TDS 3.0: Season One Talk

[possibilities]

Trevor was terrific last night, talking about the murders. He's generally at his best when he combines some personal sincerity with some international or "outsider" perspective. I really appreciate that he seems to have some capacity to extrapolate from one situation to another, and make connections  between issues. I think that kind of thing really helps people develop empathy and expand their understanding of things they are otherwise not fully engaged about.

Also: the "Welcome to Hell" banner-- I had seen it before, but had not realized it was from the police. And while the Olympic situation makes me want to cry, it's actually the locals I feel worse for. After "the games" are over, they still have the hell referred to, right? And no one will be talking about it anymore.

I wish Trevor would speak one of his many languages more often. I know there's no reason for it and it probably wouldn't work for the show, but when he busted out his German, I found that fun. I forget what 2 of the 5 languages he speaks are, but it just seems like if you can speak 5 languages, that's awesome and I want to hear it.

[attica]

I'm spiraling out of love with this show. I'm finding so many of the bits just plain puerile, stuff I may have found funny when I was 15, but certainly not now that I'm an Old. The interviews are, imo, boringly booked and limply conducted. Only a pro like Laverne Cox who takes charge of the segment is interesting. And I'm starting to find the political coverage no more compelling than stuff that ends up on Slate. Sometimes bad and mark-missing (except for Dahlia Lithwick!), but even when it's not, it's just not worth spending the 22 minutes on it. So I find myself ff'ing or hate-watching. Which kinda breaks my heart, after all these years (Kilborn era represent!).  Sigh.

Will the convention coverage win me back, I wonder?

[ganesh]

This is Trevor's first convention. I concede the last week of episodes wasn't good, but I'm interested in his pov coming up.

[zxy556575]

3 hours ago, attica said:

I'm spiraling out of love with this show. I'm finding so many of the bits just plain puerile, stuff I may have found funny when I was 15, but certainly not now that I'm an Old. The interviews are, imo, boringly booked and limply conducted.

I found Jon to be kind of one-note and wasn't a regular viewer of TDS when he was driving the bus, but gave Trevor a try and had been enjoying his outsider perspective. Emphasis, sadly, on the past tense. I'm not sure exactly what clicked over for me but I've dejectedly deleted the last couple of episodes without watching. Nothing new, why bother.

[Lantern7]

When were the conventions scheduled? I imagine Jon finding out, say, two years ago and saying "Fuck this" while hitting the ejection seat button. Say what you want about Trevor, but going back-to-back weeks of political madness? With two conventions that might be contested? I don't envy the guy. We might wind up with a new host when 2020 rolls in.

[needschocolate]

I realize the conventions are probably a lot of work for the people involved in this show, and can understand that they might need the week before to get ready, but it feels like they just had two week off less than a month ago.  After the last break, felt like the show lost some momentum, lost its edge.  If it doesn't get it back with the convention coverage, I may drop it from my DVR. 

I am relatively new to this show, just started watching a few months ago when I got tired of the other news programs treating Trump like he was a celebrity instead of someone who might end up running the country.  I enjoyed TDS not highlighting the ridiculousness of what Trump says and pointing out his made up facts. 

Is it normal for them to take so much time off? 

[trow125]

I can tell you what the schedule was like in the summer of 2012, though keep in mind that the conventions took place weeks later than they are this year:

Weeks of July 2 & July 9: off
Back on July 16; new shows aired through Aug. 16
Week of Aug. 20 & Monday, Aug. 27: off
Back on Tuesday, Aug. 28 with 4 shows from the RNC, then 4 shows from the DNC
Week of Sept. 10: off

I think they do roughly the same number of shows every year.

[zxy556575]

11 minutes ago, needschocolate said:

Is it normal for them to take so much time off? 

It's odd to me that the late night talk shows often take the same weeks off even though they're on different networks. Seems like it would be an opportunity for a particular show to win new viewers who might not normally tune in.

[tenativelyyours]

Chelsea Handler did do just that and seemed to build her audience quite nicely until she stopped having any interest in even sitting up let alone conducting an actual show (and yet now she is back doing a talk show). If I remember correctly she did shows Memorial Day and on days following or preceding a holiday that saw other shows go dark for the whole week.  Also there were rumors that while happy with the pull Andy Cohan had, BRAVO still is not thrilled at how nonchalant he is in regards to long vacations at such times.   And one of the many reasons BRAVO chucked him as an executive even as they kept him as on air talent. 

