TDS 3.0: Season Two Talk

[LJonEarth]

Comedy Central was really driving home Roxane Gay's point by airing a Daniel Tosh fat joke promo seconds after she stopped talking. Good job, guys.

[peeayebee]

That book sounds intense. Good interview.

James v. the Giant Peach and Master of Thumbs made me giggle.

Those top five Repub excuses for Trump were/are terrible. No shame. Loved Trevor's bit about someone coming over the border illegally -- "I'm not steeped in the protocols of immigration. I'm new to this."

[Ms Lark]

15 hours ago, LJonEarth said:

Comedy Central was really driving home Roxane Gay's point by airing a Daniel Tosh fat joke promo seconds after she stopped talking. Good job, guys.

I noticed that, too. Wow. Great timing on that one.

[LADreamr]

I wish she had had more time.  Even the extended interview wasn't really enough.  I also wish Trevor had said that he'd lay off those jokes in the future. I hope he does, anyway.  

It's important to know, too, that the brain decides how your body is going to react.  So even if she felt it was a conscious decision to eat more to create a body that could protect itself better, if her brain doesn't think she's safer yet, it's not going to let her change the situation, no matter how "good" she is.  And having the emotional part of this constantly hammered home for her by ignorant or just plain awful people makes it harder to move out of it. 

[Miss Dee]

Roxane Gay made me cry. That poor woman, to go through that at twelve with no one to help her. I can't imagine what she's been through.

[scarynikki12]

Vince Staples needs to be on regular guest rotation. That interview made no sense and was completely hilarious. 

[LJonEarth]

1 hour ago, scarynikki12 said:

Vince Staples needs to be on regular guest rotation. That interview made no sense and was completely hilarious. 

I think Trevor just realized how old 33 really is. Vince made a lot of new fans with that interview.

[possibilities]

Betta fish normally live 2 - 3 years, so it pained me to hear it said they die in two weeks. Must be a case of not taking care of them properly.

https://www.petsit.com/facts-about-betta-fish?id=327278

[GHScorpiosRule]

YAY!!!!!!!! Hasan is back!!!!

????⭐️?✨???

I was beginning to wonder if he was gone!?

Ans why do they always edit out the good and interesting stuff from the interviews? I've lost my love for Whoopi a long time ago, but online, in the extended interview, she didn't sound as much as the ignorant idiot she normally does and was able to say what she thought without talking in word salad.

Edited June 17, 2017 by GHScorpiosRule

[ganesh]

Those tweets at the top of the Thursday show about Clinton. I hope she pisses on his grave. 

[2727]

The Presidential Twitter museum seemed to go over well. Did anyone here go?

Between researching for the museum and the March Madness tweet brackets, TDS staff may be the world experts on the subject.

Edited June 21, 2017 by 2727

[Miss Dee]

Wish I could've, but I'm in the wrong country.

[2727]

The guy from Politico was extremely annoying to me. Maybe his tone of voice? The way he kept plugging his site? At least I know not to watch if he's ever a guest again.

[Lantern7]

I hate myself for living in a bubble. Trevor showed that tape . ..  holy fuck. At this point, if Trevor bails out by year's end for burnout, I wouldn't be that shocked. For Jon, the grind and other stuff got to him, but it took a decade and a half for that to engulf him. Trevor isn't new to America and the unbelievably shitty things that happen, but there has to be a point where he ends up throwing the front office keys towards Roy and Desi, telling them to figure it out for themselves.

Does Viacom own the company that puts out DJ Khalid's album? I hope not, because then the fantasy sequence with him and Trevor would be in poor taste, especially after Trevor's vent session. It was cute, though.

[LJonEarth]

12 hours ago, 2727 said:

The guy from Politico was extremely annoying to me. Maybe his tone of voice? The way he kept plugging his site? At least I know not to watch if he's ever a guest again.

It's just like how Politico handles its social media. The same article posted every hour on the hour.

The show made me cry tonight. That's all I'll say.

