"The Daily Show": Week of 7/27/15

[trow125]

7/27: Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX, author – promoting book “A Time for Truth: Reigniting the Promise of America”)
7/28: Tom Cruise (actor – promoting movie “Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation”)
7/29: Doris Kearns Goodwin (Pulitzer Prize-winning author and presidential historian)
7/30: J.J. Abrams (producer – promoting movie “Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation”)

 

I have to admit I'd almost rather see crazy ol' Ted Cruz on TDS than Tom Cruise, knowing that there's a zero percent chance that Jon will ask Tom any tough questions about his background in Scientology. Read this (posted today) if you want to know the kind of thing journalists SHOULD be asking Tom about. I'm sure Jon will be rather combative with Sen. Cruz and nothing but nice to Tom Cruise. (sigh) On the other hand... Doris Kearns Goodwin!!!

[ABay]

Except for DKG, this list makes me feel like...when the final season of Lost wasted precious on time on the stupid Richard flashback episode and the stupider Jacob-Man in Black origin story. And the stupidest Temple storyline.

[trow125]

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Hillary Clinton during the week of 8/3.

[ABay]

I want Stephen! Every day from now to the end. And Steve Carell, John Oliver, Wyatt Cenac, and the current crop of correspondents, and Denis Leary and other friends of Jon that make him giggle.

[Victor the Crab]

Ted Cruz and Tom Cruise? Really Jon, you couldn't find better guests for your final days at TDS than these two assholes?

I want Stephen! Every day from now to the end. And Steve Carell, John Oliver, Wyatt Cenac, and the current crop of correspondents, and Denis Leary and other friends of Jon that make him giggle.

 

Denis Leary is supposed to be Jon's Tuesday guest for his last week.

[The Luvly Junkie]

If TDS is serious about booking Ted Cruz in his final 2 weeks, the final payoff better end with Jon schooling Cruz. And seriously, 2 guests promoting M:I spin-off Vol. #468? yawn... I'd rather hear from JJ Abrams cuz I've already heard enough from Cruise (and I just realized Cruz and Cruise phonetically beside each other. Coincidence, no?).  

I want Stephen! Every day from now to the end. And Steve Carell, John Oliver, Wyatt Cenac, and the current crop of correspondents, and Denis Leary and other friends of Jon that make him giggle.

        Oh, I have a feeling TDS is saving the best for last. And just like what Victor the Crab said about Denis Leary, I think Jon deserves better if he wants a very good final week and to be sent off properly by bringing all his friends and alumni and showing gratitude for his influence will be the cherry on top. Let's hope it won't be cut abruptly kinda like what happened at the end of Obama's final interview. I'm just saying, Jon should embrace the love and heartfelt messages everybody's giving him while it lasts. T_T

[solotrek]

Oh, I have a feeling TDS is saving the best for last. And just like what Victor the Crab said about Denis Leary, I think Jon deserves better if he wants a very good final week and to be sent off properly by bringing all his friends and alumni

 

Yes, how lucky for all of us that Jon's good friend Adam Sandler has an awful movie coming out. I suppose we'll see him. Ugh.

 

Ted Cruz must have one of the smartest publicist of the Republican candidates. Rand Paul already said his goodbye. I'm hoping for Bernie Sanders Jon's last week.

[trow125]

And seriously, 2 guests promoting M:I spin-off Vol. #468? yawn... I'd rather hear from JJ Abrams cuz I've already heard enough from Cruise (and I just realized Cruz and Cruise phonetically beside each other. Coincidence, no?).  

The Cruise booking was being discussed on a Scientology blog I follow and somebody posted: "I really doubt Jon or the producers of the Daily Show had any choice in booking him. Comedy Central and Paramount Pictures are both owned by Viacom."

 

If that's true, it's depressing that Jon would be ordered to book certain guests during his precious final weeks. As for J.J. Abrams, though, it wouldn't surprise me a bit if that was Jon's doing... he won't be around to interview Abrams when the new "Star Wars" movie comes out, and we all know what a "SW" fan boy he is.

