The Daily Show And The Colbert Report Return All On Their Own

News Type: Event — Tue Jan 8, 2008 4:18 AM EST

entertainment, jon-stewart, stephen-colbert, comedy-central, daily-show, colbert-report, talk-show, late-night

The Daily Show proved that its wit did not walk out the door with its writers and exhibited that the striking writers would not be exempt from its stinging social commentary. One of the images next to Stewart's head under Writer's Guild of America strike signs said "Space Reserved For Clever Pun." Stewart also exhibited biting commentary on the strike itself, saying "The last time these late night shows were off for an extended period of time it was after September 11th and lasted for about a week. By the math, that means that the writer's strike is nine times worse than September 11th." Stewart helped to put the strike into perspective from the views of many by pointing out that the issues being negotiated over ranged from minimum wage to residuals for writers who already make thousands upon thousands of dollars plying their trade.

The show further revolved around the strike by having Ron Seeber, Labor Relations professor from Cornell University, on as its guest. The Daily Show is always at its best when using comedy as the hook to grab the viewers' attention and then mixing humor and knowledge to educate its viewership about current events. Seeber and Stewart covered how the management had essentially invited this problem (they talked up profits from Internet downloads that writers were not getting a piece of to their shareholders at a shareholder meeting). Stewart also bemoaned the fact that the SGA has refused to allow his & Colbert's writers to return even though Stewart's production company, Busboy Productions, has agreed to the writers' terms and asked them to return. Seeber's answer was that the SGA is likely choosing a few strategically placed shows to allow the writers to return to so that economic pressure will mount and eventually cause their opponents to cave in to their demands or at least to be the ones to invite a return to the bargaining table. The Moment of Zen that the show always ends with was, fittingly, footage of the WGA strikers marching in front of the Daily Show's studios silently.

Jon Stewart was not as crisp without his writing staff when compared with Stephen Colbert, however that is likely attributable to Colbert's background in improv comedy (he was with the Chicago improv comedy troupe Second City for many years). Colbert started out with his signature telling of what would be on the show by saying "Tonight, _______," "then _______," and "finally ______," ending with "This is the Colbert Report!" pronouncing it Colbert (the 'bert' pronounced like Bert of Bert & Ernie) and pronouncing Report with the hard 't' that it usually has.

As Colbert took the stage he was greeted with rapturous applause and chants of "Stephen! Stephen!" and he had to move to physically sit down his guests before he could continue. He went to a bit about his prompter being empty that was good and then apologized for things being "FUBAR" around there. Further driving home the point of the writers' strike, he went to The Word and did a hilarious bit where he gestured with his hands trying to conjure it up but it never appeared.

He brought on Andrew Sullivan to talk about Barack Obama, likely because Obama could not come himself since crossing a picket line is a no-no for a Democratic politician, and had a lively pro-Obama discussion with Sullivan playing his straight man. He then moved on to his main guest which was Richard Freeman, author of the book America Works. Freeman next played straight man to Colbert in a pro-union interview where Freeman declared unions are good and that 50% of Americans want unions.

On the whole, both shows did well without their writers. However, Colbert's did better. It will be interesting to see if the shows can continue to churn out laughs of the type and frequency the shows' viewers have come to expect. More interesting will be to see how long they have to last and if the SGA will give permission to the shows' writers to return or if the strike finally ends sooner rather than later. In the long term, though, expect Colbert to be the strongest of the two because of his many years of improv comedy; he can likely do the equivalent of a one-man act for half his show and interview guests for the other half indefinitely at an entertainment level that is acceptable to his audience.

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4.6

{"commentId":1340573,"authorDomain":"isaacs"}

Scott Isaacs

Please give your comments. :-)

{"commentId":1340573,"threadId":"199534","contentId":"1211159","authorDomain":"isaacs"}

#1 - Tue Jan 8, 2008 4:19 AM EST

{"commentId":1341323,"authorDomain":"sbutki"}

Scott (Scoop) Butki

Good summary.
I took a few notes for the piece I'll write on the first week back.

