Political-satire junkies received two doses of methadone last night with the returns of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report. Which is to say, it wasn’t the pure stuff, and, given how long the writers’ strike has endured and how long it may continue, the shows’ entertainment seemed at times created to simulate the old product and ween you off of the hardcore–oh, I’m going to drop this metaphor; you get the idea. Forced by a no-win situation to return to the air, Stewart and Colbert gave us a good taste of what’s to come, for the foreseeable, writer-free future. And one of them fared significantly better than the other.
Stewart maintained that his show’s title was now a misnomer; it’s not truly The Daily Show without his writing staff, he said, it’s “A Daily Show.” There were some bright flashes during Stewart’s half-hour—hearing him blithely refer to Mike Huckabee as “the guy who doesn’t believe in evolution” was a bracing tonic; it’s the kind of blunt phraseology I’d been yearning for some network-news anchor or pundit or even late-night network host to utter these past few weeks, but of course it’s the kind of thing only these Comedy Central guys have the nerve to deliver. And it warmed my heart when Stewart mourned a country that “has to settle for this fare”—and the screen showed a picture from NBC’s moronic American Gladiators.
Stewart did two segments with a professor of labor relations from Cornell, but the questions didn’t have the zing of prepared material. When he asked Prof. Ron Seeber, “Do most negotiations end with a hug?” the teacher shot him a sour, reproving look that reminded us that Stewart was being forced to rely too often on his fallback position, that of the smirky college-boy. Stewart was frequently better than that, but…
Boy, did The Colbert Report blow The—’scuse me, A—Daily Show away. That’s because Stephen Colbert could rely on his fallback position, one that by (un)happy circumstance suits the strike period perfectly: The ultra-loony-conservative Colbert persona enables its creator to show his solidarity with the Writers Guild by making the other side’s arguments seem, well, loony.
Colbert did one punchy segment with liberal-turned-Republican-turned-contrarian pundit Andrew Sullivan (the priceless moment: when Sullivan said “we” are sick of red and blues states in this country, Colbert shot back, “’We?’ Do you have a mouse in your pocket?”). Colbert’s rhetoric—“I have always been anti-labor; I have always been anti-union”—was (and this a paradox he long ago brought to perfection) carefully calibrated over-the-top stuff.
The host made superb use of campaign news footage to poke fun at Barack Obama’s followers, characterizing one shaggy young background supporter as looking like “the lead singer of the Spin Doctors” and asserting that, in general, Obama has a “legalize-hemp organization behind him.”
Colbert even managed to pull off something close to an emotion he and his character usually avoid like the plague: poignance. That was when he had his producer show us quiet shots of the blank teleprompters that would usually be teeming with his writers’ witty words.
All in all, it was great to have both these guys back, even if there were times when they each made clear they didn’t want to be, under these conditions.
Comments (1-30) of 47 Add your comment
I thought Jon’s interview with the professor was a good idea and I hope he (and our lord and savior Stephen Colber”T”) keep addressing the strike issue in that labor relations light. Good use of previous and relevant footage by Colbert. Glad to see the fellas back on, even if its not full-powered.
I thought they were great, especially Colbert. I liked the beard thing when he first came on the show, but the bit about him being a “South Carolina boy” eating grits had me laughing for an hour!
Thomas Lessman
. http://www.ThomasLessman.com
. http://www.WorldHistoryMaps.info
Blog: http://www.talessman.blogspot.com
I love them both beyond reason. But I’m not staying up late for tepid yammering. Writers, please, have mercy on us. Bite that bullet, step away from your Wii’s and come back. We’ll pay you ourselves. C’mon.
Eh… the Colbert Show turned into a clip show and a desperate attempt to fill airtime. Though his grit-off was pretty good.
John Stewart gets my vote for that comment about strike being 9 times worse September 11th. I love it because you can see him start to doubt whether the joke’s going to fly about halfway through.
Ugh! I’ll watch Jon Stewart anyday, but Colbert, who cares. This guy is NOT funny, he is an ass. Kinda like a 21st century Chris Elliot, I don’t get it/him he’s not funny! Please I’d rather watch reruns of the Naked Chef! Ok, not really, but maybe Dr. 90210!
I attended the daily’s taping yesterday and we were informed that com central tried to make the exact same deal that letterman’s producers made for his writers, and the writers guild turned them down…boo guild! I know they wanted to hold out for a deal with the parent company viacom (much bigger fish) but they only end up hurting themselves more by turning down com centrals offer!
It’s just TV and writers. Honestly, if both fell off the face of the Earth, they would be doing us a favor.
By both I meant “TV” and “writers” not Stewart and Colbert.
Mike, your comment was rude and unnecessary. Some people passionately devote their entire lives to television and writing, and you have no right to belittle that-no one does. I’m curious to know what groundbreaking work you do, if it allows you to waste time commenting on an entertainment news story during work hours.
