2024 Season

[possibilities]

I've been pleasantly surprised by Ronny's hosting. Especially tonight (Wednes), I thought the show was really good, and his interview was truly enjoyable, and showed he does have another emotion besides outrage.

And yes, the world does make apoplexy justifiable. But I think I burned myself out on rage and I need to temper my diet with more than just spluttering and high blood pressure. I'll take the lucidity and the alarm and the disgust and the horror and the anger-- but wash it down with some love, too. 

There seems to be an unwillingness to highlight and comment on anything good. But if we don't showcase the good guys, who will we have to rally for? You can't beat the bad guys with a void.

I am in no way suggesting the show, or anyone else, shy away from calling out the bad stuff, and I think we absolutely need our anger. But we need also the other emotions, not just anger (and fear), but also a reason to live, and keep trying, and an example of what to work for rather than only against. That's the nourishment that makes action sustainable, and life worth living.

Anyway, I really enjoyed Ronny's show, So far it's a 100% record that all the "correspondents" I was skeptical of have come off much better when they host.

[DoctorAtomic]

"My boyfriend is white, but sometimes he has Asian DNA in him." 

Outstanding. 

[Bastet]

14 hours ago, possibilities said:

I've been pleasantly surprised by Ronny's hosting. Especially tonight (Wednes), I thought the show was really good,

I found Tuesday's episode thoroughly underwhelming, so was glad that last night's was firing on all cylinders.

[possibilities]

I laughed so hard at Ronny's joke about the target logo--because as he was setting it up, I finished it by saying "nipple" right before he said "butthole". This is how you know I'm a lesbian, not a gay man, I guess.

Also, I give Grace the side-eye. Although I am not one of them, there is a definite subculture of lesbians who play golf-- it's a whole thing.

 

[iMonrey]

On 6/5/2024 at 11:26 PM, Bastet said:

I think Jon's flaws from his original run are on frustratingly greater display these days, so while I appreciate hearing from him again I'm glad it's one episode a week, but I am here for his apoplectic reactions to a mind-blowing ongoing display of unprecedented nutfuckery.

I think Jon's "apoplexy" is largely performative for comic effect.

[shapeshifter]

On 6/9/2024 at 1:09 PM, iMonrey said:

I think Jon's "apoplexy" is largely performative for comic effect.

Yes. Definitely performative. But also an expression of his genuine WTF visceral reaction to the goings on. 

Nevertheless, it worries me a bit for his welfare.😱

[DoctorAtomic]

I always enjoy the satire across the board (not just on this show) about corporations trying to squeeze more money out of their junk by appropriating pride. However, Eczema Opie not being in the league of the hot black girl really took it. 

I don't know a ton about Clark, but I don't quite get why she's getting flack. Or what I seem to think she is. Back in the 80s, Bird and Magic were rookies but were hailed in the media as the face of the league and have been widely credited as 'saving' the NBA. Sure, the OGs at the time in the league made them pay their dues. But they were marketed as the stars of the league.

I'm not saying the WNBA needs to be 'saved' in the same way, but certainly capitalizing on any ratings boost would be the smart move. Again, she's got to pay her dues, but I didn't get the attitude from the reporter in the interview (I didn't catch her name). I agree that leading with her getting a hard foul is silly, but she missed the point that her teammates aren't really leaping to her defense either. 

She went on about if people knew Vegas was threepeating, etc. Yes, there's plenty of exciting things that most people don't know, but I'd say the marketing tactic to get more people interested in those things would be Clark. John kind of asked that are current fans more wanting the WNBA to be "theirs" and not welcome the expanded interest? She didn't seem to have a good answer except that the Sun were 9-0. And? 

I'm also calling it out a little on the Olympic team for the same reason. Clark doesn't get the 14th spot on that roster? They're something like 30 billion - 0. There's not much risk here. 

[DoctorAtomic]

I think Jordan missed the point on the whole 'Hunter Biden's case was a distraction from what's *really* going on' in that they know it's just a fabrication to whip people up. I take his point, but I think it wasn't the best angle to take. 

