Commentary On..The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

If You want Politics, Go Away.

Wednesday, March 31, 2004

Vh1 : New Jobs Every Day

I've noticed through the recent months that the current TDS correspondents have stopped being on the Vh1 specials ("Vh1 All Access" specials for example) and they've handed their jobs down to the former correspondents. Today, Lauren Weedman joined their ranks by being in "Vh1 All Access : Celebrity Sibling Rivarly (Something Something)". If memory serves me correct, nearly every former correspondent (those lasting longer than a year) have been on some sort of Vh1 show. I can't list every thin they've been in (that would take all day) but I'll list what I remember.

The Formers
  • Beth Littleford : I Love The 80's Strike Back

  • Brian Unger : I Love The 80's Strike Back, I Love the 70's (he was also in that all access special about Clebs.. making out)

  • Stacey Grenrock-Woods : She was in like a second of "I Love The 70's.

  • Mo Rocca : I Love The 80's, I Love The 70's, I Love The 80's Strike Back, Best Week Ever

  • Vance DeGeneres : All Access : Awesome Makeout moments

  • Lauren Weedman : All Access : Sibling Rivarlies

  • Frank Decaro : Some of those Countdown shows they used to do all the time last year, year before last. I forgot their names

  • Rachael Harris : I Love the 70's, I Love The 80's Strike Back, Best Week Ever


  • The Currents
  • Ed Helms : All Access : Awesomely Bad Hair, All Access : Celebrity Cry Babies, two seconds of the first two episodes of "Super Secret TV Formulas

  • Rob Corddry : In nearly all the episodes of "Super Secret TV Formulas

  • Lewis Black : I Love the70's (a minute or two)


  • The Nevers
  • A. Whitney Brown

  • Stephen Colbert

  • Steve Carell

  • Nancy Walls (the IMDB lists her under "I Love The 70's", but I've seen this several times, and I've never seen her)

  • Miriam Tolan

  • Matt Walsh

  • Samantha Bee
  • Tuesday, March 30, 2004

    Apple Cider Rumor Mill

    I don't want to start a rumor, but "everybody" (everbody as in four other people) is wondering what Jennifer Beals meant when she said "And You're Married Now, And You're Having A Baby?". during last night's interview. Did we mishear her? Or was she just implying that this should be the next step?

    Spam With Cheese

    I got a peice of spam in my inbox that I use for the Ed site from "someone" named Milford Colbert . I thought it was funny so I decided to share it.

    Sunday, March 28, 2004

    That There First Time Caller



    You've probably noticed the link on the main pages of the TDS and Ed Site (that I re did tonight) for something called "First Time Caller", and unless you've clicked on the link, you're probably wondering what the heck it is. It's an independent film that has Mo Rocca and Ed Helms in it. Check the website for more details.

    The McCain Bus Experience 1999



    Bus Driver : Shut up back there!
    Steve Carell : Stick it up your ass!

    - - - - -


    So I'm in the process of making backup copies of my old tapes. (I figure since I forgot to make a back up of my old blog, I should at least back up my tapes). It's 1:01 in the morning, and I'm still on tape 1, * and I have about 30 tapes.

    *=tape 1 starts around August 15, 2000.

    Saturday, March 27, 2004

    Northwest Indiana News: nwitimes.com - Features

    Northwest Indiana News: nwitimes.com - Features: "
    A couple of actors manage to muster some dignity: Peter Boyle as 'Old Man' Wickles, a former nemesis who's a suspect in the mystery, and Seth Green as a museum curator who has a crush on Velma. Alicia Silverstone, meanwhile, is so stiff as a TV news reporter, she makes Kent Brockman from 'The Simpsons' look like Jon Stewart."

    Friday, March 26, 2004

    Rob Corddry In A Labatt Blue Commercial

    One of my live journal friends gave me premission to post something she posted on The Daily Show Live Journal community (see links page):

    Rob Corddry in a
    Labatt Blue commercial


    I thought some people would find this interesting. I happened to be watching
    some old tape I had laying around last night and on there happened to be an old
    Labatt Blue commercial with Rob, check it:







    Rob is hosting a party and greets the Labatt bear and his date at the door





    Rob is startled by the Labatt bear





    Still startled, but trying to hide it.





    Yes, Rob has shared screen-time with all the commercial greats. First Carrot Top
    (CALL-ATT ad) and now the Labatt Bear





    Rob showing the bear around his house.

