Is the Daily Show getting lame?
 

Ok I used to LOVE the Daily Show a lot. Fake news, making fun of everyone who does something stupid.

Lately its so much more a liberal one sided slam fest. Every liberal is right, every righty is wrong. Cant they bring back the phony human interest stories and making fun of everyone who makes an ass of themselves.

I dont have much stomach for one-sided politics ranting (I dont really have a 'side') and it seems the only people who will be finding TDS funny nowadays are lefties.

Will things go back to normal when they get a demo in the white house?

Lately? It's been like that ever since Jon Steward was hired.

I havent watched it consistently, but I really like him and his humor. I remember him poking fun at dems and repubs alike. Maybe as the show gets more popular he feels more confident to just be one sided. I also just wish it would do more non political comedy (human interest pieces or something) but I guess thats not what they want the show to be.

It's been lame ever since Craig Kilborn left.

I don't watch it regularly, but didn't they just mock the "liberal" media (CNN) on their show the other day? And I've seen them rip into plenty of Democrats.

Once again, everyone seems to forget the non-stop Clinton jokes when the Dems were running the country.

Could it be you no longer agree with their focus (even though the Repubs are in charge now, so naturally they'd get more attention.)

I've watched the show since it first starting airing. Aside from September 2002-June 2003, when I was out of the country, I've pretty much consistently watched it.

I guess you've missed all the times the show has made fun of Democrats and liberals. The party in power is always going to get ribbed more, though.

Does Jon Stewart go easier on Democrat or liberal guests? Yeah, sometimes. I don't think he was very demanding of Zell Miller or Rick Santorum, though.

After 9/11, Stewart said they were taking the show in a more political direction, leaving a lot of the random stupid people segments behind. That was always more a hallmark of the Craig Kilborn years anyway.

Yea Ive missed the show the last few months. Last night it was all the woman protesting who lost her son in Iraq. It was pretty nonstop and not funny after a while.

Not lame at all to me. I find the show constantly creative and funny.

It's been a smug, unimaginative, and one-note crusade by Stewart for a long time now. When you hear people saying they remember a few weeks ago he bashed a democrat, while he bashes republicans for the majority of every show, it's laughable to refer to that as some sort of balance.

I'm very weird with this show. I will watch it consistently for a while, and then I don't feel the urge to hit play on my tivo again for a while. It has been recording, but I have been letting it record over itself again and again. Don't know when I'll be in the mood to start watching again.

Well, really the only thing he can bash the Dems for right now is their lame ineffectiveness as the oppositon party.

The Repubs have the White House, the Senate, the House, the judiciary. They are the ones calling all the shots in politics right now, so they will bear the brunt of the criticism for current affairs.

The Deocrats are such a non-entity right now, what is there really to make fun of besides that? (I stll laugh at the Daily Show's name for the Democratic presidential primary race "Race from the White House.")

It was just ridiculous the way they had that weird lady protesting made out to be a saint that could do no wrong. I havent been following the news but i think there is more than one side to her story.

I think it's even MORE laughable to expect some sort of balance from an ENTERTAINMENT show. For example, the creator of "Family Guy" is probably liberal, yet we never see threads bashing "Family Guy" because of it's liberal bias with no conservative balance.

No, "The Daily Show" is not getting lame, only some of its viewers.

Well, I think in the beginning the Daily Show was a comedy of fake news. The more political it gets the less real comedy it has and the more its a commentary/roast fest for whoever they dont like. Cant we just get back to real comedy?

well, make sure you base your perceptions on one episode then.....

I think the show is great and pretty fair. They call bullshit on both republicans and dems. it's also a comedy show so they go after whatever offers the best punchline.

This all started when people started taking <i>The Daily Show</i> seriously, and when the show and its viewers began taking themselves seriously. It galls me to think that people consider this a news show.

well i did say this is the first show Ive seen in awhile, i wanted to know if this is typical for how the shows are lately. Ill give them more chances. I think Jon is better than Craig.

It still has its moments, but IMO it lost a lot when it became so heavily political. I don't even care about the sides they take, I'm just not THAT into political humor. I mean, I'm bored to tears when they have some sort of political writer or CNN/Fox News reporter as the guest.

yeah, I personally really like the new format. I don't rely on it as a news source, but find it a refreshing voice in the modern world of media frenzy and the sensationalism of 24-hour news networks. The correspondent segments haven't changed much over the years and are still pretty good. I think the headlines are the best part, though.

