Unless you’re living on a desert island (with no internet access), you know that both The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report returned to the air last night. Well, kind of. A The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The ColberT ReporT aired last night (check out the liveblogging we did for Jon and Stephen here). And I guess there’s not much else going on in the world, because the media reaction has been comprehensive to the point of near-insanity; normally, they seem to leave that role to us!
After wading through the linked articles on 10+ pages of “Google News” results, it seemed like the only way to really cover it all would be to give you several of the links for your own perusal. [Editor's note: We may add to this if we see a new angle covered in later articles, etc.; check back if you're interested.]
General reviews (pro, con and everything in between)
- Salon: Stewart rambles, Colbert rallies!
- The Guardian (UK): Strong comeback for Comedy Central
- The Baltimore Sun: Stewart stumbles, Colbert shines as shows return to air
- Entertainment Weekly: Rating the returns of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert
- Editor & Publisher: Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert Return With Pro-Union Shows
- Wired.com: Stewart, Colbert Strike Back — Sans Writers
- Buddy TV: The Return of ‘The Daily Show’ and ‘The Colbert Report’
- Associated Press: Viewers Await Return of Stewart, Colbert
- Variety: The Daily Show With Jon Stewart / The Colbert Report
- E! Online: Stewart, Colbert Report to Work
- Boston Herald: Late night hairy without writers
- Chicago Tribune: ‘The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’ and ‘The Colbert Report’ return to late-night TV
- Kansas City Star: Stewart and Colbert round out late-night returns
- THE USA Today: Comedy isn’t central to Jon Stewart’s return
- Bloomberg: Stewart’s `Daily Show’ Returns to Air Without Writers (Update1)
- New York Post: Colbert and Stewart’s return a joke
- Sun-Sentinel (Florida): Stewart, Colbert miss their writers
- Hartford Courant: Stewart, Colbert Return
- CNN.com: Stewart and Colbert return, with unusual touches
- Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Strike Watch: Another Day in Late Night
- Washington Post (Reuters): Stewart and Colbert return to late night
- Steve Young (Huffington Post): Can’t Wait For The After-Strike Makeup Sex : Daily Show/Colbert Report Report
- Glamour: Why Stephen Colbert Rules
- The Ampersand (National Post): A.M. A&E: A kid for Nicole Kidman, Golden Globes not so golden, Stewart and Colbert return to air
- RECENTLY ADDED: The Onion AV Club: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart/The Colbert Report
- RECENTLY ADDED: Slate: Strike Two
Liveblogging
- New York Magazine: Blogging ‘The Colbert Report’
- Broadcasting & Cable: Liveblogging ‘The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”
- RECENTLY ADDED: Scribe Vibe: Liveblogging the return of “The Colbert Report”
- RECENTLY ADDED: Scribe Vibe: Liveblogging the return of “The Daily Show”
- Vulture (New York Magazine): ‘The Daily Show’: Jon Stewart Displays His Strike Guilt, Unibrow
Audience member recap
- Television Without Pity: Review by Miss Kean (
TheA Daily Show) - RECENTLY ADDED: Television Without Pity: Part 2 of Miss Kean‘s review
Wow, that New York Post review is a tad vicious, ain’t it?
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I have to congratulate Stephen; he did way better than I thought he would…and I’m not just saying that, either. It was genuinely funny. If I was in his spot I would stare at the camera while crickets chirped in the background. He filled up the time really well! Don’t know how he’ll last if the strike goes on for months, but then again…he’s Stephen.
Does anybody know if it’s against the WGA rules to use clips from previous shows, since that material was written by the writers? Will he get disciplined for that?
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I’m a huge fan of both shows and I honestly thought Jon did better than Stephen last night.
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I agree with Josh. I laughed at both shows but got way more out of ADS than the Report. It was good to see Jon Stewart so passionate and the 9/11 joke was just brilliant. I hate that so many articles are blasting Stewart.
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I think they are being to hard on Jon. I’m glad he talked about the strike so much…and he WAS funny!
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I also agree. I love them both, but I really loved watching Jon talk so bluntly and unveiled about the strike as compared to Stephen. But again, both of them did a great job with what they had to work with.
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I thought Stephen was great. Having both shows that night be full of vitriol would have been too much. But I like that Jon expressed frustration at both the AMPTP as well as the WGA leadership who turned down the deal to get both shows back with writers.
What I keep wondering is why the WGA hasn’t given Jon and Stephen waivers or a special deal. I know, they don’t own their own shows. That isn’t their fault, is it? There is almost NO mainstream media coverage of the strike. TDS and TCR with writers would be able to cover the situation properly and get representatives of the WGA on the air and the message out there. If the WGA wants to get the public aware and sympathetic, they need to do more than make web videos.
And the WGA better not get on Stephen’s case about doing the show in character! All this griping and sniping at Jay Leno for writing his own jokes makes the WGA leadership look petty. And confused, since the language in the contracts is confusing and open to interpretation. Who is going to want to join the WGA or stay a member when you can be harassed and handicapped when you find yourself in a situation like this? But what do I know, I’m not in a union.