I think you missed what I considered the most poignant, classy action Stewart took, which was to announce that until the strike is over the show's name will be changed from The Daily Show to A Daily Show.

And while Conan and Letterman had beards Stewart had a "uni-brow"

I also liked how he started the way he often did - doodling on paper - but this time saying,"That's me drawing on what would have been a script."

{"commentId":1341323,"threadId":"199534","contentId":"1211159","authorDomain":"sbutki"}

1 vote

#2 - Tue Jan 8, 2008 11:03 AM EST

{"commentId":1345173,"authorDomain":"sbutki"}

Scott (Scoop) Butki

Looks like you may be right about the ratings, Scott

{"commentId":1345173,"threadId":"199534","contentId":"1211159","authorDomain":"sbutki"}

#2.1 - Wed Jan 9, 2008 12:51 PM EST

{"commentId":1345949,"authorDomain":"isaacs"}

Scott Isaacs

Scott:
I think it's only going to get harder for Leno. Most guests that people want to see are not going to cross a picket line. Republican presidential candidates are happy for earned media coverage and Leno is happy for guests but when most actors, other people in show business that rely on unions and Democratic presidential candidates won't go on Leno because of the strike while Letterman is landing anyone and everyone he wants. It's tantamount to a closed shop when it comes to a union.

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2 votes

#2.2 - Wed Jan 9, 2008 4:34 PM EST

{"commentId":1341531,"authorDomain":"cobbs"}

steveoutdoorrec

I want to see just how well they can carry the shows without the help of the writers over the long term.

You are right that Colbert's background in improv might help but his show is based on his being a pundit. Not sure how well he can carry that off without his writers building takeoffs on what the "real" pundits are saying.

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#3 - Tue Jan 8, 2008 11:52 AM EST

{"commentId":1341815,"authorDomain":"deatienza"}

Eric Atienza

I'm watching them online right now. I have to say so far Stewarts' explanation of the difference between TV and the Internet is hilarious.

{"commentId":1341815,"threadId":"199534","contentId":"1211159","authorDomain":"deatienza"}

2 votes

#4 - Tue Jan 8, 2008 1:10 PM EST

{"commentId":1345007,"authorDomain":"sbutki"}

Scott (Scoop) Butki

The New York Times has a good review of their returning shows.

I've been watching the shows on re-broadcast which is why I haven't fully commented on
your review yet.

I did notice that the two minute standing Ovation Colbert got Monday night had been replaced Tuesday with a note saying "two minutes later," which seemed weird.

{"commentId":1345007,"threadId":"199534","contentId":"1211159","authorDomain":"sbutki"}

#5 - Wed Jan 9, 2008 12:12 PM EST

{"commentId":1345970,"authorDomain":"isaacs"}

Scott Isaacs

Perhaps they didn't want to rub salt in the writers' wounds? The audience didn't seem to be put out that they returned without writers. LOL

{"commentId":1345970,"threadId":"199534","contentId":"1211159","authorDomain":"isaacs"}

3 votes

#5.1 - Wed Jan 9, 2008 4:40 PM EST

{"commentId":1347152,"authorDomain":"cobbs"}

steveoutdoorrec

The show actually ran about 5 minutes over on Monday night. I wondered about that and checked 2 clocks to make sure one wasn't running fast. Not sure why it went 35 minutes as that has never happened before. Strange

{"commentId":1347152,"threadId":"199534","contentId":"1211159","authorDomain":"cobbs"}

3 votes

#5.2 - Wed Jan 9, 2008 10:19 PM EST

{"commentId":1351185,"authorDomain":"sbutki"}

Scott (Scoop) Butki

Colbert's show did? Well, that explains why they did the slicing and dicing, i..e "two minutes later"

{"commentId":1351185,"threadId":"199534","contentId":"1211159","authorDomain":"sbutki"}

1 vote

#5.3 - Fri Jan 11, 2008 12:29 AM EST

{"commentId":1346162,"authorDomain":"epiphany-sorbet"}

epiphany sorbet

The whole writers' strike thing (which I admit to not following) seems complex, ambiguous and confusing. Apparently it is ok for Stewart and Colbert to write their own stuff? Why, because they are not officially classed as "writers"?

