The Daily Show

[janetcatbird]

Oh, Nikki, thanks! Great article--could you tell the author was a fan or what? Guess we'll have to start a new show thread on Monday.

Look what I found: how cool is this?

"The Daily Set Without Jon Stewart" Trek Across America Kicks Off in NYC Tomorrow


MarketWire
Updated: 1:13 p.m. ET Oct. 13, 2005


NEW YORK, NY - Mouth Of America Network (www.moan.tv) announced today that it will produce "The Daily Set Without Jon Stewart," (www.thedailyset.com) an episodic blog, podcast, and webcast from the original set of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" as it travels across an appreciative nation.

Fans of the enormously popular show "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," seen nightly on Comedy Central, will soon have their chance to reach out and touch a piece of the magic that started it all. Originating from the charity auction of the original set on eBay, a moment of innocent appreciation for a television show has inspired a journey of epic proportions.

A small group of fans decided to upgrade from viewer to stalker and collectively bid to possess the original set. The winning bid provided much needed funds to 826NYC, a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring students to write while also helping to improve their writing skills.

This set itself inspired a new wave of television journalism and will now travel the country interviewing both ordinary and prominent Americans allowing them to truly be the "mouths of America." The trek will be filmed as a documentary on both the cultural and political significance of everybody's favorite fake news show.

"Where in the World is the Daily Show Set Today" will be a daily show produced along the back roads, on the main streets, in the small towns and in between all the wide spots that make up this diverse land.

"This is the set that won the Emmy's and got them legions of fans who will finally have their chance to touch one of the last pieces of a free press left in America. Think of this as a traveling yard gnome on the back of a Winnebago, just without the lawn ornamentation," said event producer Jake Ledger.

The Daily Show has won numerous awards including multiple Emmy's and a Peabody award, in addition to spawning top-selling DVDs and best-selling book, "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction." Available at fine stores everywhere.

"If Jon Stewart thinks he's the only guy who looks good in a fake anchorman suit, we've got news for him," added Ledger. "Come on, America, show us what you got. We are on the prowl for Jon Stewart look-a-likes, and maybe even a few Rob Corddrys. If we can find someone who can dance like Samantha Bee we have a pole with your name on it. We're pretty sure no one could pull off a good Ed Helms, however, but give us your best shot."

Moan.TV is dedicated to the promotion of citizen journalism. It will provide all the digital media services that will support the blogging and podcasting of the daily progress of the trek. Podcasts, video streams, blog entries, and torrents will be published daily on www.moan.tv and www.thedailyset.com. Podcasts accessible via mobile telephones will be available at www.pod2mob.com.

Jon Stewart look-a-likes, in addition to towns and people interested in having the set come to their city, should log on to www.thedailyset.com and submit an email to us about who they are and why the Daily Set should come to their town.

A tip jar has been extended at www.thedailyset.com to help cover the cost of gasoline, which thanks to the current administration is hovering around $500.00 a gallon. A very generous portion of any proceeds beyond costs will be donated to 826NYC and Habitat for Humanity.

(Editors note: The set is being picked up in Manhattan October 14, 2005, photo opportunity.)

Distributed by Market Wire

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9686248/

[trisha]

That's pretty cool.

So, didn't you just want to throw things at Bill O'Reilly?! I was already shouting, "Die, die, die!" at the tv when he first walked out, and by the end of the interview I was so enraged with him, I had a hard time enjoying the rest of the show. I mean, how dare he treat Jon like that?!

Jon is such a gentleman and good showman. If it had been me, I wouldn't have held the book up and read the pitch, I would have ripped it up and left the torn out pages in the bathroom to be used as toilet paper. Of course, that could be just what Jon did after Bill left

[janetcatbird]

Well, tonight (Nov 7) was pretty good. I thought Rob Corddry, while not my favorite, did a good job with the French riots. Loved the ethics exam. And Barack Obama! What I've seen of the man (a couple speeches, a stint on "Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me" on NPR) I like alot. I thought it was a great interview: Jon Stewart asked relevant questions, Obama knew his audience and seemed very loose and comfortable but wasn't condescending. Hoorah!

--Catbird

[janetcatbird]

(Nov 10). Loved the segment on the oil testimony. Why oh why did they put Rob Corddry for This Week in God? He wasn't as bad as I thought he was, but the character is so obnoxious he's not even that funny! (I did get a kick out of the religious stock report ticker.) Couldn't they have put Ed Helms, or maybe Samantha Bee? The author of the book seemed funny enough, I get the impression that he and Jon Stewart were buddies.