Our boys are caught between a rock and a hard place. I know some of you won’t be watching until the strike is over, but I will. Because these guys have gotten me through tough times in this crazy world before. And right now I need them more than ever.
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@Alizon Z,
Our boys are caught between a rock and a hard place. I know some of you won’t be watching until the strike is over, but I will. Because these guys have gotten me through tough times in this crazy world before. And right now I need them more than ever.
It’s like one mind…ditto.
They are my therapy — I can hardly survive my beyond-sh&*ty job without them every night.
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It’s interesting to see the critics being so hard on Jon. I thought he did a really great job and I liked what he had to say about the strike. He seemed pretty spot on to me, in that he seemed to deliver his lines just as he would if he were reading from a prompter and the interview seemed to be conducted in the same manner as all other interviews he’s done.
I thought that Stephen did an incredible job last night too. Overall, I thought both shows were very funny.
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I don’t like angry/preachy Jon as much as fun Jon. Stephen was way more subtle last night and I enjoyed his show more. He said everything Jon did just by doing the “Word” segment, IMHO.
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@Gaia Faye,
The New York Post is officially Dead to Me. I’m adding ‘em to my board right now.
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I definitely agree that they are being WAY too hard on Jon. Stephen came off as more put together and made me laugh more, but Jon made me happier. Stephen seemed a lot more equipped to deal with the situation, but I was SO happy that Jon devoted as much time to the strike as he did, and he WAS funny. I think that what he did was close to pitch perfect for the situation. He didn’t go as far as I’d have liked to see him go during the interview, didn’t ask the questions I’d have liked to see him ask… didn’t go after the AMPTP quite as much as I’d have liked. He should have asked Seeber for advice on ending the strike. I didn’t really get any insight out of the interview, as funny as I found it.
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“Last night, the Comedy Central comics could barely hold their heads above water.” Adam Buckman, New York Post
LOL — what a humorless clod. The poor thing needs a new job. :D
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For real? I thought Jon’s monologue thing was incredibly disjointed and was neither very funny nor a good explanation of the situation…
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“Grade: Stewart: B; Colbert: A,” Noel Murray, The Onion AV Club
That’s better (though I reserve the right to quibble on the grade given Jon.) :)
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Ignore the NY Post, it’s a right wing tabloid run by R. Murdoch with an agenda.
I think they both did a great job.
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In terms of preparation, are they not even able to use a freakin’ note card to cover points they want to make?
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I watched both shows last night after the BCS game (yeah Tigers!). Although we caught the very beginning of the 11:00 (Eastern) ADS between commercials, when I watched the rerun, it didn’t begin until ~1:12AM. Where did 12 minutes disappear between 11:00PM and 1:12AM?
I though Jon looked genuinely uncomfortable; it seemed obvious he was forced back to work. His comments throughout the show left no doubt he supported the WGA. The only slight criticism I would make of Stewart is that he needs to be careful not to become a “Sad Sack” comic. He is sharp. witty, and insightful (I don’t think it’s just the writers who make him this way), but he seemed so unhappy about the situation that it predominated his persona — hence the vicious reviews of his performance. Jon can and will do better, I’m certain.
Stephen Colbert was quite good; then again, he is more relaxed because Jon is on before him. The minute-long opening applause was a bit much, but I figured it was a time-killer. ;D His interviews seemed a bit more curt (quickly cut short) than usual, though overall he managed well. I’m happy he had Andrew Sullivan on in support of Obama, having recently decided for myself how I will vote in the primary.
I still feel guilty about watching at all; it’s difficult to decide — and follow through — the right thing to do.
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@laughing at nothing,
I think it was obvious that Jon was still upset about not being able to make a deal with the WGA before Monday, and upset about having to return without his writers. In the audience member recap linked to above, she noted that before taping began, he seemed sort of sad about it. Hopefully, through the rest of the shows this week, he’ll be able to shake it a little bit.
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@Lisa: I agree. I don’t know why Jon’s discomfort should have been so harshly criticized by the media. What was he supposed to do — say, “Hey, I’m unhappy about this but let’s just be funny and get on with the show”?
Stewart has shown he feels deeply about situations that have a high scr#w factor for people who have to endure them (Iraq, Katrina, the strike, etc.). His demeanor was in keeping with his emotions and ethical sensibilities. I thought the show was good — my “observation” was just something I noticed (think “Sad Sack” and you can picture the Stewart expression, lol). I wouldn’t want him to be typecast as that “particular” kind of host/comedian in the future. He’s sharp and hilarious and has a heart. The fact that he showed his heart on the first show back should not be cause for kind of media reaming he received from some sources.
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Those reviews are scary. Were they watching the same shows I was?
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@laughing at nothing,
“He’s sharp and hilarious and has a heart.”
I couldn’t agree more — he understands his celebrity, and yet, he doesn’t let it get to his head, and has a great sense of right and wrong. He remembers what it was like to be “the little guy” and doesn’t take himself too seriously. These reasons, and so many more, are why I admire him so much.
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