TDS 3.0: Season Seven Talk

[DoctorAtomic]

13 hours ago, possibilities said:

I also thought the twitter rant was stupid. THere is for sure a lot of crap on twitter, but if you want actual information you can find it. I've never had a twitter fight. But there are people who use the platform for sensible purposes. 

I've said here before, I use it for work, and have used it as a networking tool to good success. My community is small, but it is effective for staying on top of our fields. 

Hasan pointed out that only a small % of people affect the content. So, don't follow those people. Don't get into twitter fights. 

However, I do agree with him pointing out how people are tweeting 40 times per day. What are you people doing? Is it that essential to your job?

The Truman Show exit was clever though. 

 

[khyber]

I've used twitter to reach out to companies to fix something that I couldn't get done through regular customer service contacts. 

[possibilities]

I think Hasan is uneven. Sometimes he's fantastic. Other times he's just manic and goes off on things he doesn't really know anything about.

[Bastet]

I got all caught up this morning, and I found Wednesday's show incredibly weak overall, not just the inexplicable choice to interview a five-year-old child rather than grabbing almost literally anyone else on the set.  I found Thursday's pretty dull, too (another interview skipped).  Disappointing, since I really enjoyed his first two episodes.

I don't use Twitter, so some of that segment was lost on me, but I did find it quite interesting to learn only a minor percentage of adults actually use it (and that the overwhelming majority of content is generated by a small percentage of users); it has, indeed, been spoken of as far more ubiquitous than that.

[ShadowKnight2]

On 3/1/2023 at 10:39 AM, DXD526 said:

Quote

Was coming here to post the same thing. Kal didn't dance around about it, he was like, "I want that job!" It will be interesting to see how he does, given how motivated he apparently is.

Was coming here to post the same thing. Kal didn't dance around about it, he was like, "I want that job!" It will be interesting to see how he does, given how motivated he apparently is. 

After Marlon Wayans hosts this week's shows, Kal Penn will be hosting the following week.

[possibilities]

Well, Wayans is a total dud. I thought the show as a total waste of time tonight. 

[DXD526]

Had to tune out that loooong segment Wayans did on his own movie career. I hope tonight's show is less of a vanity project. 

[DoctorAtomic]

I thought Wayans was funny, but I like the whole family. However, sure, he's not quite the fit for format. Coming off Hasan, who has been at the show and ran his own kind of current topics show, clearly, there's going to be drop off.

He's got good comic timing though. "Herman Cain didn't die from walking into a gender neutral bathroom" is a great line, and the Fruit of the Loom zinger was good. 

The skit about the movies was funny, but I agree it was out of place for The Daily Show. He was really good in Requiem for a Dream though. He's not producing the show. I'm wondering why the segment went through. 

 

 

[Superb Owl]

I thought Wayans had some really good lines too, but him laughing at his own jokes half the time was annoying, as was the vanity bit about his own movies. I FF'd as well.

I haven't watched a single Scream movie, so I had no idea who Mason Gooding was. On a superficial note, he was mighty purty. But Wayans relating anecdotes about how drunk his dad (Cuba) used to get was weird and a little uncomfortable, especially since there's been reports of him acting uh, kinda ickily during those drunken benders. 

Looking forward to Kal Penn. 

[possibilities]

I have never fast forwarded and given up on an episode of TDS before in my life. I qas really surprised by how much I hated the episode. 

[DoctorAtomic]

Tuesday show - 'If you have to punch a cop, you ain't sightseeing!' Another good line. 

I liked Dulce's rant about the edibles. I always thought the same thing. Why does everything have to be candy or cookies? 

I don't understand why Marlon had to make a character to interview the mayor. It was kind of distracting. The jokes were fine, but I think they would have worked in the typical interview format. 

I don't know if anyone watches Jones' show, but it's really good if you like kind of the social and business issues around sports. His interview with Paul that they referenced was really funny. 

Edited March 8, 2023 by DoctorAtomic

[Sarah 103]

14 hours ago, possibilities said:

I have never fast forwarded and given up on an episode of TDS before in my life. I qas really surprised by how much I hated the episode. 

I fast forwarded through the interview with the Mayor, and I almost never fast forward through a segment. It felt like an absolute waste for everyone involved. 

