So I watched it again for the first time since Thursday Jan 14 2016.
Thank you for the reminder IMDb.
Actually it was Monday's episode with Morris Chestnut.
And the show was this.
Trevor skips sitting at the desk except for the interview part. And his entire monologue was essentially Donald Trump is an idiot.
Yes, Trevor, the entire world knows this. He's orange. His hair is silly. He says ridiculous things. He's perfect Daily Show cannon fodder.
But he is not the only one in the world that needs a spotlight shined on. John Oliver essentially didn't mention him until last Sunday's show. I've only seen one of Sam Bee's new show, so it's still to early (but it's pretty funny, check it out!) Bill Maher mentions him, but he's only on an hour a week, but his is just a few minutes over the whole show. Trevor spends probably more than 50% of the time talking about Trump. Or so it seemed when I was watching him.
The entire media apparatus is focused on Donald Trump being an idiot. What other stories behind the ridiculous media circus are going unnoticed. Because of the tabloid like fixture of the reality show, that is the American political system. I used to come to the Daily Show to hear a few of the millions of unheard issues that needed talking about.
But then the most ironic part of the show next. And I don't know HOW this could not of been unnoticed by the staff and not wonder if THEY are not part of the problem. Trevor talked about evolution (specifically about the DE-evolution of the political candidate in the modern times.) And then showed clips of, again, Donald Trump, and mostly Marco Rubio, going back and forth trading insults. And then they show a clip where Rubio says, "When I talk about education or the economy nobody listens, but when I trade insults with Trump, people listen." Or something to that effect. Not quite verbatim, but you get the point. And that's what he wasted the first two thirds of the show on. Talking about Donald Trump. I stopped watching because all he talked about was Trump. Again, he IS important and SHOULD be talked about, but c'mon. It's a big world. Other things are happening!
And then came the interview part of the show. A very important individual, whose opinion and views should be heard. A Mr. Morris Chestnut. A C+ grade actor out promoting a dying TV series, Rosewood, airing, on get this...Fox! Seriously!
But they had fun together and Trevor laughed at himself allot.
This is what has happened to our beloved Daily Show.
I hate John Stewart for leaving. But I understand why he left.
But there should have been more thought into who would be stepping into those shoes. They needed someone that knew the American and the World. The political and media establishment. Someone who could speak to high powered individuals and be funny. And also asks an educated, well thought out, reasoned question. And do silly impressions. Someone who, y'know, had seen more than (now!) one State of the Union address.
Obviously not an easy replacement.
But Trevor Noah is not the replacement that should have been chosen. He's just not up to the job. He's fine doing stand up, but to helm an institution such a the Daily Show, he's the wrong man.
For those that are going to say everything I've said is wrong and ridiculous, go watch some of the old show. Line up where John and Trevor are now and see the difference already being made into what the Daily show became.
Oh, and someone called me old earlier. I'm 35. That's not old. If your a teen or twentyish, HA! just wait. 35 comes FAST suckers!
I have Facebook and Twitter, now unsubscribed. After a many years subscribed to the feeds. But unlike most of my teens and twentyish friends out there, I have a disposable income. Comedy Central should be putting on knee pads and lip gloss for me.
But they think that Trevor is the correct person for the job and there is nothing I can do but bitch and whine about it on IMDb.
And take my dollars elsewhere.
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JWJanneck
9 years ago
I agree completely. It's tragic what happened to this show.
I wonder how Noah and his team process their ongoing failure. Do they think it's all just because people cannot come to terms with change?
How do they explain John Oliver? He is a foreigner. He was different from Stewart. Yet people loved him, and he went on to create his own show that arguably took some of the best elements of TDS and developed them further into another great concept.
That's what Noah could have done, but didn't. He took the best parts of TDS, ignored them, and built a dud around the rest. Sigh.
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cyber_nerdz
9 years ago
The old daily show was willing to make fun of everyone preferably those in power. The new daily show is only really prepared to make fun of those who are republicans now.
Jon never backed away from making fun of Obama or Bush because they were in power and making decisions (some right some wrong) they were fair game.
I admired the DS for going after anyone in power no matter what party colors but this isn't the case any longer.
The other issues with the daily show well lets be completely honest there is only 'one issue' with the daily show racism. Every single time I turn the show on the subject is racism. It is a big problem and a serious one but it is certainly not the only problem in the world or in the US.
Trevor is also bad at dealing with racism, he has no issue with pointing out when a white guy is being racist but does actually make racist remarks against white people but calls it satire. Jon wouldn't give a public figure a drubbing for making anti-Semitic remarks then go to camera making racist remarks about Mexicans with a wink to say ... but its OK because its satirical.
You can't claim the moral high ground and then roll around in the mud with the pigs.
The show has become too narrow in focus and a poor imitation of itself. I was sad to see Jon go, and 100% prepared to give Trevor a go. The problem is every time I sit down to watch it feel like a let down. I've given them time to find their feet and get it together but they genuinely don't see a problem with the direction the show is set in motion in.
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JWJanneck
9 years ago
I think a key difference is that Stewart was less interested in "making fun of people" than he was in exposing the absurdities of the system. Of course that often meant ridiculing things individuals said and did, but usually there was a larger angle to it and his comedy didn't exhaust itself in laughing about someone.