Also, someone is sure writing the copy for the guys who do the pre-game shows for the NFL, so what's going on there?

How can individual groups make deals with the writers? Like Letterman and Tom Cruise, for instance. Sure the writers can settle with them, but that won't mean that anyone else they work for will give them the same deal, so what does it amount to . . . they've gotten their livelihoods back, but are dependent on those still on the picket lines to break the will of the really big employers?

{"commentId":1346162,"threadId":"199534","contentId":"1211159","authorDomain":"epiphany-sorbet"}

1 vote

#6 - Wed Jan 9, 2008 5:25 PM EST

{"commentId":1346227,"authorDomain":"deatienza"}

Eric Atienza

Apparently it is ok for Stewart and Colbert to write their own stuff? Why, because they are not officially classed as "writers"?

They are both members of the WGA. They crossed the picket lines because everybody else that works on their shows has been out of work during the strike.

How can individual groups make deals with the writers?

Letterman owns the production company that makes his show and Craig Ferguson's show and the WGA agreed to work around the group that represents the big studios and producers and make a deal with that company. They probably did it to illustrate the difference between shows with writers and shows without.

Also, someone is sure writing the copy for the guys who do the pre-game shows for the NFL, so what's going on there?

It's possible they either write their own stuff or the people who come up with it are not members of the writer's guild.

{"commentId":1346227,"threadId":"199534","contentId":"1211159","authorDomain":"deatienza"}

4 votes

#6.1 - Wed Jan 9, 2008 5:42 PM EST

{"commentId":1346260,"authorDomain":"isaacs"}

Scott Isaacs

NBC has been the most hard-line about breaking the writers so, essentially, they decided to cut selected deals to really put the screws to the ones that have been the most intractable in the dispute. If someone is going to bleed on management's side, they are going to make sure it is the ones they perceive as holding up a deal.

As for Stewart and Colbert, what you said is correct. They aren't part of the WGA and the WGA has been sympathetic to them going back because they know that the shows' staff will be cut wholesale for the duration of the strike if those two didn't return to the air. They also know that Stewart & Colbert don't have big enough viewerships to make or break the strike. Dave Letterman and Jay Leno? Totally different story. They'll be playing hardball with Jay Leno because he isn't considered to be in the writers' corner near as much as Dave. Dave grew a beard at the start of the strike and did other things to boost the striking writers.

{"commentId":1346260,"threadId":"199534","contentId":"1211159","authorDomain":"isaacs"}

1 vote

#6.2 - Wed Jan 9, 2008 5:51 PM EST

{"commentId":1346418,"authorDomain":"epiphany-sorbet"}

epiphany sorbet

Scott and Eric,

Somehow, it doesn't sound like a real strike - the kind that the UAW might stage. There are all these little "deals" and workarounds.

{"commentId":1346418,"threadId":"199534","contentId":"1211159","authorDomain":"epiphany-sorbet"}

1 vote

#6.3 - Wed Jan 9, 2008 6:38 PM EST

{"commentId":1346452,"authorDomain":"deatienza"}

Eric Atienza

Because the writers don't want all of the cameramen and workers to get fired while they negotiate? The UAW negotiates with one firm at a time. The WGA is negotiating with something equivalent to the RIAA... an organization that represents pretty much the entire industry. They are using certain shows to leverage viewers against the producers.