[DoctorAtomic]

The mayor was game and actually answered some questions, but I didn't get the comedic basis for the interview. The jokes didn't need the additional set up. 

[DoctorAtomic]

Wednesday night's show was all around the funniest of the week for me, but I like on the street segments. 

The interview with D-Nice was cool, but also how does D-Nice have gray hair!

I'm Gonna Git You Sucka was a classic.

[Fable]

On 3/8/2023 at 12:31 PM, DoctorAtomic said:

I liked Dulce's rant about the edibles. I always thought the same thing. Why does everything have to be candy or cookies? 

It's supposed to be good with salads too, or at least that is what I hear.  

[DoctorAtomic]

As a topping? 

[DoctorAtomic]

Not a bad guest for day 1 of Penn's week. 

[Mimi]

Based on his first episode, I think Kal Penn did a fantastic job!

[SoMuchTV]

5 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Not a bad guest for day 1 of Penn's week. 

I read this before I watched or heard anything about the episode, and I thought, well, it has to be

Spoiler

Barack Obama. 

Turned out I was wrong, but this one was fairly impressive. 

[possibilities]

He needs to stop shouting, though. Someone needs to help him figure out how to modulate for the mic.

[DoctorAtomic]

I really liked the nascar segment. I don't really watch it, but I'm not down on it. I liked the data analytics part. I have some friends that camp out too. 

I can actually drive stick. My car is a stick. I'm more a mountain driver though. 

[possibilities]

I'm not enjoying Kal Penn's hosting. I'm surprised and disappointed, but it's 3 shows in a row now where I find him manic, shouty, and not saying much. 

Also, and this is not limited to him and Dulce, but I'm really sick of jokes about how people who are broke are legitimate targets for scorn and it's okay to insult inexpensive dates. I get that rich people don't want to date poor people, but being snide about people who go for walks together and don't spend a lot of money on dates is just really bad behavior for people who pretend to care about social justice and champion "the little guy" when it comes to public policy. 

Next we can mock kids who wear hand-me-downs or get free lunches at school, and their hardworking underpaid parents who are apparently gross and horrifying to imagine dating anyone.

 

 

[DoctorAtomic]

I can see why you'd think he's shouty. I actually don't; I think he's talking vociferously. Which can be splitting hairs. I talk like that because I'm talking to groups a lot or in meetings; maybe that's why Kal is loud. In meetings, I have to constantly edit myself by saying I'm not yelling because everyone wilts when I'm asked to comment on something. It could be that. 

I did like Kal 'making a note' that golf jokes are over the line.

Is it that hard to come up with a basic definition of woke though? 

Edited March 16, 2023 by DoctorAtomic

[SoMuchTV]

1 hour ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Is it that hard to come up with a basic definition of woke though? 

Maybe because any definition one could come up with makes it sound like it's actually a good thing, and that was not the idea that person was going for?

[DoctorAtomic]

I saw this on the FB page and asked the same thing. I was under the impression they were on the side of 'good woke', for lack of a better term. 

Are you saying then, in terms of the earlier segment, that they were 'virus woke'? 

[Sarah 103]

I was not a fan of Kal Penn this week. The show barely held my interest. I couldn't see him taking over the show as the regular host. 

[Superb Owl]

None of the guest hosts so far have knocked my socks off, but I'm finding that once I'm comfortable with something/someone (in this case, Trevor), the more resistant I am to change. I think Kal did a pretty good job, at the very least better than some others did. He certainly did milk the "I worked at the White House" thing, but then again, he announced at week's beginning that he would, so I guess he felt the need to follow through on that?? 

One thing I really liked about Trevor is that he seem genuinely interested in his guests and appeared to have done his homework when interviewing them. I can see Kal following that pattern as well. I'm not 100% sold on him by any means, but maybe that will be the case with anyone filling in. 

[possibilities]

I do miss Trevor, because he actually had an interesting point of view, but I also liked Leslie Jones, Wanda Sykes, and about half of what DL Hughley and Chelsea Handler did (despite disliking both of them personally, esp Hughlely). I usually love Hasan Minhaj, but I thought his hosting was uneven.

Maybe they should take Trevor's advice and hire a Black woman. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

It shouldn’t bother me, but it does. For someone who is of SouthAsian descent, and has pronounced other names correctly, it irked me that he don’t say Radhika Jones’ name with the right pronunciation. It’s supposed to be Raaadhika. Not Rudeeeeka.

