I'm probably just cranky today because of that New York magazine thing
...but what is wrong with people?
Today in the Boston Globe, which is a real newspaper that some people actually pay to read, TV columnist Renée Graham worries that "as "The Daily Show" grows in popularity and significance, the program will lose its wily edge."
Based on what? Graham cites only Jon Stewart's mildness with John Kerry when he appeared as a guest, but Stewart has always been excessively polite to important people (and even some actors) who appear on the show. It has never had any impact on how pointed the jokes about these folks are when they're not on the couch, and there's zero evidence that it's starting too.
Only at the end does Graham reveal her real concern: not that the show is actually getting soft, but that it's no longer "cool" now that everyone has discovered it -- a high school whine so transparently lame that even 82% of the people dumb enough to participate in online polls (right col) think she needs to "relax."
She probably doesn't even really think it's true, she just wants us to know that she's been watching the show "for years." BFD, lady. I watched Stewart on MTV but you didn't see me cranking out a 700 word column when he "sold out" to Comedy Central.
Seriously, I know turning out a column twice a week ain't easy, but put just a little effort into it, wouldya?
Comments
I noticed that idiotic article today, as well.
Ms Graham is a television columnist. She gets paid to sit around wondering if Jon Stewart is going to "lose his edge".
Think about how stupid that is, and you'll feel better.
Posted by: Geekgirl | August 31, 2004 11:36 PM
Looks like she cribbed the first half from a much more intelligent piece in Slate (http://slate.msn.com/id/2104473/).
And I've been getting my news from Comedy Central since they had Bill Maher doing Indecision '96, which makes me even cooler than Graham, right?
Posted by: Jesse | September 1, 2004 2:57 AM
Stewart has totally lost his edge. You should have seen how easy he was on Seth Green the other day. A few years ago he would have reduced Green to tears, but now he just made some jokes, plugged his movie, and then made more jokes.
Ellen, on the other hand, ripped Green a new one.
Posted by: Alex G | September 1, 2004 10:18 AM
I don't deny that he's often nice to guests. But that's not really what his show is about.
And when he's not nice to guests, he's REALLY not nice to them. Did you see him with Jennifer Love Hewitt? I actually felt kinda bad for her, he was so cruel.
Posted by: dlr | September 1, 2004 10:26 AM
I remember thinking the exact same thing: "Stewart's lost his edge ... based on what?" Thanks for writing down what many felt.
Posted by: Ron Mwangaguhunga | September 1, 2004 11:22 AM
Stewart may have gone easy on Seth Green but he eviscerated the Garfield movie when Jennifer Love Hewitt came on to promote it.
If anything, Stewart's trying hard not to become too serious. You can see that he's tempted to become THE pundit and source of op-ed for young voters, but he knows it would screw up the show.
Posted by: Chris Dahlen | September 1, 2004 8:33 PM
I was just goofing with the Seth Green thing, I don't recall him being really nice or really mean, I was just trying to make a lame joke about the lame article.
As for JLH, at this point you have to come on the Daily Show with a little more to give than say Carson Daly's show (OK, bad example). Stewey wasn't so much mean as she didn't quite know what to make of it.
Posted by: Alex G | September 2, 2004 12:03 PM
Damn you, Alex G, and your failure to use emoticons!
Posted by: dlr | September 2, 2004 12:46 PM
Everyone is missing the main point; Not only is that Boston Globe op-eder fake-cool, trivial and needlessly boastful but so is John Stewart's show.
The show is not really "young" in any meanigful or interesting way-It is simply a show for people who know nothing about politics-old and young.
The fact that the viewership for the show is young really has more to do with how Comedy Central over-agressively and superficially markets to the youth demograpic.
Posted by: Ben | September 5, 2004 8:29 PM
What exactly is "young" in a meaningful or interestng way?
Posted by: Ryan | August 9, 2005 3:07 AM