This is The Daily Show

September 29, 2015 9:34 AM

Trevor Noah has delivered his first episode as host of The Daily Show. Reviews are mixed but mostly positive.

The Daily Show hand-off, previously.

posted by jbickers (49 comments total)

There wasn't anything wrong with it. Sure, there were some hacky jokes, but there have always been hacky jokes on TDS. Stewart (and therefore the show) was like a baseball player -- you enjoy the occasional amazing single feats of power like 500-foot home run, but there's a reason that no one is fighting for Adam Dunn to be in the Hall of Fame. The Noah TDS will be no different; we'll remember the high spots, sure, but if he keeps up the generally-good level of his predecessor, he'll accrue just as much fondness.
posted by Etrigan at 9:42 AM on September 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

He lost me at the AIDS joke. WTF.
posted by chococat at 9:56 AM on September 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

“Yet it is hard to imagine Stewart, with a track record as a first-rate comic writer and performer, and as a pretty sharp talk-show host, not being very good on it when he settles down a bit.”

- Jon Stewart's first Daily Show episodes reviewed in 1999

Watch Jon Stewart's first Daily Show.
posted by gwint at 9:58 AM on September 29, 2015 [6 favorites]

Noah won't really get a chance to make the show his own until next year when the 2016 election really gets going. Stewart took TDS from a late-night comedy about weird news to a real player in the political media with his work on the Bush Iraq war ongoing debacles, and really to the next level during the 2008 and 2012 elections. Noah will have a few months to get his feet under him, then the 2016 cycle will tell if he's up to keeping the show relevant, or it's going to take a step back. Or if he's going to take the show in another direction away from John's politics centric model.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:01 AM on September 29, 2015 [5 favorites]

Watch Jon Stewart's first Daily Show.

And people think I'm crazy when I say I preferred Kilborn.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 10:01 AM on September 29, 2015 [16 favorites]

It was... heh. I'll probably only watch again by December, unless something interesting happens. He's still growing into the job, and there's no point on watching the early episodes and get annoyed by all the little kinks that needed to be ironed out. I've stopped caring about Wilmore because of that.
posted by lmfsilva at 10:02 AM on September 29, 2015

Didn't realize he was Black until he mentioned it himself. Does that make me more racist?
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:02 AM on September 29, 2015

“Yet it is hard to imagine Stewart, with a track record as a first-rate comic writer and performer, and as a pretty sharp talk-show host, not being very good on it when he settles down a bit.”

- Jon Stewart's first Daily Show episodes reviewed in 1999

Holy what? What planet was this person on? You Wrote it, You Watch It? The Jon Stewart Show?


BOMBS.
posted by alex_skazat at 10:09 AM on September 29, 2015

I don't know when it happened but it was a big mistake when the correspondents stopped playing it straight. A lot of funny goes right out the window once they break character.
posted by any major dude at 10:14 AM on September 29, 2015 [8 favorites]

The first few weeks of The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore were a bit iffy and some of the conversations were just awkward or dull, but he's been improving with each episode and I find myself tuning in more and more often. Will give Trevor Noah some time and see what happens. Success doesn't always happen overnight. It has to be won with hard work and patience. I'm willing to give him that chance.
posted by Fizz at 10:17 AM on September 29, 2015 [5 favorites]

Of all the recent line-up changes, this one seems the most cookie-cutter to me. I could imagine Jon Stewart doing that entire episode, and a lot of Noah's mannerisms and timings were very Stewart-esque. Fallon and Colbert bring new stuff to their shows (or at least their own flavor), but so far it seems like Trevor Noah was picked because he was best able to pull of a Jon Stewart impression.
posted by papayaninja at 10:24 AM on September 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

I think the writers need to change. The material was written for Jon's speaking and delivery style and Trevor doesn't have the same comedic timing. Also I'm missing Jon's humility and self-deprecation, so I'm going to have to get past that.

I'm surprised they didn't have a better guest on.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 10:28 AM on September 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

I made several strong statements that Stewart's Daily Show will never be as good as Kilborn's. Based on my history, I will reserve judgment of Noah until 2021.
posted by Silvertree at 10:35 AM on September 29, 2015 [11 favorites]

I'm surprised they didn't have a better guest on.

I can't imagine a better first interview in a high-pressure situation than a guy who can carry an interview on his own just by doing his own bits.
posted by Etrigan at 10:41 AM on September 29, 2015 [5 favorites]

"...there's no point on watching the early episodes and get annoyed by all the little kinks that needed to be ironed out."

This is why I haven't watched the not-Craig-Ferguson guy yet.

That, plus heartbreak.
posted by Capt. Renault at 10:45 AM on September 29, 2015 [13 favorites]

This is why I haven't watched the not-Craig-Ferguson guy yet.

I've watched one he did on someone's house because that sounded way too insane (even for CraigyFerg standards) to pass. And it had Goldblum.
posted by lmfsilva at 11:01 AM on September 29, 2015

I think the writers need to change.