[Princess Sparkle]

10 hours ago, LJonEarth said:

The show made me cry tonight. That's all I'll say.

Same here. I already thought the "Between the scenes" remarks Trevor made on Monday about getting pulled over were pretty powerful, but last night wrecked me. 

[ganesh]

10 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

I hate myself for living in a bubble. Trevor showed that tape . ..  holy fuck.

You watched the video though, and you get that there's a systemic problem here. I have seen the video before, but it was a while ago, so I didn't remember it well. The speed at which the cop shot the guy was less then 10 seconds. Not only was the cop shouting but he sounded totally manic to me.

But since he was legally allowed to carry a gun, I'm so glad the NRA is stepping up to fight these injustices. Right? 

My (pretty white female) friend posted on FB yesterday how she got stopped by a cop and how she was nice and respectful and just doesn't understand if you just do what you're told then everything should be ok. She's well meaning, but that's a bubble. I got stopped for speeding and they could have taken me in for reckless driving because I was far enough over the limit (I honestly didn't see the speed limit sign and was slowing down), but they let me go with a ticket. I was nice and respectful too and I apologized, but I know why they did. 

One thing I would push back against Trevor, I think the study was in Oakland, but for cops who wear body cameras, violent encounters dropped way down. Yes, everyone has a camera with their phones, but I think there's something of having it physically on your person that changes things. 

[Hooper]

Well, I had already been crushed watching THAT video, but hearing Trevor say that it broke him, and listening to his calm, measured delivery of his commentary just ground me into a little pile of dust.   I mean this is a guy that came of age in the full bloom of apartheid in South Africa who is overwhelmed by the injustices to black people in this country.  USA! USA! USA! 

Although the scope is different (although  maybe not so different if you look at the long term pattern), for emotional impact I was reminded of Jon's post-9/11 return to the air, and wondered how Trevor could speak so forcefully and yet with so much control.  Then he got to the part about Castile's girlfriend addressing the crazed cop as "Sir" while she filmed her boyfriend bleeding to death and I thought "yeah, a lifetime of practice."

I'm the whitest white lady that ever white ladied. I got pulled over once for speeding, and it turned out I had forgotten to renew my vehicle registration 8 months prior, AND my driver's license was due to expire in 2 days, AND I had a broken tail light.  I got a warning and a "Have a nice day and drive safe, ma'am".  And people don't believe white privilege is a thing.

[iMonrey]

I missed the first segment except for the last minute or two so I know what it was about and probably should go look it up online. That said, I really disliked the bit with DJ Khaled. I had no idea who the hell he was until I looked him up online, so that whole bit was a waste of time for anyone who didn't know who the hell he was. It's the kind of thing that's too audience-specific and part of why this show has become so irrelevant in the post-Stewart era. 

[ganesh]

1 hour ago, Hooper said:

I mean this is a guy that came of age in the full bloom of apartheid in South Africa who is overwhelmed by the injustices to black people in this country. 

I would cite Trevor's background as relevance enough, but his monologue on the show just last night about the shooting is also relevant. 

[iMonrey]

OK - just watched the segment about Philando Castile - I'm sure this was not a deliberate omission on Trevor's part, but when he was "supposing" why the cop was afraid for his life he neglected to mention that Castile admitted to having a fire arm and for whatever reason, the cop thought he was reaching for it (even though he can clearly be heard on the recording saying he wasn't). Now, that said, there's no way on earth any reasonable person can say that cop acted appropriately and I can't imagine for the life of me what the hell the jury was thinking assuming they watched the same recording we all did. Un-freaking-believable. But I'm guessing the cop's attorney managed to convince enough of them the cop genuinely felt Castile was reaching for his gun. Did the fact that he was black have anything to do with it? Oh hell yeah - but he wasn't shot just for being black (unlike, say, Trayvon Martin). I guess the point is moot, though - and the distinction meaningless since the result is the same. It was a good piece, overall - I just think the admission of having a fire arm played a role in the story.