I'm quite looking forward to the convention shows.   The momentum for me has maintained and I really like the mix of still giddy fun Trevor has mixed with his outright scorn on issues.  I think I prefer it to Stewart's shift from shrug to rage.  Looking back it almost seemed like a tantrum even when I was yelling in agreement.

I'm going to miss Jessica but look forward to her show and I already look forward to seeing much more of Desi so it balances out somewhat.   I heard that there are two new people possibly trying out after the conventions but haven't heard anything else since.

[possibilities]

A clip show? WTF?

[Lantern7]

On the bright side, there will be new episodes through Friday. Then Trevor gets put into cold storage until Philadelphia.

[peeayebee]

Yeah, that was disappointing.

[Lantern7]

I'm just annoyed that they cut out the "Crippled Masters" bit when Trevor was talking about Cruz and Kascich teaming up. On the bright side: Trevor's Ben Carson impression.

[Temperance]

The Daily Show was my favorite of the night. 

[topanga]

I know the media has been talking non-stop about the Melania Trump speech and the sections lifted directly from Michelle Obama's 2008 speech, but Trevor still made it timely and funny. I laughed hysterically when he said that the last time a white woman lifted a black woman's words and called them her own, Iggy Azalea called that her latest hit. And his reactions to the two black speakers at the RNC  were great.

Surprisingly, I liked his interview with Michael Steele, former head of the RNC.  This is someone I disagree with politically and socially, and I'm sure he feels the same way about me (and Trevor), but he gave an intelligent, thoughtful interview. And I'm pretty sure he implied that he isn't in love with Donald Trump as a person or a candidate, but he is throwing his support behind him because he's the presumed Republican nominee. I think that's the way many people feel about Hillary Clinton, too. 

[ganesh]

I don't know. That sounds like the 'both are equally bad' argument. I just don't buy it. 

So is the convention just going to be old white guys yelling until people just vote for Trump to shut everyone up?

I can get 'common words' like values, dreams, following something, hard work, faith appear in probably all political speeches ever. On the show they had each speaking identical sentences. To the word. That's another thing entirely. 

And it's just bad plagiarism. I can't stand sloppy thievery. One time a student copied an article written by another, and he at least had the decency to rearrange the words and overall paraphrase. 

I'd really like to know what the thought process was. Because now Trump's Thursday speech is going to be really scrutinized for this. Not that anyone at the convention cares, but it is a media story that's going to have legs for a while. 

Edited July 20, 2016 by ganesh

[possibilities]

During the Steele interview, they kept flashing on the screen that we NEED to watch the entire interview online. They usually just give the way to see the whole thing, right? It doesn't usually say we NEED to.

[topanga]

1 hour ago, ganesh said:

I don't know. That sounds like the 'both are equally bad' argument. I just don't buy it.

No, it's the argument that both candidates are wildly unpopular with voters, which is true. But most people will still vote along their affiliated party lines. Primarily because the idea of the other candidate becoming President gives them nightmares. 

 

10 minutes ago, possibilities said:

During the Steele interview, they kept flashing on the screen that we NEED to watch the entire interview online. They usually just give the way to see the whole thing, right? It doesn't usually say we NEED to.

I didn't catch this. But doesn't the online version only add a few minutes of questions? I'll have to check out this one. 

[ganesh]

I know the numbers. It's where they come from. I just think it's a false narrative that's a derivative of the deplorable media coverage of this election. This show is certainly guilty of that. 

Edited July 20, 2016 by ganesh

[peeayebee]

This was a good one. Trevor did a great job with his commentary on the convention. Loved him saying to one second black speaker, "Get the fuck outta here."

 

1 hour ago, ganesh said:

So is the convention just going to be old white guys yelling until people just vote for Trump to shut everyone up?

And a couple of really tan guys, too.

I thought it was funny when Ronny and Trevor started going at each other about being an immigrant who would kill their families. I also loved Roy's bit at the convention. The woman thinking about whether Trump was good for blacks was incredible. Roy with the other black correspondent was great, too. "You take the east side, and I'll take the west. That way, no one will confuse us."