I don't remember much of this week, not the greatest. BUt John McCain had a decent interview segment on Tuesday night.

--Catbird

[janetcatbird]

Aww, babies! Jon Stewart's little girl, and I thought Samantha Bee looked kinda puffy in her bit. Look what I found: (and, by the way, the guy who was reading the transcript with her last night is her husband).

www.rrj.ca/online/586/

Ryerson Review of Journalism
It's not news to her
Author: Barry Hertz
Date: October, 2005

How Canadian correspondent Samantha Bee sinks her barbs into The Daily Show's satire

"Is there a Mrs. Anti-Gay Crusader in your life?" The reporter sitting across from Palm Beach congressional candidate Ed Heeney seems determined to get her question answered. Heeney, his tropical shirt drenched in sweat, raises his eyebrows. The slender reporter, dirty blonde hair neatly tucked behind her head, a light pink shirt peeking through a traditional black blazer, doesn't blink. Is she serious? Fortunately for the audience at home, and unfortunately for Heeney, the reporter is The Daily Show's Samantha Bee and this is not the news -- honest, she swears.

• • •

"Flag size doesn't matter? Only someone with a really small flag would say that."

• • •

"All right, let me take a few deep breaths. C'mon Samantha, remember what we learned in theatre." Bee is in the process of trying to sit her six-months-pregnant frame down in her office at The Daily Show's studios in New York City. It's only noon, but Bee has already attended two story meetings and edited part of her field report. With a few spare minutes, Bee sneaks a bite of her spinach salad.


"Every day over here is different," says Bee in between quick munches. "Sometimes I don't get outside at all, and just sit in here all day. I'm like a very boring accountant."

The Toronto-born Bee, 35, is joking. She has to -- it's practically in her contract. She's one of the "fake correspondents" for the comedy-news television program The Daily Show. Hosted by Jon Stewart, the show uses news footage, interviews and on-the-spot field coverage to satirize American news, pop culture and media. And just for kicks, the show lampoons the Christian right, gun-mongers and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"We'll do anything here to make a joke. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't," admits Bee, who, using one of her familiar reporting techniques, once mocked an interview subject by crying like a baby, complaining she had "crapped my pants, and now I'm covered in poo."

Despite the occasional feces joke, the show, broadcast on the U.S. network Comedy Central and simulcast in Canada on both CTV and the Comedy Network, is a rabid success. As of last year, the show attracted over 1.2 million viewers nightly in the U.S., double the audience of more traditional cable news fare like CNN's Crossfire. In Canada, an average of 300,000 viewers watch the show every night, regularly trouncing Leno and Letterman.

"Never, not in my wildest dreams, could I have imagined I'd end up here," says Bee, taking a break from thinking of ways to make Dick Cheney seem even more of a... well, dick. "This all feels a bit too perfect."

Though Bee is often dumbfounded by her success, The Daily Show is the only place on television where she can get away with her distinctive style of comedy: a potent mix of jackass-meets-cynic sarcasm, casual profanity, fearlessness and an affinity for bodily fluid jokes. It's not that Bee enjoys making people like Heeney feel uncomfortable on camera; she's just too damn good at it to do anything else. Best of all, she gets to do it in the name of news -- but don't tell her that.

• • •

"With a tolerant society, low crime rate and free health care, Canada is hell on earth."

• • •

Growing up in downtown Toronto, the teenage Bee was a self-described "hellcat" who woke up one day and decided to attend the University of Ottawa. After a few semesters spent pursuing a general arts degree, Bee signed up for an acting class as a bird course, and immediately took to performing. Still, she had trouble understanding the basics.

"I didn't know you had to read the entire script through, so I just read my part," admits Bee, recalling her first production. "When we were watching the dress rehearsal, I was completely gripped because I honestly didn't know how the play was going to end."

After graduating, Bee moved back to Toronto and stumbled through the life of an actress/waitress until discovering the city's comedy scene. After the all-female troupe The Atomic Fireballs lost a member, Bee joined the cast.

"Sammy had a car, which made her an absolutely essential member of the group," says Allana Harkin, one of the three other Fireball members. "But she also took writing very seriously. She's dark and very quick on her feet."

