarcasm of it.
