TDS 3.0: Season Seven Talk

[possibilities]

The show is back, from a new studio, but very similar to the pandemic format. Trevor interviewed Anthony Fauci, plus did an in-studio bit with Roy Wood, jr. Trevor continued his causal attire. 

[ruby24]

Him in a studio at a desk without an audience feels lacking. I think the key to the appeal of his apartment shows was that it felt so intimate, like he was vlogging from his room. An audience wasn't supposed to be there, and that format was original and an improvement.

But a new studio leaves too much space behind him and it does feel like there's supposed to be people there, so...maybe he is intending to bring the audience back at some point? 

Sort of disappointed. I was hoping they could figure out a way to keep that home-y feel permanent.

Edited September 14, 2021 by ruby24

[angora]

I liked the at-home format too, but I'm willing to wait and see on the new studio. I feel like it took a few episodes to get into the rhythm of the at-home version too - Trevor in his delivery/interactions with the correspondents, and me as a viewer. It felt a little subdued/stiff, but hopefully Trevor will unwind a bit soon, and I'm sure it'll feel different once he eventually gets an audience back in there too.

Glad to have the show back, even if the energy was a bit off. I always love Trevor's Trump impression, and he was great doing the hypothetical 9/11 memorial - "Here come the 9/11 widows, so many tears!!" I also got a kick out of the bit about old presidents making policies like they're crossing stuff off their bucket lists, and I really liked Trevor and Roy's discussion about how any problem develops "variants" when you let it get out of control.

"I be watching them COVID numbers like the stock market every morning!" - I hear you, Roy.

[possibilities]

I missed the 2 interview format, because he was bringing in less well-known people and also I notice he isn't still promoting a charity at the end of the broadcast.

[javajeanelaine]

I love Roy so much. 

[possibilities]

2nd ep had: In person interview. Suit/no tie. Promoting donations to a cause.
I think the new format is still evolving.

 

I liked Dulce's report on hormone disruptors. Sperm quality and dick size are not the only things affected by phthalates and other hormone disrupting chemicals, but she's right that those things are probably the ones that are most likely to motivate policy changes. I knew the EU had much stricter standards than the USA, but had no idea it was THAT big of a difference. 

 

I've seen it happening more and more, and I don't really like the style of having different prints for the shirt and the jacket. But if Trevor wants to wear a suit and make it interesting, he could try talking to whoever styles Amber Ruffin or Jon Batiste. I don't mind the hoodies, though, either.

[Bluerinse666]

What station are you watching this on? I am in Australia and cannot find anywhere. 

[possibilities]

In th USA, it's on Comedy Central.

[purist]

11 hours ago, Bluerinse666 said:

What station are you watching this on? I am in Australia and cannot find anywhere.

Looks like it's moved from Foxtel to Paramount Plus in Australia. Bugger!

[possibilities]

The hoodie was back. I think the statements that they were taking the hiatus to decide how to proceed in the new season was basically a cover for "we're taking a long vacation!" I don't mind, though. 

Really appreciated Desi's report on the misogynistic history of obstetrics.

[paigow]

Trevor needs a rimshot drummer... is Dave Grohl available????

[JustHereForFood]

Finally caught up with the new season. Did anybody else feel like there was a lot of back and forth between two cameras showing Trevor, or was that just me? 

My God, Desi's bit about women's health was hard to watch. I was vaguely aware of most of that stuff, but it still feels horrible to hear it each time, how women were (and still are in some cases) treated.

[Hanahope]

I think how women were treated by doctors is something schools need to teach.  Health class, history, something.  Maybe they will have  more interest in current treatment, where women are still treated less.

[SoMuchTV]

37 minutes ago, Hanahope said:

I think how women were treated by doctors is something schools need to teach.  Health class, history, something.  Maybe they will have  more interest in current treatment, where women are still treated less.

But, but, how can we move forward if we keep dredging up this ancient history?  Oh, sorry, wrong subject. 

[possibilities]

Fix your sound, show! I thought my hearing or my TV was dying, because I had to turn the volume up really high, and it still sounded muffled, when last night's show started. But then the commercials and Dulce's field piece were plenty loud. If you can mic properly on the street, surely you can do it in the studio. The at home shows didn't have this problem, so WTF?

