TDS 3.0: Season Two Talk

[theatremouse]

19 hours ago, lordonia said:

Come on, Trevor. In the Obamacare segment, you don't even mention that "federal subsidies will also rise, meaning that few people are likely to have to pay the full cost after the rate increases to get insurance coverage."

Also failed to mention (if I believe my company's broker) that the average increase even for private companies buying group health coverage for employees is something like 15%. So while the exchanges are going up more than that, it's not like it's some mysterious giant bump. Everyone's costs go up every effing year. The whole point of the ACA is a long-term gain where eventually costs stop rising so steeply by more people being covered.

It really annoyed me that he seemed to cover this in the one-sided sensationlist leaving out important details approach. Usually this show is making fun of other shows for doing that.

[Shaynaa]

I haven't watched TDS in ages but happened to tune in tonight.  So they are trying to be artsy?  There were some excellent jokes and commentary in there but it just went on for too long.  I was waiting for Jon to pop up at the end and was left hanging.

[formerlyfreedom]

So...that happened?

I'm guessing they're doing some of these 'clip' or pretaped shows to have some more time to prep for next week. I didn't find it awful, but it was strange.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Well that was fucking depressing.

I shouldn't have watched Sam's show before this one.

Edited November 1, 2016 by GHScorpiosRule

[zxy556575]

I thought it was awesome! Good for them for getting out of the "Trump said this" joke rut.

I especially liked Jeff Ross being put in charge of Trump's mean tweets, women having to wear a ratings bracelet, and Hasan trying to pass in whiteface. It was nice of John Oliver to pitch in (although I wanted to hear the end of his egg safety story).

[brgjoe]

Yeah, that was...different.  Not quite sure what to make of it.  I did chuckle a couple of times, but mostly I thought it was a bit amateurish.  Like something you might see during "Improv Night" at some high school or community college. 

Is Monday clip show going to be a thing now?  I thought last Monday's show was because Trevor was still feeling the effects of being ill. 

It wasn't horrible and it wasn't great.  Just kinda "meh" for me.

[trow125]

1 hour ago, brgjoe said:

Is Monday clip show going to be a thing now?  I thought last Monday's show was because Trevor was still feeling the effects of being ill. 

As I've said before, last Monday's clip show was preplanned -- Trevor was supposed to be in South Africa hosting an MTV awards show. He had to cancel the trip due to his illness, but "TDS" (and "@Midnight," which follows the same production schedule) had already arranged to take the night off.

Tonight's show was, I think, just an attempt to do something different for Halloween. My guess is that at least part of it WAS taped today, since the guests shown during the "@Midnight" segment were the same ones who appear on tonight's show. Not all of it worked, but I loved John Oliver's cameo. The egg safety story was so on-brand for LWT!

[Arcadiasw]

In a futuristic, post apocalyptic Trump Presidency, I'm surprised Trevor and John Oliver are still in America and haven't been imprisoned or deported during Trump first four years. 

I think the gag went too long.  Until the first commercial I was expecting TDS crew to have a time machine  to go in and the show to continue in present time.

[The Luvly Junkie]

1 hour ago, Arcadiasw said:

I think the gag went too long.  Until the first commercial I was expecting TDS crew to have a time machine  to go in and the show to continue in present time.

     I think that was the point, aside from being a Halloween special. I'm glad that the show is taking an experimental advantage to the holidays, which was completely absent during Jon Stewart's tenure in the 2010s. It may not be funny(ish) and too long, per se, but I get the impression that if we are gonna live in Trump-presidential country, you have to show EVERYTHING that will go downhill within the first 4 years, as well as bear forewarnings for anyone who hasn't voted yet or think their votes are meaningless just because if they are in more Democratic/Republican leaning states. It's less of a gag and more of a emotionally depressing vision as a result of America's "biggest political mistake".

Edited November 1, 2016 by The Luvly Junkie

[jbrecken]

It felt like the kind of experimental theme show Larry might have tried to do if he was still on.

