TDS 3.0: Season Two Talk

[ganesh]

Re: the interview. Yes, no one can take away your right to vote, but lots of people are making it very hard to actually vote. I sure hope all those people who didn't vote actually do, but the comment struck me as glib. 

[needschocolate]

On 5/10/2017 at 7:56 AM, ganesh said:

I take Hasan's point about the media coming off smug, but I don't think he paints an accurate picture. The clips shown on the show were more 'opinion and entertainment shows about the news' featuring pundits. It's their job to do that. You don't see that on Washington Week, PBS News, or even the journalist panels on the Sunday shows. That's all news based news. CNN, ABC CBS, etc., all have news shows. I think the more salient point is that the opinion shows are becoming so pervasive that they're kind of screwing it up for the real news. I think he was correct at the end that if a guy like Tapper is trying to be a real news guy and pressing Conway on her chicanery, then he shouldn't be snarky on his other programs. But for someone like Maddow, I don't think that necessarily applies. 

I wish Hassan would have mentioned something about how they are pundits giving opinions but there are a lot of people watching that seem to have trouble differentiating between opinion and fact and that maybe less eye rolling and smugness would be helpful

[Hanahope]

Catching up from last week:  Michelle Wolf's bit on 5/8 - I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that a committee made up entirely of women would acknowledge that simply being a woman is a pre-existing condition.  Wolf is right, no period is regular (unless potentially one is taking birth control pills - which aren't covered by insurance, amirite?)

And yes, the French and their scarves.  Both my mother-in-law and sister-in-law, are always wearing one.  They've given me some for christmas, but I just don't have the hang of it.  they just don't look right on me.

Edited May 15, 2017 by Hanahope

[purist]

Not many comments on here lately. Has everyone stopped watching? Or is it all just too horrifying  to laugh at? For what it's worth, I think Trevor is still doing a great job. I thought the author he spoke to about the book On Tyranny was very serious but very good at explaining things. Trevor tried to start the interview on a lighter note, but the guy was serious from the get-go and somehow it worked anyway.

Edited May 18, 2017 by purist

[Temperance]

I'm watching. I've enjoyed that this week they did some non-Trump segments. Sent Tuesday's (5/16/17) segment about flying cars to a friend who feels the same way. Showed it to other people.

I also will point out they keep getting more serious guests and a lot more books/authors are discussed on the show. 

[ganesh]

The interviews have been really good. I think the "problem" and I don't think this is a problem, but it's that they have to lead the show with Trump SO much because he's doing so much, and it's more sad than funny. I mean, it's the first international trip on Friday. I'm dreading the multiple international incidents that are going to arise over the weekend. I'd like to see more field pieces though. 

I was saying to myself, when the Fox news guy was splitting hairs over the use of the word 'hope', 'Has he heard of the mafia?' So, ha for Trevor on that one. 

I also agree that "But Obama!" isn't an argument. At this point, if that's your argument, then you're pathetic. Neither is parsing words like the "hope" guy. Look, proving intent for obstruction of justice is difficult, that's a reasonable argument. There's no reason to jump through hoops. So is that the president is so incompetent that he just has no idea of the implications of what he says. 

I know the media gets (largely) unfairly bashed because of having the temerity to report Trump's actual words and calling out government officials who are flat out lying to them, but all those clips of them saying "The I word" are just juvenile. They're certainly not helping their cause. Grow up and be journalists. Which is also the problem. 

[Miss Dee]

I thought I was going to bust during Ronny's segment on flying cars. He's starting to become my favourite. Well, after Trevor. And Hasan. And Roy. But he's in the top 5!

[Victor the Crab]

Loved Ronnie's segment from the other night. His Today's Future Now is something I look forward to.

And I loved Trevor's smackdown of Fox News' defending the indefensible Drumph. Timely now given the death this morning of Roger Ailes, which I'm certain Trevor will cover before they go on a week break.

[peeayebee]

I'm still watching. I think it's been pretty good.

 

3 hours ago, Miss Dee said:

I thought I was going to bust during Ronny's segment on flying cars. He's starting to become my favourite. Well, after Trevor. And Hasan. And Roy. But he's in the top 5!