Also, one thing I've really liked about Trevor's show is that it was actually talking about current events, not just trolling people for the sake of being a troll. So I hated Dulce's "try to make people late for work for no reason" stunt.

I'm getting the distinct feeling that Trevor is burned out and doesn't really want to do the show anymore. 

[Victor the Crab]

Seeing how Trevor has a sudden love for rocks, I suggest he dress up in a white sheet with lots and lots of little holes in them, then go to every house around on the evening of October 31, and he’ll have all the rocks he can handle.

Worked for Charlie Brown!😁

[JustHereForFood]

On 9/23/2021 at 1:41 AM, possibilities said:

Fix your sound, show! I thought my hearing or my TV was dying, because I had to turn the volume up really high, and it still sounded muffled, when last night's show started. But then the commercials and Dulce's field piece were plenty loud. If you can mic properly on the street, surely you can do it in the studio. The at home shows didn't have this problem, so WTF?

I watch it on youtube and it's the same - the sound is much lower than other videos and when I turn it up, the music at the end of each video is then so loud it usually scares me. I think they had this problem before pandemic as well, but it got better when Trevor was at home.

[ruby24]

I wish he was still at home. This is not the "reboot" of the show that he promised before. They clearly gave up on trying to adapt the new things that worked so well from his home shows and are just going back to more or less what it was before, just a new studio. With an audience it will be virtually no different. So much for that.

[DXD526]

It is kind of disappointing. There were so many things about the 'home' edition that worked, and when they took all that time off, it seemed like they were really going to brainstorm and try to rebuild the show. But apparently they just wanted a summer vacation. 

[ruby24]

On 10/2/2021 at 4:32 PM, DXD526 said:

It is kind of disappointing. There were so many things about the 'home' edition that worked, and when they took all that time off, it seemed like they were really going to brainstorm and try to rebuild the show. But apparently they just wanted a summer vacation. 

Yeah, I think that's the biggest disappointment. Trevor specifically promised a reinvention of the show and made it sound like that's the reason it was going on such a long break. That was CLEARLY a lie.

I may quit. I wasn't that big a fan of him until the home shows, tbh. That's when I felt like it found its groove as HIS version of The Daily Show for the first time and I started watching regularly. But this is a major backslide and all it does is remind me why I wasn't super devoted to him before. 

If this is all they were gonna do they were better off keeping the home shows as they were, but I guess he wasn't brave enough to admit the home shows were better than the original incarnation after all. Or if he did, he wasn't brave enough to make them permanent, admit that not having an audience actually improved his show compared to the others. 

But it did, man. It did. Going back to the way it was before just because that's what everyone else is doing...it lessens the show and it's a bit cowardly.

[possibilities]

We don't know if Trevor tried but the network refused. But for sure the show since it's been back has been almost depressing, it's so low energy. I hate the new set, also. It looks terrible! And Trevor seems frankly depressed. It's hard to watch. All the energy has gone out of it, which is really surprising because the home shows had energy. I don't even know how you manage to tank it this badly.

[possibilities]

I didn't recognize Monica Lewinsky at all. I still can't believe that was her! Her voice and her appearance are completely different than I remember them to be. I don't know if it's me, or her, but wow-- that was a huge change.

As far as her "cancel culture" production is concerned, this review thinks it's quite a bit less thoughtful than what the interview with Trevor made it out to be. 

https://forward.com/culture/476474/monica-lewinsky-didnt-learn-about-cancel-culture-during-her-15-minutes-of/

 

[Bastet]

Of all the late night pieces "celebrating" the 25th anniversary of Fox News, the sexual harassment montage TDS put together is my favorite.

[possibilities]

Some follow ups on the interview with Jessica Pin, who is trying to get ob/gyn education to teach clitoral anatomy:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jessica-pin-daily-show-clitoris_n_615ed8bbe4b08d08062ed934

Longer interview:
https://hannah.nazri.org/jessican-pin-on-clitoral-anatomy

She has a petition to pressure educators to do better
https://www.change.org/p/american-college-of-ob-gyns-get-nerves-of-the-clitoris-into-american-college-of-ob-gyn-curriculum

 

 

[Dewey Decimate]

My god, that buzzer interruption bit with Dulce was the worst thing I've seen on this show. It makes me so sad to think how brilliant Trevor was in quarantine. He's still a great interviewer, but the energy is sapped in this studio-without-an-audience thing. 

