Decisions and conflictions.
Dec. 21st, 2007 09:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rogueslayer452It appears that Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are returning to their shows: "We would like to return to work with our writers. If we cannot, we would like to express our ambivalence, but without our writers, we are unable to express something as nuanced as ambivalence."
I am quite torn myself with this particular dilemma. On one hand, it's Jon and Stephen! It's been nearly over two whole months since anything new from The Daily Show or The Colbert Report and it would be an ultimate thrill to have them back on our screens, intelligently snarking and making sarcastic jokes. After all, the presidential race is coming up and how else are we going to get that political satire? Though there's the other hand, because it means the fans and audience is willing to watch something that isn't scripted or pitched by writers, which kind of beats the purpose for supporting the strike in the first place. I want to watch for them alone, though because I do support the strike I would feel guilty in viewing something that is writerless.
Though, the article does take point in this. Both Jon and Stephen are WGA members themselves and, being comedians, it's easier for them to improvise their work (although harder on their own shows, because they are heavily influenced by skits and gags, especially for Stephen's show). There just won't be any of the normal skits that usually happens on the show, so the format would be different. It would be interesting to see how it all pans out without the writers, and there's no doubt they'll be mentioning the strike. Or, at least, why they're being forced back on the air by Viacom/Comedy Central.
I also see a silver lining in this. There are still many folks out there who are unaware of how important and influential the WGA strike is, and because TDS and TCR have a heavy following by young people and adults alike, this would be a great opportunity to get the word out on the street. Many don't understand the hard work the writers do for the shows us viewers watch daily, which unfortunately we all take for granted until something like this happens that affects everyone. So it would be great if Jon and Stephen mentions something along the lines of this strike, along with their normal snarkage of politics and current world events. I don't know if they'll do that directly, but I think it would be a good idea to address the issue so people can get a full understanding of why they've been off the air for such a long period of time.
So will I be watching? It actually sort of depends, really. But I will say that I trust Jon and Stephen since they seem to be very supportive of this strike, being members themselves, and they don't seem to be taking this decision lightly. It was a tough call to make, and I get a feeling they'll take full advantage of this opportunity.
I am quite torn myself with this particular dilemma. On one hand, it's Jon and Stephen! It's been nearly over two whole months since anything new from The Daily Show or The Colbert Report and it would be an ultimate thrill to have them back on our screens, intelligently snarking and making sarcastic jokes. After all, the presidential race is coming up and how else are we going to get that political satire? Though there's the other hand, because it means the fans and audience is willing to watch something that isn't scripted or pitched by writers, which kind of beats the purpose for supporting the strike in the first place. I want to watch for them alone, though because I do support the strike I would feel guilty in viewing something that is writerless.
Though, the article does take point in this. Both Jon and Stephen are WGA members themselves and, being comedians, it's easier for them to improvise their work (although harder on their own shows, because they are heavily influenced by skits and gags, especially for Stephen's show). There just won't be any of the normal skits that usually happens on the show, so the format would be different. It would be interesting to see how it all pans out without the writers, and there's no doubt they'll be mentioning the strike. Or, at least, why they're being forced back on the air by Viacom/Comedy Central.
I also see a silver lining in this. There are still many folks out there who are unaware of how important and influential the WGA strike is, and because TDS and TCR have a heavy following by young people and adults alike, this would be a great opportunity to get the word out on the street. Many don't understand the hard work the writers do for the shows us viewers watch daily, which unfortunately we all take for granted until something like this happens that affects everyone. So it would be great if Jon and Stephen mentions something along the lines of this strike, along with their normal snarkage of politics and current world events. I don't know if they'll do that directly, but I think it would be a good idea to address the issue so people can get a full understanding of why they've been off the air for such a long period of time.
So will I be watching? It actually sort of depends, really. But I will say that I trust Jon and Stephen since they seem to be very supportive of this strike, being members themselves, and they don't seem to be taking this decision lightly. It was a tough call to make, and I get a feeling they'll take full advantage of this opportunity.
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no subject
Date: 2007-12-22 05:52 am (UTC)It will be interesting and fun to see them let loose.
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Date: 2007-12-22 06:00 am (UTC)Should be interesting, indeed.
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Date: 2007-12-25 07:57 am (UTC)oh... and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! *huggles lots* ♥
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Date: 2007-12-25 08:22 am (UTC)Merry Christmas to you, too! Have a lovely holiday! ♥
no subject
Date: 2007-12-27 04:54 pm (UTC)I agree, very conflicted about this. Good point that watching the Daily Show and Colbert sans writers will go a long way towards hammering home to average viewers how important writers are. I have no doubt that Jon and Stephen will both be able to crank out funny, slyly AMPTP-jabbing improv content, but no way is it going to be as good as their usual.
I'd been naively hopeful that in the event of a long strike we'd start seeing more substantive news coverage from the networks. Heh, yeah right! Nobody can cover the presidentials like the Daily Show and Colbert.