    Wednesday, March 24, 2004

    Airplane III

    I got this yahoo google news alert in my inbox today:

    (from a release on what new advertising stuff Coors is going to do )

    Equity Spots
    "Airplane"
    Agency: Foote, Cone & Belding
    Summary: Our hero is on his way to Colorado to get to the bottom of what
    he believes is a "coldspiracy". He believes that the Coors brewery is
    hiding a secret that would explain why Coors Light always tastes cold.
    Celebrity Involvement: Ed Helms, a comedian on Comedy Central's "The
    Daily Show"

    Tuesday, March 23, 2004

    Rhino Sniffing A Water Buffalo's Butt



    Screen Caps Up From The Race From The Whitehouse 2004 Special Shown Last Night


    I'm going to play the hell out of that cap with Ed Helms and the gun.

    Oh! And I have a new layout up too.

    My Favorite Rob Corddry Story

    As most of you know by now, I lost all my archives on the old blog, but luckily I kept some of my entries. [ie: the favorite correspondent stories series] So I am reprinting some of them.

    "Hairless Whisper"
    Airdate: June 10 2003


    John Capps (Cat, Apple, Potato, Potato, Smith) who along with thinking "Capps" is a difficult name to spell, is bald. Because of this, he faces predjice, and discrimination, and he has to cope by telling lame jokes such as "our group [1,2,3....The Bald-Headed Men Of America] is headquared in Moorehead North Carolina, because we have more head than hair.



    Out of all the stories Rob does here on the Daily Show, this one really spoke to Rob ... because as you may know his a one year veteran of The Daily Show and its his 20th field peice. Anyway, back to the bald stuff. What was life like for these people? Rob hired an acedemy award winning makeup artist to see for himself.

    So what deoes Rob think:

    "Gosh...I really look baldling! It's hard to look at. Wow...but this thing right here [points to his 'tuft'] this is reading a little bit too 'awesome'"
    So, they added a hat : the bald man's fig leaf.

    So now Rob goes undercover with his new bald look (and his tiny, tiny hat). Immedetely, Rob's co-workers (in this case Ed Helms) treated him a little differently:

    "What's with the tiny hat, you bald mother f**ker?"

    Rob tries to go on a job interview, but the employer says that little thing on his head would cause some problems. (" ' that litlte thing on my head ' It's called skin, and you know what? We all have it. Rob's biggest struggle though was trying to meet women:

    Rob: Do you not have sex with bald guys?
    Girl : No, I don't have sex with guys who wear doll hats.

    Without the cover of hair, Rob felt naked. (mmmm)

    Will normal people ever accept hairless freaks? Rob asks one of the hairy ones. His reply : "I think so"
    Rob thinks so too:

    Nashville's WTVF-TV red-faced by fake news

    NASHVILLE, March 19 (UPI) -- Nashville's WTVF-TV was embarrassed to discover it had aired a Bush administration Medicare commercial that simulates television news reports.

    The commercials, which have come under fire from several professional journalist organizations, involve paid actors pretending to be reporters giving favorable coverage of Medicare legislation.

    WTVF's airing of the commercial as if it were a genuine news report came to light on Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central.

    "The Daily Show," which spoofs TV news, had tracked down TV stations that aired the government-sponsored Medicare video and played the feed Wednesday night with "WTVF" on the screen.

    WTVF News Director Mike Cutler told the Nashville Tennessean he was unaware of the tape's origin when it appeared on his station's newscast in January.

    The New York Times reported Friday the General Accounting Office is investigating the use of federal funds to produce the fake TV news segments.

    Monday, March 22, 2004

    In The Before (Before Kilborn) Time

    Did I make up the fact that I think that John Kerry was a guest on TDS way back in 2000? When they were in LA for the DNC conventions? I bet I made that up. I don't have the interviews on tape for that week, so its not like I can look it up on a tape.

    Mazel Tov!

    This press release doesn't mention TDS, but you know someone from TDS is going to be in the audience:

    ***For up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs,
    visit COMEDY CENTRAL’s press-only Web site at http://comedycentral.com/press***