[possibilities]

It's shocking how bad the show is now that they're back in the studio. I also find it shocking how depressing the studio itself it. It's dark. It looks tacky, makeshift, and cheap. Trevor seems depressed.

Dulce seems over it entirely. She's doing meaningless field pieces like that crap about how arguing is a waste of time. I mean, great-- so don't argue. Talk about something meaningful if you want to talk about something meaningful. 

 

[DXD526]

Dulce's horrible interrupting bit was the least funny thing on the show ever, but she only held that record for a day. Ronny last night was worse. Did they really think that was funny? Really? It was so annoying, I had to tune away for a few minutes, a first with this show. Let's hope that doesn't become a habit, but I have my doubts. It's kind of shocking how much the quality has slipped since the return to the studio. 

[littlepaw]

WTF is going on? Who thought it would be a great idea to first have the meandering non-conversation to open the show, and now I guess the new bit are the interrupting correspondents? Trevor looks like he's sitting at an IKEA desk. This is the recharged studio show? 

[deirdra]

15 hours ago, possibilities said:

It's shocking how bad the show is now that they're back in the studio. I also find it shocking how depressing the studio itself it. It's dark. It looks tacky, makeshift, and cheap. Trevor seems depressed.

Apparently he just listed his Bel Air mansion, so perhaps something is up with him.

[Ms Lark]

2 hours ago, deirdra said:

Apparently he just listed his Bel Air mansion, so perhaps something is up with him.

I'm very happy to hear that. The listing that is. I was appalled by his hypocrisy with that purchase. $27.5mm, indeed. Looks like he'll actually make a couple million if it sells at $29.75 list.

I know he signed a Daily Show contract for $22mm for several years, maybe he wants to get out of it? I know I'm not really enjoying what's going on with the show these days.

[JustHereForFood]

So after the segment about people leaving their jobs, Trevor said that he thought he would always do this show and now he is not so certain... was that just a joke, or is he preparing us for some announcement?

[angora]

I don't agree that the show just went back to its pre-pandemic status quo, but I agree that something's been lacking since they started in the new studio. They're still employing a number of the types of jokes they did while they were remote: Trevor responding to an unheard person off-camera, acting out a conversation between multiple people (with optional goofy-cheap CGI,) delivering confessional asides straight to the camera. I like that he and the guest sit at a different spot now away from the desk (and that some are simply remote) - it gives the interviews a bit of a more intimate feel than they had in the old studio.

So they're actually doing a lot of the same stuff, but it doesn't really feel the same. Maybe it's partly burnout/lack of motivation/whatever. I also think part of it is just that, in a studio, Trevor is pitching his jokes toward an audience, but there isn't one there anymore, so there's kind of a vacuum in its place. It didn't feel like that when the show was remote because, at home, those jokes were being delivered to ME, to you, to each individual viewer.

If anything, the aspects that have fallen flat aren't stuff brought back from before the pandemic - they're the new bits the show has been test-driving lately, like the headlines getting interrupted by correspondents all this week, Dulce's pointless man-on-the-street pieces, or the stories Trevor has done more like sketches (a la talking about the reconciliation bill in the guise of a bitchy talk-show host.) So, rather than going back to an old well, the story IS trying new stuff, it's just not really working for me. There's too much of a reliance on awkwardness/dead air. I hope they keep tweaking and finding a rhythm that works. Like, I enjoyed some of the correspondents' actual extra commentary on the headlines this week - it was mostly just the stupid framing gimmicks that weren't funny. Similarly, I like starting the show with Trevor chatting with the crew, but most of them go on just a little too long for me - if they could be shorter and a bit tighter, I'd like them more.

