Jon Stewart by Frank Ockenfels/Comedy Central
His first night back on Monday was a disappointment — too much griping about the strike, not enough political satire — but since then, Jon Stewart and his strike-era "A Daily Show" (it won’t merit the definitive "the" until his writers return) have returned to form. Skewering pundits and pollsters with relish, Stewart is back on his game, cracking himself up with the absurdity of carrying on without the safety net of a writing staff. On Wednesday's show, after taking a swipe at Larry King ("Was that a magical talking gnome?"), Stewart admitted, "Basically, we're now doing the show like Mystery Science Theater," harking back to one of Comedy Central's earlier breakthroughs.
And yes, I loved that show, too.
But my favorite Daily Show moment so far this week came on Tuesday, when he had conservative author and Guiliani advisor David Frum in his sights. While Frum trashed GOP underdog Ron Paul as "one of those people that the more you learn about him, the more disturbing a personality he becomes," Stewart quipped, "You should check your guy." As the audience howled, Stewart declared, "My brain’s not on strike, brother!" To which the audience cheered.
Thankfully, the brain trust of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert (whose satellite interview with Mike Huckabee Wednesday was a riot) is proving remarkably resilient. But we should still hope the strike is over in time for their talented staffs to come back to work and help them take full advantage of the rich material the primary season is clearly going to provide.
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