The Daily Show

When the show premiered in 1996, it was good. Craig Kilborn and his staff of oddball reporters showed signs of comedic genius. Five questions were always a pleasure, and the highlight for me had to be the scene from LEGEND OF RICKY in that segment's video opening.

But when John Stewart came, so did the greatness. Mo Rocca, Vance DeGeneres, Stephen Colbert, Nancy Walls, and Steve Corral, as well as the always funny Lewis Black and hilarious Frank DeCaro replaced the correspondence team--and have done very, very well. THE DAILY SHOW has grown from the small, mock news program/night show it once was into something completely new and fun. During the conventions last year, THE DAILY SHOW broke coverage of our current president with an erection while hearing his name nominated. Now this is crude, but in the context of the event, and the fact that it is pretty hard to doctor something like that, this six minute segment was perhaps the funniest in the show's history.

And it just keeps getting better. Its correspondents are better than ever (Colbert especially), and it is gradually gaining respect as a real news program. A reward for anyone interested in news and comedy--I wholeheartedly recommend you check this gem out if you haven't already!

A recent poll showed that a surprisingly large percentage of Americans got their news from the faux news show the Daily Show. With corporate news becoming increasinly bland and sacrificing journalistic qualities in favor of ratings, news satire has becoming ever more important.

Jon Stewart is splendid as the host who pokes and prods public figures to discuss recent news in ways they cannot do on network news. The correspondents are terrific, especially Stephen Colbert. This show is the best of basic cable! Great guests who have made recent appearances include Ambassador Joseph Wilson, whose wife was outed as a CIA operative by Robert Novak, and Richard Clarke, the former counter-terrorism "czar". Conservatives get their chances to, but aside from John McCain, the audience (in NY) tends to favor the liberals.

I have always liked the edgy, sometimes-cruel humor of "The Daily Show," but now that it has Jon Stewart at the helm I like it more than ever. Craig Kilborn was a talented host, but he often bordered on being severely unlikeable, and somehow malicious towards his guests. Jon Stewart brings to the show a much more developed sense of comic timing, plus a split-second wittiness and a knack for snappy comebacks. He has an obvious rapport with his guests, and consistently produces the funniest and most honest interviews on television. Meanwhile, the On-the-Spot reports have maintained the same level of hilarity, assaulting the pretentiousness of people who can't seem to realize they are the butt of a joke. And as sacreligious as it is, I can't get enough of the hysterical "God Stuff" portion of the show, which manages to strip bare the ignorance and hypocrisy that surround tele-theology in a few short minutes. The folks at "The Daily Show" would be well-advised to keep up the outstanding comedic work.

From Jon Stewart's zany wit to Stephen and Steven's outrageous sarcasm, to Lewis Black's volcanic sardonic rants, to Mo Rocca's clever political satire, to the sly, subtle, absurd humor from regulars such as Tolan, Woods, Walls, Helms, Corddry, Harris, et al. ... this wonderful, unique, insightful, and unbelievably hilarious tv show is truly a delight to watch.

For many young adults, the complex truths and shades of grey in this new "adult world" tend to be oversimplified and broadly painted by the ratings crazed popular News Media. It is a relief and a comfort to view a program to poke fun and point out the underlying absurdity of it all. Understand, this show does not preach, and its intentions are first, and foremost, to crack jokes and promote laughter. But in an era when lowbrow, kitschy humor and shock seem to be the easiest path to laughter, it is a pleasure and a blessing to have such a smart, witty, and insightful show as this one.

Not to be missed.

Jon Stewart has really picked this show up. I never liked it much when the other host was there, and I have watched it nearly every night since Jon started hosting. I really like how he can deliver a joke and if it fails to generate a laugh, he can easily pick himself up and move on. The correspondants are fantastic. I get a kick out of all of them. Those stories are wonderful. If you haven't watched this before, my best comparison would be "Saturday Night Live's" Weekend Update.