Since the writers’ strike broke out in November, America has barely survived lonely nights without the entertainment of Jay Leno, David Letterman, Conan O’ Brien and others. Many college students, though, have been most disappointed with the loss of their favorite Comedy Central commentators: Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert .
When Stewart and Colbert went back on the air on Jan. 7, many viewers questioned how the shows would handle without their word smiths. In a joint statement, the hosts said they felt ambivalent about returning and wished they were doing so with their writers.
Luckily, for Stewart and Colbert, the majority of the greatest and most beloved moments on their shows are products of improvisational interviews that occupy the last third of their time slots. Even Stewart and Colbert, as Writers Guild members, are barred from writing anything for the shows. Thus, improvisation will occupy the whole 23 minutes of their programming.
The first episode back was shaky for Stewart. He concentrated his comedic efforts on the writers’ strike, poking fun at both the studios involved and the Writers Guild of America.
Click to see a clip from the episode
Even though Stewart might be angry about having to write the show on his own, people may feel his making fun of the people who ultimately have made him look good for the last nine years on “The Daily Show” is immature.
However, Stewart’s second show on Jan. 8 went smoother, and his light-hearted political commentary returned without any harsh ridicule of his absent writers.
Stewart’s main “correspondent” John Oliver returned on the second airing, “reporting” from the picket lines outside the show’s studio (which, even though there really were picketers, was filmed in front of a green screen). Oliver introduced his segment by saying: “Before we begin, let me make one thing perfectly clear. I am just talking to you. This is not writing. I have absolutely no idea how the sentence I am currently saying is going to finish. When and if it does, I can only hope it makes some kind of ceramic pineapple.”
Click for the clip from The Daily Show
Stephen Colbert also took some time to joke about the absence of his writing staff. While Colbert pointed out the empty teleprompters on Monday, he read from one during part of his Tuesday night show. He pretended to read from a pre-strike script and validated his actions by saying, “This is a legal script!”
Click for a clip about the strike
Colbert, in his on-air persona of Bill O’ Reilly from “The O’ Reilly Factor,” continued to poke fun at the loss of his writers on Tuesday’s show, saying, “I don’t like unions and I don’t need writers, which brings me to tonight’s Word,” a favorite segment of the show.
But Colbert, in character, was quickly mortified because the “word” graphics didn’t appear on screen as usual – that would require writing.
In returning, many viewers were concerned that interview subjects would be harder to find since most candidates are authors who are hesitant about upsetting their friends on the strike. So far, however, interviews have been just as frequent as before.
While Stewart and Colbert show that they can survive, striking writers aren’t all that happy about the shows airing without them.
Michael Winship, president of the Writers Guild of America East, said on the WGA Web site that the union’s quarrel is not upset with Stewart or Colbert directly, but with Viacom and Comedy Central who “will not yet make a fair and responsible contract” allowing the hosts “to get back their writers.”
It is a shame that this had to happen to these political commentators’ shows because the months before the presidential election is the prime time during which they can have the most fun.
Whether or not that’s enough to give us the satirical political analysis that we need during the next 11 months, we’ll have to see.
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