I take Charlamane's point, and I've got the worst mouth at work, but I'm not sure the messaging problem is not swearing in Congress enough. I'd rather see elected officials acting like adults. Nothing wrong with being fired up, but still. 

Edited June 13 by DoctorAtomic

[shapeshifter]

During Jon Stewart's interview with Rev. Dr. William Barber about the points in Barber's new book,  “White Poverty: How Exposing Myths About Race and Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy,” they never touched on the Electoral College, although they skirted around it. Perhaps it's in Barber's book?

[possibilities]

I liked that interview a lot. Once again, Jon shut up and let his guest talk. And he had an interesting guest!

 

However, I am really fed up with the way ALL the shows (both serious news and fake news and comedic nightly takes) are covering the election like it's a joke election between two dudes bickering over who is more senile, instead of  talking about the very substantive policy differences each candidate is advancing.

Edited June 19 by possibilities

[possibilities]

Did the show air a new episode last night? My DVR didn't pick it up, and I can't find it anywhere. I don't know if it was a glitch over here, or if they really didn't air one.

[SoMuchTV]

50 minutes ago, possibilities said:

Did the show air a new episode last night? My DVR didn't pick it up, and I can't find it anywhere. I don't know if it was a glitch over here, or if they really didn't air one.

Mine didn’t either, and when I looked at yesterday’s schedule, it wasn’t on there. Juneteenth holiday, maybe?  If my mail carrier has the day off, so do fake news correspondents?

[Sarah 103]

Here is an article about plans for convention coverage. 

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/jon-stewart-live-daily-show-political-conventions-1235926909/

 

[Bastet]

On 6/18/2024 at 6:36 PM, possibilities said:

However, I am really fed up with the way ALL the shows (both serious news and fake news and comedic nightly takes) are covering the election like it's a joke election between two dudes bickering over who is more senile, instead of  talking about the very substantive policy differences each candidate is advancing.

Gods, yes.  There's no need to come up with something Biden said or did every time they talk about what Trump said/did that day, especially if, as a hypothetical example, Biden tripped over his own two feet while Trump broke into the National Archives and took a dump on the original printing of the Constitution.  One is news, the other is not, and they are certainly not equal transgressions. 

Advanced age is the only thing they have in common, so why the hell is that the go-to for this show (and others)?  It's lazy, stupid, and an unconscionable distraction from the endless differences that actually matter; at the end of this election we will have an old man in the Oval Office, the oldest old man there's ever been, but how the next four years (and beyond) will play out will be wildly different depending on which old man it is.  That is the story. 

Edited June 28 by Bastet

[DoctorAtomic]

The problem with watching on youtube is that there's no opening and setup to the segments. 

That aside, the Triumph segment was gold. I'm not a 'blame the media' guy, but you know soon we'll be getting the deluge of 'undecided voter' nonsense, and 'what we can learn from them.' Please. These people cannot be satirized enough. 

Granted, this segment was slanted to Biden, but they did get digs in on him too. 

We'll see you in 4 years when you can't decide between AOC and Kyle Rittenhouse. 

[Bastet]

On 6/27/2024 at 11:22 AM, DoctorAtomic said:

That aside, the Triumph segment was gold. I'm not a 'blame the media' guy, but you know soon we'll be getting the deluge of 'undecided voter' nonsense, and 'what we can learn from them.' Please. These people cannot be satirized enough.

I almost didn't watch because I've never enjoyed Triumph, but decided to give it a try - as soon as "say your name and what the fuck is your problem" was the first instruction, I knew I was in for the whole thing.  I loved all the mocking of the guy with the sideburns, concluding with asking him to just sit this election out.  "You look like you already live underground; will the rest of the mole people be cool with us moving in?"

On 6/27/2024 at 11:22 AM, DoctorAtomic said:

We'll see you in 4 years when you can't decide between AOC and Kyle Rittenhouse. 

That was gold, Jerry, gold.

