I seem to have stepped on a hornet's nest. I am happy to deal with the consequences, but let's make sure I am being stung for what I actually said.
First, I was a fan of TDS pre-Stewart. Second (as I noted) I may find that I enjoy whoever replaces Stewart - much as I currently enjoy a number of the other comedy programming on Comedy Central. Third, what I doubt is that TDS will continue to be the "must-see" experience that it has been during the Stewart era. Anyone who disagrees with any of those three statements is free to take their swings at me. Anybody who predicted that TDS would not be the same after Kilborn was absolutely right. Unlike many here, I did not hate Kilborn, and in fact quite enjoyed him (here is a real heresy for this list - I liked Kilborn's Late Late Show better than I did Ferguson's). Stewart's TDS is a very different animal, and while I liked the first version, I liked Stewart's much more. I probably saw about 40 to 50% of Kilborn's TDS - I have seen somewhere north of 95% of Stewart's. If CC thinks it can slide any amiable comic into that seat and continue the cultural impact that Stewart has had, they are deluding themselves. I do think that Stewart has been a much bigger part of the success of the current version of the TDS than Carson ever was at the Tonight Show. Now, I don't mean it is impossible for someone to do the current kind of show as well - Oliver is the obvious example, but he is not available. Someone has mentioned Mandvi, who I think might be quite good, but I don't think he is available either. Obviously there might be someone unknown (to me) that comes in and just hits a home run, and if so I will be glad for it. But (and this was my original point) the claim made by CC that TDS is a franchise and all they have to do is plug in a competent host and it will drive on as it has been is simply not true. On Thu, Feb 12, 2015 at 8:59 AM, David Lynch <[email protected]> wrote: > It will continue to be The Daily Show whether or not the new host and > his/her style conform to your taste. Jon Stewart is a very good vessel for > what TDS asked him to do, but this is not a lightning in a bottle situation > where he's the only person who can pull it off. SNL has been doing fake > news for roughly 40 years and it's a long way from "Jane, you ignorant > slut" to Dennis Miller's rants to Amy and Tina or from Roseanne > Roseannadanna to Stefon, but it's all still recognizably the same bit. > > It's my hope that "It won't be TDS without Jon Stewart" will sound as > ridiculous in hindsight as "It won't be The Tonight Show without Johnny > Carson" or "It won't be Jeopardy without Art Fleming." Pointing out the > news media's foibles, even if it's through satirizing them, is a valuable > part of a free press. > > -- > -- > 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 > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- -- 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 --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