The writers did change. I had dinner last night with a friend of mine who wrote for Jon and is now going elsewhere. From what I can tell it is a whole new team.
posted by grumpybear69 at 11:13 AM on September 29, 2015 [4 favorites]

I forgot the first show was last night. I've become accustomed to avoiding the Chris Hardwick Yells Everything Show, and didn't think to check the schedule.
posted by Thorzdad at 11:14 AM on September 29, 2015 [3 favorites]

I don't know why Comedy Central doesn't repeat @Midnight (I much prefer it called Chris Hardwick Yells Everything Show) at a decent hour when old people with bedtimes can watch it.

Noah seemed fine, and I did laugh at the Pope emoji joke. I'll keep watching him, but I just spent 10 minutes reading the dreams of 37 female comics for their own late night shows, and those shows sound awesome.
posted by gladly at 11:21 AM on September 29, 2015 [4 favorites]

I thought he did a pretty good job.
posted by chillmost at 11:36 AM on September 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

I think the writers need to change.

The writers did change. I had dinner last night with a friend of mine who wrote for Jon and is now going elsewhere. From what I can tell it is a whole new team.

Gawker and Vanity Fair say "Most of" / "a large contingent" of Stewart's staff are in place at least temporarily.
posted by Etrigan at 11:37 AM on September 29, 2015

nevercalm posted a timelapse of the switch from Stewart's set to Noah's on Projects.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 12:03 PM on September 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

Noah seemed fine, and I did laugh at the Pope emoji joke

Missed an opportunity to give his show an edge by making a connection between the emoji and Jared from Subway. I know it's a new and improved Pope and all but it's amazing I haven't heard a single peep about the church's pedophile scandal since he's been here. I guess it all got fixed by changing Popes...
posted by any major dude at 12:05 PM on September 29, 2015

I haven't heard a single peep about the church's pedophile scandal since he's been here.

On his last day, the pope addressed church leadership again – this time revealing he had just met privately with five survivors of abuse, assuring them he believed their stories and vowing that clergy and bishops would be held accountable for “the sins and crimes” of abuse.
posted by Etrigan at 12:09 PM on September 29, 2015 [7 favorites]

Uh, excuse you, Vanity Fair article for saying Craig Ferguson of all people never got good at interviewing. He won a Peabody for his interview with Archbishop Desmond Tutu! He did an admirable job of pushing for a conversation with his guests rather than the standard PR fluff interview! Ugh, I still really miss Craig Ferguson's show.

Anyway, I thought Noah did fine. Larry Willmore has certainly improved since his show started, and I imagine Noah will do the same. I think it's a little unfair to turn such a microscope on these first weeks of new late night shows like Colbert's and Noah's, since as a form, the late night show is not one that bursts forth fully formed with its settled tone or format. It's a form that accrues its good points and bad points more in aggregate than in one night's show. For now, "he's competent," is basically all we can say.
posted by yasaman at 12:10 PM on September 29, 2015 [3 favorites]

It was fine. I laughed several times. There's a definite difference...where you went to Stewart for help processing events through his satire (and, as the years progressed, his rage), it really felt like Noah and the writers were straight up using the news to set up their jokes and punch lines. But Noah is a comedian, that's his voice right now. And hey, the jokes were funny (yes, I laughed at the aides joke). I also loved him being bummed that Boehner is leaving just as Noah is starting.

If you can accept that it's not Jon, and take it for what it is, it's pretty entertaining.
posted by dry white toast at 12:25 PM on September 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

It took Jon a long time to earn his role. Look at the first couple of seasons, and he's just a bland poop-joke-teller. Same with Colbert - his schtick was weird and off-putting the first season, then it became the stuff of legend. I have hopes for Trevor, if for no other reason than he doesn't look completely uncomfortable on camera and didn't stutter that much.

Wilmore, though, has quickly become the f*cking truth. He's so close to Jon's level of legitimate moral outrage police, it's crazy. Also: the best part of it is the discovery of Mike Yard, who is already a national treasure.
posted by General Malaise at 1:13 PM on September 29, 2015 [6 favorites]

Also: the best part of it is the discovery of Mike Yard, who is already a national treasure.

Most definitely this. That guy is amazing. I'm hoping Comedy Central can find more to do with him than as a sideman for Larry Wilmore.

I thought Trevor Noah was just fine. I saw some of his routine on Netflix after he had been designated as Stewart's replacement, and had been excited for his debut ever since. I think his not-of-the-States perspective is going to help a lot.
posted by hwestiii at 1:38 PM on September 29, 2015

I'm also a fan of Kilborn, but Stewart was different, and TDS didn't really come into its own until they did the "Indecision" election stuff a couple of times. Personally I thought his tenure was best in the middle, and maybe the Crossfire event was the turning point where he kinda started reading his own press.
posted by rhizome at 3:37 PM on September 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Also, 2000
posted by rhizome at 3:43 PM on September 29, 2015

>This is why I haven't watched the not-Craig-Ferguson guy yet.

