# The Daily Show With John Oliver....



## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

So, how do you think he's doing? I was just wondering what others thought.

I think this week has had some ups and downs but I'm starting to really enjoy him. I miss Stewart, but Oliver's not too shabby.


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## waynomo (Nov 9, 2002)

Nice change of pace. I'm enjoying him.


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## Jeeters (Feb 25, 2003)

I think he's great.


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## Gerryex (Apr 24, 2004)

YCantAngieRead said:


> So, how do you think he's doing? I was just wondering what others thought.
> 
> I think this week has had some ups and downs but I'm starting to really enjoy him. I miss Stewart, but Oliver's not too shabby.


I agree!! I am a VERY BIG fan of the Daily Show and really miss it when they show repeats. Jon Stewart has a certain style which really matches up to the Daily Show's format. But I also always liked John Oliver and think he is just doing great. I especially liked the first Oliver episode where the "remote" correspondents started giving their reports only to reveal that they were talking about Oliver taking over as host where they should have been the host. Very funny. Also it looks like for the opening of each episode Oliver will have a funny remark about where Stewart is. Again very funny.

Gerry

P. S. There's a very funny BBC show called The Green Wing about the antics in a hospital and it was shown in the US a few years ago, I forget on what channel. But at least the first episode is on YouTube. In there John Oliver has a small role as a new car salesman and that's the only other place I've seen him other than on The Daily Show!

P. P. S. For fans of the Showtime show Episodes, the "married" British couple are primary characters in The Green Wing!


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

I'm really enjoying John Oliver as host. Although I will say that he seems to basically just be channeling Jon Stewart. Obviously the writers are still the same so most of the jokes are written the same way they were written for JS. But some of the little asides and mannerisms seem to be JO copying what he's watched JS do for so many years. And I can't fault him for that. After working on the show for eight years, it would be nearly impossible to get behind that desk and not do some of the same things that JS does.


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## DeDondeEs (Feb 20, 2004)

Does this mean that they won't take most of July off like they normally do? I guess not since the writers still get the vacation. 

I don't mind Oliver as host. Like said previously, it is the same writers so the content is pretty much the same.


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

DevdogAZ said:


> I'm really enjoying John Oliver as host. Although I will say that he seems to basically just be channeling Jon Stewart. Obviously the writers are still the same so most of the jokes are written the same way they were written for JS. But some of the little asides and mannerisms seem to be JO copying what he's watched JS do for so many years. And I can't fault him for that. After working on the show for eight years, it would be nearly impossible to get behind that desk and not do some of the same things that JS does.


I kind of like that he's pulling that aspect off. I was worried he'd go for something completely different, delivery-wise, and I think this, while very similar, works for an enjoyable program that doesn't lose completely the pacing of Stewart, should he decide to come back long term (I almost cried just writing that.)


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## Waldorf (Oct 4, 2002)

Showing my age I guess, but I was hoping they'd bring Craig Kilborn back. What's he up to these days?


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## lambertman (Dec 21, 2002)

Craig Kilborn is not at all suited to host TDS as it now exists.


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## KenDC (Jun 18, 2001)

I think he is doing very well. I am a big Jon Stewart fan. John Oliver seems a little bit more laid back which is sometimes better and sometimes not. I think the picking on himself needs to end. It was cute at the beginning but it is getting old.


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## secondclaw (Oct 3, 2004)

Love it - especially the jokes about him being there. Lewis Black going on his rant, then when done looks at Oliver, pauses, then - "who the #@^% are you????" ...
The field reporters reaction on his first day was great as well. I wonder if he'll become another spinoff, like Colbert ...


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

DeDondeEs said:


> Does this mean that they won't take most of July off like they normally do? I guess not since the writers still get the vacation.


I remember when this was first announced several months ago, they said John Oliver would be hosting for six weeks while JS is away. Then on last night's show, during the segment with Mick Foley, they said JS will return in September. So it seems they'll still be taking plenty of time for vacation.


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

John Oliver is doing very well.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

I think he's just fine. I'm still laughing. I agree, he's doing a lot of what JS does, so it's not that different, but his delivery is good. (It still seems a bit odd having a Brit cover US politics as if he's a native American, but I can easily get past it, as I do with Katty Kay on The Chris Matthews Show).

I still think he's trying to find his way on interviews though. Hopefully that will come, but right now, he's not very good. Luckily most of his guests have been fairly well known, but, like last night he struggled interviewing someone who was pushing a new book. I'm not sure if the topic bored him or he didn't prepare, but he just seemed out of his element.


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

huh...I hardly ever listen to interviews unless it's someone very interesting. Even then, JS is usually pretty bad.


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## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

I also think he's doing well. I had considered tuning out for the summer but I'm glad I didn't go through with that. Some pretty good laughs so far. 

Of course, I miss Jon S. He's so smart and funny - a perfect combination for me  - But Oliver is holding his own very well, IMO.


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## DeDondeEs (Feb 20, 2004)

One thing I have noticed with Oliver during the guest interviews is that he uses the same exact hand gestures Stewart uses when talking with a guest. When it is an author of a book, he bangs the book on the desk the same way Stewart does when showing to the camera even with the laying the book down after showing to the camera and slapping his hand on top of it. 

Then the interview questions are in the same style. I guess I was naive in that I thought Stewart actually read those books and saw those movies, but he must have staff do it just like everyone else. Nothing wrong with that, just noticed it.


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

He may do that for the same reason I do-to square up the dust jacket with the rest of the book.

Stewart read a LOT of those books. Not so sure about the movies. But he reads voraciously. And from my experience, he's always up front when he doesn't read it (and it shows.)

He wouldn't be as able to chat so well with the authors if he didn't. And make it sound like YOU NEED TO BUY THIS BOOK EVEN THOUGH IT'S NOT REMOTELY IN YOUR INTEREST.


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## Boston Fan (Feb 8, 2006)

Anubys said:


> huh...I hardly ever listen to interviews unless it's someone very interesting. Even then, JS is usually pretty bad.


I feel just the opposite way - I think JS is a very good interviewer. One of the best prepared that I have seen and able to speak to even complex issues with substance.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

Waldorf said:


> Showing my age I guess, but I was hoping they'd bring Craig Kilborn back. What's he up to these days?


The Kilborn Daily Show was COMPLETLY DIFFERENT. (Actually, I'd like to hear what the creators think of the current Daily Show.. they still obviously get credited in the show, but as I said, it's way different.)

My VERY high level description is that Kilborn's Daily Show was MUCH more a spoof of things like 20/20 and 60 Minutes, with a TINY bit of topical info ("Weekend Update" like) in it.. Enough so that I'd FF through the longer segments often and watch just the topical info.

They still do longer segments sometimes, but they're much more topical I'd say, rather than being generic infotainment topics.

The only thing I can remember that I miss is 5 questions.

BTW, didn't Oliver host at LEAST one other time? Maybe when Jon was sick?


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

Boston Fan said:


> I feel just the opposite way - I think JS is a very good interviewer. One of the best prepared that I have seen and able to speak to even complex issues with substance.


He constantly stutters, interrupts the guest every time they are about something interesting, changes the subject abruptly for a zing or for no reason that I can figure out, and we end up with a disjointed conversation that always leaves me frustrated.

Mind you, I only watch when it is someone interesting. If it is a actor promoting a movie, I don't even bother. But now I don't bother regardless.

I love the first two segments and I think he is brilliant. But it is a 15 minute show as far as I'm concerned.


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## markp99 (Mar 21, 2002)

Anubys said:


> I love the first two segments and I think he is brilliant. But it is a 15 minute show as far as I'm concerned.


Mostly this for me too! Occasionally I am interested to hear what a guest might have to say. I do like the interactions he's had with Brian Williams and Bill O'Reilly.


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

Boston Fan said:


> I feel just the opposite way - I think JS is a very good interviewer. One of the best prepared that I have seen and able to speak to even complex issues with substance.


I tend to agree. The majority of the guests The Daily Show has on are ones that Jon is personally interested in. You can tell that he really has some knowledge of the person and/or book that the interview is about, and has thoughts about it that he wants to discuss.

