Jimmy Fallon made his first appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart last night to promote his writing staff’s new book Thank You Notes, and like a big brother, Stewart mixed in a few slaps with every pat on the back. (“This [book] had to have been done at least by an intern with tape,” Stewart cracked. He also teased, “Get it now before it blows away.”)
The former SNL “Weekend Update” host tried to play the admiring little brother, but Stewart was having none of it. He just wanted to talk about how much fun Jimmy seems to be having on his NBC show, which made me wonder if Stewart misses the days when he didn’t have the weight of the nation’s rational thinkers on his shoulders. He shared with the audience the message he left on Fallon’s phone after his “Whip My Hair” duet with Bruce Springsteen (“[Bleep] you”), and the words he spoke to Jimmy when he first got the Late Night gig (“Don’t think you can come after me, kid”). Watch the interview below:
Later, Fallon later joked that it’s his BFF Stephen Colbert playing the music that accompanies his Thank You Notes bit. “That’s nice. He used to play that music for me,” Stewart said, fake sobbing. (I love how when Jimmy read his sample note, you could tell that Jon was laughing because his arm, the only thing in frame, was moving.)
As someone who’s old enough to have younger colleagues whose energy and creativity I envy, I respect Stewart for handling it the way I do: Encourage and applaud them, while swearing.
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Kimmel and Stewart — rock on! You both are great fun.
fallon not kimmel.
forgive him, kimmel fans are just too dumb to read properly
Kimmel, not Fallon.
THANK YOU… Jimmy Fallon, for being way funnier than Jon Stewart!
They’re two different kinds of funny, so they CAN co-exist in the same universe.
Right. They both exist in a universe without laughter.
Great observation about Jon envying the “just having fun” Fallon. Even though Jon is still at the top of his game, (and Colbert for that matter), it must be a bit taxing having to be the satirist all the time instead of just a silly guy.
Here’s a thought: What would Stewart do if Fox News actually tried to be objective in their reporting and related to more than just the fringe of America? I think Jon might have to call it a day. But I don’t see that happening any time soon.
(And don’t quote us about Fox’s ratings. It’s still only 1 – 2% of America. Go around your neighborhood. There’s a lot more than 1 % of your neighbors who you would call “crazy people”, aren’t there? )
Even if Fox became a legitimate news company, there’s still going to be a fringe out there. (Crazy radio hosts – Limbaugh/Beck, Politicians who say one thing and do another) Satire in politics has been here long before Fox.
The mistake is thinking that Stewart only satirizes the fringe. And frankly, it’s a puzzling mistake to make after the week The Daily Show spent gleefully going after Weiner.
Even if FOX woke up tomorrow and was perfectly lucid and genuinely fair and balanced, there’d still be people saying and doing things worth satirizing. After all, one of the earliest known forms of satire? Is from the 2nd century BCE.
This feels like if my first-grade teacher and my college political philosophy were to meet and I got to watch their whole exchange… hilarious but weird!