Yes, Ronny flying car segment was great. Man, has he come a long way since he first started. 

[possibilities]

I'm watching and I love it. I just haven't had much to say lately.

I thought Desi's field piece tonight was annoying, though. It's like she was so busy trolling the guy, she seemed to be creating a self-fulfilling prophesy because of her own prurient obsessions. I never really like it when the show does those kind of exercises. Be funny, do an expose, go after people who are actually harmful. But don't bore me with pranking for prank's sake. I have really liked that the show had mostly stopped doing that, but this particular story was a total fail.

I like that the interviewees are more often serious than they used to be. I really don't need to see the same people selling their already heavily promoted movies that I can see anywhere else. And Trevor manages to make even the most serious interviews joyful.

I agree about Ronny. I was not a fan of his at first, but now I am thoroughly enjoying his work. He turned a corner when he stopped doing bits about daddy issues.

Hasan was on Fresh Air tonight. Is he even still on TDS? He talked about when he got the job at TDS, he was super excited that his dad was a fan of the show because it was the first time his dad had any respect for Hasan's work as a comedian. 

Edited May 19, 2017 by possibilities

[purist]

Gabourey ('rhymes with cabaret!') Sidibe was a fantastic guest. I really appreciate how many people of colour Trevor has been interviewing on the show. Still could do with more women guests, but I'm finding the lineup much more diverse than the last few year's of Jon's tenure as host. It's refreshing. (Not a criticism of Jon; just an observation.)

[ganesh]

I'm disappointed they'll be off next week just because it's Trump's first foreign trip which I'm sure will teeter on disaster every day.

The AZ governor was a trip, but I didn't like Dezi's overly grossed out reactions. I think that was his point. I do not care what consensual sexual activities a politician is doing and it has no bearing on whether I'd vote for him or her. Also, shallow, but his wife tho. 

[marceline]

On 5/18/2017 at 1:46 AM, purist said:

Not many comments on here lately. Has everyone stopped watching? Or is it all just too horrifying  to laugh at? 

For me it's the latter. I check out clips on the site from time to time but I can't really laugh at Trump. I'm glad people called out Ronnie's flying car piece though. That was well done.

[peeayebee]

18 hours ago, possibilities said:

I thought Desi's field piece tonight was annoying, though. It's like she was so busy trolling the guy, she seemed to be creating a self-fulfilling prophesy because of her own prurient obsessions. I never really like it when the show does those kind of exercises. Be funny, do an expose, go after people who are actually harmful. But don't bore me with pranking for prank's sake. I have really liked that the show had mostly stopped doing that, but this particular story was a total fail.

I agree about her piece. I don't think there was anything amusing about it. I'd feel the same way if the guy were a Republican. It just wasn't very funny.

9 hours ago, ganesh said:

I'm disappointed they'll be off next week just because it's Trump's first foreign trip which I'm sure will teeter on disaster every day.

OMG, can you imagine!

Quote

The AZ governor was a trip, but I didn't like Dezi's overly grossed out reactions. I think that was his point. I do not care what consensual sexual activities a politician is doing and it has no bearing on whether I'd vote for him or her. Also, shallow, but his wife tho.

 I don't believe that was his wife, just an actress.

As for the rest of the show, it was good. I absolutely loved the barbershop discussion about Comey and Mueller. That was just outstanding.

Re the Turkish bodyguards beating up protesters, I'm surprised Trevor didn't show the other video of the incident that was taken from a different angle. It looks like Erdoğan, in his limo, tells an aide to have the bodyguards attack the protesters. 

I love how Trevor cracked up about the reporter saying that Trump was awake and tweeting. 

"Got it got it. Stay calm. Be presidential."
"Mr President! Questions!"
"FUCK YOU GUYS! You're all my enemy. I wish you were all dead. Super dead. Most dead ever… All right. How did I do?"

[Delwyn]

On 2017-05-17 at 10:46 PM, purist said:

Not many comments on here lately. Has everyone stopped watching? Or is it all just too horrifying  to laugh at? For what it's worth, I think Trevor is still doing a great job. I thought the author he spoke to about the book On Tyranny was very serious but very good at explaining things. Trevor tried to start the interview on a lighter note, but the guy was serious from the get-go and somehow it worked anyway.