[possibilities]

I was okay with it. I like that the show is kind of going for broke, trying things out, and tried to break the numbness that's been setting in with the constant barrage of jokes about the election that are starting to sound the same and basically become routine. It's like everyone is saying and has been saying for a long time now just how fucked up it is, but they never vary the tone, so it's easy to tune out and get so used to it that it seems normal. Maybe people tuned out last night anyway, but at least they tried to change it up.

My sense of it is that Comedy Central is not really committed, and so the show has nothing to lose by being experimental and having fun with their job while it lasts.

It's astounding how fast Larry Wilmore's show was disappeared, and how much his voice has gone out of the conversation.

[peeayebee]

It didn't quite work for me. The concept was ok, and a lot of jokes were pretty good, but I didn't like it for an entire show.

[Victor the Crab]

Given that it was on Halloween, it seems to have made sense they made an episode like that. A future world of no hope under Drumph. Sure it was all in humor, but a Drumph presidency will be a living nightmare for all of us.

Great that Ollie was involved in this. It would have been even better if Jon were somehow involved.

[Skyfall]

21 hours ago, Shaynaa said:

I haven't watched TDS in ages but happened to tune in tonight.  So they are trying to be artsy?  There were some excellent jokes and commentary in there but it just went on for too long.  I was waiting for Jon to pop up at the end and was left hanging.

It's a one off cause it was Halloween. Probably back to normal tonight.

[Miss Dee]

I loved it, loved how different it was. Hope they take more chances like this.

[Skyfall]

4 hours ago, possibilities said:

I was okay with it. I like that the show is kind of going for broke, trying things out, and tried to break the numbness that's been setting in with the constant barrage of jokes about the election that are starting to sound the same and basically become routine. It's like everyone is saying and has been saying for a long time now just how fucked up it is, but they never vary the tone, so it's easy to tune out and get so used to it that it seems normal. Maybe people tuned out last night anyway, but at least they tried to change it up.

My sense of it is that Comedy Central is not really committed, and so the show has nothing to lose by being experimental and having fun with their job while it lasts.

It's astounding how fast Larry Wilmore's show was disappeared, and how much his voice has gone out of the conversation.

Yeah like Ollie should've gone with the Iceland story on Sunday!

[Fable]

I liked it too.  I wouldn't want something like this often, but as a one-off I thought it was brilliant and appropriate for Halloween and the state of our Nation.  

[Goldmoon]

It was depressing and extremely unfunny.  It would be nice if it was watched by swing voters, but I doubt it reached anyone not already laughing at Trump.

[Lantern7]

"Barack, haven't you seen 13 Going On 30? We gotta make 'Thriller' happen!"

Didn't dawn on me that last night's episode would be related to Halloween. I kept thinking "preaching to the choir." At least we got the whole cast in there. Well, not the contributors. In a dystopian hellscape, I'd imagine half of North America to be powered solely on Lewis Black's rage.

[zxy556575]

I liked the post-Trump episode but it was also soothing to have everything back to normal. A couple of the Weiner jokes might have been funny if I retained even the least ability to smile about the election any more.

During the interview, Trevor needed to stop being such a git about the U.S. speaking to its adversaries. If he thought he was being funny, it went on too long. The diplomatic corps is not a 7th grade playground. Or it isn't currently. It would quickly become so under Trump.

[theatremouse]

I appreciated the attempt in the post-apocalyptic episode, but I think since the core of the audience likely already fears a similar thing, for it to work it needed to be viciously realistic AND hiliarious to work. Most of their viewership is already fearing that sort of scenario, genuinely, so they needed to be very precise for it to work. Just the general "now we have a dictatorship and people are starving and dying and scared" isn't enough. And even if they did somehow magically have some undecideds watching, again with the generic fear, and the obvious jokes, they're not convincing anybody of anything new. They didn't go far enough to actually scare someone who isn't already. And it wasn't funny enough to work for people who are already scared.

[Hanahope]

I liked the Monday show. I thought it was very creative and different.  If it scares a few potential trump supporters, all the better

[theatremouse]

That's the problem. I don't think it will. I think any Trump supporter would see that and just scream "idiot liberal bias, of course all his policies will work and be awesome and even if he did replace ACA with an energy drink, that drink will cure cancer; you're just trying to scare me with something preposterous" or some bullshit.