Unfortunately, the half hour format of the show means that the interviews are already quite short, then edited down even further, resulting in a very rapid-fire interview style that is probably what bothers Anubys.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

Steveknj said:


> I think he's just fine. I'm still laughing. I agree, he's doing a lot of what JS does, so it's not that different, but his delivery is good. (*It still seems a bit odd having a Brit cover US politics as if he's a native American*, but I can easily get past it, as I do with Katty Kay on The Chris Matthews Show).


The Tuesday show from earlier this week was good in that respect, as he was talking about the proposed immigration reform bill and frequently spoke to it as a foreigner who immigrated here himself.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

DevdogAZ said:


> The Tuesday show from earlier this week was good in that respect, as he was talking about the proposed immigration reform bill and frequently spoke to it as a foreigner who immigrated here himself.


Yes, I noticed that. I like when JS uses him as the resident outsider (he does this with Sam Bee and her hubby who's name escapes me. They are Canadian). It gives a different perspective. For most of the shows JO has hosted, he looked at the goings on in American politics more from the same POV as a native. He's better when he looks at the absurdity of it all from a Brit's POV. But he's been funny either way. I'm rather enjoying it.

One thing I noticed last night...During his interview last night, he slammed the author's book down JS style, and he used the JS fist pump (and "bang") when he was making a point about something.


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## Ereth (Jun 16, 2000)

Gerryex said:


> P. S. There's a very funny BBC show called The Green Wing about the antics in a hospital and it was shown in the US a few years ago, I forget on what channel. But at least the first episode is on YouTube. In there John Oliver has a small role as a new car salesman and that's the only other place I've seen him other than on The Daily Show!


John Oliver was in the first season of Community as well. I found it rather jarring a I knew him from the Daily Show and it was hard to adjust.

Kind of like seeing Asif Mandvi in Spider-Man 2.


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

I figure this is as good a place as any to mention this... Jon Stewart appeared on Egypt's version of The Daily Show recently.


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

My internet hates me.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

busyba said:


> I figure this is as good a place as any to mention this... Jon Stewart appeared on Egypt's version of The Daily Show recently.


I saw that on my portal this morning. I don't do video at work but going to watch it later.


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## eddyj (Jun 20, 2002)

YCantAngieRead said:


> My internet hates me.


Did sushikitten hijack your account?


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

For those who hate missing anything, here are the small parts in Arabic

Youssef introduced him as one of the conspirators Morsi is always talking about. An American spy.

JS kept saying Thank you (Shoukran). Enough (Khalasse). You dont need to lift me (i.e. carry me on your shoulders).

Around the 4-minute mark, Youssef described him to the audience as the American Youssef , and that JS copies everything he does (then tells JS that he said he was awesome). Then said that JS is jealous of him.

As for the traffic lights, we do have them. We just consider them a suggestion!


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## Boston Fan (Feb 8, 2006)

Anubys said:


> For those who hate missing anything, here are the small parts in Arabic...


Thanks for doing that! :up:


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## fmowry (Apr 30, 2002)

Anubys said:


> For those who hate missing anything, here are the small parts in Arabic
> 
> Youssef introduced him as one of the conspirators Morsi is always talking about. An American spy.
> 
> ...


I wish you would have recapped BEFORE I watched the whole boring thing.  It's a bit better now.


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

I have been to Cairo and while riding on the major highway we noticed three lanes were painted on the road but there were about five lanes of traffic. Horns honking all the time. We perceived that horns were also used as a greeting not just a warning.


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## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

Thanks, Anubys! I saw the snippet, but didn't try to find the show to watch. Well, since I don't speak Arabic, I figured it would not be a very productive use of my time anyway.

Loved how they did the introduction as a spy and then the surprise of it being JS.

I was compelled by the fact that JS speaks Arabic, however. At first I was wondering if he really did or if he was just making sounds. I know he's a smart guy, so I guess it shouldn't be surprising.


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

I don't think he speaks Arabic so much as he can recite a small handful of words and phrases that were memorized phonetically by rote. 

He "speaks" Arabic the same way I "speak" Russian.


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## spartanstew (Feb 24, 2002)

I'm enjoying it so far with Oliver.



Anubys said:


> huh...I hardly ever listen to interviews unless it's someone very interesting. Even then, JS is usually pretty bad.


Agreed. I never watch the interviews in 90% of the episodes and when I do, I don't know if I'd say Stewart is bad at the interviews, but he's not excellent.


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

Stewart is an AMAZING interviewer. You guys need to watch. He's better than 99% of the people who are trained in journalism.


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## Boston Fan (Feb 8, 2006)

YCantAngieRead said:


> Stewart is an AMAZING interviewer. You guys need to watch. He's better than 99% of the people who are trained in journalism.


Absolutely this. And especially true when the guest is in politics/finance/news.


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## spartanstew (Feb 24, 2002)

You just can't do an amazing interview in 6 minutes.


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## Boston Fan (Feb 8, 2006)

spartanstew said:


> You just can't do an amazing interview in 6 minutes.


They aren't 6 minute interviews. As noted previously that's what's edited for TV. The full interviews are all available on the web.


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

He does amazing 6 minute interviews. He makes me want to buy books I would not have ever, EVER considered.

The only time I think he falls flat (and when I, myself tend to not watch) is when the guest is a Hollywood type. I don't think he has the passion for those.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

YCantAngieRead said:


> He does amazing 6 minute interviews. He makes me want to buy books I would not have ever, EVER considered.
> 
> The only time I think he falls flat (and when I, myself tend to not watch) is when the guest is a Hollywood type. I don't think he has the passion for those.


When he has a topic he really likes he's fantastic. I love his one on one's with Bill O'Reilly. He's great with him because he doesn't let Bill bully him. I really think they like each other.


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

Steveknj said:


> When he has a topic he really likes he's fantastic. I love his one on one's with Bill O'Reilly. He's great with him because he doesn't let Bill bully him. I really think they like each other.


Certainly. I love debates between two people who are from opposite sides who really truly like and respect each other. And that's a great example.


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## robojerk (Jun 13, 2006)

My opinion is JS likes to make the interviews first and foremost entertaining.

Interviewing authors, especially when their book are on a really dry subject, is probably very difficult. He makes a lot of jokes and tried to steer the conversation into something the audience can pallet, while still helping the author pitch their book and let the audience know what it's about.

Most of the time when actors are on the show they're doing a press tour and are there to pitch their current movie. It's not like he's really interviewing the person per se. Some times he'll ask a personal question and they'll get sidetracked and bring up the movie at the end of the interview. It all depends on the actor.

When he interview high level politicians, sometimes he'll just let them ramble on forever. I remember when Bill Clinton was on an Bill got stuck in some tangent and JS let him go on for a few minutes.. But then again if you're even a little rude to an ex president, they might not come back and could hurt your chances of having future high level guests.

I think JS is a good interviewer for his comedy show based on political satire. Remember this isn't a real news show..


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

Stewart is a great interviewer when he likes and agrees with the interviewee. Otherwise it becomes John Stewart talking over the interviewee.


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

cheesesteak said:


> Stewart is a great interviewer when he likes and agrees with the interviewee. Otherwise it becomes John Stewart talking over the interviewee.


I'll give you that-I've seen that happen from time to time. Although I will say it's not ALWAYS that way-as said earlier, his interviews with O'Reilly are very entertaining. There are other examples that are escaping me.

But yeah-when he's both VERY passionate and he disagrees, sometimes it can be like a breaking dam.


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## spartanstew (Feb 24, 2002)

Boston Fan said:


> They aren't 6 minute interviews. As noted previously that's what's edited for TV. The full interviews are all available on the web.


I don't watch "the web", I watch my TV. I thought we were discussing the TV show.


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## Boston Fan (Feb 8, 2006)




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## logic88 (Jun 7, 2001)

cheesesteak said:


> Stewart is a great interviewer when he likes and agrees with the interviewee. Otherwise it becomes John Stewart talking over the interviewee.


Both guys are better than Colbert though. Colbert is so into his blowhard persona that he interrupts his guests constantly and doesn't let them finish their thought. Like a couple of nights ago with Peniel Joseph. Colbert was interrupting so much that Joseph had to say "Steven, let me speak for a second" to get a word in.