I take The Daily Show seriously. It frequently makes serious points about the issues of the day. A lot of the time it's still just a goofy satire (which is good), but it's also developed beyond that to more biting social criticism.

I also don't understand the criticism that people think of it as a news show, when 90% of the jokes aren't funny unless you already have knowledge of the issues they're referencing. I'm sure there are some people that get their news from the show, but I can't understand why or even how they think it's funny.

You do realize it is a comedy show, right? You must really despise Fox News for their "Fair and Balanced" claims, since they are supposedly a "real news" show.

Hahaha. I hear you. Late July~Early August...watched it religiously But last two weeks, I've kept recording over newer eps thinking/rationalizing "meh I'll catch one of the encores later" (which of course I don't bother to do). I probably won't get the Daily Show jones again 'til sometime next week.

It was a magnificent show. But I really enjoyed fake news. I loved the interviews with morons that they acted serious with. Those had me rolling. Now that they mainly do political stuff, I just don't enjoy it a lot. I see them poke fun at pretty much anyone that will make a joke fit, but if I wanted semi real news, I'd watch a news channel. I just want to laugh and be entertained. If I wanted a political show that was funny, I'd stick with Bill Maher, etc.

Exactly Dave. I wish it was less serious (move farther away from honest political commentary under thinly veiled sarcasm) and more mocking of the common man.

Absolutely agree.

I think the show hit it's highpoint during election season last year. It's still funny, but not as good as it was then.

Yeah, that Dukes of Hazzard comedy bit they did just recently just had too much political content and was just way too liberal. Samantha Bee did a story last week about an idiot mayor who tossed off the city council two guys because they couldn't show up for the meetings. Why? Because they are fighting in Iraq. Too political for you?

They do they everyman type comedy all the time still.

What, is Colbert's This Week in God too serious for all of you or does it somehow bash Bush or make fun of conservatives?

Why should the show make ANY effort to be completely fair? Jon Stewart is a liberal, but he's not Michael Moore. Nonetheless, since he's likely liberal on a lot of issues, there's nothing wrong with his comedy coming from a place that's honest and comes from what he actually believes.

Trent Lott was just on the show and the two had a great interview. There is no place on tv where Trent Lott looks to be having a better time and seems more hip than on the daily show. Not even on Fox. The same can be said for a lot of conservatives. Even when someone who is completely out there comes out, Jon usually gives them every chance to speak their mind without cutting them off rudely or calling them liars.

Stewart isn't perfect and the show's interview segment, whether it be with a star, author or politican is almost always the weakest part of the show. He has 5 minutes or so and he usually does a pretty great job with those 5 minutes.

He makes fun of the democrats all the time. He's clearly a democrat himself, so he just makes fun of the parties in different ways, but he clearly calls them both out on being lame and imcompetent. So which is worse, calling the Republican party lame or calling is own party lame and completely incapable of getting their message out or winning an election?

He ripped into people from the left who made incredibly stupid attacks ads against Sumpreme Court nominee Robinson just a short time ago.

I think if you don't like the political humor or think there's too much of it, you probably just don't like hearing jokes about Bush and Rumsfeld and Stewart couldn't do anything to please you.

As has already been mentioned, the Republicans have all the power, they completely control the discussion in America right now and it would be impossible for the show not to make jokes mostly at their expense right now, especially since, with all that power, things are not going very well for the Republicans and the President right now.

The show is far from lame.

Is Steve Carrel still on this show?

I don't recall a claim of "balance" being made by The Daily Show. The only noted claim of "fair and balanced" is made by that other comedy network...Fox News! Jon Stewart does not and never has hidden from the fact that his politics falls on the left side of the fence. But for the most part he is very professional and respectful of his guests, which is why he is able to get many conservatives to appear on his show. I watched the show with Santorum last month and he was extremely generous with him...much more so than Santorum deserved IMO. But the bottom line is it's a COMEDY show unlike those angry political shout-fest shows where democrats and liberals ARE continually bashed, and rarely given the respectful treatment that Stewart shows.

