Monday, January 07, 2008
Devoid of their 'write' hands
Stripped off their behind-the-screen writers and on screen teleprompters, Stewart and Colbert came back with a bang -- and many an elicited laugh -- tonight.
Being devoid of writers was notably harder for Stewart – firstly, because of the unwavering allegiance to the Writers’ guild that his conscience dictates and secondly, because he relies less on the slapstick, over the top tongue-in-cheek humor that Colbert so often resorts to. In other words, Stewart is more in need of the written word for his smart and thought-provoking humor. He still managed to do exceptionally well and here’s a gem from tonight, as he talked about the Iowa caucuses and upcoming New Hampshire primaries:
"Cold white people have had their say. Tomorrow in New Hampshire, colder, whiter people will have their say. The winner will become president of Scandinavia."
While Colbert doesn't exactly rely on his words to be funny (except for THE word, of course, which was glaringly lacking tonight), his first night back was doused with his hallmark satire and side-splitting humor. It is tempting to seriously consider the Huckabee-Colbert ticket morphing into the ‘Huckleberry’ bid for ’08. Let's face it, they'd make a hilarious duo! Though I frankly think Huckabee should go get himself a Comedy show and leave the Presidential parody alone.
Both Comedy Central stars demonstrated their ‘hirsute solidarity’ – Stewart with his formidable unibrow and Colbert with a beard that was quite out of place on his otherwise depilated face.
Stewart, as is his nature, clearly kept sight of his purpose: fixated on paying his dues to the writers, he spent most of the show talking about issues related to the strike, despite the unbelievable amount of fodder that the past political week had to offer (which Colbert characteristically pounced on: of note was the still of the archaic Hillary Clinton crowd vs. the prancy kid during Obama’s victory speech!)
Colbert, of course demonstrated his guild support in his own way: satire. “I’ve always been against the unions,” he declared, reinforcing it with past clips and sending the crowd into peals of laughter.
All in all, both excellent showings, but if it has put Stewart and Colbert under my magnifying glass, it says a whole lot about the power of the written word. ¶ 10:51 PM
Being devoid of writers was notably harder for Stewart – firstly, because of the unwavering allegiance to the Writers’ guild that his conscience dictates and secondly, because he relies less on the slapstick, over the top tongue-in-cheek humor that Colbert so often resorts to. In other words, Stewart is more in need of the written word for his smart and thought-provoking humor. He still managed to do exceptionally well and here’s a gem from tonight, as he talked about the Iowa caucuses and upcoming New Hampshire primaries:
"Cold white people have had their say. Tomorrow in New Hampshire, colder, whiter people will have their say. The winner will become president of Scandinavia."
While Colbert doesn't exactly rely on his words to be funny (except for THE word, of course, which was glaringly lacking tonight), his first night back was doused with his hallmark satire and side-splitting humor. It is tempting to seriously consider the Huckabee-Colbert ticket morphing into the ‘Huckleberry’ bid for ’08. Let's face it, they'd make a hilarious duo! Though I frankly think Huckabee should go get himself a Comedy show and leave the Presidential parody alone.
Both Comedy Central stars demonstrated their ‘hirsute solidarity’ – Stewart with his formidable unibrow and Colbert with a beard that was quite out of place on his otherwise depilated face.
Stewart, as is his nature, clearly kept sight of his purpose: fixated on paying his dues to the writers, he spent most of the show talking about issues related to the strike, despite the unbelievable amount of fodder that the past political week had to offer (which Colbert characteristically pounced on: of note was the still of the archaic Hillary Clinton crowd vs. the prancy kid during Obama’s victory speech!)
Colbert, of course demonstrated his guild support in his own way: satire. “I’ve always been against the unions,” he declared, reinforcing it with past clips and sending the crowd into peals of laughter.
All in all, both excellent showings, but if it has put Stewart and Colbert under my magnifying glass, it says a whole lot about the power of the written word. ¶ 10:51 PM