Edited November 3, 2016 by theatremouse

[Victor the Crab]

Drumph less popular with blacks than the National Hockey League. BWAH-HA-HAAA!!!

[dusang]

First, I doubt any Trump supporters have ever seen an episode of TDS, let alone Monday's ep  in particular. Second, if TDS is aiming to sway anyone it's third-party, undecided, and/or non-voters who are hesitant on Hillary. Third, that we've hit a point that a satirical comedy show is a legitimate source by which people make voting decisions is truly sad.

[zxy556575]

8 hours ago, Victor the Crab said:

Drumph less popular with blacks than the National Hockey League. BWAH-HA-HAAA!!!

That was good, along with Trevor's extended bit about how Hillary's experiences align with black Americans.

I really appreciate the minority and outsider perspective Trevor brings to the show.

[topanga]

4 hours ago, lordonia said:

That was good, along with Trevor's extended bit about how Hillary's experiences align with black Americans.

I really appreciate the minority and outsider perspective Trevor brings to the show.

I enjoyed it, too. But I fast-forwarded though Desi's segment. Maybe I didn't see the point of her doing an entire segment with a rich plastic surgery addict who supports Trump. It didn't add to my knowledge about Trump or his supporters. 

I did like the MOZ with the black teenagers. 

"Do you like Hillary?"

"Yeahhhhh!!!!"

"Are you as enthusiastic about her as you were about Obama?"

"Noooooo!!!!!!!"

[Hanahope]

1 hour ago, topanga said:

I enjoyed it, too. But I fast-forwarded though Desi's segment. Maybe I didn't see the point of her doing an entire segment with a rich plastic surgery addict who supports Trump. It didn't add to my knowledge about Trump or his supporters. 

Just another example that many of Trump supporters are the ultra rich who are convinced Trump will improve things for them.  Uh, yeah, sure he will,  But what about the other 99% of us?

It was sad how the woman was  trying to think about what non-white people are members of Mar-Largo (which she thinks Trump will model the US after), and all she could identify were the staff.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Why was Wink Martindale there during Desi's segment ?  Was he married to one of the Trumpettes ?

[peeayebee]

I assume he's married to the one Desi was interviewing.

[Temperance]

6 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

Why was Wink Martindale there during Desi's segment ?  Was he married to one of the Trumpettes ?

You inspired me to do some research.  Wink Martindale is married to the other blonde Trumpette (who has Anna Wintour's haircut) (not Desi) when they are toasting. Toni, (the main woman talking) is not married to Wink. She actually was Clinton supporter in 2008. The more you know. 

[angora]

Loved all the reasons why hockey is everything Black people hate (though not as much as Trump!)  The line about mandatory minimums in the penalty box was my favorite.

I liked the story about Hillary's "Black experience," too.  The alternating news clips commenting on fear/distrust of Black people and Hillary were really well-chosen.  The bit about how people will just write her off as a "diversity hire" if she wins made an excellent cherry on top of the piece.  (But I still loved the immediate "No!!!" from the young Black voters in the MoZ when asked if they were as excited for Hillary as they were for Obama.)

[sassykattt]

So funny some of you guys who I love, think swing voters, a, still exist, b, might be watching TDS

[possibilities]

I loved the tantrumming kid as Trump's speechwriter.

[zxy556575]

Loved this ep!

I remember not really enjoying RW Jr. when he was first on the show but he's now my favorite correspondent. He and Trevor have a real ease with each other. Congrats on the Cubs win, Roy! I assumed he had left the desk right away, but nope, still there. Made me laugh.

I appreciated Trevor's coverage of the Senate races, tragic and angrifying as it was. "Shit's about to get vague."

Julian Assange on the other end of the seashell. Funny because, true.

[purist]

I'd be up for Roy Wood Jr sitting at the desk every night in his Cubs robe offering wry commentary on Trevor's monologues. Hee!

