The Nightly Show: Season One Talk

[futurechemist]

The last few days I've watched the show and either shut it off and/or fell asleep before the panel.  Honestly, that's been working for me.  Larry is good as a Jon Stewart type of anchor with a different perspective and style of humor.  If the show ditched the panel completely, or made the occasional special panel episode, I'd be totally fine with it.

[revbfc]

I would have found the "thug" montage more honest if it included Larry's use of the word from Tuesday night.

(And on that note, yes I do realize that I wrote a post about not wanting to keep complaining about this show a couple of days ago.)

Edited April 30, 2015 by revbfc

[Milburn Stone]

Credit where credit is due, the Baltimore Riots episode was pretty good.

 

Supporting my contention that the proper role for this show has always been to handle news stories about race. That is the unique niche it could have occupied, the thing that would have justified its existence. 

 

It isn't that Larry Wilmore is "only" a black man, or only cares about race, or only is qualified to lead a discussion on that one topic. It's that in a crowded field of viewing options, that is the one thing that could have distinguished the show from all its competition, the one thing that could have made it must-see TV.

 

And if the show ran a hundred years, it never would have run out of material.

Edited April 30, 2015 by Milburn Stone

[Kaoteek]

Also, it helps that on those subjects, suddenly, Larry (& the entire show around him) seems more involved, more focused, more serious than usual, & TNS seems to have more bite.

[ganesh]

Well, they've focused on race for the last two shows, and I think it's some of the best of the show so far. This was a really good issue (thug) to tackle, and everyone had something to say that I thought was interesting. Costas can be hit and miss for me, but I thought he had some good points.

 

I fall on the side of thug isn't the n-word, but in the media it seems only to be used to describe a certain type of person, who always seems to be black, so it comes off that people are using it as a substitute for the n-word. They brought up a good point that no one is calling the cops thugs, and that's what they were. Also, while I know there's mostly black people in Baltimore, I am fairly certain white people were looting too. So it's kind of an institutional thing by the media in their use of it. I do think Obama made a misstep in using the word though.

 

I'm not too much of a Sherman fan because I don't think his trash talk is that creative and he seems to be trying too hard, but Costas was right; there's no validity in calling him a thug at all. 

 

This is really what the show should be. It seems like TPTBs have their ear on social media, so I hope they are listening. 

[Hanahope]

Its episodes like these that really show how the show's original title, The Minority Report, would have been very appropriate.  I'm all for a show that focuses more on these topics and others affecting minorities (including non-racial minorities, like gay people).

 

Yeah, not a good word choice Obama.

[marceline]

Good on Larry for talking to those gang members. That's been one of the few things I've seen coming out of this mess that made me feel good.

[attica]

I know! It's always cringeworthy whenever a white reporter does something like that, but Larry's pie-date was terrific.

[ganesh]

The panel wasn't that great. I think they should have talked more about the riots. 

 

It was a good call for Larry to talk to the gang guys. 

[Kaoteek]

Yeah, that last one was a mixed bag. First half, w/ Larry talking to the gangs, worked well ; the second half, w/ the panel, was standard Nightly Show fare. But still, half of a good show is better than none at all.

[ganesh]

I would say this has probably been their strongest week though. 

[ThomasAAnderson]

I disagree that nonviolence equals compliance (or must equal compliance) but I go back to Mohandas Gandhi overthrowing a government through nonviolent protest.

“Kaffirs are as a rule uncivilised – the convicts even more so. They are troublesome, very dirty and live almost like animals. Each ward contains nearly 50 to 60 of them. They often started rows and fought among themselves. The reader can easily imagine the plight of the poor Indian thrown into such company!”--Gandhi

MLK and everyone else mentioning him in context of black struggle is the height of irony.

Ugh I stopped watching when he made the "joke" about angry black women and only came back because he was being quoted on Twitter. I thought maybe he'd settled into his role, but this show is such a mess! It's so disappointing. One of his panelists offered a really good analogy about why people riot when they feel powerless and Larry just stepped on it. I'll watch the gang episode since it's been praised here I'll give it a go but I think I'll be done after that.

Edited May 2, 2015 by ThomasAAnderson

[AmandaPanda]

I'm still catching up for this week, so I've only seen Monday and Tuesday.