[DoctorAtomic]

2 hours ago, Bastet said:

I almost didn't watch because I've never enjoyed Triumph, but decided to give it a try

I wouldn't say I'm a Triumph fan either, but they really nailed this segment. They were just coming in hard satirizing the 'undecided voter' and just eviscerating them for it. There wasn't any pretension in the bit. Which lends to the further point - who are these people who agreed to it? Triumph told Sideburns to just sit it out. There's your Rickles style of comedy where you're insulting people because 'your wife's into fat guys?' and literally telling someone they're too stupid to vote. Most of that had to be improvised. 

[shapeshifter]

Did any of you see Jon Stewart's "Live" post debate show? 
It came up on my (my son-in-law's) Paramount+ feed. 
It's here too:
https://youtu.be/3SJr44m-w1Y

Aw, dear cousin Jon. I feel ya.

He gave kudos to his staff for having the foresight to have as post-debate guest author Lori Gottlieb, who is a psychotherapist who has a new best-selling book, "Maybe You Should Talk to Someone."
https://youtu.be/Vb6YSYaQPJg

He also mentioned psilocybin microdosing. Hrmmm… 

 

Edited June 29 by shapeshifter

[ebk57]

11 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Did any of you see Jon Stewart's "Live" post debate show? 

A couple people talked about it in the Mondays with Jon thread.

Edited June 29 by ebk57
punctuation ... sigh

[shapeshifter]

18 minutes ago, ebk57 said:

A couple people talked about it in the Mondays with Jon thread.

Oh. Duh.
My apologies.
I had trouble finding the show’s thread at all after “we” re-upped our Paramount+ subscription, some time after Jon started doing Mondays.

Thanks.

[Bastet]

The woman center front in Josh's panel of Black voters was giving me life with her facial expressions in reaction to the fools around her, especially the woman in the back.  I was yelling "The fuck's the matter with you?!" and she was just saying it with her face.  My favorite was when she asked that woman in the back okay, if you go out and "do your research" and it turns out everything Josh just laid out is true, is that going to change your vote?" and her I rest my case face when the woman admitted no, probably not.

I like the man to her left saying Trump's attitude about his numerous indictments is the same example of privilege he saw while incarcerated -- the white inmates were indignant at being locked up, because it's not supposed to happen to people like them.

I thought Josh picked some pretty weak choices for them to vote fist or finger on, though.

Jordan getting all worked up about how beautiful George Clooney is and Desi reeling him back in was an entertaining dynamic.

[DoctorAtomic]

5 hours ago, Bastet said:

My favorite was when she asked that woman in the back okay, if you go out and "do your research" and it turns out everything Josh just laid out is true, is that going to change your vote?" and her I rest my case face when the woman admitted no, probably not.

You knew that was coming. I did like the second Trump clip where they all were nodding and then 'oh, no. No no no' and all the middle fingers went up. 

Josh's whole deadpan 'I wasn't expecting this' was excellently delivered. 

Ronnie's piece on (of course) Foxconn not bringing 13,000 jobs was peak Ronnie. I'm sure he told the woman he was going to be derisive, but she totally didn't break at all. I was dying - no jobs is better. That's zero jobs. This is negative jobs. You farmers and your jobs!

The thesis of the piece is manufacturing jobs. Why is this always a thing with candidates saying they're going to bring jobs back? We're not a manufacturing country anymore and haven't been for a while. What's the next generation of jobs? That's kind of what the TPP was about. 

[DoctorAtomic]

I need Desi to tell us where to sign up for AP Buttstuff. 

I only took AP Calculus. 

[SoMuchTV]

Had to laugh at guest Ed Helms to host Michael Costa: “Jon Stewart, you’re looking great!”

[Lantern7]

While I'm thinking about it . . . is there a reason why Jon isn't hosting this week?

[GHScorpiosRule]

2 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

While I'm thinking about it . . . is there a reason why Jon isn't hosting this week?

He’s got Covid. Posted in his thread.

[Lantern7]

3 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

He’s got Covid. Posted in his thread.

Damn. I hope he'll be well enough to cover the DNC.

One of the worst things about TDS getting shuffled out of the RNC was no fake video presentation for Trump. The show always nails it when summarizing presidential candidates. Who can forget "Every time Barack Obama speaks, an angel has an orgasm"? Or Leonard Nimoy singing "All By Himself" for Mitt Romney? Or Rosie O'Donnell hitting pause on the video to curse out Trump?