[LADreamr]

Jeez, did Jon cover this?

From MSNBC:

Huckabee pushed the boundaries even further this weekend when he called the deal “idiotic” and said that President Barack Obama will ultimately “take the Israelis and march them to the door of the oven.”

[solotrek]

Yes. Today. Ted Cruz also looks very different in tonights show.

[SpiritSong]

I'm glad Ted Cruz cancelled, because that meant I got to watch the entire show. The sense of revulsion I feel when looking at or listening to Cruz is overwhelming, and I won't waste one precious minute of my life on his lies and ugliness.

I can't even believe he was booked on the show. We get 8 more guests and this asshat was one of them? Unbelievable.

[brgjoe]

Yes, Jon did cover those ugly remarks by Huckabee.  Sorta.  But first of all, was disappointed out of all the stories to mock and skewer, he starts the show with an ISIS story?  Really?  Lots o' yucks with that one, I'm sure. 

 

And then when he did get a chance to mercilessly mock Huckabee for those reprehenseable remarks, he literally doesn't say a word about it.  He goes into "Jon the Minion" mode.  Really, Jon?  Is this the start ot just phoning in the final weeks worth of shows?

 

Didn't know that Cruz cancelled.  For the sake of my blood pressure, I just wasn't going to watch the final segment of the show.  Who did he have on in his place?

[The Luvly Junkie]

         Yea, I find it very odd he starts his second to the last week of shows with an ISIS, after he obsessively covered a week full of Trump. Thank God Trump's yappity-yapping vapid mouth is cooling down as we hit into August.

 

        To be honest, I think Jon expressed more clarity and emotion during that Huckabee segment. Truly a magnifying feat to get your (and everybody else's) reactions across without uttering a coherent word. Personally, I'd side someone's argument based on their initial nonverbal feedback. 

 

Didn't know that Cruz cancelled.  For the sake of my blood pressure, I just wasn't going to watch the final segment of the show.  Who did he have on in his place?

 

        Some guy named David McCullough, an underwhelming guy who is a 2-time Pulitzer Prize winner, author, historian, and speaking know-it-all who graduated from Yale promoting a book on the even more underwhelming legacy of the Wrights' Brothers. Truly an antithesis to Ted Cruz. 

 

        At first I was a little disappointed Cruz couldn't show himself physically on TDS, but in the end, his cowardly cop-out proves that Jon just won. That Cruz, nor any Republican contender from the campaign would dare step into Jon's territory is proof that he is impenetrable and a genuine feat only few of his opponents can surpass. Now if that cop-out can happen again on tomorrow's show with Tom Cruise then the world is in balance.

[possibilities]

I really enjoyed David McCullough, and was relieved that Ted Cruz didn't appear.

 

One thing I liked about the wordless segment on Huckabee is that the show finally admitted some people in the media are actually reacting to BS in a lucid way, and they're not ALL dimwits, and TDS is not the ONLY outlet to point out BS when it happens. I think there has been a tendency for a while not, for TDS to look for the most repulsive possible thing and act like it represents all of what's out there, to make the jokes easier to write and the outrage easier to access.

[ganesh]

We all know the republican candidates are just spouting out whatever they can to get enough attention to be at the debate, right? I'm guessing if you don't make the cut for that, you're out. 

[Sharpie66]

I loved that wordless response to Huckabee so much that I went back and watched it again before deleting the show from my dvr. Just hilarious!

 

And I'm in the middle of reading the Wright Brothers book right now, and it's very good. I wish McCullough had spent some time talking about their sister, who was really interesting.

[dubbel zout]

Jon was so giddy last night. He's really counting down these last shows.

[UnderCover]

This:

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jon-stewart-qa_55b74fe9e4b0224d8833bd1d?

 

is really fun.