The group left its mark in Toronto, performing skits where Bee would come out of a change room with massive bushes of pubic hair pasted to her bikini-clad crotch. Between sketch work, Bee filmed a few commercials and worked with her husband, actor-comedian Jason Jones (now a Daily Show correspondent himself). In 2003, The Daily Show held auditions in the city, and soon enough Bee was on her way to cable television glory.

"I remember the great thing about her audition was she wasn't trying to imitate or play a news anchor," recalls Kahane Corn, co-executive producer of the show. "She wasn't mimicking any style. Instead, she spoke with the authority of a real journalist, but still with the comedic sensibility we have to maintain on the show. She nailed it."

Bee bought a closet-sized apartment in the Hell's Kitchen area of New York City and learned to live without her husband, who was stuck in Canada without a green card. Her first big story, a fan favourite about gay penguins, went over so well she quickly became a regular member of the show's eyebrow-cocked cynics.

"Sam has the ability to disarm her subjects until the very moment they fall in love with her. And that's when she eats their throats," says fellow correspondent Rob Corddry. "Sometimes when I'm doing an interview and get lost I think, 'WWSBD?' And then I eat someone's throat."

Though she remains the only woman in the cast, Bee dismisses any comments that she brings any unique perspectives to the show.

"People keep on saying I bring a brilliant woman's perspective to the show, or a unique Canadian spin, but I really don't," says Bee. "I have some back bacon in my fridge, but that's it. I just try and make with the funny."

Instead, Bee is more concerned people think she's a real journalist with actual insight into the news, rather than the uninformed fan of poop jokes she is.

"Before the show, Sam knew as much about politics as me, and I learned everything from The Daily Show," admits Harkin, who isn't the only one confusing the program's brand of satire with hard journalism.

• • •

"And who would you have voted for if you were on your medication?"

• • •

For the first part of its existence, The Daily Show was just a half hour of bizarre news clips and celebrity interviews that filled the time between Saturday Night Live repeats. All that changed in 1999, when the politically-charged Stewart replaced Craig Kilborn as host and the show developed a much-needed satirical edge.

"Our first priority is to be funny, though it's true the show has evolved into other things in people's minds," says Corn. "If we're managing irony or pointing out hypocrisy, we're always trying to do it in a comedic way. After all, we're on Comedy Central."

Media critic and columnist Antonia Zerbisias of The Toronto Star disagrees, saying the show has gone beyond satire and transformed itself into a legitimate news source.

"Though it does satirize the media, it's actually doing the job of the media, pointing out the bullshit and providing skepticism of the official line," says Zerbisias. "They can do this because they're not part of the machinery like CNN, they don't have to worry about losing White House access."

Still, Bee says that she only acts like she knows what she's talking about. "At our best, we're just having fun. If we make a point along the way, that's great too."

Despite the critical praise, Emmy awards and magazine features, Bee would rather just eat her salad and talk about her new queen-sized bed. She doesn't speculate on the show's future, or how Stewart's contract is up in 2008. Instead, she rambles on about Manhattan's restaurants and how her new home is so "au courant."

"Please don't say that I said those words... ugh," says Bee, before launching into a suspiciously well-rehearsed rant about New York. "Toronto is a fast-paced urban centre, but compared to New York, it's almost pastoral. It's so intense here all the time, plus..."

She pauses, trying to hold it in.

"...the whole city smells like pee."

[janetcatbird]

I was so excited to see Jimmy Carter last night--as far as I and my family are concerned the man walks on water. (Last week when Jon Stewart did his plug I literally shrieked and started flapping my hands excitedly, which finally drew a reaction out of my usually complacent roommate.) I thought it was a very nice segment, the talk about his book, stuff he does, and then the personal bits about woodworking or whatever. "Why is it you do more work out of office than our actual president?" "Do you sleep?" Plus, Jon Stewart's acknowledgement at the end of how much he respects him was nice, cause you don't see him do that with too many guests.

I also got a kick out of the bits on the press bribing in Iraq, especially the translations of each time Scott McClellan referenced "finding the facts". Could have done without Rob Corddry on the immigration, but the "salsa ppttt! especiale" was kind of funny. Laughed hysterically at "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Redundancy for Stupid Dummies", that's a classic!! Wonder if they'll sneak that into the Sunday Funnies on "This Week With George Stephanopoulos".

--Catbird

[Sirenna]

I saw John daly do an interview with ex-Pres Jimmy Carter.
Wonderful

Jimmy carter was intelligent, compassionate, eclectic, funny and KULE!
And John Daly was so respectful and interested and of course witty and comical.