    MAZEL TOV! COMEDY CENTRALÒ TURNS 13!
    ADAM CAROLLA TO HOST AND SNOOP DOG TO PERFORM AT STAR-STUDDED BAR MITZVAH
    PREMIERING ON SUNDAY, APRIL 25 AT 10:00 PM*
    --------
    Toasters Include Sean Astin, Dave Attell, Hank Azaria, Drew Barrymore, Lewis Black, Mario Cantone, Host Adam Carolla, Cedric The Entertainer, Dane Cook, Judy Gold, DL Hughley, Colin Quinn,
    Ray Romano, Jeffrey Ross, Wanda Sykes And Many More
    --------
    Snoop Dogg To Perform At COMEDY CENTRAL's Bar Mitzvah
    --------
    Two-Hour Special Taped On Friday, March 19 At The Hammerstein Ballroom In New York City
    --------
    NEW YORK, March 22, 2004 -- COMEDY CENTRAL is all grown up! To mark this milestone, the network is throwing itself a Bar Mitzvah, COMEDY CENTRAL style. The big event will be hosted by Adam Carolla and will include stand-up and musical performances as well as a kick-ass retrospective highlighting the political humor, stand-up comedians, irreverent shows and some of the controversial moments in COMEDY CENTRAL's 13-year history. "COMEDY CENTRAL's Bar Mitzvah Bash!" airs on Sunday, April 25 at 10:00 p.m.
    COMEDY CENTRAL has invited more than 1,000 of its closest friends to celebrate this once in a lifetime event --- the network's 13th birthday. Unlike actual Bar Mitzvahs, "COMEDY CENTRAL' s Bar Mitzvah Bash!" will skip the praying and move right on to the partying. Performing stand-up at the event will be Dave Attell, Lewis Black, Mario Cantone, Dane Cook, Judy Gold, DL Hughley, Colin Quinn, Jeffrey Ross, Wanda Sykes and live music from rapper Snoop Dogg.
    “COMEDY CENTRAL has officially come of age," said Lauren Corrao, senior vice president, original programming & head of development, COMEDY CENTRAL. "We still can't drink or vote but what
    better way to celebrate the 13th birthday of the first all-comedy network than by throwing TVs first and probably last Bar Mitzvah."
    In addition to the a-list stand-up comedians and live music, "COMEDY CENTRAL's Bar Mitzvah Bash!" will feature some of Hollywood's hottest talent such as Hank Azaria, Cedric the Entertainer, Drew Barrymore, George Lopez, David Spade and Ray Ramano sharing their congratulations, Bar Mitzvah stories and favorite moments about the early days of COMEDY CENTRAL.
    Kicking off the birthday celebration, COMEDY CENTRAL has assembled a blue ribbon panel of comedy legends and industry insiders to come up with the "COMEDY CENTRAL's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups Of All Time." Over the course of five one-hour specials, debuting Monday, April 12 at 9:00 p.m. and airing throughout the week, a panel of comics including Judy Gold, Mario Joyner and Dom Irrera join special guests Richard Lewis, David Brenner, Phyllis Diller, Pat Cooper and Richard Jeni to count down the top 100 amazing stand-ups -- the ones who broke new ground by breaking all the rules. The shows will feature clips from many of these legendary performers. The greatest stand-up of all time will be revealed during the final show on Friday, April 16.
    The week leading up to the two-hour special, COMEDY CENTRAL will program a "best of" week, featuring the best episodes of original series including "South Park," "Chappelle's Show," "RENO 911!," and the best of "Friday Night Stand-Up." During this weekend celebration, viewers will be treated to the best in COMEDY CENTRAL movies and some of the best shows of COMEDY CENTRAL's past including "Win Ben Stein's Money," "That's My Bush!" and "Strangers With Candy."
    Michael Klinghoffer, Bo Kaprall, Michael Yudin are executive producers, Jeff Cesario will serve as co-executive producer and Lauren Gray and Lou Wallach from COMEDY CENTRAL are the executives in charge of production for "COMEDY CENTRAL's Bar Mitzvah Bash!"
    COMEDY CENTRAL, the only all-comedy network, currently is seen in more than 85 million homes nationwide. COMEDY CENTRAL is owned by Comedy Partners, a wholly-owned division of MTV Networks. COMEDY CENTRAL is a registered trademark of Comedy Partners. COMEDY CENTRAL's Internet address is http://www.comedycentral.com.

    Sunday, March 21, 2004

    Gather 'Round The Fire

    Gather round for a heartwarming look at our nation's democratic process with highlights from the Daily Show's Democratic primary coverage. Tune-in this Monday @ 10 PM | 9 C!

    Saturday, March 20, 2004

    My Favorite Mo Rocca Story

    In this second installment of my favorite correspondent stories, I cover my favorite Mo Rocca story from summer of 2001:

    "Bo Rocca Undercover: Cheerleading Camp"
    Airdate: July 12, 2001

    "Once upon a time an innocent after school activity, cheerleading today is a grueling, ultra completive blood sport, which kids are flocking to in record numbers. But at what price? I decided to find out by myself by going undercover"

    Mo goes undercover as a mustached man named "Bo Rocca" (who interestingly enough looks a little like Lyman from the early days of "Garfield") to a cheerleading camp in Iowa. In order for his expose to succeed, he only didn't have to act like a cheerleader, but be a cheerleader. Mo dons a light blue t-shirt and a pair of black shorts, and tries to do the cheerleading moves.