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## eddyj (Jun 20, 2002)

John is an interviewer in a comedy show, Colbert makes the interview be the comedy show.


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## Adam1115 (Dec 15, 2003)

I've seen him live, he's really funny.


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

I think John Oliver is doing a great job, though he should lay off trying to do impressions/accents as that's not one of his strong points.

As for Stewart's interviews, he does them very well. Usually though I have no interest in the guest so I skip the interview segment. 

I agree his one on one's with Bill O'Reilly are fun to watch. Their "Rumble in the air conditioned..." debate was both informative and fun to watch.


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

Off for two weeks


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

morac said:


> I think John Oliver is doing a great job, though he should lay off trying to do impressions/accents as that's not one of his strong points.


What's funny is I think he KNOWS they're bad, and that's why he does them. Stewart THINKS he's bad and he's not terrible.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

YCantAngieRead said:


> What's funny is I think he KNOWS they're bad, and that's why he does them. Stewart THINKS he's bad and he's not terrible.


Yes, Oliver knows his impressions are bad, but that's what makes them funny.

Also, for those that haven't been keeping up, they had Jon Stewart Skype in from Egypt either Wed. or Thu (watched them both together, don't remember which episode it was). Despite the delay and the half-duplex issues, it was a pretty funny interview.

And Jon Stewart with a beard is starting to look a lot like Billy Joel.


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## lalouque (Feb 11, 2002)

DevdogAZ said:


> And Jon Stewart with a beard is starting to look a lot like Billy Joel.


Really? I keep thinking he's looking like "The Most Interesting Man in the World" from the Dos Equis commercials.


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

Ha. That's funny.


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

Something minor is off, where John Oliver can't handle the segment ends into commercial breaks as smoothly as Jon Stewart yet, he is doing a great job with a really tough chair to take over.


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

He did a nice job last night dealing with total chaos, I thought.


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

He broke the show!!!


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

busyba said:


> He broke the show!!!


That was awesome!!!


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## CraigK (Jun 9, 2006)

The Moment of Zen was outstanding. :up:


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

I loved the pure coincidence as John was talking about how the news team on Sorkin's show isn't necessarily better than a real life news team, as a staffer crawls under the camera shot to pick up John's notes and hands them to him from off camera. Neither of them could help laughing at that.


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## getreal (Sep 29, 2003)

Gerryex said:


> ... P. S. There's a very funny BBC show called The Green Wing about the antics in a hospital and it was shown in the US a few years ago, I forget on what channel. But at least the first episode is on YouTube. In there John Oliver has a small role as a new car salesman* and that's the only other place I've seen him other than on The Daily Show!*


Oliver has had a recurring role on about a dozen episodes of "Community". I can't believe that he is just 36 years old ... I thought he was in his forties for sure!


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

Steveknj said:


> That was awesome!!!


Yep! I loved how Aaron couldn't stop laughing, "It's not like we intend to show you how to do a show..."


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

YCantAngieRead said:


> He did a nice job last night dealing with total chaos, I thought.


I loved his comment of "I did it, I broke the show"


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

I'm wondering why they couldn't use the handheld cameras on the main desk set.

Maybe they couldn't get the lights close enough.

It looks like they used a boom mic (you can see at the end) because the wireless lapel mics were also dead.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

netringer said:


> I'm wondering why they couldn't use the handheld cameras on the main desk set.
> 
> Maybe they couldn't get the lights close enough.
> 
> It looks like they used a boom mic (you can see at the end) because the wireless lapel mics were also dead.


I think it had to do with lighting as well. I wonder if they had that all planned as a contingency or they just winged it.

I love Oliver "singing" TDS theme during the Moment of Zen. Freakin' hilarious!!


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## secondclaw (Oct 3, 2004)

YCantAngieRead said:


> He did a nice job last night dealing with total chaos, I thought.


I absolutely loved his 'Jon - this is your moment of Zen', sweeping the view of the powered down studio. Also loved his apologies to Jon for breaking the Daily Show. Made me smile.


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

netringer said:


> I'm wondering why they couldn't use the handheld cameras on the main desk set.
> 
> Maybe they couldn't get the lights close enough.
> 
> It looks like they used a boom mic (you can see at the end) because the wireless lapel mics were also dead.





Steveknj said:


> I think it had to do with lighting as well. I wonder if they had that all planned as a contingency or they just winged it.


It looks like the wireless mics worked but they were way out in front of the set:

__
http://instagr.am/p/bzzf02oi7y/

One of the writers manned a camera. I bet they don't have camera staff because the cameras are fixed and controlled remotely from the control room. A union grievance is being writ as we speak.


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

netringer said:


> It looks like the wireless mics worked but they were way out in front of the set:
> 
> __
> http://instagr.am/p/bzzf02oi7y/


Look down at John Oliver's right ankle - there is a wired mic that an audio engineer is holding out on a boom pole, indicating that the body mics weren't working.


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

Moment of zen was so funny. Bravo, John.


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

LoadStar said:


> Look down at John Oliver's right ankle - there is a wired mic that an audio engineer is holding out on a boom pole, indicating that the body mics weren't working.


Yeah. I missed that. That's the mic that pops up into the shot at the end.
They really did use a field setup.

It makes sense because the wireless receiver(s) is probably mounted in the sound console in the control room.


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## madscientist (Nov 12, 2003)

John Oliver did a great interview with Helen Mirren ("Dame Helen Mirren to us!") tonight. Also, perilously close to a wardrobe malfunction with John's adult diaper there!!

I'll be happy when Jon is back, but John is doing a great job.


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## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

Ha! Loved the 'broke the show' episode!! 

I'm so glad I've hung in there. I had considered taking the summer off while JS was gone. Shame on me!

Haven't seen last night's episode yet (I'm always one day behind with this show) - sounds like another winner!


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## GoPackGo (Dec 29, 2012)

Oliver shines when he is improvising. The whole broken show bit, the closing to that show, and his interview with Dame Mirren were all terrific.


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

Darn it. Oliver proves as good as Stewart in getting me to REALLY REALLY WANT TO READ A BOOK RIGHT NOW!!!111!!

Zealot will probably be my next purchase.


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## Ereth (Jun 16, 2000)

I was thinking how different that interview would have gone with Stewart there. Olivers Christianity allowed him to treat the book differently than a non-Christian might have (I certainly would have treated it differently). Stewarts Judaism likely would have caused him to ask different questions.

But that's just a surmise.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

Ereth said:


> I was thinking how different that interview would have gone with Stewart there. Olivers Christianity allowed him to treat the book differently than a non-Christian might have (I certainly would have treated it differently). Stewarts Judaism likely would have caused him to ask different questions.
> 
> But that's just a surmise.


I thought the same thing as well. Being Jewish, I look at Jesus differently than a Christian would. I'm sure Jon would has well.


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## whitson77 (Nov 10, 2002)

Ereth said:


> I was thinking how different that interview would have gone with Stewart there. Olivers Christianity allowed him to treat the book differently than a non-Christian might have (I certainly would have treated it differently). Stewarts Judaism likely would have caused him to ask different questions.
> 
> But that's just a surmise.


John Oliver is a Christian?


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

Well, he's not Jewish.

I think he did a good job. I think Stewart would have done a good job. It's interesting to think about.


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## Ereth (Jun 16, 2000)

whitson77 said:


> John Oliver is a Christian?


Given how giddy he was and how much he talked about his feelings about Christ, I would assume so.

Is this some sort of trick question, where people claim that the Church of England isn't a Christian church or something? Am I missing a joke or reference?


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## Ereth (Jun 16, 2000)

YCantAngieRead said:


> Well, he's not Jewish.
> 
> I think he did a good job. I think Stewart would have done a good job. It's interesting to think about.


Oh, I agree. I wasn't trying to say anything negative about either guy, I was just thinking out loud how different it might have been with Jon, but only because of his Judaism and thus a different perspective than John Oliver has. Not that either would have been necessarily better or worse than the other, simply different.


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

Ereth said:


> Oh, I agree. I wasn't trying to say anything negative about either guy, I was just thinking out loud how different it might have been with Jon, but only because of his Judaism and thus a different perspective than John Oliver has. Not that either would have been necessarily better or worse than the other, simply different.


Oh sure. I get that. It was interesting to think about once you mentioned it.