[LADreamr]

It seems like Jon can't wait to run out the door. He's making saying goodbye to him a little easier.

[iMonrey]

I do sort of get a feeling Jon is phoning it in just to run the clock out. Now, God knows he's earned it after all these years, but it's sort of heart-breaking. 

 

And frankly I would have rather watched Jon tackle someone like Ted Cruz than sit through such an underwhelming interview with an author I couldn't care less about and talk about a book I'm not interested in. Even on his worst day Jon would have gotten at least one good dig in with Cruz.

[Victor the Crab]

Ted Cruz didn't show? Awwwwww. >:D

 

Perhaps the perfect non speaking response to Mike Huckabee's outrageous opinion about the Iran deal would be to drop your pants, bend over, and blow a big wet fart in his general direction (yes, I am referencing Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and why not?).

[nowandlater]

I do sort of get a feeling Jon is phoning it in just to run the clock out. Now, God knows he's earned it after all these years, but it's sort of heart-breaking.

 

Yeah. I mean, a book about The Wright Brothers, one that's been out for a while? For one of his last 8 shows?

 

Couldn't Jon get a buddy of his to fill in? Or have all his famous buddies already appeared? Letterman had numerous friends of the show for his final 6 weeks.

 

I kinda feel, also, that covering Trump, while justified, is like phoning it in. There was one Trump segment just before the break where I felt like he'd gone overboard. Making fun of Trump is like stealing candy from a baby. But again, Trump is relevent, so it's okay to make fun of him in some instances (like this week).

Yeah. I mean, a book about The Wright Brothers, one that's been out for a while? For one of his last 8 shows?

 

Couldn't Jon get a buddy of his to fill in? Or have all his famous buddies already appeared? Letterman had numerous friends of the show for his final 6 weeks.

 

I kinda feel, also, that covering Trump, while justified, is like phoning it in. There was one Trump segment just before the break where I felt like he'd gone overboard. Making fun of Trump is like stealing candy from a baby. But again, Trump is relevent, so it's okay to make fun of him in some instances (like the most recent Trump bit).

[LADreamr]

Couldn't Jon get a buddy of his to fill in? Or have all his famous buddies already appeared? Letterman had numerous friends of the show for his final 6 weeks.

Brian Williams would have been interesting.

[ganesh]

But again, Trump is relevent, so it's okay to make fun of him in some instances (like this week).

 

Trump is leading the polls in NH and a close second in IA. So he's kind of relevant news. 

[Victor the Crab]

C'mon Jon. Everyone knows Donald Trump is descended from giant orangutans.

 

Jordan and Hasan weren't fucking around trying to get the truth out of Jon, from eating pizza with a knife and fork to the Arby's enema bag. Although they've could have done much worse if they got out Gillian Anderson and told the world what she thinks of Jon as an on screen romantic lover.

[Unusual Suspect]

Hasan taking out the knife and fork was pretty awesome.

[LADreamr]

The Jon we're going to miss: Politico video chronicling The Jon Stewart Effect.

[The Luvly Junkie]

Two things from that second segment: 1) They better do another segment because they barely covered the good questions from #JonStewartsAskHole feed, and probably glossed over my questions about Jpop and Kpop. 2) It would've been more hilarious if the Marry, Shag, Kill listed Hasan, Jordan and Jessica as the potential choices. I would've loved to see the pressure on Jon about choosing which of the current correspondents would be selected. Personally, I'd marry Jessica, shag Hasan and Jordan, and then kill Jordan. :P

 

Speaking of Marry, Shag, Kill: Marry Larry, Shag Ollie-Scone, and then Kill Stephen, only to prove that he (the character) never dies, then shag him too. 

[nowandlater]

What would've been funny is if Jon killed Stephen, then a pissed off Stephen would show up.

 

Anyways, for those who missed it, Jon was on The Nightly Show, where he talked about his White House visits.

[stillshimpy]

The Jon we're going to miss: Politico video chronicling The Jon Stewart Effect.