BTW, I'm working on a novel. I've even got the first line. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. And don't tell me I'm plagiarizing, because those are really common words.

[ganesh]

In my book, I'm the narrator, and I tell the reader to call me Ishmael because it's a common name and lots of books have narrators so it's common. 

[ABay]

I can't see Michael Steele without picturing the puppet and hearing Wyatt's voice.

[angora]

Really liked last night's show.  I liked how they addressed the many different sources of fear at the convention (thoughts of a future Trump presidency, the heavy security, assault rifles on the street, being Muslim at a Trump rally, the strong xenophobia rhetoric/fearmongering,) leading to the "Make America Fear Again" idea.  I thought all the correspondents did a nice job with their bits, and I cracked at being Roy being excited to potentially join the Illuminati. 

Loved Trevor's retorts to both of the Black speakers.  I like when he does his "yeah, I completely agree, except... (rattles off the slew important factors the speaker left out)" bits, like he did here discussing the assorted sources of systemic racism that may contribute to preventing Black parents from "being present" for their kids.  And the line wondering why Black people are "so susceptible to dying" if no one is killing them was excellent.

[topanga]

42 minutes ago, ABay said:

I can't see Michael Steele without picturing the puppet and hearing Wyatt's voice.

I had to go back and watch those clips. Hilarious! 

[Hanahope]

That pastor is amazing.  Its Hillary's fault Bill cheated, but gives a total and complete pass to Trump.  I bet he'd blame Trump's wives because he cheated. 

And yeah, Christie, you shouldn't be up there throwin all those stones in your glass house.

Edited July 21, 2016 by Hanahope

[Victor the Crab]

Ugh! Those stupid evangelicals supporting an amoral sociopath in Donald Drumph? If you think your God chose this oversized Cheeto with the undersized fingers to become president, then it's time to shut your religion down for good!

Chris Christie is such a tool. And by that, I mean he's a butter knife spreading all that bullshit around. I liked that Trevor got the audience involved in chanting.

Hey CNN, more Christine Armanpour and way, way less Wolf Blitzer (oh wait, it's run by fat toad Jeff Zucker, so that won't happen).

[angora]

ITA, Hanahope.  Watching Jordan mess up all of that pastor's talking points with facts was my favorite part of the episode.  "I ran the numbers on the 'one man and one woman,' and... they don't check out."  Ha!

Overall, I thought it was another really good one.  Trevor's "I guess I'm driving" after his disappointing Paul Ryan drinking game cracked me up, and I loved his remark about the crossed-arms gesture proving that white people don't know what being locked up looks like.  I liked his point about boiling everything down to easily-digestible slogans rather than making measured arguments.  His comments about Trump's never-ending scandals and how, unlike any other politician, the Trump train doesn't slow down for any of them, were great, too.

[ganesh]

I liked the clip of Trump saying we should go into Libya and then saying later that it's Clinton's fault. It's too bad there wasn't some independent entity that could record these things and then ask these people about them. 

"Lightskin is right." I like when they rip on Trevor. 

Of all the horrible things about Trump, I don't care if he is religious or not. He's not. I don't think Obama really is. I don't care, and actually would prefer less religious people in government. In Jordan's piece, all these people talking about how religious Trump is are just delusional. I can get the "he tells it like it is" garbage, but this is just ridiculous. 

 

52 minutes ago, Victor the Crab said:

Chris Christie is such a tool.

He's lobbying to become AG. But what a weird speech. So much of the convention has been just attacking Clinton. Is that typical?

Code Pink can be a pain, but holding a sign that says 'no hate' is fairly banal. So let's push the woman around and rip the sign out of her hands. 

Edited July 21, 2016 by ganesh

[topanga]

21 minutes ago, ganesh said:

I liked the clip of Trump saying we should go into Libya and then saying later that it's Clinton's fault. It's too bad there wasn't some independent entity that could record these things and then ask these people about them. 

"Lightskin is right." I like when they rip on Trevor. 

Of all the horrible things about Trump, I don't care if he is religious or not. He's not. I don't think Obama really is. I don't care, and actually would prefer less religious people in government. In Jordan's piece, all these people talking about how religious Trump is are just delusional. I can get the "he tells it like it is" garbage, but this is just ridiculous. 