    Bo: "What’s your favorite boy band?"
    Girl: I don't have one.
    Other girl : I do. N'Sync.
    Bo: What do you think of Hall and Oates. I think they're pretty cool.
    Other girl : I don't know who they are. Sing one of their songs.
    Bo : o/~Private eyes, they're watching you. Watching your every move.o/~

    Bo realizes that these girls are being pushed beyond their limits.

    After a full hour at cheerleading camp, he manages to pull himself off as one of the girls:

    Mo starts to "dig for the dirty":
    Bo: So answer me this, sometimes you wake up, and you don't feel that peppy. What do you do to get that pep?
    Girl: Drink some mountain dew.
    That's right mountain dew. An over the counter stimulant to make any cheerleader a pulsating package of pep.
    But Mo had to get into the inner sanctum for the night until he could find out even more greater abuses:

    "I thought it was hard...but it was fun! God, I love cheering!!"

    On the second day Mo (err, Bo) finds out about cheerleading's greatest dirtiest little secret: glitter.
    Bo: Be totally honest with me. Would you ever use glitter if you thought it would give you an edge with the judges?
    Girl : I already do. (makes a "shh!" motion with her finger)
    That's right. The rampant abuse of the banned performance enhancing substance known on the street as glitter.
    And what these girls will do to pay for their glitter fix will shock you:
    Girl : Sometimes I sell meat to raise money for cheerleading. You know, beef, pork.
    And with pork chops and glitter, something usually is much more worse than pork chops and glitter. Mo may have to be there (undercover) the entire summer to find out.

    At the desk with Jon:
    Jon : I have to say that that was a wonderful report.
    Mo: Yeah, whatever.

    My Favorite Ed Helms Story

    You're probably wondering "I've seen this before, haven't I?". Yes, yes you have. Since my archives died, I'm reprinting some of my favorite stuff (ie : the favorite correspondent stories series)


    In this second first installment of my favorite correspondent stories, I cover my favorite Ed Helms correspondent story, an early Ed Helms story from 2002:

    Touched By A Scalpel
    Airdate: June 17, 2002



    For as long as Ed can remember, he's has a small bump on the side of his nose. Ed finally goes to the doctor, and he says that he has a small mole. Ed has to get his mole removed STAT! Ed needs to know how long the ordeal is going to be, could he have a home nurse, and most of all "Is the tube in my rectum going to be uncomfortable?"


    The night before Ed gets his mole removed, he does what anyone would do : drink a gallon of colon cleaner. (or at least try to). Ed needs to go to bed early also : at the sinful time at 11:15:
    (off topic) I wonder if that was really Ed's apartment. Just a thought


    The morning of the procedure, Ed gets an early start by leaving the house wearing a hospital gown (and some male in the audience goes "woo!"). Finally, after flipping though a magazine, and getting odd looks by people, Ed finally gets to go in and get his mole removed, and we all get to see it:



    (the first and only time we see Ed without his glasses)

    At the end, the cameraman, Aaron starts to get woozy, Ed asks him if he's ok, he faints.

    At the desk with Jon, Jon asks Ed how life is without his mole, Ed says "what do you mean?", he still has his mole with him! :

    Breaking News To Comedy Central *

    *well, it was breaking news when I posted it on the old blog a couple of days ago. Now its old news.

    ***For up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs,
    visit COMEDY CENTRAL's press-only website at http://press.comedycentral.com


    JON STEWART INKS NEW PACT WITH COMEDY CENTRALã
    KEEPING THE HOST OF "THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART"
    AT THE ALL-COMEDY CHANNEL THROUGH 2008

    --------
    Stewart Answers The Chants Of Four More Years And Will Remain With
    COMEDY CENTRAL's Award-Winning Signature Series Through The 2008 Election Cycle
    In His Current Capacity Of Host, Executive Producer And Writer
    --------

