Tuesday, January 8, 2008

The Daily Show and Colbert Report return, funny because of the Wrtiters Strike

So the Daily Show and Colbert Report return to answer the big question:

Can you be funny without writers?

The answer (if you don't count the WGA member hosts as writers) is a resounding yes. But, of course, most of the jokes (and all of the best) were about the strike:



Steven Colbert has an even harder job. While Jon Steward essentially acts as himself on the Daily Show, Colbert portrays a fictional (and largely written character) on his show.

On the first night, Colbert was even funnier, using a 5-minute long laugh track to fill a good portion of his show.

I'd post the Colbert video, but it's non-embeddable (WTF?).

Two big questions left on the table:

How sustainable are jokes along those lines?

While Stewart/Colbert were ripping on the studios for not paying writers for iTunes downloads, Comedy Central/Viacom were pimping iTunes downloads at every commercial break and in all the credits. Was this done for irony or out of cluelessness?

6 comments:

Brady Bonk said...

"So this guy walks into a picket line..."

Anonymous said...

The writer strike is absurd. So many people that can write would love to have even a smidgen of a chance to have these jobs, but apparently none of these people can even imagine working minimum wage jobs and barely surviving because they've been sucked into the Hollywood hype, that somehow, they too are stars just because they write the shit that we watch. Well let me just remind all of you...half your shows aren't even good enough to watch..and you shouldn't be overly compensated just because you do a JOB. Welcome to what the rest of us in America go through day in and day out. Oh pity you, you worked your ass off and didn't get all the credit...it's called CORPORATE AMERICA dumb asses, and welcome to it. Suck it up and get back to work...or hey, let's just give their jobs to other people.
--a normal working class citizen

Anonymous said...

Shut up, who ever that anonymous poster is. Take your blasphemy somewhere else

Anonymous said...

The commercials are there because media companies place these with NCC and the shows have no say over what runs in the program. Just the opposide - companies choose what programs they want to run in. Ironic, but true.

Anonymous said...

the writers' strike will not end until the 2008 pres. campaign is over... conspiracy by the whole global elite... they don't want Colbert, Stewart, et al to have any influence over the race...

Anonymous said...

Go to http://savetheshow-conanobrien.blogspot.com/