[nodorothyparker]

Trevor has really knocked it out of the park these past two days talking about the Castile case.  He's been incredibly thoughtful and measured while letting us see that he's just as disgusted and broken and bewildered as the rest of us looking at that tape.  He's had to address a lot of really shitty insane stuff in his short tenure and I really feel like we're watching Trevor grow into the gravitas that everyone was bemoaning that he lacked in so many perpetual "But he isn't Jon!" thinkpieces.  His experience growing up under apartheid absolutely feels relevant to me in all this.  I remember being struck by the incredible self collection of the girlfriend in the original Facebook stream video and while I like to think that I do try to think about the larger context of these things, I don't know as a white woman that it would have so immediately registered with me that was because she had almost certainly had training in remaining deferential to a man who'd just killed her partner and still held life and death power over her and her child.  I think at the time I was mostly thinking about her as a mother.  I am glad to see the clips from both days getting a fair amount of buzz on social media.

Jason Isbell is always a good interview for his humor and observations and I liked the performance the show put up on the website.  I've been a fan since his days with the Drive-By Truckers, who have caught more than their own amount of hell this past year for their political songwriting.

[GHScorpiosRule]

@iMonrey, Trevor did talk about how Castile did have a gun-and that he had a legal permit to carry one, on Monday's show, I think. He mocked the NRA for being silent on this. I haven't watched last night's show yet, though.

[dusang]

2 hours ago, Hooper said:

I mean this is a guy that came of age in the full bloom of apartheid in South Africa who is overwhelmed by the injustices to black people in this country. 

Not really -- he was 10 when Nelson Mandela was elected president.  He "came of age" in the full bloom of the Truth and Reconciliation period. It's still stunning and depressing that the overt racism of the US is overwhelming to him.

[ganesh]

2 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Trevor did talk about how Castile did have a gun-and that he had a legal permit to carry one, on Monday's show, I think. He mocked the NRA for being silent on this. I haven't watched last night's show yet, though.

He did. That's why I made the NRA comment earlier this morning. 

 

1 minute ago, dusang said:

Not really -- he was 10 when Nelson Mandela was elected president.  He "came of age" in the full bloom of the Truth and Reconciliation period. It's still stunning and depressing that the overt racism of the US is overwhelming to him.

That's a bit splitting hairs. He does remember a time as a kid that his parents couldn't even walk together in public and his mother had to deny that he was her son. 

[dusang]

57 minutes ago, ganesh said:

That's a bit splitting hairs. He does remember a time as a kid that his parents couldn't even walk together in public and his mother had to deny that he was her son. 

I'm just saying that the dismantling of the apartheid state, the TRC, and the massive political, social, and cultural upheaval in South Africa in the 1990s and the 2000s informed Trevor's character. I find it strange to imply that the only framework to understand his exposure to or understanding of racism is his experience under apartheid, as though South Africa turned into some form of "post-racial" utopia in 1994. 

Edited June 22, 2017 by dusang

[iMonrey]

Oh, I agree absolutely - don't get me wrong. I'm just playing devil's advocate in trying  to figure out what the hell the defense was in that courtroom. And I was specifically referring to Trevor's piece last night where he pondered "what was this cop afraid of? The fact that he was with his family? The fact that he was cooperating?" Well, I'm sure the answer in court was that he was afraid because Castile had a gun. Trevor was being rhetorical, of course, but there's an answer that was given in that trial, no doubt, and it's that he had a gun, and the cop claimed he was reaching for it. If you want to pin this down to the details, Castile was shot because he was a black man with a gun. That doesn't change the fact that he was shot for being a black man - it just provides some clarification on how in the world that jury decided the cop fired in self defense.

[angora]

How many police shootings has Trevor talked about on the show now (not even counting the segments/interviews that discuss the issue of police shootings more generally?)  And every time, he has a different, heartfelt insight to make.  Here, his comments about Diamond Reynolds still calling the officer "sir" just wrecked me.