FWIW, I think some of the feeling of burnout/disinterest might simply come from the fact of how repetitive news has been. What's happening with the pandemic? Antivaxxers are ruining it for everybody. What's happening with Congress? The infrastructure and reconciliation bills are at stalemates. What's happening with climate change? The west coast is on fire. What's being done about climate change? Nothing. I get that it's the job they signed up for, but it probably gets disheartening to keep telling the same stories over and over again and try to figure out how to make it funny. I agree @JustHereForFood that Trevor's comment during the story about people rethinking their jobs/careers might be foreshadowing a move of his own.

One thing I liked this week was the discussion over "aliens" vs. "ETs." IMHO, Trevor pushed back on that idea in an interesting, thoughtful way that wasn't just "omg the snowflakes are making me learn new words" like some comedians would approach that topic. I liked his point about how saying "unhoused" instead of "homeless" might sound nice but it doesn't do anything practical to help solve the issue (it reminded me a little of the summer of 2020, when Aunt Jemima was retired and cities changed street names to Black Lives Matter Blvd. or whatever, but hardly anything was actually changed when it came to policing.) I also liked his point about how people with developmental disabilities have been given different labels over the years and each one eventually becomes an insult among jerks - “I feel like at some point, we have to admit it isn’t the words, it’s how we treat the people who the words refer to," was a really good line. And throughout the piece, I appreciated that Trevor never misgendered Demi Lovato. Again, some comedians would use the topic of evolving identity words as a reason to mock "they/them" pronouns, but Trevor never made an issue of it at all.

 

[Victor the Crab]

Agree with everything @angora said. The new stuff they're trying isn't working (putting Kosta in with the interrupters should be that little bit's jump the shark moment) and recreating what they're doing in the studio just isn't working out the way everyone hoped. Either Trevor should go back to the way he was doing the show during the pandemic, in his apartment, or go back to the live audience format pre-pandemic with some new twists added in.

As for Trevor's future plans? I don't know if he'll walk away from the show after buying that Bel Air mansion. It would cost a lot to keep it upgraded and such. If I were to guess, I'd say he'd be relocating the entire show to the West Coast!

[possibilities]

But if he's selling the mansion, which it seems he is, then that's not an expense he needs to worry about.

I wonder why they went back to the studio, but decided not to have an audience. And I wonder why the new studio looks so much crappier than the old one.

 

[Victor the Crab]

Trevor did say, on his first show back, that he hopes to have a live audience in the not too distant future. So that that for what it’s worth!

[JustHereForFood]

Great post, @angora. I agree that the show has been a bit off lately, but haven't really realized that it is mostly the new stuff that doesn't feel so right, not the old stuff. And I also really liked Trevor's musing over terminology. I like the Behind the scenes segments, because he seems to be more genuine and they highlight his inteligence and perspective, which sometimes doesn't translate so well (at least I feel that way) when he acts the story in a more comedic way, as a performance. 

[ruby24]

The reason the at home show worked so well is exactly because like you said, he was talking to the camera, to each individual viewer.

Having anything in an empty studio feels like dead air. Apparently they never considered that he didn't HAVE to go back to a studio with an audience at all. Or for some reason, that just couldn't be an option (likely because every single other late night host did go back). But at home methods can't work in the studio. What made him better was in fact, being at home alone.

It's too bad. Looks like the way the show found itself was reserved for pandemic only.

Edited October 17, 2021 by ruby24

[possibilities]

Seth Meyers was in the studio without an audience and it worked just fine. Amber Ruffin was, too. I think the points everyone is making about the show are true, but that something else is off besides all those things.

[JustHereForFood]

I got used to Trevor being more honest and probably more himself when he worked from home and it's weird getting back to the more "stand up"-like version. Maybe because I dislike stand up so much. For example, the bit when he impersonated some reality show comentator - I don't know if that was an impersonation of anyone specific, or just a general attempt for a "funny" foreigner/gay impersonation, but I found it quite offensive.

[ruby24]

So they're really committed to this interrupting correspondent's bit, huh? I'd like to know what about it they think is working. At all.

[JustHereForFood]

I wouldn't mind hearing the others' perspectives on the topics Trevor is talking about, if it was an honest conversation, but since they are keeping their over-the-top personalities I find it annoying. I know this is supposed to be a comedy, but I guess I just got used to their more serious tone recently, which I preferred.