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

I'm getting a little tired of the nightly opening segment disclaimers about why Jon Stewart isn't there. I get it. He's off doing a movie. He'll be back.


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## Adam1115 (Dec 15, 2003)

Ereth said:


> Given how giddy he was and how much he talked about his feelings about Christ, I would assume so.
> 
> Is this some sort of trick question, where people claim that the Church of England isn't a Christian church or something? Am I missing a joke or reference?


I've seen him live. If he is, he isn't very religious.


----------



## eddyj (Jun 20, 2002)

cheesesteak said:


> I'm getting a little tired of the nightly opening segment disclaimers about why Jon Stewart isn't there. I get it. He's off doing a movie. He'll be back.


I still think it is funny to see what other outrageous things they come up with. It's 10 seconds of the show.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

eddyj said:


> I still think it is funny to see what other outrageous things they come up with. It's 10 seconds of the show.


I like it too. It's a running gag.


----------



## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

I like it too. It seems to me the right way to go for this show. At least he's not just saying the same thing and it's a new gag each time.

Not to take ANYTHING away from Stewart, but I'm surprised at how much I'm liking Oliver hosting. I didn't not like him before but I was just mostly 'meh' about him. As a host he really shines. Of course I miss Stewart, but he could not have done better for a sub. I think it was a great choice, rather than having different guest hosts all the time.


----------



## Gerryex (Apr 24, 2004)

sharkster said:


> I like it too. It seems to me the right way to go for this show. At least he's not just saying the same thing and it's a new gag each time.


I agree 100%!!!



sharkster said:


> Not to take ANYTHING away from Stewart, but I'm surprised at how much I'm liking Oliver hosting. I didn't not like him before but I was just mostly 'meh' about him. As a host he really shines. Of course I miss Stewart, but he could not have done better for a sub. I think it was a great choice, rather than having different guest hosts all the time.


I always liked John Oliver and he is doing a fine job as the host!

Gerry


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

I love the running gag at the top of each show, and that the art department has gotten into it and is photoshopping Jon's face onto funny pictures. They'll continue this until September when JS is back, so if you don't like it, no point in complaining about it.


----------



## Ereth (Jun 16, 2000)

Adam1115 said:


> I've seen him live. If he is, he isn't very religious.


I know quite a few christians who aren't particularly religious. But that doesn't alter that their perspective on the story of Christ would be different from someone who was never a Christian.


----------



## logic88 (Jun 7, 2001)

sharkster said:


> Not to take ANYTHING away from Stewart, but I'm surprised at how much I'm liking Oliver hosting. I didn't not like him before but I was just mostly 'meh' about him. As a host he really shines. Of course I miss Stewart, but he could not have done better for a sub. I think it was a great choice, rather than having different guest hosts all the time.


I like Oliver just fine but then again, I like most of the crew that they have now (I'm *sooooo* glad they got rid of Oliva Munn) so I probably would have liked whoever got picked. Especially since the writing staff is intact.

Actually, now that I think about it, it would have been better to give each of the crew a week at the helm. It would been nice to see Sam Bee & Jessica Williams at the desk. Besides Chelsea Handler, are there any other female hosts?


----------



## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

Ereth said:


> I know quite a few christians who aren't particularly religious. But that doesn't alter that their perspective on the story of Christ would be different from someone who was never a Christian.


<-------------


----------



## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

logic88 said:


> I like Oliver just fine but then again, I like most of the crew that they have now (I'm *sooooo* glad they got rid of Oliva Munn) so I probably would have liked whoever got picked. Especially since the writing staff is intact.
> 
> Actually, now that I think about it, it would have been better to give each of the crew a week at the helm. It would been nice to see Sam Bee & Jessica Williams at the desk. Besides Chelsea Handler, are there any other female hosts?


I like it better they gave it to Oliver the whole summer. I think there's more continuity that way, and I'm not sure that the others could do it. I think Sam Bee could. Not sure about the others. Although a week with Lewis Black as host might have been interesting!


----------



## GoPackGo (Dec 29, 2012)

Steveknj said:


> Although a week with Lewis Black as host might have been interesting!


Cardiac arrest before the first Thursday show.


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## eddyj (Jun 20, 2002)

I can take Lewis Black in small doses. But as the host? I think I'd hate it.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

What was the reference for the pic of JS they showed at the beginning of Monday's episode?


----------



## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

eddyj said:


> I can take Lewis Black in small doses. But as the host? I think I'd hate it.


I liked his "Root of all Evil" show.


----------



## jeetkunedo (Jul 24, 2006)

DevdogAZ said:


> What was the reference for the pic of JS they showed at the beginning of Monday's episode?


It was a pic of 70 year old Geraldo Rivera that he tweeted of himself (with Jon's head superimposed).


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## zalusky (Apr 5, 2002)

eddyj said:


> I can take Lewis Black in small doses. But as the host? I think I'd hate it.


I would agree with that although I really enjoyed his F*K Texas bit the other night.


----------



## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

zalusky said:


> I would agree with that although I really enjoyed his F*K Texas bit the other night.


That was good!

As much as I REALLY like LB, I'd probably have to agree that he's best in smaller doses.


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## eddyj (Jun 20, 2002)

zalusky said:


> I would agree with that although I really enjoyed his F*K Texas bit the other night.


I did too. But a whole show like that? Too much.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

jeetkunedo said:


> It was a pic of 70 year old Geraldo Rivera that he tweeted of himself (with Jon's head superimposed).


Ah, is that why I saw people referring to Geraldo on Twitter a few days ago?


----------



## Adam1115 (Dec 15, 2003)

Ereth said:


> I know quite a few christians who aren't particularly religious. But that doesn't alter that their perspective on the story of Christ would be different from someone who was never a Christian.


I didn't make my point very clear.

WHY do you think he is a christian? There is NO evidence of that. It's totally an assumption.


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

Adam1115 said:


> I didn't make my point very clear.
> 
> WHY do you think he is a christian? There is NO evidence of that. It's totally an assumption.


Isn't "christian" the default setting for humans?

For any given person, absent any evidence to the contrary, they're a christian.


----------



## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

eddyj said:


> I did too. But a whole show like that? Too much.


I've seen his act on HBO where he does an hour of stand up and he's hysterical. So watching him do 20 minutes a day, where some of it is not him anyway, I'm ok with that. I would bet he's a terrible interviewer though.


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## Jonathan_S (Oct 23, 2001)

Adam1115 said:


> I didn't make my point very clear.
> 
> WHY do you think he is a christian? There is NO evidence of that. It's totally an assumption.


I thought he mentioned learning the bible as a kid in that interview.

In any case based only on what John Oliver said in that guest interview I was _personally_ left with the impression he'd been raised Christian. <shrug>


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## Adam1115 (Dec 15, 2003)

Jonathan_S said:


> I thought he mentioned learning the bible as a kid in that interview.
> 
> In any case based only on what John Oliver said in that guest interview I was _personally_ left with the impression he'd been raised Christian. <shrug>




Uh ok. Even 'raised a christian' isn't a christian, but tons of people study the bible.


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## robojerk (Jun 13, 2006)

busyba said:


> Isn't "christian" the default setting for humans?
> 
> For any given person, absent any evidence to the contrary, they're a christian.


I think Christianity is arguably #1, however it wouldn't surprise me if Islam is actually the most preferred religion in the world..

Then there's the argument over what is being christian.. I tried to setup a christian friend with a catholic girl, and he told me no thanks but he's looking for a christian... To me (agnostic) they both worship the same zombie figure.


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## madscientist (Nov 12, 2003)

zalusky said:


> I would agree with that although I really enjoyed his F*K Texas bit the other night.


Me too. My wife said she actually got a bit choked up watching it! And we don't even live in NY.


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## Ereth (Jun 16, 2000)

Adam1115 said:


> Uh ok. Even 'raised a christian' isn't a christian, but tons of people study the bible.


I think you have a different definition than I do and you are trying to be clever or something. I don't get what you are trying to say. If you have some point you are trying to make, please make it, and quit trying to get there obliquely.

His Biography notes he graduated from Christs College, Cambridge, which I would presume has some religious overtones, wouldn't you?