I'd read descriptions of both videos, but I hadn't seen either before last night.  I was so shaken by how IMMEDIATELY everything went down once Castile said he said a gun (because someone planning to shoot a cop with their concealed firearm is going to politely disclose that they have one first?  Oh my God, it was so awful.)  The only reason he didn't finish his explanation that he was legally licensed to carry was because he was literally dead before he had time to get the words out.  Absolutely horrible.

[catrox14]

18 minutes ago, angora said:

How many police shootings has Trevor talked about on the show now (not even counting the segments/interviews that discuss the issue of police shootings more generally?)  And every time, he has a different, heartfelt insight to make.  Here, his comments about Diamond Reynolds still calling the officer "sir" just wrecked me.

I'd read descriptions of both videos, but I hadn't seen either before last night.  I was so shaken by how IMMEDIATELY everything went down once Castile said he said a gun (because someone planning to shoot a cop with their concealed firearm is going to politely disclose that they have one first?  Oh my God, it was so awful.)  The only reason he didn't finish his explanation that he was legally licensed to carry was because he was literally dead before he had time to get the words out.  Absolutely horrible.

I was shouting,  "You shot him before he could say anything else!".  Ugh. 

[Victor the Crab]

Trevor's talk about Philando Castile's death is right up there with Jon's speech after 9/11. Moving and powerful. The only thing missing was the hope for the future Jon talked about, because how the fuck can anyone find anything hopeful after watching that dashboard video last night? Especially if your black or half black like Trevor, which was probably the main reason he spoke about it the way he did.

Of course one can honestly think that the jurors who decided the murdering cop wasn't guilty of his crime - evidence notwithstanding - are the same type of people found in Trevor's previous piece who kept whining "Why do you keep hating our President? Give Donald Trump a chance!" The same type of people who, eight years earlier at this very time, were already organizing Tea Party rallies against the "Nazi Marxist Islamic Atheist from Kenya" occupying the White House and claimed was making America awful.

You know...racists.

[formerlyfreedom]

As a reminder, this is a spot to discuss the show and the stories on it; not a springboard to talk about politics and current events. Conversation is walking a fine line in here, and some posts have been hidden.

Going forward, posts that aren't primarily about the show (i.e., discussing articles on other sites, conversations with family or friends, discussion that happens on other shows) will be removed, and repeat offenders will garner warnings. Throwing in a passing reference to the show will not cut it.

[2727]

Despite my liking for the show and Trevor, I've been on a cowardly news blackout for months. And this is the week I pick to start watching TDS again. Oy.

Absent any mood stabilizers, it's back to fluff reality shows, comedy podcasts, and cosy books for me.

Edited June 23, 2017 by 2727

[peeayebee]

8 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I missed the first segment except for the last minute or two so I know what it was about and probably should go look it up online. That said, I really disliked the bit with DJ Khaled. I had no idea who the hell he was until I looked him up online, so that whole bit was a waste of time for anyone who didn't know who the hell he was. It's the kind of thing that's too audience-specific and part of why this show has become so irrelevant in the post-Stewart era. 

I learned of DJ Khaled fairly recently, though I don't know his music. Anyway, I also disliked this animated fantasy segment. I get that it was supposed to show Khaled explaining to Trevor how he needs to embrace joy and positive thinking (I guess), but it wasn't that imaginative, witty, cute, or interesting. And then it just becomes a big ol' plug for his album.

 

6 hours ago, iMonrey said:

OK - just watched the segment about Philando Castile - I'm sure this was not a deliberate omission on Trevor's part, but when he was "supposing" why the cop was afraid for his life he neglected to mention that Castile admitted to having a fire arm and for whatever reason, the cop thought he was reaching for it (even though he can clearly be heard on the recording saying he wasn't). Now, that said, there's no way on earth any reasonable person can say that cop acted appropriately and I can't imagine for the life of me what the hell the jury was thinking assuming they watched the same recording we all did. Un-freaking-believable. But I'm guessing the cop's attorney managed to convince enough of them the cop genuinely felt Castile was reaching for his gun. Did the fact that he was black have anything to do with it? Oh hell yeah - but he wasn't shot just for being black (unlike, say, Trayvon Martin). I guess the point is moot, though - and the distinction meaningless since the result is the same. It was a good piece, overall - I just think the admission of having a fire arm played a role in the story.