 

The sad thing is, I don't think people care if Trump contradicts himself or agrees with Clinton on certain issues or if he spouts racist or homophobic rhetoric. Or if he insults POWs, the disabled, or women. Trump supporters don't even care if he's qualified to run the country. They'll still vote for him. 

I liked the segment with Trevor. His accents are incredible. 

[fastiller]

1 hour ago, Victor the Crab said:

Chris Christie is such a tool. And by that, I mean he's a butter knife spreading all that bullshit around. I liked that Trevor got the audience involved in chanting.

 

Except tools are generally useful; Christie just isn't.  I did like the insta-ad that the Clinton campaign put out after his RNC speech, with the tagline of "if you believe [whatever] about Christie, we've got a bridge to sell you..."

On 7/20/2016 at 9:03 AM, topanga said:

Surprisingly, I liked his interview with Michael Steele, former head of the RNC.  This is someone I disagree with politically and socially, and I'm sure he feels the same way about me (and Trevor), but he gave an intelligent, thoughtful interview. And I'm pretty sure he implied that he isn't in love with Donald Trump as a person or a candidate, but he is throwing his support behind him because he's the presumed Republican nominee. I think that's the way many people feel about Hillary Clinton, too. 

I think that Michael Steele really is one of the last of the old-school GOPpers.  He's seemingly caught in an in-between place: Republican but reasonable.  That just isn't the model these days.

[possibilities]

I like the show this week. I think Trevor is great when he's confident. I think this bodes well for the future of the show; if he sticks around, he'll get more and more confident and more and more out-spoken and bold. It doesn't seem like the network is trying to blandify the show, and this week he's not pulling many punches, so I think it really is about him growing into the position.

The MOZ just confirms everything else, which is that a significant number of people are being driven by aversive emotional reflexes, and not responding to reality outside of that internal state. I don't know how to fix that. Reason isn't going to do it. I wonder what would happen if someone campaigned using the Trump tone, but preached love and respect and justice for all, including prison reform, ending poverty, reversing climate change, and conversion of the military industrial complex to rebuilding roads and bridges, updating schools and increasing affordable housing. If it was someone wealthy, white, bloated, light-haired, and male, maybe it would work.

[peeayebee]

3 hours ago, topanga said:

The sad thing is, I don't think people care if Trump contradicts himself or agrees with Clinton on certain issues or if he spouts racist or homophobic rhetoric. Or if he insults POWs, the disabled, or women. Trump supporters don't even care if he's qualified to run the country. They'll still vote for him. 

ITA. I can't remember which show or article it was, but when the reporter pointed out to a supporter that Trump was for the Iraq War even though he is now saying he was against it from the start, the person said that didn't matter. WTF?! It doesn't matter that Trump lies?

Anyway, another good show. Loved Trevor's bit about Trump passing up Christie for VP, so Christie walks out on the stage and is like, "You see this, Donny? You could have had alllllllll this." The chanting was great. My favorite was "Cut the shit! Cut the shit! Cut the shit!"

Loved the little Boko Haram bit. 

Pastor Mark Burns was such a joke. IS such a joke. Of course we know about the prosperity religion, which is abhorrent and sinful. So many Trump supporters should wear hats that say "Don't confuse me with the facts."

[redfish]

Quote

I like the show this week. I think Trevor is great when he's confident. I think this bodes well for the future of the show; if he sticks around, he'll get more and more confident and more and more out-spoken and bold. It doesn't seem like the network is trying to blandify the show, and this week he's not pulling many punches, so I think it really is about him growing into the position.

ITA. I think it was a matter of finding the voice/POV he wants to use in this show and be comfortable with it and be bold with it.

Also what was unsettling at how those Evangelicals equate money with being a good Christian. I know that there's a growing movement/mentality that believes that but since when does money=morality? Isn't greed & gluttony considered a sin? That pastor/Evangelicals doubts Hilary's sincerity but freecards Trump's, well I doubt how much they know the Bible especially they forgot what Jesus was all about. But they probably dismiss Jesus as well.

Christ Christie (lol at the Crispy slam) god, I was freaked how he egged that crowd on that any minute the convention was going to spill out into a lynchmob. Someone should remind him to his face of him many unspoken offenses.