 

Man.  That made me cry and I've been trying to not lose it over Jon Stewart leaving, but that video exemplifies why I'm going to miss him so much. 

 

It also is a condensed reminder of why Jon seems so tired and anxious to just go ahead and go.  This isn't like Dave Letterman retiring, or Colbert moving on to CBS, Jon Stewart ended up being a call to action and a voice calling attention to the wrongs being perpetrated by our media, and government.  The man started out as a stand-up comedian and ended up as a comedian people looked towards to bring about actual change.   

 

I'm so glad that he managed to do so on so many occasions, but I completely understand why he's pretty clearly exhausted and looking forward to some time where his chief responsibility is to his family and an animal sanctuary.   I know in all of this he's also just done his fair share of silliness and goofy satire, but he also ended up shouldering some responsibilities that I don't think anyone could have foreseen as part of the purview of The Daily Show when he started.  

I think that's why I always end up defending him from any "Jon Stewart yelled at me and said Fuck" type of things, because for damned real, I'm always surprised that he manages to refrain from it as often as he does. 

I have only one wish for these last show. I really, really want another rendition of the 'Go Fuck Yourselves" choir aimed towards Fox News.  

[Grommet]

Watching this last series of shows is much different from watching Letterman's last few weeks, during which each show was a sweet celebration of Dave's run. I understand that 30 minutes doesn't allow much time for retrospectives but the few they've done have been oddly flat.  I could barely watch the Q&A last night and having a guest like Tom Cruise seemed like such a waste. While Dave spent his last 6 months being relaxed (to the extent he could be, given his personality), Jon just seems to be done. And I get that (see stillshimpy, above), but it's not satisfying as a viewer. I hope next week has more of a celebratory feel and less of a "I've got a cab to catch" vibe.  A visit from the Go Fuck Yourselves choir would be ideal.

[attica]

As you all know by now, I watch Jon during my morning routine. I try to time it so that my hair drying time coincides with the second commercial break, but if it doesn't, I just hit pause. On those occasions where the guest rots my socks, I blow-dry during the interview. Tom Cruise is a blow-dry guest. And even through the whir of 1800 watts right next to my ears, I could still hear his fake-ass barking laugh. Ugh.

[nowandlater]

Watching this last series of shows is much different from watching Letterman's last few weeks, during which each show was a sweet celebration of Dave's run. I understand that 30 minutes doesn't allow much time for retrospectives but the few they've done have been oddly flat.  I could barely watch the Q&A last night and having a guest like Tom Cruise seemed like such a waste. While Dave spent his last 6 months being relaxed (to the extent he could be, given his personality), Jon just seems to be done. And I get that (see stillshimpy, above), but it's not satisfying as a viewer. I hope next week has more of a celebratory feel and less of a "I've got a cab to catch" vibe.  A visit from the Go Fuck Yourselves choir would be ideal.

 

We got 14 months to say goodbye to Dave. Plenty of time (Early April 2014 to end of May 2015).

 

Jon Stewart announced his retirement on Feb. 10. Six months later, on Aug. 10, he's already gone. This happened way too fast.

[FartyPants]

If any of you have tickets for next week and you will not be able to attend .. I am looking for two tickets. 

Never been to the show, wanted to take my wife there for her birthday. 

know its a loooooooong shot, but still .. doesn't hurt to try

[dubbel zout]

While I give Tom Cruise props for still doing most of his own stunts at age 53, I also think there's something a little desperate about it.

 

his fake-ass barking laugh. Ugh.

 

So much this.

Edited July 29, 2015 by dubbel zout

[iMonrey]

I guess The Daily Show isn't really the place for a hard-hitting interview with Tom Cruise where he can be grilled about the Scientology documentary on HBO, but still. It's kind of like an elephant in the middle of the room whenever he's doing some interview promoting he newest Mission Impossible movie and just gets asked softball questions about his movie and stunts and stuff. 

