No matter where I am or what I'm doing, every weeknight at 11 pm, my PVR whirs into action and records the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The Time Warner Cable settop box (the future killer of Tivo) is set to record - and keep until manually erased - each night's show. And I watch them all, sometimes a couple of episodes at a time. Without a doubt, it is the finest television show extant. Sure, the material is great - the Daily Show has terrific writers and a great cast of faux news reporters like Stephen Colbert, Samantha Bee, Ed Helms, and Rob Corddry. And it's got the usual guest list of actors, musicians, politicians, authors and real newsmen. But what holds the show together is Jon Stewart. As Don Imus has repeatedly pointed out, no one on television sells his material better than Stewart - who, until this gig, was at best a journeyman comic and actor. Melding the best tradition of Jackie Gleason, Bob Hope, and Walter Cronkite, Stewart runs not only the best late-night comedy show on TV, but the best current affairs show on TV. Fans already know this - if you're not one, watch it for a few nights, and you'll be hooked. Promise.
My Dirty Life & Times
- Tom Watson is a journalist, author, media critic, entrepreneur and consultant who has worked at the confluence of media technology and social change for more than 20 years. This long-running blog is my personal outlet - an idiosyncratic view of the world. "My dirty life and times" is a nod to the late, great Warren Zevon because some days I feel like my shadow's casting me.
Tom's 411
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My bio and relevant background. - CauseWired
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