I have seen every episode since Trevor started. Sometimes it's a reflexive action, I'll admit. I bailed on regular commenting because for a long while, most comments were about what he was doing wrong or how he was different than Jon (not just here; pretty much everywhere, because it was such a crucial and eventful time in politics to be doing a handover.) I don't know if it's because I was around when Jon took over from Kilborn and I felt that Trevor was being judged through a lense of nostalgia: Jon took a long time to get his tone right and a lot of his success came from really great correspondents. It was hard to see Trevor getting dragged for not being perfect from day 1. Comparing his lows to Jon's highs that he had had more than a decade to perfect was pointless to me.  

One quibble that I have with the show still is that sometimes they struggle with the balance of overwriting and underwriting the material. Just writing down all the insane stuff that happened in the last 24 hours is not cutting it. But Trevor and Roy and Ronny are also not great with material that leans heavily into a "skit" format. Their talents lie in momentum and charisma. I find Hasan and Desi and Jordan to be the opposite. They do better with a character and an arc and flounder with the more off the cuff interactions. 

I've probably said this before, but I think the show would benefit from a small format shake up to make its own mark in a crowded field. Colbert has finally turned to merciless but on point mockery. Oliver has his deep dives. Seth has a closer look. (And Amber, whom he is very lucky to have.) But Trevor gets a diverse and interesting range of guests that the others don't have. I'm not a producer, but he could take the best of all the worlds. Make Monday a sort of broad recap of current events. Leave all the "ways Trump is lunatic" from each day on the cutting room floor, since the media has probably regurgitated it for us a million times before 11pm EST, unless the writers can offer a unique take. Pare down the interviews to two really interesting and more extensive discussions with guests per weeke. Fill that with more great, well fleshed out editorial pieces from performers like Michelle, Neal and Adam. Tuesdays could be a field piece day. The Alabama weeklong series was neat: multiple perspectives that you didn't expect from the correspondents' previous work. They have already experimented with these ideas to some extent. It's time to tighten up the voice of the show and Jordan leaving for his own gig is the perfect time to do that. Reboot a bit as Trevor always intended and commit to that vision for a while. 

Sorry, I guess I had a lot of feelings on the subject. Boring, lengthy feelings. 

[Miss Dee]

I felt the way you did with comparing early Trevor to best of Jon. And then I was getting it again on The Late Show with people comparing Stephen to best of Jon. I never even watched Jon all that much, but it got to the point where I was starting to dislike him on general principle!!

[Cyranetta]

What I've always appreciated about Trevor is his "stranger in a strange land" perspective, which none of the other late-night people have, and as has been mentioned, his array of guests. Just finished reading his Born a Crime, which revealed just how amazing his life has been.

[zxy556575]

Interesting suggestions, @Delwyn! Less Trump coverage would be great by me, but I'm sure TDS would then get slammed for "ignoring" important news.

I'm an unabashed fan of Trevor and the show, especially his outsider perspective as @Cyranetta mentioned. I dipped into Jon's version maybe 25 times in the years he was on and never watched The Colbert Report, so I didn't have any preexisting favoritism or nostalgia. Trevor had the expected beginners hiccups and nerves but he's since become very polished. I record every late night talk show but rarely watch any of the celebrity interviews because who cares. I really appreciate that Trevor is steering the show away from those.

[Delwyn]

1 hour ago, Lord Donia said:

Interesting suggestions, @Delwyn! Less Trump coverage would be great by me, but I'm sure TDS would then get slammed for "ignoring" important news.

There's no denying that ratings wise, the Trump coverage is working for them right now. But I hesitate to conflate better ratings with better show. Maybe it just speaks to how people consume media these days. It could also be a bump from a few other things at the same time, though. Hasan's WHCD. The Comey/Special Counsel insanity. All TDS correspondents were just on Colbert, which is doing a lot better now. The show is off this week, so we'll see if that holds. Either way, I hope increased confidence in the show lets him really spread his wings. 