It's not "an assumption" out of whole cloth (with no evidence) as you try to imply, it's what came across in his conversation about this book about Jesus Christ.

He does say "I've not had much of a relationship with Christ, except for.." and goes on to talk about the story of the Crucifixion which had real meaning for him.

Now, you may be trying to say he's not particularly devout or something, I don't know, because you insist on being cryptic, but if you are trying to say he has nothing at all like Christianity in his background, then I think you are sadly mistaken.

Watch the interview. He accepts every word. A non-Christian would have challenged some of the parts of the story that Reza Azlan was offering. For instance, there's actually no historical evidence that Jesus existed at all. None. The entire premise of the book, to discuss what the life of Jesus must've been like, is flawed in that there is no evidence that any such person ever existed. But a Christian doesn't believe that, they believe everything. Just as Jon Oliver did in the interview. Even when Azlan points out (correctly) that the Gospels were written long after the fact (by people who were not even there), at no point does Jon even notice that means we are talking about hearsay handed down by generations and we couldn't possibly know what Jesus actually said.

He may be a lapsed Christian, or a poor Christian, but there's no doubt in my mind that he's a Christian. The interview screams "Christian", or at least Christian-raised and accepting of the basics of the story, which I see from this post you believe means something else, but I don't know what point you are trying to make there.

Had any non-Christian conducted that interview it would have been dramatically different. Why are you so dead-set convinced that he couldn't possibly be a Christian?


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## logic88 (Jun 7, 2001)

robojerk said:


> I think Christianity is arguably #1, however it wouldn't surprise me if Islam is actually the most preferred religion in the world..


Christianity is still #1 worldwide (~33%-21%) by a comfortable margin over Islam though I believe Islam is slowly closing the gap.

For the US, it's obviously a much, much bigger (~75%-~1%) difference.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

logic88 said:


> Christianity is still #1 worldwide (~33%-21%) by a comfortable margin over Islam though I believe Islam is slowly closing the gap.
> 
> For the US, it's obviously a much, much bigger (~75%-~1%) difference.


What about Hindu and Buddhism? With nearly half the world's population living in China and India, I'm not sure I'd agree that Christianity is #1 worldwide.


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

DevdogAZ said:


> What about Hindu and Buddhism? With nearly half the world's population living in China and India, I'm not sure I'd agree that Christianity is #1 worldwide.


But if you're white and British, it's a decent enough of a guess...


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

robojerk said:


> I think Christianity is arguably #1, however it wouldn't surprise me if Islam is actually the most preferred religion in the world..
> 
> Then there's the argument over what is being christian.. I tried to setup a *christian friend with a catholic girl, and he told me no thanks but he's looking for a christian..*. To me (agnostic) they both worship the same zombie figure.


Isn't a Catholic a Christian? Isn't an Eastern Orthodox person ALSO a Christian? Christian does not equal Protestant only, I'm pretty sure.


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

DevdogAZ said:


> What about Hindu and Buddhism? With nearly half the world's population living in China and India, I'm not sure I'd agree that Christianity is #1 worldwide.


According to the link, Hindu is 13%, and Buddhists 6%.

And I'm as surprised by those numbers as you are.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

busyba said:


> According to the link, Hindu is 13%, and Buddhists 6%.
> 
> And I'm as surprised by those numbers as you are.


Considering China is a Communist country that discourages religion, maybe Chinese aren't considered Bhuddists?

As for Hindu, while there are a lot of Hindus, I don't think it compares to Christianity when you consider the vast majority of people in Europe, N. America, S. America and a good part of Africa are Christians. Even though India has a LOT of Hindus, around the world, it's not nearly as big.


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## eddyj (Jun 20, 2002)

Steveknj said:


> Isn't a Catholic a Christian? Isn't an Eastern Orthodox person ALSO a Christian? Christian does not equal Protestant only, I'm pretty sure.


Some people have argued right on this board that Catholics are not Christians. Even within Christianity, you can find the "I am right and you are an ignorant heathen" attitude.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

eddyj said:


> Some people have argued right on this board that Catholics are not Christians. Even within Christianity, you can find the "I am right and you are an ignorant heathen" attitude.


 I equate Christian = believe in Christ. I guess it's the same in all religions. Usually the religious fringes are the ones who go there. I am sure Shia and Sunni don't believe that the others are true Muslims, and I know that certain Orthodox Jewish sects would never consider me Jewish.


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

Steveknj said:


> Considering China is a Communist country that discourages religion, maybe Chinese aren't considered Bhuddists?
> 
> As for Hindu, while there are a lot of Hindus, I don't think it compares to Christianity when you consider the vast majority of people in Europe, N. America, S. America and a good part of Africa are Christians. Even though India has a LOT of Hindus, around the world, it's not nearly as big.


China doesn't really discourage religion (anymore), but they don't promote it like is done in the U.S. and other countries. China does have Bhuddist temples (more spiritual than religious), Churches and even Synagogues, it's just that most Chinese aren't anything. Because of the culture there, there's no stigma against being non-religious.

India was formerly part of the British empire so there are actually a large number of Christians there.


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

Steveknj said:


> I equate Christian = believe in Christ. I guess it's the same in all religions. Usually the religious fringes are the ones who go there. I am sure Shia and Sunni don't believe that the others are true Muslims, and I know that certain Orthodox Jewish sects would never consider me Jewish.


I'm just joking here, but that makes Moslems into Christians (since Moslems believe in Christ!). I know what you mean, though. I was raised in a Catholic school and I can assure you they were Christians 

The difference between Shia and Sunni is not religious (the Koran is the Koran. there are no arguments there). The difference stemmed from an argument about who should take over once Mohamed died. So it was more a political divide about who should lead (or had led) Moslems.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

Ereth said:


> Watch the interview. He accepts every word. A non-Christian would have challenged some of the parts of the story that Reza Azlan was offering. For instance, there's actually no historical evidence that Jesus existed at all. None.


That's what I thought, but he mentioned (IIRC) "Roman records" or "Roman documents", something like that. I haven't yet done more research (yeah, googling and such!) to figure out if that's BS or not.


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## Hunter Green (Feb 22, 2002)

Is this a Big Bang Theory thread?


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## zalusky (Apr 5, 2002)

John sure gave it to the Wiener last night or should I say he HANDED it to the wiener!


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## Adam1115 (Dec 15, 2003)

Ereth said:


> I think you have a different definition than I do and you are trying to be clever or something. I don't get what you are trying to say. If you have some point you are trying to make, please make it, and quit trying to get there obliquely..


Being a Christian has nothing to do with what school you attended or how you were raised. Plenty of athirst were raised Christians. Irrelevant. If you accept Jesus as your lord and savior, you're a Christian. If you don't, you aren't. As you pointed out, he said he doesn't have a relationship with Jesus., that would mean he isn't. No doubt he seems to be educated on Christianity, and doesn't seem to have the hostility towards Christianity that you seem to think all non-Christians have. That means nothing.

He might be a Christian, he might not be. I have no idea, I tend to guess that he isn't one, but I wouldn't just assume that he is because he went to a certain school....


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## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

Hunter Green said:


> Is this a Big Bang Theory thread?


LMAO - I was just thinking that. This one definitely took a turn. I'm non-religious, so I'll just back out now.


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## getreal (Sep 29, 2003)

Where is The Daily Show thread?


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## Ereth (Jun 16, 2000)

Adam1115 said:


> Being a Christian has nothing to do with what school you attended or how you were raised. Plenty of athirst were raised Christians. Irrelevant. If you accept Jesus as your lord and savior, you're a Christian. If you don't, you aren't. As you pointed out, he said he doesn't have a relationship with Jesus., that would mean he isn't. No doubt he seems to be educated on Christianity, and doesn't seem to have the hostility towards Christianity that you seem to think all non-Christians have. That means nothing.
> 
> He might be a Christian, he might not be. I have no idea, I tend to guess that he isn't one, but I wouldn't just assume that he is because he went to a certain school....


Non-Christians don't tend to go to leading Christian schools. Having Christianity forced down your throat is annoying to non-Christians.

He said he didn't have "much" of a relationship with Jesus Christ. I have no relationship with Jesus Christ. No more than I have with Captain Crunch, anyway.