He was hit or miss for me. I REALLY LOVED Wanda and Hasan. Didn’t watch Sarah, Hughley, or Chelsea because I don’t like them. 
 

But really looking forward to Al Franken next week! 

I would really love to see Jessica Williams host.

When it comes right down to it, Jon was my favorite, followed by Trevor.

 

[Sarah 103]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

Maybe they should take Trevor's advice and hire a Black woman. 

Dulce Sloan would be a great host. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

I knew Al would be great! I’m really enjoying the first half. But I’m really dreading the interview.

[Bastet]

On 3/17/2023 at 2:07 PM, possibilities said:

I usually love Hasan Minhaj, but I thought his hosting was uneven.

Same here, and that was a bummer.

I watched all of Wanda Sykes, all of Minhaj except for some of the interviews, and about half of everyone else except Hughley and Penn, who I didn't see any of (the former because I chose not to and the latter because I just didn't get around to it).  I haven't watched any this week yet, but will definitely tune it at some point to see Al Franken.

I thought everyone did a good job to varying degrees, but the only one of the guest hosts so far I'd love to see take over is Wanda, and I doubt she's interested in a full-time gig in NYC.

[possibilities]

I have decided that Al Franken is not to my taste. He seems to think it's hilarious to chum up with people who I find abhorrent, and that everything is a joke. Apologizing to the guest for criticizing "his friend" is not something I want to tune in to see. Do a substantive interview with someone who has something interesting to say, or get off the stage! And don't apologize for making a substantive critique. This is not the format for anything goes and it's all just a game.

I think you can joke ABOUT things, but still take them seriously.

After I said what I said upthread about which hosts I liked or didn't, I remembered that Sarah Silverman also hosted. I can't even remember her week, so I don't know how I felt about it. 

[DanaMB]

I didn’t think Al Franken was very good. It seemed awkward. I’m  hoping he improves tonight. 

[Fable]

I respected Al as a senator, but I never found him to be particularly funny as a comedian.  

[possibilities]

The only thing I liked last night was the few minutes with the new NYC sanitation supervisor. She was delightful, and was making sensible changes. But even that report had a lot of annoying Franken shenanigans. It's like he's an obnoxious teenager or something. He's not making insightful critiques, he's just getting off on being obnoxious.

[Sarah 103]

There's something  Heather McGhee said in the 3/22 episode that didn't make sense. This comment is going to sound meaner and harsher than I want it to, but I cannot come up with a better way to word it. If it isn't "dumbed down" in some way, than what is the point of a "Young Reader's Edition?" Why can't they read the regular grown-up edition? If there is a need for a "Young Reader's Edition," than there has to be something that they changed to make it more age-appropriate whether that's less sophisticated language, or more background information, or something else. 

Also Al Franken has been kind of meh this week as a host. 

[DoctorAtomic]

Oh, no, it's never good when Idaho makes the national news/talk shows. 

Jordan's piece fell flat largely because no one was there and didn't really know what's going on, but Costa's piece was brilliant. 

10 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

If it isn't "dumbed down" in some way, than what is the point of a "Young Reader's Edition?" Why can't they read the regular grown-up edition?

She said it was for junior high and high school kids, so I don't see why they couldn't read the book as is. Maybe the book itself is a little dry and academic? However, though, our assigned reading in history in high school included peer reviewed journal articles. I thinking maybe there's more background like you said, or it's broken up into more chapters to make reading a little digestible.

Great crack though - You should really run for office, Al. 

 

[Sarah 103]

Having seen the extended interview online from Franken's last show, I would have cut Michael Kosta's bit about DNA and given more time to the interview. I get the point they were trying to make about the need for humanities and the problems of a culture/society too focused on STEM, but it didn't quite work for me. I thought the extended interview was powerful and also helped explain/clarify some things for me. The interview would have been a better use of the limited time the show has. 

Edited March 24, 2023 by Sarah 103

[Superb Owl]

I guess I could be in the minority, but I really enjoyed this week's shows and Al Franken as a host (but I've been a fan of his since the old SNL days and might be the only one who actually loved the Stuart Smalley movie) I'm familiar with the cadence of his speech, which some might find annoying, and his bone-dry humor.