 

I was pleasantly surprised by Monday's episode about Bruce Jenner. Yes, the Pinocchio segment was awful, but the rest of it was actually pretty good. I liked that they went more for informative instead of trying to make a bunch of jokes. I would have been thrilled with a 2-person panel (Ian & the woman whose name I'm currently forgetting). I didn't think the comedian added anything to the discussion. I liked how Larry kept trying to put it into a metaphor because that is something that more people might be able to understand. I wish they hadn't gone on so long about the word "tranny," because they could have used that time to talk about something that wouldn't be so offensive. 

 

Tuesday's episode about the riots was also really well done. I thought all the panelists actually contributed to the conversation, which is probably the first time I've felt like that in the whole series. 

[ganesh]

Monday's panel was mostly nonsense, but Bill Nye was quite game and entertaining. I like that he gave straight answers to the questions. They blew it with NdT for the most part and weren't as organized, so it seems like they've improved on the 'science expert fun panel.' 

[Muffyn]

Tonight's panel was made of shut up.  Just shut up.  I really didn't need the screeching about taking Kelly Clarkson's baby.  If the panelists aren't going to bother listening why should we?

Edited May 6, 2015 by Muffyn

[ganesh]

I disagree with Larry. One is allowed to say hateful things without being shot at in this country. You can call them jerks, or tell them to shut up. Islamization is ludicrous, but she shouldn't be shot at. 

 

It's the other side of the coin (ish) with not catering same sex weddings because they have "deep seeded religious beliefs". No, you don't. Whether you're shooting people or trying to pass laws discriminating against them, it's because you're just hateful people. 

 

I actually don't think this was a good topic for the show.

Edited May 6, 2015 by ganesh

[Kaoteek]

Man, between that Kelly Clarkson's baby panel (I've already forgotten was the original topic was) and yesterday's Menopausal Clinton shouty panel, the contrast with last week's focused shows was striking.

[ganesh]

I didn't mind this panel with the women, but the choice of topics this week didn't fit with the show. It's abundantly clear now what is working and what isn't. I don't know if the network is influencing their decisions, but sick to what works.

The piece on being around Brooklyn was good. In fact most of the outside pieces have been. Do more of those.

[DrSparkles]

I'm a week behind :( The trans show was good as was the Baldmore riots one IMO. I love Larry.

[marceline]

The Mother's Day segment was cute. Lavelle trash talking three generations of women cracked me up.

[trow125]

I was so disappointed by this show for the first couple months it was on the air that I find it somewhat amazing that during the past couple weeks, I've actually been looking forward to it and enjoying it. I like the fact that there's been more comedy, less panel (I thought Mike Yard's "welcome to Brooklyn" piece was pretty funny -- it reminded me of the sort of thing they did on the late, lamented "Totally Biased"), and the Baltimore riots have given Larry a story where he can really be an authoritative voice as the only African-American host in late night. For the first time in a while, I'm cautiously optimistic about "The Nightly Show."

[revbfc]

I liked last night's show quite a bit. One thing that needs clarifying is the bit about San Francisco. Of all the cities I've lived in in this country, SF was the most openly, and most aggressively bigoted. There is a great bit of tolerance on the surface, but everybody hates everybody for some reason or another. Savannah, GA was more tolerant and accepting than SF.

[attica]

I really laughed at the Zimmerman Marching Band backing up off the stage. That tickled me. The lame balloon drop was funny, too. (I'm a sucker for that kind of low-brow stuff, I admit.)

 

Ali Wentworth is married to George Stephanopoulous, which strikes me as weird. I think she's funny; I think he's not so much, and I don't know how such a pairing works. I suppose it must. Ah, what do I know anyway?

[Kaoteek]

Never has that "soul daddy wilmore" schtick felt more forced and out of place than with a deadpan Morgan Freeman as a guest. Too bad, cos the rest of the show was pretty decent.

[marceline]

I know it's wrong but I love how openly Larry just hates on George Zimmerman. George Zimmerman got shot in the face!! Let's party! is such an evil stance but it's 100 percent how I feel.

Edited May 15, 2015 by marceline

[attica]

I like Soul Daddy, but that's probably because I'm old, and it's fun for me to play 'back in the day'.

 

I think the show is finding its footing. I feel like there's less lurching, like there's a more consistent trajectory within each show and from one show to the next.