{"commentId":1346452,"threadId":"199534","contentId":"1211159","authorDomain":"deatienza"}

1 vote

#6.4 - Wed Jan 9, 2008 6:50 PM EST

{"commentId":1346519,"authorDomain":"isaacs"}

Scott Isaacs

ES:
Each one of these production companies is the equivalent of a GM or a Ford or a Chrysler so while the UAW is dealing with three groups of negotiators with three positions the WGA is looking at probably something approaching 10-20 large production companies and close to 100 smaller ones looking at the whole industry. Each of those companies has their own view of how the writers should be dealt with so to force their views to come closer to union expectations they have to team with friendly company's like Letterman's Worldwide Pants to force the others to the table through brute economic force. I look at this tactic as being the equivalent of the UAW striking after the plates for the new models had already been struck: they had the Big Three trapped over a barrel because they had no surplus of new models and no workers to produce them. To get the former, you had to get the latter and that forced them to make deals that were closer to the union's terms than the management's.

{"commentId":1346519,"threadId":"199534","contentId":"1211159","authorDomain":"isaacs"}

2 votes

#6.5 - Wed Jan 9, 2008 7:17 PM EST

{"commentId":1346672,"authorDomain":"epiphany-sorbet"}

epiphany sorbet

Scott and Eric,

Thanks so much for helping to clear up some of my questions.

{"commentId":1346672,"threadId":"199534","contentId":"1211159","authorDomain":"epiphany-sorbet"}

#6.6 - Wed Jan 9, 2008 7:55 PM EST

{"commentId":1347422,"authorDomain":"isaacs"}

Scott Isaacs

No problem, ES. It's quite a mess, isn't it? LOL I have to say I'm impressed with their strategy. If NBC wants to stick them they are going to have to give up having the #1 late show.

{"commentId":1347422,"threadId":"199534","contentId":"1211159","authorDomain":"isaacs"}

2 votes

#6.7 - Wed Jan 9, 2008 11:57 PM EST

{"commentId":1351199,"authorDomain":"sbutki"}

Scott (Scoop) Butki

It does look odd, I agree, that CBS got its writers back and the other shows didn't but ifI read between the lines what happened is the networks - nbc, for example - aren't ready to accept any deals whereas Letterman's company agreed to abide by whatever the eventual agreement is.

Stewart seemed put out that his show is at a disadvantage and I think the weakest part of Monday's show was when he made this jealousy obvious.

I'm confused too as far as them writing their own stuff. When Leno came back first the guild said Leno - also a guild member - could act and improv but not pre-write stuff. But he pre-wrote his monologue and got criticized by the guild for it. NBC and the guild have differed over whether that was ok or not.

But if Leno's not supposed to write his own stuff then why is it ok for Colbert and Stewart to do it?
Andw what about the video clips they show, like Colbert's tonite? Are we supposed to believe not of that was written?
Or that the conversation between Stewart tonite and two of his correspondents was not scripted?

But on the other hand the guild is getting free air time each nite for people stating support for its position, so that must temper some potential criticism. I mean, when's the last time you saw so much discussion and debate abut unions on late nite talk shows?

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1 vote

#6.8 - Fri Jan 11, 2008 12:37 AM EST

{"commentId":1351373,"authorDomain":"isaacs"}

Scott Isaacs

Scott:
I'm sure that the WGA is enjoying the earned media coverage because the more aware the public is, the more pressure that will be on producers to get them back on the air.

{"commentId":1351373,"threadId":"199534","contentId":"1211159","authorDomain":"isaacs"}

2 votes

#6.9 - Fri Jan 11, 2008 2:33 AM EST

{"commentId":1351835,"authorDomain":"deatienza"}

Eric Atienza

Andw what about the video clips they show, like Colbert's tonite? Are we supposed to believe not of that was written?

That depends if the PAs and video editors are members of the WGA... I'm guessing no.

Or that the conversation between Stewart tonite and two of his correspondents was not scripted?

I didn't see yesterday's, which correspondents? Remember two days ago when John Oliver pointed out that he was on the show because he was in the country on a work VISA?