[ottoDbusdriver]

2 minutes ago, Delwyn said:

There's no denying that ratings wise, the Trump coverage is working for them right now. But I hesitate to conflate better ratings with better show. Maybe it just speaks to how people consume media these days. It could also be a bump from a few other things at the same time, though. Hasan's WHCD. The Comey/Special Counsel insanity. All TDS correspondents were just on Colbert, which is doing a lot better now. The show is off this week, so we'll see if that holds. Either way, I hope increased confidence in the show lets him really spread his wings. 

I love the new "Don't got time for that" segment they introduced several weeks ago -- any of a half-dozen things that would normally be appalling and the story of the day, but so much shit goes down that these outrageous items just get buried by other more outrageous things.

[possibilities]

On 5/20/2017 at 4:52 PM, Cyranetta said:

What I've always appreciated about Trevor is his "stranger in a strange land" perspective, which none of the other late-night people have, and as has been mentioned, his array of guests. Just finished reading his Born a Crime, which revealed just how amazing his life has been.

This is one of the things that makes me think that even if we had a sane administration that didn't stoke the comedic/tragic narrative, TDS with Trevor might actually be even better than it is now. He would be able to focus more on that outsider/international perspective, and that is something none of the other shows are doing. I guess Oliver does it a little, but what Trevor brings to it is much more of a perspective shift. Lately, he just notes that it's crazy here even by the standards of places that are usually considered the crazy, but we've seen that he has a lot more to say on this, and a lot more subtle observations to offer. But the current situation doesn't really lend itself to subtlety or observations that can't be made by anyone else. It's a shame because I'm certain Trevor could deliver an interesting perspective that others aren't, but right now there's hardly a need for it or room for it in the avalanche of the obvious.

The biggest gift I think he brings to the current situation is that somehow he never seems to lose the edge of joy. I don't get how he does that, because I'm not good at it. I get picked in my outrage at times. I know he's talked about struggling with depression, so maybe it's an act. But he does it well and I am trying to learn from it, about how to stay happy despite the anger, outrage, anxiety, and general stress of living in outrageous times. It's a survival skill that I admire.

ETA: re Desi's field piece, I didn't get a sense of what any of the guy's policy positions were, and that annoyed me the most. If her point was that his sexuality is a distraction, she should have shown us what important information we were missing because of it. His idea of getting ahead of the info makes sense to me. Why should people be disqualified for office because of consensual sexual activity? Why did we need to see her embody the stupidity of that instead of challenging it?

Edited May 22, 2017 by possibilities

[purist]

5 hours ago, possibilities said:

The biggest gift I think he brings to the current situation is that somehow he never seems to lose the edge of joy.

Perfect. Well said, @possibilities!

[lookeyloo]

I just read Trevor's book. I have a better appreciation for him now. We still watch.

[peeayebee]

I enjoyed last night's show. There were some great bits, like International Hand Stuff. The floating Trump-hands never got old. I also when Trevor called Trump's trip "National Buffoon's First European Vacation." Perfect.

Love his accents, as always. The Russian one is always great. "Whatever you do, don't tell that guy." 

I had seen the video of Trump and Melanie walking where she slaps his hand away, but not the other one at the top of the stairs. Love Trevor's response to Fox News not seeing the reality of what she did: "Leave it to Fox News to not know what rejection from a woman looks like."

I laughed quite a bit when Jordan said to Trevor, "If your Ebola or whatever hadn't flared up that day…" I don't why that struck me as so funny. I usually don't really like him.

[ganesh]

2 hours ago, peeayebee said:

Love his accents, as always. The Russian one is always great. "Whatever you do, don't tell that guy." 

The said truth to the joke is that it's probably true. All these other people probably are saying "oh we'll handle Trump, don't worry."

2 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I had seen the video of Trump and Melanie walking where she slaps his hand away, but not the other one at the top of the stairs.

This tells me all I need to know about the credibility of Fox News. I mean, come on. She slapped his hand away. Just say something like, "maybe they got into an argument on the plane. I don't know. Is it really important?" No, it's not important, actually. The fact you jump through logical hoops is just ridiculous though.

