I have a confession to make. I don't think The Daily Show is funny anymore.
I've never been that interested in the interview segment; even in the best of times I used to fast-forward it. And the correspondents, which have always been the weakest part of the show, are just painful lately. Someone (I think it was Kevin Maroney) once described the bad parts of Spy magazine as the comedy equivalent of ringing doorbells and running away. That's how I feel about most of the correspondent segments on The Daily Show.
Which leaves the news segment. That used to be the reason I tuned into the show, but lately it's been a bit, I don't know, lackluster. My friends at work think that Jon Stewart is taking himself too seriously these days. I think that's a plausible explanation. There's a big difference between the guy who used to sneak into political conventions and the guy who hosts the Oscars. On the other hand, Georg thinks the problem is the material. The political scene has been the same for years now, except worse every day. No wonder the jokes are getting stale.
It makes me wonder how long The Colbert Report, which I'm finding a lot funnier than The Daily Show, will continue to seem fresh. Colbert's show is basically one joke, so it can't stay funny forever. Oh well, I'll enjoy it while it lasts.
i agree -- i enjoy colbert far more than the daily show these days. in fact, i find myself freeze-framing on close-up shots of colbert. i think he's kinda hot! ;-)
I have never really been in the habit of watching The Daily Show daily; I mostly watch clips of it when they're posted online.
But if Stewart is taking himself too seriously, I suspect it has less to do with hosting the Oscars and more to do with years of having it driven home that he's more or less the only person actually telling the truth about American politics on national TV. Being Howard Beale is hard work and it will drive one mad, mad, mad.
Also, I can't remember if that was my comment on Spy--I agree with it, and more so about the worst parts of The Daily Show, but I don't think I'm observant enough to have said it.