I don't know what to make of it, to be honest. I think the Iran situation was the proverbial "one-in-a-million" shot. I know how the sausage is made, and as I noted, I don't believe there should be a blanket moratorium on them.
I put that last graf separately with the understanding that I get why people find it funny. I just don't. And, as people have said repeatedly, if you don't like it, don't watch it. You can listen to Episode 96 of The Bugle at http://sn.im/tel3b: I would have to look later for the exact segment. He mentions that he had told the kids he was going to read two other books, then started reading Palin's book. On Tue, Nov 24, 2009 at 2:47 PM, PGage <[email protected]> wrote: > On Tue, Nov 24, 2009 at 10:58 AM, Joe Hass <[email protected]> wrote: >> Last summer's The Daily Show series in which Jason Jones went to Iran >> shortly before the Iranian election rioting exploded may have lead to >> the kidnapping of at least three people, including a Newsweek >> reporter. >> >> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/23/daily-show-to-blame-for-n_n_367978.html >> >> I am a big fan of differentiating between correlation and causation, >> but I do recall a little bit of handwringing at the time the series >> aired (after the rioting began), and this story is strongly enough >> relating to the latter that Stewart et al need to have some time for >> contemplation before their next on-location shoot. >> >> Let me add my personal opinion that I find the on-location stuff for >> TDS to be frequently (but not always) unwatchable, for the same reason >> that I have never enjoyed Candid Camera: there's a sense that the >> people with the camera are punching down instead of up. Listening to >> The Bugle last night, John Oliver told the story of reading "Going >> Rogue" to a group of six-year-olds, and an uproar occurred when the >> kids realized they were being suckered into something that clearly >> wasn't. Oliver and Andy Zaltzman were almost in tears as the story was >> told, And I thought, "I look forward to skipping past this segment >> completely." > > I am not sure what the lesson is that should be learned here. Is it > that TDS should not make jokes about anything or anybody who might be > so stupid or concrete as to take them seriously? That would rule out a > lot of the prime targets of satire, and is along the lines of Nancy > Pelosi telling her caucus to stay off of the CR. I thought the Jason > Jones stuff in Iran was good, and at the time quite touching. I think > the Iranians are quite capable of using just about anything, either > sincerely or as a pretext, to repress free speech and the press, and > if it had not been TDS with this reporter it would have been something > else with him or another one. > > I also disagree about their remote pieces - I think they are mostly > hilarious. When Ed Helms was on Kevin Pollak he said that he did very > little editing to make the subjects sound stupid or ridiculous, and > most of what they did was in editing in his reaction shots and > questions. I would like to hear the piece you reference with Oliver > about reading the book to the kids, because that was one of the few > that made me uncomfortable (though I am not sure what you mean by the > uproar being caused by the kids realizing they were "being suckered > into something that wasn't"). If TDS is looking for places to draw > lines, children and others who for whatever reason may not be > competent to make independent judgments might be a good place to > start. > > -- > TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "TV or Not TV" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