 

I was totally laughing (and horrified with myself for doing so) when the panel was making all those IPV jokes. So, so wrong.

[ganesh]

The show hasn't been on my on demand. I'm getting ticked because it's actually improving.

[trow125]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks the show is getting better. Shifting away from the one-topic-per-episode format helped a lot, I think.

[attica]

I have yet to be convinced that the brouhaha in Waco wasn't some Sons of Anarchy cosplay. Those conventioneers get so testy about Unauthorized Flair on their costumes!

[ottoDbusdriver]

It seems weird that they still seem to be having trouble finding panel guests that don't work for the show.

[ganesh]

If that piece doesn't convince anyone that thug is the de facto n word I don't know what will.

The panel was random but still rather funny. I'd rather they have the show writers than comedians who think they are there to work on new material.

I do wish they talked more about how porn isn't really that big of a deal any more.

[attica]

"The Louis Cannon canon is that Louis Cannon is a loose cannon."  If the writers could have seen me hear this line, they would have noticed all the cartoon hearts circling my head. Goddamn, that's an awesome bit of bad wordplay.  Also: Bobby Cannevale! Squee!

[ganesh]

I didn't realize that was BC at first because I've only seen him in Boardwalk Empire. I was wondering if the *smack on the table* "goddammit!!!" was an ad lib because Larry looked like he wasn't expecting it.

 

I know it's not a widely known topic, but it's not that hard to treat wastewater. It's a technology that's well-established. It's actually less costly than desalination. 

[ganesh]

I love the Broad City women, but I felt like they were underused. 

[possibilities]

Since there seemed to be a general feeling that the show was improved (based on forum posts), I decided to watch again and see if I agreed. I do think it's less obnoxious than at first, but they still seem to think all they need to do is show up and that there's no real reason to have anything to say.

 

I don't get why anyone would want to watch a panel make off the cuff remarks about a public controversy, like "sure, why not?" and "I have no problem with it." I can shoot the breeze with my neighbor and I don't have to stay up late to watch people get paid a lot of money to do it. What I've valued about other late night politically-oriented shows is that they were thoughtful, witty, and insightful. They were obviously advancing a point of view and had put some work in to make it interesting and compelling and fun to watch. Having celebrities make casual remarks is really not interesting to me. I love Broad City, but that show is scripted and planned and it looks like people actually thought about what they were doing. That's why I tune in.

 

Tuning in to The Nightly Show for a couple of weeks of shows, I get the feeling they think they are so hip that they don't need to try, they can just jerk themselves off and pat themselves on the back for showing up. It's maddening. It's insulting. And it's boring.

 

They need to try harder. When they actually decide to be thoughtful, prepared, and incisive, they can be all that and funny, too. But the general aura of the show is that it thinks it's cool just to phone it in. Wilmore comes across as an overpaid hipster wannabe who is overly impressed by the size of his paycheck, thinks it means he's outsmarted The Man, is way too old for this shit, and trying to be accepted by the late teens and 20-somethings who hang with his kids. I'd rather see someone who actually has a point of view that's earned, lucid, and well-developed, than some sad dad looking for validation from the friends of his toked up kids.

[iMonrey]

possibilities - I have more or less given up on the show as well. I catch maybe one episode a week, as I did last night. I too find Wilmore himself lacking the gravitas it takes to pull something like this off. For me, he's the main problem. Everything about his persona says "supporting player," not "lead role."  If he wants to include a panel in his format he needs to learn how to moderate a panel because he doesn't even come close to doing that job. The idiotic games and gimmicks like "keeping it 100" are complete wastes of time - the panel's, and the viewer's.

 

I was furious with Christiane Amanpour saying the US was doing a "half-assed" job dealing with Isis. Any moderator worth his or her salt would have followed that up by asking her why, exactly, the US has to be the one to deal with Isis in the first place. And then asked what exactly she thinks the US should be doing. Instead she just gets to toss something like that out there and Larry doesn't even seem to notice or care.

 

I don't think the show's main problem is that they're still finding themselves or searching for an identity or struggling to find panel guests, I think it's Larry WIlmore. I gave him a good month or more to prove himself before I ultimately decided I just don't want to watch him every night for half an hour. The more I tried the less appealing he became. Sometimes he literally makes me cringe. 

