Sunday, October 17, 2004

Jon Stewart: At least he's still funnier than Herpes!

For almost two years I've been telling people that Jon Stewart isn't funny anymore. Everyone I've preached to has vehemently disagreed with me. But after watching his performance on Crossfire last Friday, I think people are finally going to start coming around. (Read the full transcript here.)

Stewart's problem isn't that he's spun off into lefty-land. It's that all of his Emmy awards have gone to his head--he thinks he's a serious guy now. When Stewart self-deprecatingly calls The Daily Show Fake News, you can tell that what he really means is "Fake" News.

In a way, this isn't entirely Stewart's fault. For some reason, the rest of the media world pushed him into it by doing scads of fawning profiles and including him on panels with Jennings, Brokaw, Rather, and the rest of the silverbacks.

I count Tucker Carlson as a pal, but what bothers me about Stewart's Crossfire tirade isn't that he called Tucker a dick--it's that in doing so, Stewart was about as funny as E.J. Dionne after two cosmopolitans. Or Bill Bennett after a bad night at the Taj.

Memo to Comedy Central executives: Craig Kilborn's available. Why don't you get Stewart a job at The Poynter Institute and bring Kilborn back to The Daily Show? I bet it'll help the ratings.

4 comments:

Polynices said...

I totally agree with you. My wife and I had to stop watching the Daily Show several months ago because of how the show has shifted. And I do think that his spinning off into lefty-land is part of why he is not funny now. The show used to cleverly skewer both sides, now it offers weak jokes against the Dems and recites DNC talking points against the Repubs. Ick.

Anonymous said...

Jon Stewart is funny no longer, and has become self-parody. He's Bill Maher will better hair. This is what happens to you when you start to believe your press-clippings.

WatchFires said...

Watching Stewart's appearance on Crossfire was like a kid's birthday party where the clown shows up drunk.

Anonymous said...

Wasn't so much that your posting here is petty, but sadly snarky. When going after something like "The Daily Show" I'd think you'd went to step up your writing.