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#6.10 - Fri Jan 11, 2008 9:18 AM EST

{"commentId":1352105,"authorDomain":"cobbs"}

steveoutdoorrec

Thursday night's "A" Daily Show had a part where Stewart showed both the Amercian and Iranian videos of the recent encounter. Then he wondered what the Iranian was saying on their video so they cut to Aasif Mandvi to see if he could translate. The conversation about how Aasif was American from Florida and the subsequent cut to Rob Riggle who was shocked as Jon to learn that Aasif wasn't Greek could very well have been unscripted. It did not last long and was a way to get both of them on camera and so be eligible for pay.

On the whole the show seems to have settled in and is doing a pretty good job of filling the available time with the help of Stewarts active mind. Not sure how many guests he'll get but with Lou Dobbs on thursday it looks like we are in for pundents being interviewed.

{"commentId":1352105,"threadId":"199534","contentId":"1211159","authorDomain":"cobbs"}

2 votes

#6.11 - Fri Jan 11, 2008 10:33 AM EST

{"commentId":1352873,"authorDomain":"sbutki"}

Scott (Scoop) Butki

The problem with the idea of the guild being happy about the free air time is I'm not sure the corporations that own the shows mind or are hurt by the shows being in this holding pattern - they can go back to selling ads for new shows and getting ratings of new shows - so it's sort of a half full half empty debate.

The conversation about how Aasif was American from Florida and the subsequent cut to Rob Riggle who was shocked as Jon to learn that Aasif wasn't Greek could very well have been unscripted. It did not last long and was a way to get both of them on camera and so be eligible for pay.

I didn't think about that last part - do they get paid each time they are on?

{"commentId":1352873,"threadId":"199534","contentId":"1211159","authorDomain":"sbutki"}

#6.12 - Fri Jan 11, 2008 1:50 PM EST

{"commentId":1353014,"authorDomain":"cobbs"}

steveoutdoorrec

I'm not sure about the pay but it would make sense that the network isn't going to pay anyone that doesn't contribute by being on the air. They can't be paid as writers after all.

{"commentId":1353014,"threadId":"199534","contentId":"1211159","authorDomain":"cobbs"}

1 vote

#6.13 - Fri Jan 11, 2008 2:28 PM EST

{"commentId":1354256,"authorDomain":"isaacs"}

Scott Isaacs

steve:
Actually, the production companies have likely created a new job classification where people get paid for writing while the writers themselves are striking.

{"commentId":1354256,"threadId":"199534","contentId":"1211159","authorDomain":"isaacs"}

2 votes

#6.14 - Fri Jan 11, 2008 9:03 PM EST

{"commentId":1351005,"authorDomain":"sbutki"}

Scott (Scoop) Butki

Scott – I have a big favor to ask. You know how you were going to do the first nite back of Stewart/Colbert and I was going to do the first week back?
Well, um, the vcr that was supposed to tape the last three nites of the show… taped nothing. Cheap ass vcr.

So a) did you watch them and b) can you write that "first week back" article? Otherwise c) I'll just cancel that assignment.
Otherwise I can only comment on the Monday and Thursday night shows.

Email or post a response please.

{"commentId":1351005,"threadId":"199534","contentId":"1211159","authorDomain":"sbutki"}

#7 - Thu Jan 10, 2008 11:06 PM EST

{"commentId":1351376,"authorDomain":"isaacs"}

Scott Isaacs

E-mailed Scott. :-)

{"commentId":1351376,"threadId":"199534","contentId":"1211159","authorDomain":"isaacs"}

1 vote

#7.1 - Fri Jan 11, 2008 2:34 AM EST

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Stewart, Colbert Return to the Air	Associated Press	Mon Jan 7	0
Stewart, Colbert return Monday with challenges; Satirizing news will be harder with both hosts barred by WGA from writing	msnbc.com	Sun Jan 6	1
Colbert, Stewart make do without writers	Associated Press	Wed Jan 9	0

SCOTT ISAACS

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The Daily Show And The Colbert Report Return All On Their Own

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