[Victor the Crab]

What is "covfefe"? I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's the new "rosebud". But instead of a sled, it's a gold plated golf cart. All will be told at the end of Citizen Drumph.

[ganesh]

The internet memes today were hilarious. I hope they do something on the show. 

[ganesh]

I liked Michelle's point about Wonder Woman. WW has been around nearly 80 years, and there's been one tv show. I can totally see all the 'america isn't ready for a female superhero movie' articles if it doesn't make like $200M in it's first 3 hours. 

[Ms Lark]

"I am Covfefe" Brilliant and oddly touching. I just finished Trevor's book (a great read, highly recommend), so it was even more timely.

[ALenore]

The actual Spelling Bee winner was asked to spell "covfefe" and couldn't.  I guess she's been practicing for the spelling bee the last few days instead of following Twitter Trump Typo 'covfefe' Stumps Spelling Bee Champ

[GHScorpiosRule]

Nothing would please more I feel Trevor would do the show in Russian, French, German accents! Good thing I wasn't eating or drinking anything when he was doing those!???

[ganesh]

I don't get why Trevor was trying to make the joke about where there's smoke there's fire. It wasn't working. 

[ganesh]

I liked Michelle's monologue. You (Megyn Kelly) don't get to act like the last 12 years didn't exist and that you're a "journalist" now. She's directly contributed to the mess we're in now. Sorry, you don't get a pass. 

I liked a lot of the reverend had to say, but I think he needs to get a little more realpolitik about his initiatives. I'd push back slightly that 'poor people' weren't mentioned during the campaigns. Raising the minimum wage was discussed, but I take the point. Politicians talk about the middle class all the time because it's this nostalgic concept that doesn't have much meaning anymore imo but drums up a certain sentiment that gets those people out to vote. 

Sit ins are great for raising awareness, but he said himself in the interview, lots of poor people are disenfranchised. I think fighting for voter protections and getting more people to vote will be a more effective way of achieving his goals. 

I don't really buy his argument about why we have to call ourselves "conservatives" or "liberals". People will call themselves something, but there's one group of people that largely deny basic science, don't think women should be in control of their own bodies, aren't interested in protecting the general welfare. That's not his fault, but it's not mine either. The more people that vote, the lesser the contribution to the overall vote that those people will have. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

Michelle calling Megyn "Mahatma Blondie" was one of the funniest things I've heard in a long time! Along with her shade toward that ass who used to do the "Can you hear me now" commercials for Verizon and now that he's a mouthpiece for Sprint, is talking shit about Verizon.

[iMonrey]

I think he's right that the name Reality Winner will become the actual story rather than the documents themselves and what they contain. Honestly, what on earth were her parents thinking? When I first saw a headline about Reality Winner I was like "Who? What reality show are they talking about? What did she win?"

It kills me that all these Trump supporters probably think he's actually accomplishing a lot with these grand signing shows. 

[ganesh]

I honestly thought that was her online hacking handle. 

[peeayebee]

Good show. I loved the bit with Trump as air traffic controller. Come on, that's perfect! And then the signing show. Always a show. A great show. There's no better show, believe me. The tiny desk and his Richter-scale autogra---- signature is so ridiculous. Honestly, watching him sign that immediately made me think of a toddler scribbling with a crayon, so having Trevor do the bit with the child's paper placemat was fantastic. "So many walls, so many walls. My pen is like a Mexican!"

It's so clear that, as Trevor said, Trump loves the performance. "He wants to BE president, but he doesn't want to DO president." He loves the ceremony, the role-playing, the display. He's a gilded peacock.

No Content for Old Man was great.

I enjoyed the interview, too. Interesting subject. I wish Trevor had asked him how we can have a country with no political parties. I can't imagine that.

Edited June 7, 2017 by peeayebee
placement -> placemat

[zxy556575]

24 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

I loved the bit with Trump as air traffic controller. Come on, that's perfect!

It really was! I replayed it twice just for the giggles.

Maybe the "No Content For Old Men" stuff was covered in the national news but I tend to avoid it, so the truth was interesting to learn. All bluster and bombast as usual.