I'm going to guess that you ARE a Christian. You really see this as an important point. To most people, it was clear he was Christian or Christian-leaning just from the way he acted in his conversation. Not even worth a conversation over, really, he just came across as a Christian. Certainly not an athiest, or a jew or a hindu or muslim or buddhist. But to you, it's important enough to split hairs over, while almost nobody else cares.

If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck. John acted like a Christian in that interview

Which led to my mild musing about how different an interview with a man who wrote a book about what he thinks the life of Jesus the man might have been, would be with someone who did not have the same background, and who had been forced to live in the shadow of Christians their entire life. I still think that's an interesting thought. I note that you haven't commented on it at all, only interested in attacking whether Oliver is Christian or not. You have some personal issue here that I don't understand. Even if Oliver isn't a Christian by your standards, he gave the interview like a Christian, which is the only thing that really matters in this context.


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## NorthAlabama (Apr 19, 2012)

getreal said:


> Where is The Daily Show thread?


i was wondering the same.


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## Ereth (Jun 16, 2000)

I thought last nights episode was one of the best ever, excluding the interview. The interviewee was like a dead fish and Jon basically had to do both sides of the interview. He kept trying to draw him out, but it was painful.


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## rorrim (Jun 21, 2005)

Ereth said:


> I thought last nights episode was one of the best ever, excluding the interview. The interviewee was like a dead fish and Jon basically had to do both sides of the interview. He kept trying to draw him out, but it was painful.


Yeah, the show was great. But Bob Bradley did as well as an interviewee as he did as the coach of the US Men's soccer team. That means, for those of you who do not follow soccer, not so well.


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## mrizzo80 (Apr 17, 2012)

Big Jon Stewart fan, but John Oliver has done an outstanding job. The show has more energy to it and the pace seems a bit quicker too.

I think he has proved he can host his own show in the future (if Comedy Central can find a good concept/spot for him). Yes, I realize he is benefiting from TDS talented writers.

Does anyone know if any of the correspondents also double as show writers? Or are they fully dedicated to just their own segments?


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

mrizzo80 said:


> I think he has proved he can host his own show in the future (if Comedy Central can find a good concept/spot for him).


They can call it _Oliver's Twist_


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## secondclaw (Oct 3, 2004)

I believe Brian Williams, who was on TDS one of the last episodes before Jon left, asked him about this 'Oliver Twist' guy coming in to replace him.


busyba said:


> They can call it _Oliver's Twist_


I do agree that John is doing a fantastic job. He was lucky having the British monarchy in the news at the time - as his unique perspective was quiet different from what Jon would have presented (and I bet JO would have been the senior royalty correspondent in a green-screen of London at the time).

He does seem a bit less restrained, with more 'colorful' delivery (ahh ... Weiner ), and even laughs at his own jokes, but I like that about him, and what the show has become. I think I'll miss him. as much as I like Jon.


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## capriz (Aug 4, 2003)

I've been liking John Oliver's hosting quite a lot. For those that may not know - John co-hosts a weekly podcast called The Bugle that is consistently hilarious.


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## trainman (Jan 29, 2001)

mrizzo80 said:


> Does anyone know if any of the correspondents also double as show writers? Or are they fully dedicated to just their own segments?


Yes, the correspondents also write general stuff for the show.


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## waynomo (Nov 9, 2002)

mrizzo80 said:


> Big Jon Stewart fan, but John Oliver has done an outstanding job.


:up:

I've been watching the show a lot more since JO has been hosting.


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## Ereth (Jun 16, 2000)

I had thought that Jon Stewart had mentioned that John Oliver was the head writer for the Daily Show to begin with, back when Brian Williams was on and complaining that Stewart couldn't leave.

I may be misremembering, I suppose.


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## trainman (Jan 29, 2001)

Ereth said:


> I had thought that Jon Stewart had mentioned that John Oliver was the head writer for the Daily Show to begin with, back when Brian Williams was on and complaining that Stewart couldn't leave.
> 
> I may be misremembering, I suppose.


The head writer is Tim Carvell.


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## logic88 (Jun 7, 2001)

Yesterday's interview with Gillebrand was interesting. His initial question about Gillebrand's ties to Wall Street was a zinger but it's a shame that he let her off the hook by not following up.

(Or maybe he did in the extended segment but I didn't "go to the web".)


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## Ereth (Jun 16, 2000)

She did the politician dance around that question very nicely, didn't she?

It's a comedy show, but it was a tiny bit sad that we didn't go farther there.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

I haven't watched last night's episode yet, but I always find it interesting that some of the interviews spill over to the web and some don't. Do you think the guests who don't spill over are offended that their discussion was not deemed worthy enough to continue?


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## secondclaw (Oct 3, 2004)

This may be the difference between Jon and John ... JS may have pushed this topic a bit more.



Ereth said:


> She did the politician dance around that question very nicely, didn't she?
> 
> It's a comedy show, but it was a tiny bit sad that we didn't go farther there.


----------



## madscientist (Nov 12, 2003)

It seems like most of the actors / comedians / celebs don't go to the web, and most of the politicians / authors do go to the web.


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## ElJay (Apr 6, 2005)

Actors and celebs don't usually have much to talk about other than "go see my latest movie that I am currently contractually obligated to promote."


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

secondclaw said:


> This may be the difference between Jon and John ... JS may have pushed this topic a bit more.


I was thinking the same thing. She did the political dance around the question and he really let her go.

One of our local sports guys on the radio here once made a point about asking tough questions. He said sometimes you can't push too hard because you want people to come on the show. If you get a reputation of always asking questions the interviewee doesn't want to answer, you'll never get guests. And he was right. For about a year, he couldn't get any guests on from the Jets because he called them out about something (of course it didn't help that the other sports station is the Jets flagship...but they still used to get guests on his show). So it's a fine line. I think Oliver was probably fine not pushing it, simply because his show is a comedy show and not Bill O'Reilly or Chris Matthews.


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## logic88 (Jun 7, 2001)

Steveknj said:


> I was thinking the same thing. She did the political dance around the question and he really let her go.
> 
> One of our local sports guys on the radio here once made a point about asking tough questions. He said sometimes you can't push too hard because you want people to come on the show. If you get a reputation of always asking questions the interviewee doesn't want to answer, you'll never get guests. And he was right. For about a year, he couldn't get any guests on from the Jets because he called them out about something (of course it didn't help that the other sports station is the Jets flagship...but they still used to get guests on his show). So it's a fine line. I think Oliver was probably fine not pushing it, simply because his show is a comedy show and not Bill O'Reilly or Chris Matthews.


That's true. Kinda like how Nancy Pelosi told house members to not go on Colbert's show for awhile.

Also, since Oliver is just keeping the seat warm for Stewart instead of being on his own show, I'm guessing he doesn't feel that he has the latitude to bring the hammer down on guests.


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## secondclaw (Oct 3, 2004)

Yea its a balancing act, and I guess he has no incentive to rock the boat. In a way disappointing, but its a fact of life, and completely understandable.



logic88 said:


> That's true. Kinda like how Nancy Pelosi told house members to not go on Colbert's show for awhile.
> 
> Also, since Oliver is just keeping the seat warm for Stewart instead of being on his own show, I'm guessing he doesn't feel that he has the latitude to bring the hammer down on guests.


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## logic88 (Jun 7, 2001)

I thought Oliver did a very poor job with the RAnd Paul interview tonight. He just served up a bunch of softballs to Paul and didn't debate any of the talking points that Paul brought up.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

logic88 said:


> I thought Oliver did a very poor job with the RAnd Paul interview tonight. He just served up a bunch of softballs to Paul and didn't debate any of the talking points that Paul brought up.


He did talk about how he felt that the Health is one place that he felt the government should be involved in, and that if he got sick he'd fly back to the UK because they would take care of him. So there's that. Otherwise, he didn't push back.


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

The Act Of Killing looks like one of those documentaries I'd love to watch but I'm not sure I could survive it.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

I thought Oliver and Regis were fun together last night. Regis tried to act as if he knew about Oliver, but it seemed pretty obvious he didn't. But they played off each other well. And dayim....Reigs looks great for 82 years old!! I doubt I'll watch his show though.