I love interviews that not only underline the worth of you admiring two people but re-inforce all those qualities that make them really special to you. This interview was worth my time watching

[janetcatbird]

I love Jon Stewart's take on the War on Christmas. My God, Bill O'Reilly in those clips..."Secular Central?" "Merry Christmas Jon Stewart?" (I expected Stewart to go with a Hannukah crack.) Not to mention that the clip of Smantha Bee was from LAST YEAR!!! (She is pretty far along, I half expected her to go into labor right then and there.) Love how they had her wearing a similar pink sweater--and I'm gushy, but that swollen belly and the belly button showing through the shirt was just Awww! "If that baby turns out to be Jesus, you're in trouble!"

Thought it very interesting and polite of Jon Stewart to let David McCullogh talk like he did--he has a tendency to interrupt guests, but not this time. And at least the audience was polite for this older, slightly dull guest. But "1776" has been out for several years, hasn't it?

--Catbird

[janetcatbird]

Bump! I thought last night's with--Jehrlecki? Can't remember the name, but the guy with the film "Why We Fight" was terrific. The nuclear diagram was slightly amusing, and Rob Corddry didn't get too awful with "This Week in God." I'm still mad that he's doing it.

--Catbird

(1-19-06) PS: To avoid triple posting, here. I thought that Tuesday night's could have avoided the whole "taint" thing, crude sex stuff is not my humor. But the interview with L. Paul Bremer was really interesting, Stewart was respectful but didn't wimp out. James Woolsey was also a very good subject, though I can't remember the other stuff that night.

Tonight, meh. Only real highlight was finding out that Samantha Bee had her baby, I'd been hoping for an announcement or something but I have a feeling the Daily Show people are especially careful about privacy. Congratulations to her!

--Catbird

[janetcatbird]

This week was kind of off and on, made worse by my half-mindedness. The conservative writer on Monday night was a very different perspective, Jon Stewart definitely disagreed but was always polite and seemed genuinely interested in why the writer thought that way.

Wednesday night: Ed Helms' job searching segment was quite funny, especially Jon Stewart's (barely) deadpan reaction. Best moment came during the mock interview when Helms was asked what his strengths were. "My strength is conducting satrical interviews in which I make the interviewee--or 'patsy'--awkward and tense and feel uncertain..." I'm paraphrasing, but Helms had this perfectly straight face that was just fantastic. Poor Staples clerk, I hope they scored a ticket or something for her.

Thursday night: "Rock the Vote" featured the Hamas results. Bernard Henri-Levy, the French author who just published a book about travelling through America, was terrific. I just sat there in the room repeating "I am SO getting this guy's book!"

--Catbird

[janetcatbird]

Congratulations to Jon Stewart and his family! Maggie Stewart was born over the weekend, he announced tonight. 6 lbs 9 ozs, he gave the doctors thanks by name, and said his wife was doing good. Best wishes to Daddy Jon, Mom Tracey, and new big brother Nathan.

Also, according to IMDB Samantha Bee and Jason Jones had their baby back in January. All I know is that it's a little girl, Piper Bee-Jones. Congratulations and all the best to them as well!

As to the shows, Daily Show was funny tonight (Rob Corddry did good on This Week In God, and Torie Clarke was interesting).

--Catbird

PS: OK, What is in the water at that studio? Occassional contributor Bob Wiltfong and his wife had their first child, a boy, on Superbowl Sunday. (Check his blog on his personal website www.bobwiltfong.com ) Congratulations and best wishes! According to a fansite with Jon Stewart news, Rob Corddry and his wife are also expecting a baby. Best wishes and congratulations to them as well!

This same site (the Jon Stewart Intelligence Agency), said that the full name of Stewart's baby is Maggie Rose and she was born on Saturday. I'll wait on a link until it's a more official news source, but just putting the bits out there.

[trisha]

Only one thing to say right now, and that's poor Rob! His show really did not go over well. His guest spot was more awkward than funny, and he never should have done that Hitler/Ann Frank joke. I don't think even Jon could have pulled one that off. Maybe he was just trying too hard to be funny.

I was glad to see that audience showed him support and cheered for him to come back and do it again, though TDS fans are the best!

[janetcatbird]

Yeah. I've said before that I don't really care for Rob Corddry, I think as a general rule he's ruder and more obscene than strictly necessary. I'm sure nerves kicked in too, and it was nice of the fans to give him support. (I personally would have preferred Ed Helms, or maybe John Hodgman's deadpan, but I think COrddry has been there for a longer period of time so maybe tenure kicked in.) I did like the bit about Who Hasn't Compared Bush to the Nazis?

