What Exit? suggested we do this a while ago, but nobody seems to have started one before. I hope he doesn’t mind me taking the initiative.
3/21
I thought Monday’s episode was one of the silliest Daily Show’s I’ve seen- mostly in a good way. Iyad Allawi’s mic check joke just wouldn’t end, Jon’s reaction was almost Conanesque. I’m really liking John Hodgman. He’s a new kind of correspondent for them and he plays it very well. His line about Mothra had me in stitches even though I saw it coming.
The interview was Clive Owen, and the celebrity interviews usually don’t interest me as much as the political figures.
3/22
Solid, but not great. They were a little harsh with the Bush editing; I really wanted to know what he said in response to that stupid Apocalypse question! But the “TiVo this” montage of answers was classic Daily Show. Demitri Martin has never made me laugh before, but he was really good this time. He punctured the life coaching really well, and as obvious as it was, how can you not laugh at him throwing the baby at the trash can? Here’s hoping his future reports are like this one.
Very interested to see Russ Feingold on tomorrow’s show. I’ll post some Colbert Report stuff after that ends.
I liked Hodgman. Perfect delivery, and some funny lines (none of which I can remember).
NPR had a snippet about the apocalypse question on the news today. Bush said “I’ve never thought of it that way.” I’m not sure if he said more than that. If he did, they didn’t air it. Or I got distracted and missed it.
John Hodgman’s bit was just about the worst thing I’ve ever seen on TDS. Unfunny jokes with horrible delivery. I remember being comparably unimpressed with a previous piece of his, the subject of which I can’t recall.
The Clive Owen interview was dull. I don’t think Stewart really wants to be interviewing celebrities. His “plug your movie” interviews are generally pretty weak.
While for this particular show giving up the time didn’t make much of a difference, in general
i’d rather have them use the time they devote to plugging The Colbert Report for their own stuff. Colbert is well enough established that he doesn’t need a daily plug.
Wasn’t terribly impressed by tonight’s Colbert; I thought the performance reviews lasted too long. The Wørd was funny as usual and the mad cow bit was well-delivered and disturbing. (Paranoia about mad cow was a major motivation for my vegetarianism.)
During last night’s episode, his rant about “16th century pervert” William Shakespeare was almost too spot-on. That’s what really stuck out to me. Funniest thing I’ve seen on the show recently, though, was his Hiphopketball 2 preview with Kareem Abdul-Jabar. I was dying, and Colbert appeared to be laughing through his sax. Roger Murdoch did a good job as the straight man.
Am confused about thread title. Am I supposed to post every day? Once a week? Does the thread appear daily or weekly? Does the Daily Show come out once a week?
The Ground Zero segment tonight had some of the best New York humor they’ve done in a while. Is that stuff funny to people outside of the Empire State?
Hi Marley23, I glad you started this and I am sorry I missed it until now.
The Ground Zero segment was funny. Here is what it will look like in 10 years. (Overgrown Grassy field)
The Feingold interview was interesting. I felt like Stewart was trying to make him look good. I’m just not impressed by him.
The interview yesterday was very awkward. Not the best week for TDS.
Hodgman has a book where he makes up facts. It was sold out at Christmas, and I haven’t had a chance to find it since.
When I heard the question repeated on Fresh Air, my reaction was the same as Jon’s - why not say no? But then I thought of the same explanation - can’t alienate the loonies, who are a bigger and bigger part of the base.
I wondered how the Ground Zero bit played with people not from New York. I thought it was great.
A woman in the crowd asked something to the effect of “With war in the Middle East and terrorism around the world, do you think these are signs of the Apocalypse?” Bush kind of looked around and laughed a little, in the edited part they included on TDS.
last night (Wed) with the Russ Feingold interview:
I thought Feingold did a good job articulate his position for Censure - you don’t have to agree with him, but it was clearly stated
I was surprised at how outspokenly supportive of the Censure Jon Stewart was - I mean, he is clearly liberal and anti-Bush, but he tends to not take those types of stands in my experience watching him
of the new correspondents - Bakkedahl, Hodgman, Nate Corddry and Jason Jones, so far only Jason Jones has been consistently funny to me. Dmitri what’s-his-name doesn’t come across like a correspondent - more like an intern who gets to provide a kid’s POV - okay, a funny, obnoxious kid, but a kid nonetheless.
I think Jason Jones is like Carrell and Colbert in that he comes across initially as a credible journalist in his bearing and tone while saying stuff that goes off the rails. Bakkedahl and Hodgman seem “off” immediately so there isn’t that off-putting effect when someone looks legit then says left-field stuff…
I don’t get why Jon doesn’t seem to understand WHY the Democrats weren’t supportive of Feingold’s censure plan. Didn’t he read the same New York Times article I did? The wiretap investigation hasn’t been satisfactorily finished yet, so it’s a little premature. Also, it gives the Republicans something to throw at their voters who are disgusted with their congressmen and might not vote Republican next time: “If the Democrats get a majority, they’ll impeach the President!” The Republican publicity machine is far more effective than the Democrats’, so giving them that kind of ammo might make it harder for the Democrats to win.