On a side note, I find it laughable how conservatives get so wound up if there's one show that doesn't meet their political standards. You control government and dominate the media. But gee, the host of the Daily Show makes jokes about conservatives and then there's that Bill Maher guy on HBO. "We can't have that, we have to control everything!!!"

no. the regulars are Ed Helms, Samantha Bee and Rob Cordroy with the occasional Lewis Black segment

:thumbsup:
That's all this thread is: Conservatives who don't like the thought someone might have an opposing point of view.

Ah, the siren call of a Republican who doesn't like having his views opposed. I can't help but wonder, do you level the same charge against Bill O'Reilly's one-note crusade against the left? No? I didn't think so. (And it's worth noting O'Reilly isn't any more a newsman than Stewart is; they're both entertainers.)

Of course Stewart has been riding conservatives hard for awhile now. That's because Rebublicans have controlled the White House, Senate and House for five years. When Clinton was in office, Stewart rode his administration pretty hard too.

I hate to tell you Ferris, but political satire is real comedy. God forbid there's one intelligent topical humor show on the air. If you don't like it, Comedy Central and the other networks have plenty of empty-headed sketch shows for your amusement.

How dare you forget the single funniest man on the show Stephen Colbert...though he's cutting back soon for his own shows debut, The Colbert report.

"Ancient snake god....you are a *****!"

You've completely missed my point. Stewart can rant about whatever he wants. I was quite clear that what I find laughable are the people who insist he is fair and moderate, including Stewart himself. Look no further than this thread to see how right I am.

doh. yes, he is the best on the show and definately my fav. I can't wait for his show. :up:

I never found that show worth watching, even before politcis played much of a role

Maybe he didn't miss your point. Maybe you just didn't make a good point.

I can't think of any tv shows or comedians who are republican/conservative. I think there's a reason for that. Comedy & Republican/conservative doesn't seem like a compatable pairing. I know plenty of people who are republican who have good senses of humor, by the way, so I'm not trying to say that republicans are devoid of it or anything.

Uh...hello? Larry the Cable Guy!

Actually, a lot of celebrities are libertarian which suprises me.

Quite far to the right apparently. :rimshot:

Save Ferris (whose moniker is great) started the thread, and posted:
Okay, where to begin?

"That weird lady" was Cindy Sheehan. Her son, Casey, was a soldier who was killed in Iraq.
Throughout the month of August, while George Bush vacationed at his ranch in Crawford TX, Sheehan camped nearby in an anti-war protest.
For weeks, Sheehan (and Bush's refusal to meet with her) was one of the biggest national news stories in the US.

The show you saw was a rerun, but if it's the episode that I saw when it originally aired, The Daily Show's extended take on the Sheehan story focused on how right-wing pundits were out in force claiming that Sheehan was a lunatic, and that her demands for an accounting of why her son was killed were nonsensical ravings.

I guess I would have to agree with you that the turning of the Republican attack machine on one American citizen exercising her right to free speech isn't very funny.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart has made it very clear that they are a program of satire, in general, and political satire, primarily.

They are not in the fake news equals punchlines business. If that's what you want to see, they do it on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" --or you might prefer Jay Leno's monologues.

Jon Stewart is not in the "every liberal is right" business.

Despite the fact that Stewart has made his political leanings well known, he is very critical of Democrats.
In my observation, the general tone of Stewart regarding Dems is that they are pathetic and weak.

If you are finding that The Daily Show is harder on the right and more pointedly critical of Republicans, that would be accurate.
The reason for that is that (in case you haven't noticed) the GOP is in complete political control of the country.

As a political satirist, Stewart is mocking and attacking the people in political power, and those people are pretty much all Republicans.

You might notice that the other major target of The Daily Show's satire and criticism is the media.
That's right, the big, bad, liberal media.

You might have missed it, but earlier this year, Stewart went on CNN (That's the ultra-liberal Clinton-News-Network) on Crossfire and attacked both the commentators on the left and the right.

So, with mocking the right-wing politicos and the left-wing media, that should balance out to even-handed coverage, right?

and Save Ferris posted
You mean like the common man who's getting killed in Iraq?
Or, the common man's mother, who's protesting the war that killed her son?

I prefer to see more mocking of the smug President who says he can't worry about the dying soldiers and their mothers because he "has to get on with his life".