[Bastet]

I'm getting caught up, and Desi killed it with her explanation why Harris has to pick a white man as her VP -- that way, when she expresses an idea in the Situation Room, he can wait a minute, say it louder, and then everyone will say it's great.  And then Ronny did just that. 

 

[DoctorAtomic]

That's because if the VP is a white guy, when Harris has an idea, he can say it louder, and then everyone will say it's great.

[possibilities]

Is there a way to watch shows we missed, now that the dailyshow website is gone? 

[DoctorAtomic]

They're probably all on Paramount, but I've been watching on YouTube. 

 

[Shrek]

11 hours ago, possibilities said:

Is there a way to watch shows we missed, now that the dailyshow website is gone? 

I know that Paramount+ has them up the day after & they stay there for at least a couple of weeks & probably longer.

[DoctorAtomic]

First of all, just putting the glasses on Desi and letting her eyes set up the jokes was brilliant. The hand gestures are almost secondary.

Second, I've always been bemused at the 'global town square' branding of twitter. Not much of a town square when everyone is either the village idiot or the town drunk. 

 

[Bastet]

I love Charlamagne tha God telling news outlets they're the ones who decide what the headlines are, so treating Republican talking points like real stories is bullshit.  "If a guy came up to me on the street saying, 'The vice president is a chameleon, she can transform from Indian to Black, I seen it,' I'd be like, 'Well, God bless you, sir, here's two dollars, I gotta go."  And suggesting they instead spend some time looking at how the GOP is already planning how to steal the election "by having corrupt state officials refuse to certify the results, getting corrupt judges to back them up, before the whole thing goes to the corrupt Supreme Court that's already anointed Donald Trump a king, so they can overturn the results of the election to declare him the winner in exchange for a new RV".

He was on fire there at the end, but his whole segment was great, starting with "Thanks to affirmative action, there's an old white guy on the Democratic ticket for the first time in 17 days".  I startled my cat laughing at following "having dark skin and a vagina is an instant path to the Oval Office" with "If you don't believe me, take it up with Ronald Reagan's black pussy".  Donell Trump evicting himself from his own apartments before his career would begin.  A VP is like a carbon monoxide detector -- you need to have one, but if it makes any noise, something has gone wrong.  The Dick Cheney shade was perfect, especially "accidentally" invading the wrong country after 9/11.  And perfect delivery on "I don't want to break your brains, but two isn't even the most races a person can be".

[possibilities]

I'm not his biggest fan, but that was awesome.

[DoctorAtomic]

I'm not a blame the media guy, but the media hasn't learned any lessons and are just all over the place most times. 

[EtheltoTillie]

I wish they would send Triumph to the conventions. That’s where he shines. Man on the street stuff. 

[DoctorAtomic]

My eyebrows are positively singed at the Vance piece. 

[Ms Lark]

Desi really hit it out of the park this week. The Vance bit was awesome!

Next week should be very  interesting.

[gesundheit]

I'm sad that I missed the poll on whether or not to combine the Mondays thread with the 2024 season thread -- it's so confusing that they're separate, especially since Mondays aren't always Jon Stewart!

 

Speaking of which, do we know if Jon is hosting at all this week? If so, I'm guessing it's on Thursday since that's the last night of the DNC? (Although I guess it doesn't matter that much since they're taping earlier in the day. Other late night shows going live after the convention each night has me really confused with this one!)

[Bastet]

On 8/16/2024 at 1:22 PM, Ms Lark said:

Desi really hit it out of the park this week. The Vance bit was awesome!

I agree, and also loved her reactions to the so-called economics speech and the bit afterward with Troy not understanding what inflation means.

[angora]

On 8/20/2024 at 9:29 AM, gesundheit said:

I'm sad that I missed the poll on whether or not to combine the Mondays thread with the 2024 season thread -- it's so confusing that they're separate, especially since Mondays aren't always Jon Stewart!

 

Speaking of which, do we know if Jon is hosting at all this week? If so, I'm guessing it's on Thursday since that's the last night of the DNC? (Although I guess it doesn't matter that much since they're taping earlier in the day. Other late night shows going live after the convention each night has me really confused with this one!)