The Lindsay Graham interview was a total flop, but the show got better after that. Jordan Klepper on Wednesday (?) was stellar as usual, and Michael Kosta I think did his best work as "Tucker Carlson's face coach". Al's impressions of the various senators on Thursday's show totally cracked me up. 

I can't see Al being the permanent host, but I did enjoy this week. 

[DoctorAtomic]

I like Franken's style too. I started watching all the SNL from #1 a couple of years ago, so his early material is still fresh in my mind. I prefer the political satire to Stuart though. 

He made a comment in the middle of the week to the effect of 'whomever is permanent host', so I don't think he was doing this anything more than a fun job like some of the others. 

[grawlix]

Best Line of the Week:

[Shermie]

I really enjoyed John Leguizamo. I found him funny and engaging.

[hiisa]

Roy Wood Jr did an excellent job for his first day. His headlines were funny, the interview with Booker was good; and I liked when Booker was like let's give you the hosting job right now he said to wait and see what the rest of the team had in store. Good first night!

[ShadowKnight2]

Roy Wood Jr. was on fire last night. First, he talked about the Women's NCAA Basketball Final (which I figured he'd do), then it was about the upcoming indictment, and he just looked naturally comfortable delivering all that. His bit with Ronny Chieng was clever, and the interview went well with Sen. Cory Booker. He definitely lloks like a serious contender for the full time chair.

[Bastet]

Roy did a great job with the NCAA women's championship game, and then really got me going in the beginning of his Trump indictment headline, about remote tribes knowing Trump fucked Stormy Daniels -- "Notice I did not do a native accent, I'm not trying to get canceled on my first day.  I am pretending to hold a spear, my bad, but I didn't do no accent."

Then the stuff about how much it sucks to be the Secret Service agent assigned to Trump was on fire!  "You get assigned to a former president, you're supposed to get to go to baseball games, windsurfing, stuff like that.  You get Trump, you've gotta go to Rikers."  His Morgan Freeman impression is indeed terrible, but it was funny.

I loved him and Ronny together, too:

"You're Black, you know what street cred is"
"You're Asian, you're smarter than that."

"You're Black, name some crimes" had me nearly on the floor.

That's as far as I had a chance to watch so far, but I think Roy's doing great.  He's my favorite of the current correspondents (Dulce is a close second), and I recently watched one of his stand-up specials (Father Figure) which I also loved.

Edited April 4, 2023 by Bastet

[Sarah 103]

18 hours ago, Bastet said:

Roy did a great job with the NCAA women's championship game, and then really got me going in the beginning of his Trump indictment headline, about remote tribes knowing Trump fucked Stormy Daniels -- "Notice I did not do a native accent, I'm not trying to get canceled on my first day.  I am pretending to hold a spear, my bad, but I didn't do no accent."

Then the stuff about how much it sucks to be the Secret Service agent assigned to Trump was on fire!  "You get assigned to a former president, you're supposed to get to go to baseball games, windsurfing, stuff like that.  You get Trump, you've gotta go to Rikers."  His Morgan Freeman impression is indeed terrible, but it was funny.

I loved him and Ronny together, too:

"You're Black, you know what street cred is"
"You're Asian, you're smarter than that."

"You're Black, name some crimes" had me nearly on the floor.

That's as far as I had a chance to watch so far, but I think Roy's doing great.  He's my favorite of the current correspondents (Dulce is a close second), and I recently watched one of his stand-up specials (Father Figure) which I also loved.

We have the same taste in corresspondents. I had a strong feeling that Roy Wood Jr. would be a good host, and I think I was right. Which streaming service is Father Figure on? 

[ShadowKnight2]

Was it my birthday AND Christmas Day? Seeing Jon Stewart walk out as Obi-wan Kenobi brought back fond memories!😁

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

Which streaming service is Father Figure on? 

It's on Paramount+, but if you don't have that, it's also available free on YouTube (legally; it's the Comedy Central Stand-Up account that put it up).  Same with his second special, No One Loves You.  The third, Imperfect Messenger, is only available on Paramount+ (or maybe on the Comedy Central website, too, I didn't check that).

[possibilities]

It has to be tough competing against your coworkers for the hosting gig. It might just be easier on everyone to hire an outsider.