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## NorthAlabama (Apr 19, 2012)

logic88 said:


> I thought Oliver did a very poor job with the RAnd Paul interview tonight. He just served up a bunch of softballs to Paul and didn't debate any of the talking points that Paul brought up.


the interview has been john's weakest segment while subbing for stewart, but he's done a great job overall. jon should have no problem transitioning right back into the show, just like he never left.


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## pdhenry (Feb 28, 2005)

I was always wondering how John would handle the political interviews. It seemed like the first week or two had very few such guests - mostly stars and authors. The political guests came later after he was a bit more comfortable. But I, at least, wasn't expecting Jon Stewart's standard. He's done well enough.


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## murgatroyd (Jan 6, 2002)

logic88 said:


> Yesterday's interview with Gillebrand was interesting. His initial question about Gillebrand's ties to Wall Street was a zinger but it's a shame that he let her off the hook by not following up.
> 
> (Or maybe he did in the extended segment but I didn't "go to the web".)





Ereth said:


> She did the politician dance around that question very nicely, didn't she?
> 
> It's a comedy show, but it was a tiny bit sad that we didn't go farther there.





NorthAlabama said:


> the interview has been john's weakest segment while subbing for stewart, but he's done a great job overall. jon should have no problem transitioning right back into the show, just like he never left.


Oliver was on Charlie Rose this week -- the episode should be available for viewing online:

http://www.charlierose.com/schedule

One of the things they talked about a lot was the interview segments.

Oliver was on for the full hour. Highly recommended. It was fascinating to get the peek behind the scenes. (Disclaimer: I don't watch The Daily Show, but it was still interesting to hear what it was like to have someone guest-hosting someone else's show.)


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

So if Oliver is having his last week hosting, when is Stewart back?


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## NorthAlabama (Apr 19, 2012)

YCantAngieRead said:


> So if Oliver is having his last week hosting, when is Stewart back?


the hollywood reporter says september 3rd:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/john-oliver-wraps-up-daily-607290​


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

They are taking a break for the remainder of the summer.


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## DeDondeEs (Feb 20, 2004)

Steveknj said:


> They are taking a break for the remainder of the summer.


Man, must be nice.


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## zalusky (Apr 5, 2002)

DeDondeEs said:


> Man, must be nice.


Given all the research they do especially for the contradictory history. I am sure they appreciate some time off.

They probably work just as much as the 5 day a week people.


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## waynomo (Nov 9, 2002)

DeDondeEs said:


> Man, must be nice.


That would be a break from broadcasting. I'm sure they are still working.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

I think they take a few weeks off every summer. It is USUALLY the slowest time for news and ratings, and well, don't a lot of us take our vacations in the summer?

I have to say, I'm looking forward to JS coming back, but I think I'll miss JO subbing too. I fully expected to bail on the show after awhile until JS comes back, but JO did a great job.

It fun having current and former cast come in and give JO a "sendoff" last night. Really funny.


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## lambertman (Dec 21, 2002)

I'd be surprised if part of the time off wasn't put to use in producing field pieces.


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## NorthAlabama (Apr 19, 2012)

i hope they turn off all the lights and equipment, and go far away for two weeks. they deserve it!


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## waynomo (Nov 9, 2002)

NorthAlabama said:


> i hope they turn off all the lights and equipment, and go far away for two weeks. they deserve it!


So you want to force them all to take two weeks of their precious vacation time now and not when they want it?

Nazi! 

I figure since this thread was winding down with JS's return someone needed to keep this thread in line with Godwin's law.


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## Ereth (Jun 16, 2000)

So, Piers Morgan called John Oliver out on the $10k reward for the video of him falling off a Segway and was rather pissy about it, saying that if he hadn't received it by the end of the business day he'd make sure Jon Stewart "takes it out of your measly salary". I'm rather surprised Oliver didn't respond to that last night.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

Ereth said:


> So, Piers Morgan called John Oliver out on the $10k reward for the video of him falling off a Segway and was rather pissy about it, saying that if he hadn't received it by the end of the business day he'd make sure Jon Stewart "takes it out of your measly salary". I'm rather surprised Oliver didn't respond to that last night.


All I want to say to Piers Morgan is "Lighten up Francis!!"


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## eddyj (Jun 20, 2002)

When he fell, did they call the whaaaaaaambulance?


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

If you watch the Piers Morgan clip itself, rather than just read the transcript, I think it becomes clear that Piers is being tongue in cheek about it. His appears to be a very dry British wit that doesn't always translate well, especially in written form. That was the vibe that I got, anyway. 

And I also had first read what he had said in an article and thought that he was being a huge dick, but when I then saw the video, I came to view it differently.


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

That isn't to say that there wasn't probably a tinge of ill-will underlying the whole piece, but I don't think he was being serious overall.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

Ereth said:


> So, Piers Morgan called John Oliver out on the $10k reward for the video of him falling off a Segway and was rather pissy about it, saying that if he hadn't received it by the end of the business day he'd make sure Jon Stewart "takes it out of your measly salary". I'm rather surprised Oliver didn't respond to that last night.


So Piers did produce a video of him falling off the Segway? Where is it? I'm sure given the circumstances, TDS would gladly pay the $10k to Morgan to be able to pay off that joke on the air.


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

DevdogAZ said:


> So Piers did produce a video of him falling off the Segway? Where is it? I'm sure given the circumstances, TDS would gladly pay the $10k to Morgan to be able to pay off that joke on the air.


Yes. It had gone up on youtube long before John Oliver talked about it.

(skip to about 40 seconds in)


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

Here's Piers' response to John Oliver:


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## NorthAlabama (Apr 19, 2012)

whew, good thing john oliver works on a comedy show, someone might expect him to pay up!  piers morgan can be such an a$$ at times, i miss larry king.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

Lame video. How do we even know that was Piers who fell? All we see is someone falling in the distance and we never see that person's face either before or after. Why didn't the person filming then rush up to the person who fell?


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## Ereth (Jun 16, 2000)

busyba said:


> If you watch the Piers Morgan clip itself, rather than just read the transcript, I think it becomes clear that Piers is being tongue in cheek about it. His appears to be a very dry British wit that doesn't always translate well, especially in written form. That was the vibe that I got, anyway.
> 
> And I also had first read what he had said in an article and thought that he was being a huge dick, but when I then saw the video, I came to view it differently.


I haven't seen the transcript, only the video, and he seems very upset, especially as he goes on to list his injuries and then mention the "measly little salary" Oliver makes. It doesn't seem tongue-in-cheek to me at all. Obviously it's always possible I misread it, of course, but it sure seemed like he was a bit annoyed about the whole thing.


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

The subtext is annoyance, certainly, but I don't think he genuinely believes that he is entitled to or expects to be given $10,000.


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## waynomo (Nov 9, 2002)

Steveknj said:


> I think they take a few weeks off every summer.


And other times throughout the year also.


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## Rainy Dave (Nov 11, 2001)

Piers Morgan is a tool.


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## Hunter Green (Feb 22, 2002)

I think it's clear he's playing a joke to a joke, and he's just not any good at it.


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

I can't stand Piers. He's ruined that show.

Well, no, old whatsisname killed the show.


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## Boston Fan (Feb 8, 2006)

YCantAngieRead said:


> I can't stand Piers. He's ruined that show.
> 
> Well, no, old whatsisname killed the show.


Piers actually makes me miss ol' whatsisname.


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## Inundated (Sep 10, 2003)

Boston Fan said:


> Piers actually makes me miss ol' whatsisname.


Eastern PA, HELLO!!!!


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## Boston Fan (Feb 8, 2006)

Inundated said:


> Eastern PA, HELLO!!!!


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

Surprisingly, I'm having just the tiniest bit of trouble transitioning back. It has less to do with Stewart than the subject matter (Syria.)

All the ludicrous stuff happened this summer. I would have given anything to see JS cover the Carlos Danger story.


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## whitson77 (Nov 10, 2002)

Same here. I miss John Oliver though.

For some reason, I am having a hard time getting back in the swing of things with JS as well.


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## fmowry (Apr 30, 2002)

I love John Olive dancing whenever he says Carlos Danger.