Edited June 2, 2015 by iMonrey

[kassygreene]

Right now I've pretty much decided to stop with this show when TDS stops... I am watching the opening act, and I'll watch the start of the panel to see if there is even a scintilla of possibility that something not-enraging happens.  I was about to stop watching a few months ago when they changed the format, but the improvement isn't yet enough.

 

Well, it leaves time to watch the new Late Show with Steven Colbert.

[BusyOctober]

I still DVR this but I find I'm FF'g a lot or even deleting it before it ends. Meh. Many of you have posted the weaknesses in the format, the host, the topics, etc. I agree and I'm not sure what can be done to improve this. I used to like LW on TDS but now he just seems so bland and lackluster. I wonder if he could do better with a once a week show vs. 4 nights? Less could be more? (Although I don't think LW has the same level of talent as John Oliver. Maybe they could switch b/c I love Last Week Tonight and would be thrilled to see John every night).

The Nightly Show just makes me sadder to know Jon Stewart's time is ticking away.

[ganesh]

I think the show would be fine if they focused on minority issues. Those have been the best episodes by far.

[Paws]

I never found Wilmore to be all that funny before and now I actively dislike him. I watch this show because it come on after TDS and before @midnight, but it's a chore. he mumbles, has bad guests and just seems unprepared. I don't understand why they didn't give this to someone on TDS with more natural charisma, talent and point of view (cough jessicawilliams cough)

[brgjoe]

I am still watching this thing.  And I think it is getting better.  The opening segments are stronger.  I think Larry is getting more comfortable at hosting behind the desk.

 

But the panels still need work.  I like it that they have reduced the number of people appearing on them.  But like others have said, he just doesn't do a good job of moderating the discussions.  Either work on that part, or just ditch that panel discussion idea altogether.

[trow125]

I wish he'd just have a one-on-one with the guest -- when Rashida Jones was on, for instance, the two comedians kept trying to get their "funny" lines in and Rashida didn't get enough of a chance to talk. I would have liked it if she'd been able to discuss her movie a bit more, since it sounds like an important and serious topic. Think along the lines of Bill Maher's weekly interview with his non-panel guest. I realize "TNS" is a comedy show, but even Stephen Colbert didn't feel obligated to make every interview segment all about humor.

 

The opening segments are usually good, but the panel almost always brings the show down.

[attica]

Godfrey in his tighties improves any ep, if you ask me. ;)

[iMonrey]

 

I think the show would be fine if they focused on minority issues. Those have been the best episodes by far.

 

I think by and large that was the original intent. But in the best case scenario you have a show with a small, niche audience. Perhaps Comedy Central is OK with that but it's hard to imagine they don't care that they've lost over half of the audience Colbert was getting in the same time slot. And this isn't the best case scenario. 

 

On any other network, if a show is replaced with another show that gets less than half the ratings, it would be cancelled pretty quickly.

[ganesh]

But the show might actually have been better is my point. An episode about vaccines is tired. What new material is there? There isn't any debate to have.

[trow125]

I'm super curious to know what Comedy Central plans to put in the 11 PM slot after Jon retires but before Trevor takes over. Maybe @Midnight will temporarily move to 11? (I'd be fine with that.) In any case, I think it'll be interesting to see what TNS' ratings are like without the strong lead-in of TDS.

 

Of course, CC could put a test pattern in that slot and it would still be preferable to the weird "crime time after prime time" reruns in the old Letterman hour...

[gesundheit]

Man, I thought I'd seen some uncomfortable and useless panel discussions, but last night was a new low.

[possibilities]

They did a very good job of interrupting and preventing the Asian woman on the panel from speaking, especially since the topic involved an issue specifically relevant to Asian women. Kudos, dickfaces!

[Hanahope]

I agree that the points made with regards to race relations seems to be the strongest part of the show, though I do like the "Is the State Cray?" bit.  The panels do tend to be weak-sauce, so I would agree with reducing its part even more.

[Muffyn]

Have they given up on having anyone with a relevant point to make or any actual knowledge regarding the panel discussion topic?  This is two nights in a row of absolutely useless blather masquerading as entertainment.  The opening sections were good, then the show nosedives in the panel discussion yet again.  

 

Adding to that, thanks for such insightful comments as Caitlyn Jenner has a turkey neck and saggy knees and bisexuals are a joke. Nothing like spreading ignorance to really make for quality entertainment.