The comment about "Jon's in the shop" made me wonder if Stewart was sick or something. If so, hope he's doing better.

--Catbird

[Sirenna]

"Hunter shot by VP Dick"

Ok I made up the headline but if Stephen Colbert or Jon Stewarts don't get at least three good jokes out this one then they are not the comics I think they are.

[janetcatbird]

Newsweek Article! This follows the profile on "The Colbert Report" in the February 13th issue--Mama sent it to me. (The website and print eeditions have a four-square picture of Helms, Bee, Carrell and Corrdry.)

Turning Fake News Into Real Careers
[/i]For decades, if you wanted to make it in the comedy game, you started at 'SNL.' But now 'The Daily Show' is building a better pipeline.[/i]

By Devin Gordon
Newsweek


Feb. 13, 2006 issue - Here's a trivia question: who was the host of "The Daily Show" when Stephen Colbert got his start as a correspondent? Need a hint? It wasn't Jon Stewart. "The show's gotten much more thoughtful and timely since Jon arrived," says Scott Dikkers, editor in chief of the weekly mock newspaper The Onion. "It was a bit more smarmy under, um, what's his name—oh, I'm forgetting his name ... Kilborn. Craig Kilborn." Ouch. Dikkers's memory lapse isn't an intentional dig at the show's original host, but there's no question that most people associate the dawn of the "Daily Show" era with Stewart. In truth, Stewart got the job when Kilborn left for a coveted gig backing up David Letterman in CBS's late-night lineup. In its 10-year existence, "The Daily Show" has been a launching pad for comic talent; now, with the success of "The Colbert Report" and Steve Carell's emerging stardom, it's arguably the top launching pad in the industry. Says Dikkers, "I don't know if there's a better show you could put on your resume right now."

Dikkers should know. He lost two of The Onion's best writers to the franchise—Ben Karlin, "The Daily Show's" executive producer since 2001, and Richard Dahm, the show runner on "The Colbert Report." Comedy Central president Doug Herzog refers to the hourlong nightly block as "The Daily Show network," and his mini-network is starting to gain the upper hand in the talent race over actual network behemoths like "Saturday Night Live" and "Late Show With David Letterman." "In many ways, we're just getting started. 'SNL' has been on the air for 30 years," Herzog says diplomatically. "And one of ['SNL' creator] Lorne Michaels's great talents is replenishing the staff. That's a real challenge for Jon." So far, so good. When Carell departed for NBC's "The Office" and Colbert got his own show, "The Daily Show" promoted ace correspondents Rob Corddry (who specializes in Boston Masshole combativeness), Ed Helms (the overconfident moron) and Samantha Bee (the shameless Fox News-y gotcha girl).

The sharks are already circling. Corddry guest-starred last year on "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "Arrested Development." With network pilot season just around the corner, Karlin says the next defection could happen any day. But that's OK with him. "We don't want people here who think, 'Oh, my God, I never want to leave, I've hit the jackpot'," he says. "We want a backstabbing, 'All About Eve' mentality, and to establish that you've got to bring in hyperambitious people with no souls, a la Rob Corddry." But seriously, folks. "We don't have illusions about this show being a final stop for anyone," Karlin says. "This is a training ground."

Then they march through the doors that "The Daily Show's" Emmy-winning reputation helps open. "But it isn't just the show's cachet. Cachet comes and goes," says comedian Paul Mecurio, a longtime "Daily Show" writer who's developing and starring in a pilot called "Sports Central," which is essentially a "Daily Show" about sports. "The experience itself is so incredibly valuable. It's like going to comedy college. When you leave, you're a unique kind of funny."

Not everyone who leaves the "Daily Show" nest is set for life. (Keep on plugging, Mo Rocca. We won't forget the good times.) But Carell's success, in particular, is a boon because it belies the industry notion that "Daily Show" stars can't be funny without the "fake news" shtik. "Our performers aren't idiot savants who can just do this one job well," says Karlin. "We've always felt that way, but maybe Steve changed that perception externally. He's such a genuinely nice guy, too. The fact that he's on the verge of being a major star, it just makes me so, so happy." Karlin pauses. "I wouldn't say that about Colbert. That guy's kind of a tool."

© 2006 MSNBC.com

URL: msnbc.msn.com/id/11178541/site/newsweek/