[angora]

It feels like they're tweaking it. I thought Roy and Dulce's contributions this week were better than any of the ones last week. The gimmicks were minimal and more of their comments were related to the actual stories. Desi's wasn't very good, though - again, too gimmicky and unfunny. That felt like a forced "bit," whereas Roy and Dulce felt more like they were just talking with Trevor. Dulce and Trevor especially seemed like they were having a good time together - I laughed at their back-and-forth about Mark Zuckerberg's voice. If they lean more into that and less into "I'm just looking for a book"/"What's the WiFi password?"/"Let me tell you about my neighbor," I think it could work.

[possibilities]

I've never before seen a show suddenly start looking like it's still being workshopped, when it's already been on the air for multiple seasons. 

[angora]

In the story on subminimum wages for workers with disabilities, the news clips they used were so telling. On the pro-subminimum wage side, we only heard from able-bodied people (companies who run sheltered workshops, parents of adults of disabilities,) while the disabled workers themselves were saying, "No, we work hard, pay us!" An important motto of the disability rights community is "nothing about us without us," and a lot of oppression and exploitation has been thrown their way from well-meaning able-bodied people who assume they know "what's best" for people with disabilities without consulting them.

Also, I died at Trevor's impression of Trump insulting people at auctioneer speed. I can't remember all of it, but I know it culminated in, "SOLD to the lowlife horse-faced bozo!"

[possibilities]

Do we need to set up an intervention for Trevor? He's so committed to the bit where people interrupt him and tell him he's wrong, that he will do it with an empty podium and act sad no one is there to do it in person? WTF?

He did so well, better than anyone else, during the home shows. And I think he's doing the worst at coming back in the studio. It doesn't make sense. The show was okay before the pandemic, so it's not like he doesn't know how to have a studio that's well lit and doesn't look depressing. And he did fine without an audience, so it's not like he's one of these people who is so desperate for the crowd affirmation that he can't function without it. 

--

I wanted to be happy that the show was showcasing disability issues, but they clearly didn't know what they were doing, so they "both sided" it, and managed to confuse an issue that is very clear in the disability rights community. It's like doing a story about farm labor and trying to "both sides" the issue of "should workers be treated with dignity and allowed to unionize, or will that hurt them more than help them? Let's ask agribusiness, and ignore what Dolores Huerta thinks!" 

Newsflash: disabled people are human beings. The appropriate question is: what the fuck is wrong with us for allowing this bullshit to go on all these years, while convincing ourselves that 22 cents an hour is actually "helping" someone financially OR with dignity? It's exploitation! If the people can't do the job, then it's not a job. If they can do the job, then it's grossly exploitive not to pay them.

The argument that they're learning means it's an educational program, not a job. The argument that it's a way to give them something to do and build community is absurd. Do non-disabled people have to go into some sub-minimum wage workplace in order to find community or meaningful structure in their lives, integration into society, or even just ways to keep busy? No other situation can be imagined to serve those purposes? Give me a break. 

--

I actually enjoyed Kosta's quizzing of people on the street. I haven't been to NYC in a long time, but I don't remember it ever being that well lit or clean. The air was always grey and the streets filthy when I was there. It's kind of blowing my mind. But also, I enjoyed the reactions of some of the people, such as to the question about what was "dangerous" in schools. And yes, I also do not want my very own photo of Senator Grassley.

I also enjoyed the M. Pollin interview.

[possibilities]

Ugh. Cawthorn. Why is Trevor giving a platform to him, and trying to make him seem reasonable, instead of talking to people who actually are?

[topanga]

Trevor’s pre-show banter last night about billionaires was hilarious. He should use it in his stand up act. 

[possibilities]

I haven't watched yet; was the interview with Chris Christie as weak as the one with Cawthorn was the other day? I'm trying to decide whether to watch it, or if I should just skip it.

Edited November 17, 2021 by possibilities

[grawlix]

I got a few chuckles from Ronny's segment...

 

 

[Ailianna]

I liked the woman who "won" and was invited to take Ronnie's place. She was great.