Saturday, August 8, 2015

A Farewell

Thursday evening marked the end of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and having just watched (on DVR) the last show, I have to admit I'm a bit sad.  Every Monday-Thursday night for the last 16 years his show has done its very best to call out the hypocrisy and nonsense that comes out of the mainstream news media.  While the show began as a comedy show about the news, I believe it has become a news show and because of the exaggerated/corrupt/flash over facts nature of our current media the comedy happens to be built right in without trying very hard.  
While Stewart leans left on most issues, he didn't have blinders on to either side of the political spectrum.  No one was off-limits, not being "owned" by either party - unlike most of our so-called media outlets.  After Walter Cronkite died, Jon Stewart was chosen the most trusted newscaster in the US by Time magazine.  I think that trust comes from the compassion that he shows for us regular people at the mercy of those in power.
And even though his job was to point out the issues we face, he also got sh%& done - most notably his advocacy for a bill that provided health care for 9/11 first responders and over the health care delays Veterans dealt with after returning home from service. He was very critical over the V.A.'s handling of their cases under Obama's watch, and in response to his criticism the VA changed its rules doubling the number of Vets eligible for a program that would help expedite their care.
And now he's gone from the show.
I read a quote yesterday that summed up my feelings about this end-of-an-era perfectly..."It was never up to Jon to fix things, but now we don't even have that one beloved and trusted voice to point out the absurdity of the people pretending these things don't need fixing."  Exactly.
The last show on Thursday night was longer than the usual 30 minutes.  It started out with all the show's present and past "correspondents" (many who have gone on to big entertainment careers like Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Josh Gad, Olivia Munn) bidding farewell to a teary host.  Stewart then gave his goodbye with a commentary urging his audience not to accept misinformation as truth.  It was a cheer-worthy sermon, a good reminder.  The show ended with Bruce Springsteen signing "Land of Hopes and Dreams" and "Born to Run" (which, by the way, is when I got a bit emotional.)  This is a good edit of clips from it...
I'm not sure if I will watch the Daily Show when it returns in September with its new host.  I haven't warmed up to him as he doesn't seem as compassionate as Stewart is.  But I may give it a go and see what happens.  I will miss the show as I know it.  So long Jon Stewart!  

6 comments:

  1. Would you believe I never saw an episode? Maybe because I feared he did lean too much to the left, though I certainly don't want to associate with most of what's to the right, either. Personally, most all politicians disgust me. I seem to take it issue by issue which makes voting quite difficult at times. I've always said you basically have to pick the issues that matter most to you and go from there. But I digress...

    I can't remember... who is going to replace him? Not that I'll watch. I'd much rather read at night and reserve the DVR for the few cooking competition shows I still enjoy. Late night TV for me ended when Johnny Carson retired. Now that's dating myself, isn't it! ;)

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    1. Yah, I agree. As I've mentioned before, I lean left, but I can't say it's across the board.
      I think with your views of the media, you would probably like his show, because he really just calls them out on common sense stuff.
      The new host is Trevor Noah. I don't know much of what he's done, other than a few spots on this show before he was announced as the replacement. I think he's a stand up comedian as well. I find him a bit smug, and I prefer self deprecating humor.
      I didn't watch Carson much when he was on as I was still in school when he retired. The clips of his show are very funny though and he's always touted as the father of late night. I still don't watch the late shows. The Daily Show I recorded and watched when I worked out the next day. We are inundated here with entertainment "news" that I don't need to watch the "stars" on a talk show. But I might try Colbert's new show as I did watch him on his news format show that followed Stewarts. His "character" got a little irritating after awhile, but it might be different with a different format.

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    2. Well I've never even heard of Trevor Noah! I'm a little "behind" on stand-up comics, too, unless they've been around awhile.

      I probably would have liked the show as long as he called out both sides. While I lean "right" and freely admit it has its share of buffoons... so does the "left".

      *sigh* I dread the next 15 months of politics.

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    3. Oh, I agree...it's gonna be a rough year as far as the "news" and the crud we are going to be inundated with. And doesn't it seem like it starts earlier and earlier every time?!?!

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  2. I had to view a few programme's before commenting. My, but he's good. And it really is what anyone would see if they were't bamboozled with bull shit. That seems to be his theme BS.
    I'm kinda POed I didn't know about him before now for, for some unknown reason I can see full episodes.

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    1. Yah, he seems to slog through the rhetoric which is what is so often used to cover up what's really going on.
      I think you'll find that so many of the episodes are still pertinent because it's the same recycled BS over and over, isn't it? :) I would say his last 2-3 weeks of episodes were hit and miss, spending more time on the "best of" than the news. But I enjoy watching clips from before and I've seen them all. :) What's really funny is seeing shows from his first few years. It was so low budget and it was much more about the comedy. It's also fun to go back and see those writers/correspondence who have gone on to do other mainstream things.
      I'm glad you like it. :) I'll keep you posted on whether the new guy is worth the effort. He's in the a few seconds of the clip above measuring "things".

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