[purist]

I'm enjoying the show this week too. Jordan's interview with the pastor was classic TDS and as good as anything I've seen on this show over the years.

Just one thing I can't help but notice: Trevor's live audience is easily as white as the RNC crowd. I know that's always been the way with TDS, but it's a shame.

Edited July 22, 2016 by purist

[futurechemist]

Burning question - how can tonight's episode of TDS exist?  I live on the west coast.  Trump's live speech ended around 8:30 and TDS aired as normal at 11.  So that means that on the east coast, Trump's speech ended at 11:30.  So how could TDS air the show with clips from Trump's speech before Trump finished his speech?  But if TDS was delayed until midnight on the east coast so they could frantically cobble together some clips, why wasn't it delayed on the west coast too?

Edited July 22, 2016 by futurechemist

[Delwyn]

I always appreciate Trevor's self-burns about his fraught history with Twitter. "Anything I say can and will be used against me in the court of Twitter and I already have priors" is one of my favourites so far. 

[LeafontheWind]

8 hours ago, futurechemist said:

Burning question - how can tonight's episode of TDS exist?  I live on the west coast.  Trump's live speech ended around 8:30 and TDS aired as normal at 11.  So that means that on the east coast, Trump's speech ended at 11:30.  So how could TDS air the show with clips from Trump's speech before Trump finished his speech?  But if TDS was delayed until midnight on the east coast so they could frantically cobble together some clips, why wasn't it delayed on the west coast too?

Aren't they in Cleveland this week? So they wouldn't be on east coast time, right? Or did I misunderstand your question?

[sadiegirl]

Regarding the timing of the show.  I'm on the east coast (so is Cleveland) and the RNC ended shortly after 11:30 pm (eastern) and Trevor started a few minutes later so the show was on, live, after the speech ended and I guess they worked really fast to get those clips into the show.  I'm not sure if this helps with what futurechemist was asking, but assuming they aired the show live across the country, the west coast would have seen the live feed shortly after 8:30...

[LeafontheWind]

1 minute ago, sadiegirl said:

Regarding the timing of the show.  I'm on the east coast (so is Cleveland) and the RNC ended shortly after 11:30 pm (eastern) and Trevor started a few minutes later so the show was on, live, after the speech ended and I guess they worked really fast to get those clips into the show.  I'm not sure if this helps with what futurechemist was asking, but assuming they aired the show live across the country, the west coast would have seen the live feed shortly after 8:30...

For some reason, I thought Cleveland was more centrally located. Thanks for the clarification!

[kassygreene]

Cleveland and all of Ohio are Eastern Time.  TDS was live on Thursday specifically to get the coverage of Night 4 on Thursday.  The convention was supposed to end at 11 p.m. Eastern (the balloon drop was scheduled for 10:53), and they even brought in a band and had delegates dance because they were running ahead of schedule, and didn't want the guy who introduced Ivanka to do so before 10.  So of course we all got the longest and possibly angriest acceptance speech in the modern era, and the live broadcast couldn't start until about 11:45.  And it was definitely not pre-taped as Noah and Alex Wagner were discussing the speech.  The West Coast broadcast was at the scheduled time because it wasn't live.

I only watched the whole damn speech because CNN surveyed me a week ago and asked if they could follow up after the speech on Thursday.  Those poor phone-bankers.  I got the call before the balloons dropped, and she rushed through six questions and said good night.

[angora]

I wasn't sure what to expect from a live show, but I thought it went pretty well.  It was good that they had previously-written material also ready to go, like the Trump video (although Trevor's reaction to it freezing cracked me up - "They're telling me to go to an ad break, but I could rule the world right now!") and the story on Cruz's speech from Wednesday.  I thought the Cruz story was really funny, especially the crowd booing the phrase "vote your conscience" and the Daenerys comparison.  In the video, I liked the comments about Trump's "businessman tactic" of turning his flaws into "selling points" and the media "attacking" him by reporting on things he's said.

As for the piece on Trump's speech, I thought it did feel a little rushed but decent overall.  I'm sure they were writing it and pulling clips from the speech as they were watching it, so they scrambled pretty well.  Although, when Trump expressed surprised at the convention for not "booing the gays," I wish Trevor had pointed out that the only pro-LGBTQ thing Trump actually said was that LGBTQ folks shouldn't be killed by terrorists - not like he was really going out on a limb there.

