It's really refreshing. Like jumping back into the late 00s.
I didn't realize how much I missed Jon's style of humor and commentary.
this post was submitted on 20 Feb 2024
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He's the only one IMO who can deliver a nuanced take without letting the humour suffer.
Most of the other people who try to copy the JS formula just suck at political commentary. They always have the most ice-cold takes that are usually just "republican bad"
John Oliver comes close, but he has this problem where, the more complex the subject, the less funny he becomes. His jokes usually reek of "we couldn't figure out how to make a joke out of the thing John is talking about, so we'll inject some non-sequitor reference to something totally unrelated"
Stewart on the other hand can deliver a deeply nuanced commentary that directs criticism at the broken systems of the American political process, rather than simply at the beneficiaries of those systems. And he does it while still coming up with relevant jokes that leave me on the verge of tears from laughing so hard.
To expand on what you've said, that I agree with entirely:
I think the vacuum he left behind, that was filled with the very flawed "replacements", left a serious scar on society.
It's like if you quit on a "balanced nutritional diet" and ate nothing but Doritos and Mountain Dew for a decade. Like, we got fat and we got scurvy... And a lot of people I think ended up addicted to a trash diet.
I've seen some really terrible takes regarding Jon's return. Like," I used to think he was funny, but now he's an enlightened centerist."
Oof. We've forgotten how to even coherently articulate a single thought, apparently.
Yeah political discourse really suffered in his absence. It was so hard to find any commentators who had takes that embodied his "sanity and/or fear" approach. They all wanted to throw punches at the people they perceived as the problem, when someone with an understanding of politics would have known they were only a symptom of the problems.
I mean, I'm sure that most of Jon's writers went on to work for other DS hosts and Oliver. Trevor Noah absolutely seemed to be reading from Jon's script, even attempting the same gags. But it always fell flat to me, because as you say, Jon's delivery is what makes it.
He's also much sharper on the interviews. I know he hasn't gone on the attack yet in this run, or if anyone would even be dumb enough to spar with him, but he is a master debater.
if anyone would even be dumb enough to spar with him, but he is a master debater.
There are definitely people out there who I think are dumb enough to take him on. And among them are some I'd adore to watch him take on.
Hehe master debater
Yeah, I just watched his video on Carlson and he really does have the skill of perfectly debunking the topic whilst keeping the atmospnere light-hearted and ironic.
IMO Seth Myers has been amazing over the past few years. He really dialed it in when he got back from lockdown. I feel like he's under rated because I hardly see him mentioned.
There are a lot of times when he nails it. But it's always pretty much Trump.
I wholeheartedly missed his narrative on the last few election cycles. Nobody clicked like him on CC, Colbert is close but still on NBC which waters down content
Colbert is on CBS, but I agree, he is watered down. NBC had Jimmy Fallon who... Well let's not talk about him, But NBC also has Seen Myers and I think his closer look segments are on par with the old days of the daily show. He can get away without being watered down since he's on later.
Seth Meyers (lol, look at us, a couple of cards!) yeah His Closer look is great, I think he and John Oliver had the best shows duing the pandemic.
Am I the only one who finds Colbert not funny at all? I can't believe it's not laughtrack.
His show was funny on comedy central. He's pretty boring as a late night host though.
Late night host is just a dated genre all around, I've never liked any of them much no matter how much I like the hosts outside of that kind of show.
it's mainstream late night writing... The Colbert Repor(t) was top notch
He’s like a comfortable old shoe.
It takes decades of built up good will to get away with a Polish joke in this day and age.
lol that polish joke killed me. So funny
And the rest of the week is garbage so far. I guess I can check in once a week for him though.
I like Klepper a lot. I think he'd be a great full time host when Jon gives up the mantle again.
He’s needlessly vulgar and then just doubles down on it too long. There’s something to be said for subtlety when doing double entendre. None of his guest interviews feel authentic, but that’s just me. It feels like he’s cosplaying John and not doing a good job of it.
Yeah that's a fair point. He doesn't have Jon's subelty or class-act, even if he is often on point with his overall message.
Jon's a pro, and hasn't skipped a beat all these years later. That alone is impressive, lots of comedians coming back like this can't recapture the magic.
As a long time fan his first two shows have been right on par with the old days. They aren't standout shows but most of the old ones weren't, of course you can't have a standout show every show. But I'm hoping he'll have some during his time back. When he gets on a topic where he really spits fire it's amazing.
I'd also recommend Seth Myers. His closer look segments have also been absolutely pro.
I hope I can age as well. It's crazy how cogent and quick the guy still is.
First time I'd ever seen him host such a show and I now understand why everybody loves him - he was excellent.
Of government functioned the way we were taught in school and worked for the people, Jon would be an amazing president.
And immediately got shit on by moderates who insult anyone who questions Biden...
Neoliberals just want to be republicans without the social stigma. It's why the Clinton's showed up to one of trump's weddings. They both may have hated the guy, but he gave money.
Thinking he was the only "moderate" Dem making donations like that to pull Dems to the right is just naive. Lots of them are still out there doing the same shit. Giving millions to PACs to stop the party from charging them taxes.
Literally the next day after his first episode I started seeing memes criticizing the "they're both old" claim, as though it isn't a valid critique.
I was hoping he had something funnier.
I was definitely a dvr person - do I get counted?
This is my favorite reboot of the last few years for sure.
I genuinely want more of Jon speaking wisdom from the heart. The jokey bits are the weakest part of his performance, but it strikes a fine balance of just the right amount of key-jingling to keep the short-attention-span folks entertained.
Is the writing staff all shared? I wonder if Jon has his own writers for his portion of the show. There does seem to be a gap in quality between his behind the desk work and everything else.
It was a bit shocking how much worse US political discourse has gotten since last time I watched him. I didn't even understand most of the problems... Something about the superbowl teams reflecting also political affiliation... Was this making fun of how dumb "team mentality" is regarding Republicans/Democrats.... or just reached the point of it being as literal as it seemed?
The political drama of the Super Bowl was mainly between Republicans that disike California versus Republicans that dislike Taylor Swift.
I don't want to bother you with having to explain it even further. I think it would help me if you assume that I have no frame of reference for why things are so political.
Taylor Swift is somehow related to the Super Bowl event, so, I'm assuming she said something, or performed in it? She seems too frail to compete. And, California... hm, maybe where the event was held? CA maybe also passed something recently in the state supreme court or something that Reps dislike?
These things, seem like a random collection:
- US politics
- US pop artist
- US sporting event
- US state
I tuned out of US politics after the 2016 primaries (when it became clear that we were in the worst timeline), and... taking a peek now that Stewart was back in the Daily Show is just confusing. There are just too many degrees of separation between whatever seems to be going on there, and .. sanity.
Jon's the best by far. I get a little annoyed when he interrupts his guests, but seeing that the shows are only 20min again, that might actually be necessary, which makes me respect him as a host. He didn't on Apple+ where there was more time and post processing, so I'm thinking it's necessary.