“The Daily Show” & “The Colbert Report,” alive and well.
Last night I watched both The Daily Show and The Colbert Report for the first time in 2007. I had been watching Colbert pretty religiously into February before taking a break. TDS, on the other hand I had quit watching sometime last fall. Given that sweeps is in full bloom I figured I might as well see how things are sitting over there in Comedy Central’s late-night division.
As it turns out, both shows are more or less how they were when I last watched, which I suppose is as comforting as it should be. The Daily Show did get a new set. It seems like the program is single-handedly keeping New Yorks booming set-building-industry operating at full steam.
The good news is that the increasingly early political season should provide a much-needed jolt of humor in what had otherwise turned into a pretty dire half-hour of comedy. I mean how many times can you sit back and laugh at the non-joke of the United States’ one-time blissful ignorance. Luckily, presidential primary candidates know how to bring the funny (at least Kucinich).
At the bottom of the hour The Colbert Report is still comedy packed, but the character’s freshness seems dated. His dual-mug gracing the cover of GQ this month is probably a year late. This isn’t to say the show shouldn’t be watched. It clearly provides much more of a venue for creativity than TDS, simply based on the format. The thing is neither of these programs are really designed to be watched every night — well, they are and they aren’t. Obviously the programs themselves want you to tune in and want to reward those who tune in often (The Late Show is masterful at paying off long runners, but we’re not talking Letterman here), but anyone who insists on watching hundreds of episodes of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report day in and day out is really no different from the person who watches Headline News all day or insists upon seeing Jeopardy before the night can really begin. I say this because I am that guy and I can spot our own.
