Band? - The Daily Show (1996) Discussion

[–] segsig 8 years ago

My first thought when he did it twice in a row was that he is trying to convince them because he wants a band. The scary thought is that they may be getting a band as they become an hour long show.

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[–] DeathRay93 8 years ago

My first thought when he did it twice in a row was that he is trying to convince them because he wants a band. The scary thought is that they may be getting a band as they become an hour long show.

I can't see The Daily Show becoming an hour long. They never did it under Stewart and I can't see it helping Trevor's ratings unfortunately. @Midnight will remain at 11:30 confusing newbies and outraging nerds until it either fails or Comedy Central finds a permanent replacement for Nightly Show.

Next time I'll just die on the river so Sam can see a waterfall.

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[–] monkeyalien 8 years ago

The show doesn't currently have the juice for a full hour, especially when they're filling time with stupid skits. A band would make it worse. I loved the Colbert Report but was put off by having bands as guests for interview or just performing. If you're gonna have a house or guest band it may as well be The Late Show, The Tonight Show, or Conan. Ferguson did it right with a robot skeleton sidekick in lieu of a house band.

(this signature was absent on picture day)

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[–] ironicshowchoir 8 years ago

I miss Geoff Peterson :(

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[–] dvd123 8 years ago

You give someone additional air time when they're doing well. Trevor, with ratings only a tiny bit better than Larry, is doing abysmally.

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[–] yagood 8 years ago

The scary thought is that they may actually think this bit is funny...

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[–] baileythedog 8 years ago

Thoughts on what's with the whole "And The Daily Show band" thing?

That it's the stupidest joke imaginable and proof positive that "The Daily Show" is no longer the fake news but is drowning in its own identity crisis.

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[–] dvd123 8 years ago

While I definitely agree that the show is drowning, I don't think this could be any farther from an identity crisis. Trevor knows exactly what he wants and has been pushing the show in that direction since day 1. He:

1. Made sure his comedian friends were hired as writers.
2. Over time, incorporated less and less writing from Jon's Emmy award winning team and more from his dumbass friends.
3. Changed the music.
4. Started standing for the monologue.
5. Is now phasing in a band.

Fake news, as seen by those who have been successful at it, requires wit, requires intelligence. Trevor's fatal flaw comes down to the fact that he just isn't that smart. As far as he's been concerned, emmy schmemmy, his mission is to fix a show that, in his mind, hasn't been very funny- by making the humor and the format, again, from his perspective, more approachable.

Unfortunately, he has an audience, or, had an audience that cut it's teeth on incisive political humor, and wants no part of a Jimmy Fallon wannabe, so dumbing down the show has been and continues to be the kiss of death.

But, all along, the identity has been crystal clear. It's just that it's a vision that nobody wants to see.

Not that any of this will matter, though. CC can't fire Wilmore and Noah at the same time, but, with his ratings, Noah is not long for this world.

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[–] baileythedog 8 years ago

While I definitely agree that the show is drowning, I don't think this could be any farther from an identity crisis. Trevor knows exactly what he wants and has been pushing the show in that direction since day 1. He:

1. Made sure his comedian friends were hired as writers.
2. Over time, incorporated less and less writing from Jon's Emmy award winning team and more from his dumbass friends.
3. Changed the music.
4. Started standing for the monologue.
5. Is now phasing in a band.

Fake news, as seen by those who have been successful at it, requires wit, requires intelligence. Trevor's fatal flaw comes down to the fact that he just isn't that smart. As far as he's been concerned, emmy schmemmy, his mission is to fix a show that, in his mind, hasn't been very funny- by making the humor and the format, again, from his perspective, more approachable.

The problem I see with this is that, while there has definitely been some significant turnover in the writing staff, there are also a handful of people left over from Jon's era. A small handful, but not a total exodus. And frankly, the addition of Neal Brennan to the writer's room should be a net positive. (Then again, the addition of Michelle Wolf is a net, net, net negative.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Daily_Show_writers

I do agree that Trevor's "vision" for the show is substantially different than Jon's. Jon treated the show as though it was a journalistic endeavor without actually being journalists. Trevor has apparently been overwhelmed by that notion. I don't think Trevor's idea was to necessarily to intentionally dumb the show down, but I doubt he had any concept of just how smart Jon was. Trevor can not and will not compare favorably on that score. TDS is now trying hard with Trevor's new "viral rants" -- one appeared on my facebook feed this week and it was the most painful, anti-intellectual diatribes I've ever witnessed. Just pathetic.

I agree that Comedy Central may cut their losses after the election season -- a season, thus far, where they have been wholly irrelevant.

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[–] dvd123 8 years ago

The problem I see with this is that, while there has definitely been some significant turnover in the writing staff, there are also a handful of people left over from Jon's era.

I didn't say the writers were replaced ;) Just ignored. For the most part, all of Jon's writers are still in the building, but their distinctive voice- that's gone. Every writer's room has favorites- those whose jokes make it onto the show far more than anyone else. I have no doubt that Jon's team is still writing, but, if you listen to the jokes that Trevor is doing, it's brutally obvious he's not using their work.

This isn't about emmy award winning writing delivered poorly. This is about emmy award winning writers being pushed aside entirely in favor of Trevor's dumbed down vision. It took me a while to recognize, but, once you're aware of it, it's impossible to miss. It's a bit similar to Colbert. Instead of using the Stewart associated people that have either won emmy's or have been nominated year after year for about a decade, Stephen is turning to hacks like Stack or Dinello (who, while technically did win an emmy, has ties to Colbert and not Stewart).

Two late night talk show hosts were handed the best comedy writers on television, but, opted to work with their far less talented friends. One because he resented the character Stewart foisted upon him for years (Colbert) and the other, because he was dumb enough to think that he could do better.

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[–] musicalchef 8 years ago

It was funny the first time; now it's getting old.

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[–] strhe 8 years ago

I laughed the first time. Was confused the second.

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[–] NoWeaponForged 8 years ago

Thanks for the replies folks.

It's pretty much what I was thinking. I just wondered if anyone had heard anything specific.

I agree with most, adding a band would be a waste.

I really can't see the show going to an hour format, the ratings have dropped. The show definitely needs help.

And I wished he hadn't done that - asked me to be honest. Taylor Mali

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[–] 8 years ago

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