Yep, Jon is doing Thursday this week, and I believe it'll be live. That's how the show typically handles the conventions--early tapings throughout the week, live show on Thursday after the candidate's speech.

I laughed so hard at Michael's bit about Tim Walz living his best life on the campaign bus, consulting his personal map and giving the driver advice.

[SeanBug]

Getting Jason Bateman to narrate their Kamala Harris bio film was sheer genius. 

"I've done episodes of Ozark that were less stressful than Trump being President". 

 

[rwlevin]

Poor Jason Bateman, never getting to work at McDonald’s because Kamala took his job. Still, The Hogan Family was an adequate consolation prize.

[SeanBug]

2 hours ago, rwlevin said:

Poor Jason Bateman, never getting to work at McDonald’s because Kamala took his job. Still, The Hogan Family was an adequate consolation prize.

Would it have been too on the nose to bring up Arrested Development? 

Dad's going to prison. No touching!!!!

[DoctorAtomic]

The small town. I think it's a peeve of Jon (and mine) because I think he's done a monologue on it before. 

When is the 'small town' going to be retired? "We didn't care who they loved because we just looked out for each other." Maybe. Maybe not though. 

And why does everyone trumpeting the 'small town' actually have moved away?

I grew up in a small town. It was fine for me. I left when I grew up because I gre up. To be fair, I'm not sure I like living in big cities anymore. I'm in a small mid city and it's fine. For some others though, the small town, not so much great. I'd say that's probably more typical. I can't say there's anything I took away from the small town that was unique, and certainly people I met in cities are largely the same. 

Where did this come from though?

[Bastet]

Moved to Jon's thread

Edited August 24 by Bastet

[Bastet]

I just watched the DNC week of episodes (minus the interviews) and think they did a good job with what to make fun of and what to celebrate.  Jon’s live episode was a great wrap-up, and I loved the extended segment on the “small town” bullshit, along with Jon’s Lee Greenwood imitation about all the military pandering and him calling out the lack of representation for Palestinian Americans.  And showing the FOX guy insisting the convention was a sparsely attended low-energy failure while the footage “next to his own fucking head” showed the exact opposite.

I also liked the segment from the previous night with all the dick jokes; reacting to Obama’s speech by saying “That’s the second time this summer the Secret Service failed to protect Trump from a lethal attack” made me laugh so hard I got a dirty look from my cat (yep, childless cat lady, reporting in).

And Desi covering the first night, getting all emotional at Biden saying “I love the job, but I love this country more” and wondering if we shouldn’t try again with him, only to get spooked by Nancy Pelosi and regaining her senses.

Good stuff all week.  Kamala Harris should buy the rights to their “Just Fucking Normal” video and use it in her campaign.  It’s perfect -- this is more than ever an election in which it can't matter to Democrats that she's too conservative to begin with and is running on an even more conservative platform (which is why I like that Jon called some of that out but didn't harp on it) because of the unprecedented danger of the alternative; this is the world into which the Electoral College forces her and us, so vote for "just fucking normal" and live to fight another day.  Weird, joy, yeah, but what this show came up with as her campaign message is spot on.

Edited August 25 by Bastet

[DoctorAtomic]

16 minutes ago, Bastet said:

And showing the FOX guy insisting the convention was a sparsely attended low-energy failure while the footage “next to his own fucking head” showed the exact opposite.

I kind of like that they don't even bother anymore. They were literally saying it was a funeral and showing the DJ. I'd like to think there's maybe 5 people that might be watching in earnest and going 'dude, uh, this seems like a bit of a reach.' The total disarray is just amazing to me. 

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, Bastet said:

And showing the FOX guy insisting the convention was a sparsely attended low-energy failure while the footage “next to his own fucking head” showed the exact opposite.

That was so dissonant that I wondered if the DNC live footage was green-screened in behind the Fox news entertainment person.
So it was shown just like that on Fox?
That's almost like when captors have hostages make videos renouncing their loyalties but the prisoners are blinking in Morse code the opposite message.