    NEW YORK, March 18, 2004 -- COMEDY CENTRAL has reached an agreement with Jon Stewart to extend the contract of the host of the critically-acclaimed and award-winning "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," it was announced today by Larry Divney, president and CEO, COMEDY CENTRAL and Judy McGrath, MTV Networks Group President.
    Stewart, whose contract was set to expire at the end of this year, will now remain with the all-comedy channel through 2008 and the next presidential election campaign. In addition to hosting "The Daily Show," Stewart also serves as an executive producer and writer.
    "A lot of people like to get out when their show's still going well," said Stewart. "This gives me the opportunity to beat this thing into the ground."
    "I am thrilled for Jon and COMEDY CENTRAL that this magnificent union will continue on for another four years," said Divney. "Jon is one of the great, young comedic minds of our time. His ability to assess what's happening in the world and use humor to dissect the rhetoric and present the truth in its simplest form is unparalleled."
    "I have been a fan of Jon's ever since working with him on MTV's 'You Wrote It You Watch It.' And yes, I have the masters. In the inimitable words of Entertainment Weekly, ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart' is the most consistent laugh machine on TV...and still maintains it anarchistic spark. 'Indecision 2004'…is the very definition of a comedy series at the top of its game.' I count myself among the legions of Jon Stewart fans, and I can now get some sleep knowing he will be with COMEDY CENTRAL and MTV Networks for at least another four years," said McGrath. "I can't imagine the place without him."
    (more)


    The deal with COMEDY CENTRAL was negotiated for Stewart by his attorney Tom Hansen of Hansen, Jacobson, Teller. Stewart is managed by James Dixon of Dixon Talent, Inc.
    Among the show's many plaudits since Stewart took over on January 11, 1999 are: the 2002-2003 Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series (which ended the five-year run of "Late Show with David Letterman" in this category); multiple Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing For A Variety, Music or Comedy Program (2000-2001 and 2002-2003); and a George Foster Peabody Award for its yearlong "Indecision 2000" political coverage of the election campaign and aftermath. In addition, Stewart has been twice nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in A Variety Or Music Program.
    Currently in the midst of its "Indecision 2004" coverage, "The Daily Show" will continue to report on the contentious Bush vs. Kerry face-off, including taking the show on the road to Boston during the Democratic National Convention in July and covering the Republican National Convention from the show's home base in New York City. The "Indecision 2004" coverage will culminate with a live, one hour Election Night Special at 10:00 p.m. (ET/PT).
    "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," a nightly news parody launched in the summer of 1996, takes a reality-based look at news, pop culture, politics and the media. In each show, Stewart and a team of correspondents, featuring Stephen Colbert, Rob Corddry, Ed Helms and Samantha Bee, comment on the day's stories employing actual news footage, taped field pieces, in-studio guests and on-the-spot coverage of important news events. The series airs Monday-Thursday at 11:00 p.m. with encore presentations Monday-Thursday at 1:00 a.m., Monday-Friday at 10:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. (all times ET/PT).
    COMEDY CENTRAL, the only all-comedy network, currently is seen in more than 85 million homes nationwide. COMEDY CENTRAL is owned by Comedy Partners, a wholly-owned division of MTV Networks. COMEDY CENTRAL is a registered trademark of Comedy Partners. COMEDY CENTRAL's Internet address is http://www.comedycentral.com.

    Two

    In a list in Entertainment Weekly, Jon and the correspondents were rated #2 as the funniest of the year (or something like that)



    The Daily Show With Jon Stewart is the most consistent laugh machine on TV--and the only news source for scores of cynics and slackers. It's not often that a comedy show can tackle politics, embrace a cogent point of view, and still maintain its anarchic spark. The scribes at The Daily Show pull it off four nights a week. As the heart and soul of the show, Stewart is evenhanded but never meek; as an interviewer, he can make his guests comfortable even as he's taking them apart. Then there's his gang of 'correspondents,' who soldier straight-facedly into the great American absurd and take no prisoners. Empirically speaking, there's nothing funny about what's going on in the world right now. Yet here we are each week, chortling.

    We laughed at Every minute of their 'Indecision 2004' coverage so far, which is the very definition of a comedy show at the top of its game (see late-70s SNL, mid-'90s Simpsons, etc)."

    Friday, March 19, 2004

    Highlights For Kids

    I dug up a cached version of the old blog, and here are some recent highlights from the past week or so:

  • Cable Parents

    There's a child.com article about Stephen Colbert and his kids:

    http://www.child.com/living_in_style/celebrity_parents/colbert.jsp



  • (March 10th)

    I wonder if that guy with the check board on CNBC (that was shown during Monday night's show) got fired about 10 seconds after the cameras turned off:


    "Put down the marker! Step away from the posterboard!"


  • Sadly, I can't get to the favorite correspondent stories series. I think I might have Vances, Mo's, Ed's, and Rob's on a notepad file somewhere on my harddrive. I'll check.

    So yeah, I had to move this for the fourth time since its inception in 2001. The people who run upsaid decided to be callus and shut down all their free blogs. You know, I don't really blame them, like 98% of their free blogs were crap anyway. I think I still have some of the old stuff laying around here, so I'm going to reprint some of the old stuff (like the favorite correspondent series) and the last couple of things I posted at the old blog before Upsaid shut it down.