I had read some articles about this whole thing. After the shooting, the cop was interviewed (at the station) and said he smelled marijuana, which basically caused him to expect the Castile to do something crazy like shoot him. To me he seemed to go on a lot about that, but he also sounded really rattled. Also, Castile would not meet his eyes. I'm not excusing the cop, just trying to add more info here.

I had also watched additional video of Diamond and the little girl in the back of a police car. I only watched some of it, but OMG, that little girl tore my heart out.

[LJonEarth]

2 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I learned of DJ Khaled fairly recently, though I don't know his music. Anyway, I also disliked this animated fantasy segment. I get that it was supposed to show Khaled explaining to Trevor how he needs to embrace joy and positive thinking (I guess), but it wasn't that imaginative, witty, cute, or interesting. And then it just becomes a big ol' plug for his album.

This has been DJ Khaled's shtick for a long while. Should the show have used it on this episode? I don't know. But it wasn't made up for this episode.

I chose to look at it like complete satire of the "rah rah, if we could just talk it out and love each other...." stuff that usually ends up being pushed by people in the middle after things like these shootings happen.

I wish that we could find out what they were really going for, because it didn't quite work.

[formerlyfreedom]

I totally loved Hasan's sit down with Preet Bharara. Nice move skyping the folks, Hasan!

[peeayebee]

Yes! I loved that Bharara was game thruout the whole thing. The parents listening and watching was a great touch.

I enjoyed the interview, too, but wish Trevor hadn't switched the conversation from more serious issues to The Transformers of all things. I mean, Jerrod was there to promote the movie, and he didn't want to talk about it. 

[ChelseaNH]

12 hours ago, peeayebee said:

Also, Castile would not meet his eyes.

But looking someone in the eye can be interpreted as challenging, so that's one of those no-way-to-win scenarios.

Why are we hiring/training police officers who are so prone to panic?  Can't we find people who can keep their cool in a crisis, even if that crisis is purely imaginary?

[ABay]

Oh, dear.  I think I have a crush on Preet Bharara.

Edited June 23, 2017 by ABay

[LJonEarth]

7 hours ago, ChelseaNH said:

But looking someone in the eye can be interpreted as challenging, so that's one of those no-way-to-win scenarios.

Why are we hiring/training police officers who are so prone to panic?  Can't we find people who can keep their cool in a crisis, even if that crisis is purely imaginary?

I'm surprised they haven't made the connection between this trial and the other trial of the black officer. He was acquitted because he was trained to kill instead of incapacitate.

[GHScorpiosRule]

11 hours ago, peeayebee said:

Yes! I loved that Bharara was game thruout the whole thing. The parents listening and watching was a great touch.

I enjoyed the interview, too, but wish Trevor hadn't switched the conversation from more serious issues to The Transformers of all things. I mean, Jerrod was there to promote the movie, and he didn't want to talk about it. 

I LOVED Hasan's interview with Bharara!!! And I loved what a great sport he was, willing to read those cue cards, and him talking to himself at the end!????

Are we sure those were really Hasan's parents?

Re Jerrod--I'm seeing a pattern lately; that I'm seeing the same people on all the late night shows. I thought he would talk about how his show handled the topic of the N-word, and how Jerrod, like Whoopi, doesn't think it has any power any longer.

6 hours ago, ABay said:

Oh, dear.  I think I have a crush on Preet Bharara.

Hey ABay!!!!! (waving).  Oh dear? I hope you don't consider that to be a bad thing!?

No thinking for me- I TOTALLY have a crush!??

I would definitely like to hear more from him! Like on another show on a different network that I also watch!?