But smirky college boys are the essential demographic of both shows, its staff, its would-be-staff, and their critics. Now, if both shows went a level further and insinuated the ignorance of the would-be-intelligent who form their audience, now THAT would be provocative.
Stewart didn’t give the whole story about his attempted deal with the Guild. He tried to negotiate and get a deal — yes. But VIACOM wouldn’t allow its subsidiary to make an interim deal. The WGA would have been happy to do so.
Both gentlemen are great ambassadors of what America is really about – thought and an ability to be introspective.
They keep those of us who are not Americans aware that there are so many good people in America who are not represented by the current U.S. administration and their nefarious conduct on the world stage.
The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are the “best of” in what is offered up on TV and the writers strike hurts them. I support the writers in their bid for reasonable remuneration for wherever their words are used.
MAN!! ColBERT ruled! I nearly fell asleep during Stewart. Let the writers keep striking! Conan and Leno have NEVER been so darn funny! I used to be a Letterman fan but watching his with writers is so boring compared to non-writer shows. Let the brilliance of the hosts minds rule the day!! STAY AWAY WRITERS! (except maybe for Stewart, we will see how show 2 goes for him)
Why does Letterman keep saying “we have no writers” and “you can tell there is a writer’s strike” when he HAS writers? I’m going with Leno from now on. Letterman makes excuses for a bad show when he’s the only one who HAS writers.
I dont think they should worry about the writer’s striking. Hell aren’t they comedians anyway and they started thier career writing thier own stuff anyway.
I agree with Kerr, especially in Conan O’Brien’s case (rocking out to Radiohead & Beastie Boys on Rock Band? AND the interview with Mad Money’s Jim Cramer? “OLIVE GARDEN. PRETTY GOOD FOR THE MONEY!!” Priceless.). Well, actually for the sake of the writers, I do hope the strike ends soon. But I gotta admit that this situation has sparked some of the funniest material these late nighters have done in a while.
Why the writer hate? It echoes the old, “I could do better than that” kind of thinking. Maybe you could, but sit down and do it. Not only does it take stamina to finish something, it takes craft to do it well. Conan was head writer for the Simpsons – wonder why he’s so funny? Maybe because he’s a writer?
The funniest thing about Colber(T) last night was when he said he didn’t need his writers, “which brings us to tonights word!” perfect.
I’m so happy to have my 2 favorite Comedy Central comedians. They are great.
whokneww-you’re saying that Conan is funny because he is writer, which would imply that all writers are funny. I can’t agree with that. Have you seen “Cavemen?”
I think their shows were seriously lacking and they should wait till they have their writers back
I actually disagree with Ken Tucker. I thought the Daily Show fared better than Stephen Colbert. My favorite part of the Daily Show is his opening segment, and I thought he did well without his writers. I was glad both shows returned to the air. It was sad only having NPR to get my daily news.
“Olive Garden: Pretty good, for the money.” Conan is on fire lately. I can’t believe that spinning his wedding ring on his desk is riveting, but somehow he makes it an amusing time-filler. Spin that ring, Kris Kringle, spin it I say!
They were both lame without their writers. They shouldn’t have come back without them. They’re both probably writing the first half of their show, which is a violation of the WGA rules. Plus, they are crossing the strike anyway, so shame of Stewart and Colbert. Some liberals they are!
To Lori L: Irony: the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning.
Get it??? If not, you are the perfect Leno fan.
Conan Obrien is an idiot and his ‘humour’ is NOT! It is inane and ludicrous and makes me want to heave.
But…Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, now there is a pair of professional, highly qualified FUNNY men! I believe they are close to genius and I for one, am VERY HAPPY that they are back. They make my heart sing and I thank them for crossing the picket line. It looks like they would have lost their jobs had they not.
They did an excellent job on telling it like it is about the writer’s strike and I applaud that.
Thank you Mr. Steward and Mr. Colbert and WELCOME BACK!!
Well written commentary by Ken Tucker with some big words. Pity he couldn’t spell “wean”. Probably hasn’t had kids yet.
I am so happy you “get it.” About 50% of the country did not want the current moron in office, and I thank you for realizing we Americans are not all blithering idiots. We are self-aware, and we know how poorly we’re being represented to the rest of the world.
That said, I actually enjoyed Stewart’s show slightly more than Colbert’s. I loved Stewart’s bit about how watching a show on your tv differs from watching a show on your PC. It makes perfect sense that it’s the distance to the screen–8 feet vs. 1 foot. Why are those crazy writers complaining?
Didn’t manage to stay up for Colbert, but Stewart was just not as good as usual… it was like going back to an old favorite restaurant you visited long ago, and the signature dish had changed for the worse. It was a welcome return, but a bittersweet one.
It’s not the writers that are creating this. It’s the studios and networks. Ask them to make it stop.