You've missed .... nothing. Remember how Furguson's quite successful schtick was the deconstruction of the late night talk show? This new guy is constructing it all back again. Watched three episodes and then "Oh hell no!"

I'll give Noah a few weeks before I make a similar judgement. Frankly I don't believe that he was a good choice because the Daily Show was all about political Americana satire and I think it takes someone growing up in our culture to get that kind of satire across - let alone understand the nuances of it. I'll be happy to be proved wrong however.
posted by AGameOfMoans at 5:59 PM on September 29, 2015

I, for one, welcome my new Daily Show overlord.

Like literally, he's my boss.
posted by nevercalm at 6:26 PM on September 29, 2015 [23 favorites]

The problem with the AIDS joke is that it's such a nothing joke. There's no meaning or voice behind it, just noting that two words are homophones. It seems like it exists solely to shock the audience.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 6:27 PM on September 29, 2015

I'm only a few minutes in, and I know it's the first show so maybe things will die down, but I really hope they manage to tamp down on the hooting audiences that The Daily Show seems to attract. There got to be a point in Jon's run where despite the fact that I liked the segments and enjoyed the jokes and so on, I just couldn't watch it anymore because the audience would keep shouting for or booing at various things they did or did not like.
posted by downtohisturtles at 8:38 PM on September 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

If nothing else, Neil deGrasse Tyson is happy because they finally fixed the error in the intro graphic, and set the earth spinning the correct direction.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:54 PM on September 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

I'm sure I will watch the Daily Show again, but the Nightly Show has really grown on me.
posted by Pendragon at 2:04 AM on September 30, 2015

I am loving the Daily Show with Trevor Noah. He's very funny and likable. Time will tell if he is able to slice and dice the conservative BS, or any BS, with the same insight and skill as Stewart. Frankly, Stewart lost his edge at the end. I think he spent more effort trying to foil the conservatives rather than just making fun of them. It became too personal. Noah has big shoes to fill, but so far so good from the way I see it.
posted by caddis at 2:09 PM on September 30, 2015

Regarding my earlier comment and the idea that the writers need to be refreshed, I saw a bus plastered with an ad here in Chicago that read something like, "New face... Same show." And I thought, "Exactly the problem!"
posted by papayaninja at 2:13 PM on September 30, 2015

I was kind of "eh" on the first episode, but the second was a big improvement. Even the correspondent sketch (which I usually dislike) was solid, and the interview was engaging. Really looking forward to catching up with the Chris Christie episode.
posted by Rhaomi at 12:19 AM on October 1, 2015

I don't know why Comedy Central doesn't repeat @Midnight (I much prefer it called Chris Hardwick Yells Everything Show) at a decent hour when old people with bedtimes can watch it.

Hulu. That's how I watch TDS and @midnight (TOM LENNON WAS ON LAST NIGHT!) and how I discovered The Nightly Show, which started slow but has become awesome.

POINTS!
posted by elsietheeel at 9:39 AM on October 1, 2015

Frankly I don't believe that he was a good choice because the Daily Show was all about political Americana satire and I think it takes someone growing up in our culture to get that kind of satire across - let alone understand the nuances of it. I'll be happy to be proved wrong however.

I like the international perspective he brings. His comparison of Trump to Mugabe is brilliant and not something Stewart would/could do.
posted by zutalors! at 8:12 PM on October 1, 2015 [3 favorites]

Say what you want about the CHRIS HARDWICK SHOUTS THE WHOLE INTERNET SHOW, but it's a great showcase of the network's roster.
posted by lmfsilva at 3:05 AM on October 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Well I think Thursday was his first major hurdle, and to me at least, he cleared it.
posted by inpHilltr8r at 2:13 PM on October 2, 2015

So I watched last night and fully 50% of the show was taken up by a musical guest - who played music - no actual interview. Is this going to be a thing now I wonder? If so I can get that format on any late night talk show. I just have a bad feeling about this.
posted by AGameOfMoans at 4:09 PM on October 2, 2015

I'm surprised that people are surprised that Noah is making this his own show and not just copying Jon Stewart's format and persona exactly.
posted by zutalors! at 6:44 PM on October 2, 2015

These stars turned down the chance to host ‘The Daily Show’ — here’s why they said no
posted by I-baLL at 6:15 AM on October 7, 2015

Fucking shitdicks, I would have loved to have seen Schumer do this. She gives just enough the right number of fucks about an issue, and the right number of zero fucks, to have really been sharp. Maybe when she's ready to settle down into something she can do a gig like this I hope please someone please persuade her
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 10:36 PM on October 7, 2015

I've seen a lot of vaguely racist Amy schumer so I'm really glad she doesn't have a platform like a nightly show for all that.
posted by zutalors! at 10:47 PM on October 7, 2015

Just to add Noah has been killing it with the voices. But still haven't seen one as good as Jon doing Mitch McConnell.
posted by lmfsilva at 7:19 AM on October 8, 2015