Edited June 24, 2017 by GHScorpiosRule

[2727]

Jerrod is one of those people I hate for no good reason* so I was a little disappointed to hear Trevor refer to him as a friend. I record all the late night talk shows and him making the rounds recently has required a lot of fast-forwarding on my part.

 

 

*Well, some reasons: his arrogance, self-regard, and politics.

[Temperance]

15 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I enjoyed the interview, too, but wish Trevor hadn't switched the conversation from more serious issues to The Transformers of all things. I mean, Jerrod was there to promote the movie, and he didn't want to talk about it. 

Trevor has stated in the past he's feels duty-bound to bring up whatever the guest is plugging. He's worries people won't come on his show if he doesn't bring up what they're plugging. (It came up when Julia Styles was on the show.) So hence Transformers. 

Edited June 24, 2017 by Temperance

[possibilities]

I usually find Jerrod Carmichael obnoxious, but I liked him in this interview. He was not acting like an arrogant schmuck, he was talking in a real way about his fear of the police, and how it's on him mind all the time in every day life. He could have just plugged the movie and done his usual schtick but he didn't. I wonder if Trevor has been warned by Comedy Central to not let the show get too thoroughly serious, and felt obligated to lighten it up. I know he does have to plug his guests' projects, but Carmichael himself was trying to pivot and stay on the other topic, so that's why I started to wonder if there was more to it than that when Trevor was so determined to change the subject back to fluff.

[peeayebee]

Mike Pence touching that piece of hardware right below the DO NOT TOUCH sign is just dumbfounding. WTF. In his defense, however, DO NOT TOUCH was in quotes.

The whole Don Jr thing is just amazing in its rapid development. 

I so want to see The Big Sick. Everyone in it is so good. I particularly like Ray Romano. I like Kumail in Silicon Valley, but I LOVE him in every appearance on Portlandia.

[ganesh]

The whole thing about "we met because she had information on Clinton, but she didn't so we didn't collude. No crime" is the highest of delusion. Trevor's analogy in response to this was perfect about going to hook up but she ended up talking about Jesus so I didn't really cheat on you. 

[Lantern7]

I liked Trevor bring up Janice from Accounting. John Oliver hasn't mentioned her in a while, but it was a cute shoutout. Does anybody else think Trevor passed on the auction of Presidential wax statues in Gettysburg? Stephen and Jon got one apiece, and John went all-in with five.

ETA for @Skyfall: I was just going with TDS alumni. I recall Rachel getting one for her show.

[Skyfall]

55 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

I liked Trevor bring up Janice from Accounting. John Oliver hasn't mentioned her in a while, but it was a cute shoutout. Does anybody else think Trevor passed on the auction of Presidential wax statues in Gettysburg? Stephen and Jon got one apiece, and John went all-in with five.

Didn't Maddow get one or was that from something else?

[possibilities]

So excited to see "The Big Sick" (in other interviews Kumail has talked about some of the coma humor, and I predict that will be my favorite part; the romantic comedy aspect I could take or leave, but a particular type of (respectful) disability/illness humor is my jam) and I really loved Trevor's shout out to John O. Also, when he said the Don, jr stuff was JUST STUPID, I laughed so hard. It's not even a clever or particularly original thing to say, but the way he said it, it was just so beyond his usual affable tone, it just struck me exactly right. Plus. the cheating comparison-- basically I loved everything everyone else loved. I'm glad the show is back.

I don't know why Desi is annoying me so much but she really is. They use everyone other than Trevor so much less than they used to, I wish they would not waste it on bland and stupid stuff that's not really worth the time.

[Victor the Crab]

I don't think I'm going to like the new correspondent, Michael Kosta. He looks too smarmy and annoying and full of himself. Well I guess they have to fill their white male quota of correspondents once Jordan leaves for his own show.

"Two legged brain foreclosure". BWAH! Perfectly illustrates Drumph Jr. Hell, it perfectly illustrates the entire Drumph administration. Especially within the inner circle.

[iMonrey]

OMG, could you believe all those Rob Goldstone selfies? The clowns that jump out of the Trump car are not to be believed.