[peeayebee]

Roy Wood Jr saying his Westworld would be managing a bank and giving black people loans was fantastic. I also loved the bit about him holding up the sign on the plane:

Trevor: You can put the sign down, man.
Roy: Um-uh. You sound just like United Airlines.

And then, "Not tonight. Fly the plane, Sully!"

"I'd forgotten what joy looks like." Indeed, Trevor.

I liked The Office-type segment on behind-the-scenes at Trump campaign headquarters. I only wish Warren had been played by a better actor.

[Hooper]

Quote

I'd be up for Roy Wood Jr sitting at the desk every night in his Cubs robe offering wry commentary on Trevor's monologues. Hee!

Roy in that role sort of reminds me of the personification of the bullet points in Colbert's "The Word" segments.   And since I immensely miss SC and The Word (sorry, The Werd just isn't frequent enough to be a replacement), yeah, I'd be all for Roy offering commentary.  

[zxy556575]

MC Ginger.

Trevor consistently has the best mocking names for Trump.

Edited November 8, 2016 by lordonia

[possibilities]

Really liked the show tonight. I thought Trevor taking time out to be serious was refreshing in some way.

The only part I wish they'd edited out was Desi and Hasan at the polls sweating out the attraction to danger-- I felt it undercut what Trevor had just said.

But overall, great show.

[Delwyn]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

The only part I wish they'd edited out was Desi and Hasan at the polls sweating out the attraction to danger-- I felt it undercut what Trevor had just said.

I definitely agree it was a bit that just didn't land because of where they placed it in the show. I would have laughed if it was the lead in to Trevor being serious and reflecting on the lunacy of that type of voter. His Serious Business section was really powerful and was then deflated by the silly.

Childhood me was 100% on board with The Gods Must Be Crazy joke, though. 

[redfish]

Man Trevor Noah's speech on voter complacency was spot on and I really felt he was talking from the heart. And he's right, the Dems/voters should not rest on whatever slim lead she has. Trump has the hardcore types (ex. KKK) and they always vote no matter what.

[peeayebee]

8 hours ago, Delwyn said:

Childhood me was 100% on board with The Gods Must Be Crazy joke, though. 

Me too. The joke surprised me, though, because I figure a lot of people wouldn't get it.

[possibilities]

10 hours ago, Delwyn said:

Childhood me was 100% on board with The Gods Must Be Crazy joke, though. 

I loved that. I love it in general when Trevor says something then tells the audience they're racist for believing it or thinking it or finding it funny.

[angora]

Cosign the love for The Gods Must Be Crazy joke and Trevor's "get out there and vote" speech.  I like that he acknowledged how disheartened so many people feel but still stressed why it was so important to cast their vote.  He's 100% right - the KKK isn't going to be complacent.  Using the Michigan primary as an example of how polls don't always bear out was smart, I thought.

Also?  The idea of Jay Z introducing Hillary for the State of the Union killed me - loved it!

[Victor the Crab]

I too got The Gods Must Be Crazy joke. Loved that movie. And yeah, the Desi and Hasan bit should have led off Trevor's serious speech about voting for Hillary.

[Arcadiasw]

Watching Trevor live right now. Reminds me of Jon after the 2004 election. 

[zxy556575]

I was in full blackout mode until I woke up a short while ago. I turned on the TV and went right to my recording of TDS, so it was Trevor who delivered the news. His palpable anger and grief made it a tiny bit better, rather than hearing about it from some random TV anchor who had to pretend to be impartial.

The thought crossed my mind that Trevor might actually choose to "go back to Africa."

Edited November 9, 2016 by lordonia

[Victor the Crab]

I'm sorry, but I don't think I can watch TDS anymore. Or LWT, or FF, or RT, or LS, or any show like it anymore. How can anyone expect to find humor in today's events knowing that a goddamn stupid nation just elected a goddamn madman as its president? Satire is officially dead.

[brgjoe]

Yep, Trevor did appear both sorrowful and angry at the (still to me) shocking results.   Did remind me a bit of Jon in the past. 

And I should apologize to Trevor for mocking that Trump apocalypse skit awhile back.  He really wasn't a skit at all. 

It was a documentary.    *sigh*