[Gulftastic]

Was something cut? Trevor announced that somebody from The Daily Beast was going to appear but the only guest was the author of the George Washington book.

[Delwyn]

Trevor's interviews with the Syrian documentarians tonight raised an interesting point for me. They suggested that the US has not had the same experience with IS attacks as Europe because they have integrated Muslim communities so well compared to the EU. I don't know that it's necessarily true, but it certainly speaks to my assumption that because I live in a diverse Canadian city with a large and influential Muslim population that we are more safe than other capitals. I really appreciate that Trevor is engaging with people that can shed new light on topics that other nightly shows won't bother with. Sometimes his guests validate my world view, but sometimes they inspire me to dig deeper. I think we're seeing his greater vision for the show in action. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

5 hours ago, Gulftastic said:

Was something cut? Trevor announced that somebody from The Daily Beast was going to appear but the only guest was the author of the George Washington book.

John Avlon, who wrote the book on Washington, is the same person from The Daily Beast.

[peeayebee]

I'll definitely be recording that documentary, Hell on Earth.

[ChelseaNH]

22 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I wish Trevor had asked him how we can have a country with no political parties. I can't imagine that.

The problem isn't parties per se, it's the attitude of party uber alles that ruins things.  Washington's speech was naive; he assumed that rational people would naturally come to the same conclusion (i.e. agree with him and his friends), so anyone who disagreed was acting from selfish interests.  Reality is, people disagree and it's useful that they disagree; groups that have differing viewpoints will come to better decisions, as long as everyone feels free to speak up.  But you want people who disagree working together for the same goal.  It's hard enough getting people to agree on doing things that are good for the country, because they'll have different ideas about what's good for the country, but at least they're trying.  When parties are more concerned with their own interests over the country's, there's no basis for cooperation.

[Gulftastic]

4 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

John Avlon, who wrote the book on Washington, is the same person from The Daily Beast.

Ah. Thanks for the info. I watched it whilst slightly under the weather, so I'm blaming that.

[ganesh]

That Senator from Idaho is such a bag. Parsing semantics like that is what a snotty teen does when you tell him to clean his room and then ask why he didn't clean the closet. "Well, you clearly said *room*. There wasn't 'closet' in that statement." 

Comey must have iron patience to not have strained himself from rolling his eyes so hard at the guy.

I kind of found Hayek a little rambly in the interview. She interrupted a bunch of times and Trevor could really get going until halfway through. Honestly, I've found the interviews with the actors for the most part to be not much of anything. The interviews with the reverend, Al Franken, etc., have been much more compelling. I don't think it's on Trevor because he does a good job. 

[peeayebee]

5 hours ago, ganesh said:

That Senator from Idaho is such a bag. Parsing semantics like that is what a snotty teen does when you tell him to clean his room and then ask why he didn't clean the closet. "Well, you clearly said *room*. There wasn't 'closet' in that statement." 

OMGosh, I was driving in my car during part of the hearing and had my radio tuned to it. I happened to be listening when John McCain was doing his questioning. I couldn't figure out what he was saying. And it seemed like he was being deliberately obtuse. A day or so later I read how everyone was struck by how bizarre his comments/questions were.

[lookeyloo]

And I heard a commentator say that McCain said he was probably up too late watching a game and here is what he really meant (but I didn't listen to that part)

[ganesh]

McCain actually said himself he was up late watching the Diamondbacks. Which isn't an excuse when the most important hearings in recent history are the next day.

[Victor the Crab]

I wish TDS wasn't trying to pimp Jordan's upcoming special given Thursday's events. It looked so tacky.

It would have been interesting if Trevor and crew had mentioned something about McCain's rambling questioning at the Comey hearing. If he wasn't classified as a rambling old man with no coherent though before, he definitely should be now.

As for the past week, Michelle was spot on about Megyn Kelly, but Trevor was not. Kelly has a history of asking "tough initial questions" to her guests, but then fails to follow up on her interrogations when her guests hit back. It was the same SOP when she was interviewing Dick Cheney a couple of years ago. Megyn Kelly is a highly overrated interviewer.

[ganesh]

She's also highly overrated as a "journalist." She's a tv personality who is on the news and that's about it.