Really enjoyed Alex Wagner.  I laughed at the bit about the coliseum lions having too much basic decency for the blood lust at the convention, and I liked her and Trevor wondering where on earth Ivanka Trump's speech came from and whose policies she was talking about.

[peeayebee]

I'm on the West Coast, but I record the East Coast feed. Maybe that's why my DVR recorded South Park instead of TDS. I know TDS is repeated a time or two during the day (or used to be), so I just searched and found that it's on (my time) at 8:00 pm and then 10:35 pm. Maybe those will be Thursday night's shows, or is he doing a Friday night one too?

[Arcadiasw]

Yes, they are doing a new show tonight, too. I'm on the east coast and the DVR recorded South Park because Donald Trump was still talking at 11 last night and the The Daily Show was live last night but had to wait until Trump finish talking. I had to record the Daily Show and the Nightly Show again this morning because of that. 

[AmandaPanda]

The text of Trump's speech was released prior to him giving it, so Trevor and the crew had some time to read it and pre-write portions. That also would have helped them to pre-select some of the parts they wanted to feature in clips.

[possibilities]

During the east coast airing of South Park in the TDS slot, there was a banner on the screen saying The Daily Show would start, live, "as soon as Trump stops talking".

When I saw that Rosie O'Donnell was narrating the Trump video, at first I didn't understand why they specifically chose her. Then, when they reminded us of Trump's insulting her during the debate, I knew something great was coming, but I had no idea what it was going to be. When she cursed him the hell out and the bleeps were out of synch so you heard exactly what she said, that was taking it to a whole other level and I laughed so much I had to rewind to catch up with what I missed as the tape kept rolling. I wonder if Comedy Central signed off on that, or if the show slipped it by and will get more strict oversight in future. I hope the former.

The entire line up was 40 minutes late getting started. But don't they put everything on line after it airs? I'm sure they realize not everyone was going to stay up late enough to watch their entire line up that much later than usual, and will want it to get seen. I think convention coverage is some of their highest rated shows.

[Victor the Crab]

When the video of Rosie O'Donnell narrating Donald Drumph's life story cacked out, I couldn't help but wonder if it was some kind of jinx sent forth by the evil spirits of Drumph. I'd like to think it was just a technical glitch, but who knows?

[redfish]

TDS/Trevor Noah should call Trump, "Dumb Donald" from now on since Trump looooves reducing people to nasty nicknames. And with luck this one will either stick or get under Trump's skin so much he get into a public temper tantrum to show the undecided his true colours.

[sadiegirl]

1 hour ago, redfish said:

TDS/Trevor Noah should call Trump, "Dumb Donald" from now on since Trump looooves reducing people to nasty nicknames. And with luck this one will either stick or get under Trump's skin so much he get into a public temper tantrum to show the undecided his true colours.

I've thought that very thing since the first time Trevor called him that.  Dumb Donald is perfect for him.  If everyone else has to have a nick name, why not Dumb Donald? 

 

2 hours ago, possibilities said:

During the east coast airing of South Park in the TDS slot, there was a banner on the screen saying The Daily Show would start, live, "as soon as Trump stops talking".

 

I haven't erased this yet, but was going to without looking at it, since I knew it was South Park and not TDS, but now I will take a look at it, just to see that banner.  He does like to talk (or maybe to just hear himself talk).

[ChelseaNH]

On 7/21/2016 at 5:57 PM, redfish said:

since when does money=morality?

There is a school of thought that financial success is a sign of God's favor.  Probably promoted by pastors who charge them for the privilege of belonging to a church which validates their sense of superiority.

[LJonEarth]

2 hours ago, ChelseaNH said:

There is a school of thought that financial success is a sign of God's favor.  Probably promoted by pastors who charge them for the privilege of belonging to a church which validates their sense of superiority.

Oh, that explains the crazy public radio interview I just heard with Falwell Jr. where he kept saying things like if Trump's successful it must be because he's honest and a good man. I know the prosperity gospel thing, but I didn't think there were people who think of it in reverse.

Dumb Donald is funny, but I'll never be okay with real name-calling. It's just something I was taught never to do when trying to make an argument. I know, I know, TDS is comedy first.