 

I did like The Edge of Tomorrow though.

[b2H]

So any guesses as to whether Jon will take up Cecil and the dentist?  Or is this too awful a story for even Jon?

[Victor the Crab]

If Jon's as big an animal lover as we think he is, then I hope he would go in on that piece of shit dentist with both barrels - pun intended.

[divaTy]

For some reason I was genuinely shocked that Tom Cruise is older than Jon.

[solotrek]

They don't cover it. They covered the politico story and there was a Jordan klepper piece about a town in Arkansas. The internatioan opening taped was about the Saudi King in the French Riviera.

For anyone interested how Jon felt about Tom Cruise, he said that he was really happy to have friend of the show Doris Kearns Goodwin on the show tonight and that from tonight on,it'd finally only be friends of the show and people he really cared about. I took it as a subtle dig.

Edited July 30, 2015 by solotrek

[Victor the Crab]

Waaah, waaah, boo-hoo! Poor Randal Christy feels discriminated against because gays are being protected in his little town and that goes against his excuse of using his Bible to discriminate against. What a miserable example of white Christian privilege this asswipe is.

 

Nice that Jon set the record straight about his visits to the White House. I doubt the media will be satisfied with the answer - especially Fox News, who will crank the yargle bargle to eleven since he poked fun at their lord and master.

[Grommet]

I want to know why Billy Joel thinks Jon is an asshole.

A great show tonight, start to finish.

[sunflower]

Jon was awesome and adorable in that opening segment.  His 2nd Billy Joel mention was gold as was his cheesy love me smile for Obama.  Don't go, at least not too far.  It was also interesting hearing Jon casually mention how powerful people want to speak with him.  Who says no to a meeting with the President?  It's funny, but when I first read the article on this story I thought it was some parody Onion article.  It's only when I saw the NY Times article later in the day that I realized, oh that really happened.  Weirdness.

[possibilities]

I thought Jon was going to say he wore a blue dress and sat under the desk the whole time he was with the President. Isn't that what all "secret meetings" consist of?

 

On the other hand, I wonder what the reaction would have been from Bill O'Reilly or Glenn Beck or any of the Fox darlings, if Obama had invited them. Would they have gone? Would they have behaved deferentially, or would they call him a traitor to his face?

[brgjoe]

Well, I DO remember "W" having a summit of conservative media types (Including Rush Limbaugh, IIRC) during his presidency to help carry water for his Iraq policies.  Pretty sure O'Reily and the Fox Media types didn't freak out about that. 

 

Yet Jon gets invited twice in 7 years and it's "ZOMG!  Jon is secretly meeting with the President!"   And frankly if it was some nefarious plan to help Obama promote his health care plan, it failed miserably.  Jon has skewered it about every chance he got during that time. 

[Ruby25]

Yeah, that's probably why they called him in- during times when he was being especially critical. Frankly I remember noticing Jon was spouting a lot of misinformation about the healthcare bill actually. It probably pissed the White House off too, although maybe they spend too much time watching The Daily Show in the first place.

[ABay]

I *knew* Elvis was still alive!

[attica]

So, if you've never heard the LBJ Pants tape, please to enjoy. Just turn the audio low if you're at work.

 

Has Roger Ailes been on a diet? He looked slimmer in that clip Jon used...

[ganesh]

I'm astounded that the "media" jumped all over Jon being invited to the white house. The fact that they attribute so much influence to him is ludicrous.

I'm not surprised but the pastor was appalling. if you are in an overwhelmingly majority demo, by definition, you cannot be discriminated against.

That woman was hilarious though. They always have a problem with bathrooms!

[Paws]

 

if you are in an overwhelmingly majority demo, by definition, you cannot be discriminated against.

Actually that's not true.  Apartheid being the shining example of that.  But clearly the guy was a huge raging asshole and idiot, because nobody is discriminating against him by making life easier for other people.

Edited July 30, 2015 by Paws