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## pkscout (Jan 11, 2003)

YCantAngieRead said:


> Surprisingly, I'm having just the tiniest bit of trouble transitioning back. It has less to do with Stewart than the subject matter (Syria.)
> 
> All the ludicrous stuff happened this summer. I would have given anything to see JS cover the Carlos Danger story.


Oh good. I'm not the only one. The subject material definitely didn't help John Stewart's transition back into the show. Once John Oliver hit his groove, he was (is) really fun to watch.


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## madscientist (Nov 12, 2003)

Loved Oliver's Brit redrawing the middle east. Good stuff!

I'll just say, I'm happy to have Jon back though. I thought the into on Tuesday, trying to get Jon back in shape, was way funny. They had a great time with his beard!


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

madscientist said:


> Loved Oliver's Brit redrawing the middle east. Good stuff!
> 
> I'll just say, I'm happy to have Jon back though. I thought the into on Tuesday, trying to get Jon back in shape, was way funny. They had a great time with his beard!


Agreed. All the different phases of shaving that he did were hilarious, and they didn't really even highlight it. You had to be paying attention to see all the different versions. The only one that was obvious was the Hitler one.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

It's nice to know that if JS takes a break, that JO is there to take over. JO was one of the pleasant surprises this summer. To me it felt a little weird that first night with JS back, but I'm already back in JS mode. I'd be surprised if someone doesn't talk to JO about his own show at some point.


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## waynomo (Nov 9, 2002)

DevdogAZ said:


> Agreed. All the different phases of shaving that he did were hilarious, and they didn't really even highlight it. You had to be paying attention to see all the different versions. The only one that was obvious was the Hitler one.


Yes, choreographed well. Someone spent some time figuring out what different shaves and characters you could do and in what order.


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## waynomo (Nov 9, 2002)

Steveknj said:


> It's nice to know that if JS takes a break, that JO is there to take over. JO was one of the pleasant surprises this summer. To me it felt a little weird that first night with JS back, but I'm already back in JS mode. I'd be surprised if someone doesn't talk to JO about his own show at some point.


Well he has his own comedy show, but overall I thought that was pretty bad. I stopped watching it a couple weeks ago. Of course that is more the talent they have on then then JO himself.

I suspect he won't be around long enough to take over for JS again. I hope I'm wrong.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

waynomo said:


> Well he has his own comedy show, but overall I thought that was pretty bad. I stopped watching it a couple weeks ago. Of course that is more the talent they have on then then JO himself.
> 
> I suspect he won't be around long enough to take over for JS again. I hope I'm wrong.


Well I mean more of a talk show type of thing than hosting a stand up show. I figure someone like FXX or, why not someone like NBCSN who just got the English soccer deal? I don't know if he's a soccer guy (I am guess in he is), but they could do some tie in stuff.


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## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

Last night's episode had Michael C Hall (love him!) as the guest, so if anybody didn't catch last night's Daily Show, you might want to look for this one. They re-air each episode a few times.


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

Yeah, he seemed more on last night. 

I think Syria is bumming everyone out.


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## waynomo (Nov 9, 2002)

It always took Johnny Carson a few shows to get his timing back after being away for a few weeks.


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## vertigo235 (Oct 27, 2000)

Yeah and JS was gone for quite a while.


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

I felt like he was getting back in to it with the lighter stuff Thursday.

I mean, seriously, this whole Syria thing just sucks and with kids dying, it's hard to find an amusing take on any of it.


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

Odd timing that the picture for The Daily Show on the TiVo switched to a picture of John Oliver right as Stewart came back.


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## Maui (Apr 22, 2000)

morac said:


> Odd timing that the picture for The Daily Show on the TiVo switched to a picture of John Oliver right as Stewart came back.


I noticed that also.


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## Ereth (Jun 16, 2000)

It's had Olivers picture for some time on my Dish Hopper. I wonder how long before it goes back to Jon Stewart.


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## mrizzo80 (Apr 17, 2012)

Adios John Oliver. Sucks.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/14/john-oliver-leaving-the-daily-show_n_4276714.html


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

Congrats to John. Hopefully he'll be just as funny on his new HBO show as he was on TDS this summer. It will really all depend on the writers.


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## Inundated (Sep 10, 2003)

Good for him...he deserves it! 

Bad for me, as we don't get HBO...


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## Boston Fan (Feb 8, 2006)

I think it's great. This means we get to see both Stewart and Oliver hosting their own shows. Good for him - he was given an opportunity and knocked it out of the park.


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## zalusky (Apr 5, 2002)

It will be interesting to see him in action without the shackles of censorship of regular cable.


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

His show should be great and thaks to that link, I now know who won Brazil's 2013 Miss Bum Bum contest. Daaaay-um!


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

Boston Fan said:


> I think it's great. This means we get to see both Stewart and Oliver hosting their own shows. Good for him - he was given an opportunity and knocked it out of the park.


This. He did such a great job this past summer, I figured it was inevitable. I'm glad it's HBO since he can pretty much do anything he wants. I'll definitely be watching.

Sad to see him leave TDS, but I noticed he hasn't been on all that much.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

zalusky said:


> It will be interesting to see him in action without the shackles of censorship of regular cable.


TDS is interesting in that it really isn't censored in that they are still allowed to say what they want, cursing and all, they just bleep out the curse words. It's still REALLY obvious what they are saying though. Last night they had a story about the Toronto mayor who said something using a slang term for the female genitalia, and while they bleeped out the word, it was obvious what he said.

On HBO no bleeping.


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## Inundated (Sep 10, 2003)

Didn't TDS, at one time, run its late night repeat without bleeping?


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## aintnosin (Jun 25, 2003)

Inundated said:


> Didn't TDS, at one time, run its late night repeat without bleeping?


I don;t know, but they have run their Comedy Roasts late at night without bleeping.


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## Inundated (Sep 10, 2003)

I think what happened is that TDS didn't bleep MILD cursing during its late night repeats. But the strong stuff was still bleeped.


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

Aw dammit. It's dusty in here.

Although I do wish they;d mentioned how completely awesome he was as Stewart's replacement.

And I wish I got HBO.


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## secondclaw (Oct 3, 2004)

It was a great send off.


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## madscientist (Nov 12, 2003)

Anyone know when Oliver's HBO show is starting? All I know is "Sundays in 2014".


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## lambertman (Dec 21, 2002)

madscientist said:


> Anyone know when Oliver's HBO show is starting? All I know is "Sundays in 2014".


Was looking for that yesterday; no date appears to be out there. Doesn't seem like it could be any earlier than March 16.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

I'm looking forward to Oliver's show on HBO. Did John do similar sendoffs for other popular cast members? Carell, Colbert, etc? I don't recall them. Oliver's was hysterical. Jon did all he could to keep it together.


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## trainman (Jan 29, 2001)

YCantAngieRead said:


> Although I do wish they;d mentioned how completely awesome he was as Stewart's replacement.


I'd say they did this obliquely, with the Moment of Zen being his "Moment of Zen" from the show where the studio electrics went out.


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## smak (Feb 11, 2000)

madscientist said:


> Anyone know when Oliver's HBO show is starting? All I know is "Sundays in 2014".


My total guess would be during the months when Real Time isn't on?

-smak-


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

smak said:


> My total guess would be during the months when Real Time isn't on?
> 
> -smak-


I'm guess concurrently. Real Time is on Friday nights, J.O. is going to be on Sundays.


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## waynomo (Nov 9, 2002)

This is great. It's the trailer for John Oliver's new show on HBO.


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## Adam1115 (Dec 15, 2003)

Oh wait, I have HBO! When does this start?


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## waynomo (Nov 9, 2002)

Sunday, April 27th, 11 PM.


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## Adam1115 (Dec 15, 2003)

I hate when they promote shows so early, like I can set up a season pass right now.


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## waynomo (Nov 9, 2002)

Setup a manual recording or a wish list.


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

Adam1115 said:


> I hate when they promote shows so early, like I can set up a season pass right now.


I know!

I end up creating a task on my phone's task app that is hidden until a week before the airdate.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

I watch enough on HBO that I'll catch the trailer a few times and it will remind me. I will bet that Oliver makes an appearance on TDS to plug the show. He and Stewart are pretty tight so I imagine it will happen. From the trailer it looks like it's going to be REALLY good.


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