Trevor's humor is more juvenile and much less political---while ironically at the same time being more partisan in the most boring of ways. That, and the endless harping on the race theme, have made this show unwatchable.
Oh, and Trevor's unrepentant incompetence as an interviewer. Most of the time he isn't even looking at the interviewee while he is asking his questions. It's a bizarre display of failure as a host.
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cyber_nerdz
9 years ago
He is a bad interviewer from what I have seen, though I will be honest since Stewart left the guests have been pretty slim pickings.
The narrow focus of the show and the partisan nature now means 'big' things just aren't talked about.
The thing is though Stewart would go after the 'big issues'. If he was still on the show you would have have 'TPP, why it sucks to be us (Whether we're American or European) 'vive la difference'.
I'd say a trade deal which might result in the law being amended to allow patents of surgical procedures is a bit more important than the piece they did about 'racism in the porn industry and how going black gets you more green'
He would have also opened on Obama making a trip to Europe and diplomatically shoving his own ass in his mouth by 'telling' the Brits how they should vote in their referendum over whether to leave the EU, then telling them despite being the closest ally the US has they would be at the back of the <strike>bus</strike> queue for trade talks if they disobeyed him.
You are also right about the partisan nature of the show now, it seems no matter how stupid Obama or for the most part democrats act it is ignored. That isn't healthy for the show.
I never subscribed to the notion that you should take the daily show as news but rather it held a mirror up to the news industry and said 'hey you look stupid, and ummm you forgot to mention this....'.
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musicalchef
9 years ago
Yeah, I agree with Cyber nerdz. I miss seeing the bigger issues. Lately it's just been making fun of people and d*ck jokes. Last Week Tonight is much better than the Daily Show now. I wish it was on more than once a week. I'm debating with myself whether or not to continue watching.
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JWJanneck
9 years ago
I'm with you (and musicalchef above).
Even if the Daily Show wasn't really a news program under Stewart, it was extremely well-researched and as a result ended up on the right side of nearly every issue it touched, and that simple fact earned it its reputation as a trustworthy source of fact and opinion among a lot of people.
Those days are gone, and now all sorts of agenda-driven nonsense makes its way into the show that often isn't any less silly than what the main-stream media feed their consumers --- the "racism in porn" piece you mention being a bizarre low-point in that regard.
The interview guests are indeed in a very different league than they used to be, it would be interesting to know whether they have trouble getting more interesting guests, or whether that is a matter of choice. Either way, maybe that's not even such a bad thing, because it seems Noah is doing worse with guests that have more interesting or controversial perspectives to talk about, unless he gets them to show their chops at shooting pool.
The show went from a must-see to something that is put on when there is absolutely nothing else, and the interviews are almost always skipped. I suspect I'm not the only one drifting out of the TDS audience in this way.
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ReelReviews14
9 years ago
I hate John Stewart
The ONLY comment you've made on this thread that makes sense, and reflects how the public as a whole feels about Jon Stewart's "legacy".
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atalanta88
9 years ago
Couldn't agree more. Still watch it becasue it's there but it's just a silly show for a few cheap laughs.
I'm 35. That's not old. If your a teen or twentyish, HA! just wait. 35 comes FAST suckers!
This made me lol
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CaptainTiddlywinks
8 years ago
Well said. My main issue with Noah is how irritatingly, smugly progressive he's turned the show. As another poster commented, Jon tended to strike at absurdities in government and public life more than partisan politics. He certainly was partisan some of the time, but he was fair about presenting a reasoned argument for why his mockery was merited. Whether you agreed with it or not you understood the place inside it was coming from, and it tended to be both informative AND funny.
Noah meanwhile almost criminally exploits the tired shtick of derisively vilifying those he disagrees without ever seeming to make a case for his positions, why anyone should come to the same conclusions if they were on the fence. He simply operates on the assumption you have because it's morally superior and proceeds to steamroll ahead with the mockery, dragging the bit out to occupy an entire block of the show. Snooze.
Like you I had trouble letting go because Stewart was such a great host. I gave it a chance for a couple months recording every episode as usual, but as time went on I found more and more of a backlog on my DVR until finally I had no energy left to watch another episode. Sadly, Jon was one of a kind and I'm not sure another of his caliber is out there. Time will tell.
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JWJanneck
8 years ago
Great summary, I completely agree.
I think Oliver is a worthy successor, and Colbert too, although he needs to get out of this ridiculous format he is in right now. I'm sure there is other talent out there, but sadly, Noah isn't one of those.
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baileythedog
8 years ago
The Daily Show is an unwatchable mess now. (Full disclosure, I'm a left-leaning viewer.) But yes, you are spot on in that the show is now just "This is Trevor's opinion show." No reasoning behind it. No articulate arguments made. No attempt at objectivity or any fact-based skewering of the media landscape, or of the political process and politicians.
They've mostly dismissed the notion that it is even the "fake news" anymore. Trevor gives a nod to an invisible late night band (what?) and tries to merge a terrible stand up routine into a terrible sitting behind the desk routine. The correspondents aren't reporting on various facets of media or politics but are now just performing some bad sketch comedy.
With all the time they took off over the summer one would have assumed they were re-tooling the show. Apparently they were just dreaming up ways to make it even worse.
I gave Trevor a good long chance but his vision for the show is terrible and the ship is nearly sunk. I agree they won't cancel the show, but hopefully they are searching for another host because this one isn't doing it.
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