# Best Late Night Show ?



## John Corn (Mar 21, 2002)

It has to be Conan O'Brien.
The man is just hilarious.

I have been watching him more latley and he is absolutley great throughout the whole show.
Unlike the other Late Shows which are only good at the beginning.


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## gcutler (Mar 23, 2002)

Conan!!!


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## Mark Lamutt (Mar 24, 2002)

Leno, only because he's in HD. 

As soon as Letterman and Conan got HD this fall, they'll both be ahead of Leno in my book.


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## gcutler (Mar 23, 2002)

I can't imagine wanting to see Jay's Chin or Dave's Tooth Gap. or Conan' Anything in HD, now of course when Angelina Jolie or Charlize Theron show up, then the HD makes sense. But sadly those shows would benefit from LD most of the time 

Reason for HD...









Reason for VERY LD


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## TerryC (Jul 18, 2002)

Letterman all the way for me. But I do like the Jaywalking and In the Year 2000 segments on those shows.


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## Martyva (Apr 23, 2002)

Two of Johnny Carson's shows --One the famous one with the singer ED Ames and the other was one with Mel Brooks where Mel show his true spontaneous comic geneous, and three because i can't add all of his shows with the late Carol Wayne.


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## music_beans (Mar 21, 2003)

Im Kilborn!


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Without a doubt, the definitive *Dennis Miller*. HBO's late-nite Miller reruns are as hiliarious as ever. The best recently was when George Carlin was on, saying it was the first time he could say _"c**ks***er_ on a late nite talk show. A classic.


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## mainedish (Mar 25, 2003)

Old Letterman. Not new Letterman. Thanks to my wife taping all the Old David Letterman NBC Annv. Shows when they were on in the 1980's and me burning them to DVD I can watch his old stuff. I never watch his show today. Chris Elliot was very funny on the NBC show. But when he started to clean up the show with better props etc, the show went down hill. I liked it better when it looked like it was being broadcast out of a garage. Conan got the late night Job because Dana Carvey said no and just about everyone else didnt want it. . Conan is a lucky guy to have this show. But he is not funny.


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## Cyclone (Jul 1, 2002)

Leno is in HD. Plus he has the best writers. Winner here.


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## BobaBird (Mar 31, 2002)

Letterman's anniversary shows definitely had a lot of good stuff. I've watched very little late night TV since Johnny retired though I have been catching more bits in the last year as a result of my search for quality live music performances. I actually kind of liked Conan when he started and he's improved greatly since.


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## SamC (Jan 20, 2003)

IMHO,

Letterman is clearly the best. 

Leno has good writers, but it is so clear that he is so fundamentally ignorant that he doesn't understand the jokes he is telling. Carson (and Bob Hope, and the original SNL crew, etc) got by with political humor, because you knew that he got the joke and it was all in fun. Leno doesn't get his own jokes and its not all in fun. Leno writers could write a joke about Secretary of State Fred Smith's gaffe and Leno would read it with the same voice as he does now, and never figure out that there is no such person as Fred Smith and that Colin Powell is SoS.

I don't get Dennis Miller at all, and don't buy his "converstion" to conservatism.


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## IndyMichael (Jan 25, 2003)

I watch or tape Leno and Kilborn.


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## toomuchtv (May 17, 2002)

Jimmy Kimmel is doing a pretty good job.


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## gcutler (Mar 23, 2002)

toomuchtv said:


> Jimmy Kimmel is doing a pretty good job.


If only my ABC affiliate wasn't run by morons, I might be able to comment on Kimmel


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## razorbackfan (Aug 18, 2002)

X Play!


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## HarryD (Mar 24, 2002)

Gotta go with Dave as #1. Jay's a distant second. And I don't get Conan...at all.


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## Guest (Sep 6, 2003)

I watch both at 8:30 or 9:30 through the comedy bits. Whomever has the better guests then gets my vote for the surround sound for audio for the rest of the show. Letterman's bits are getting old. He must be seeing the spark lady on the side? I like headlines and jaywalking. Biff's travels in the motor home are good. Lose the Monty thing 3-4 times a week. Letterman's announcer gets undressed and changes into women's clothing way too many times. Leno can't interview period when you need him to interview people like Hillary Clinton.

Come 9 or 10:00, I'll put on Kimmel and see if I can stand one of his shows with a co-host I never heard of before at all. The way he treated Adrienne Barbeau a few months ago was just wrong. I haven't seen a full show since that time. 

Kilborn is okay if there's a good guest like Shatner or Dennis Miller or Mark Cuban. This makes 5 questions okay to watch. Kilborn's crowd is not me since he left SportsCenter. I usually watch the sports people when they are on with Craig. 

I don't watch Conan at all.


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## blingbling (Sep 6, 2002)

I think Conan is the best by far of the current lineup. He's so quick witted and about the only host that will go out on the street and do interviews or dress as a pimp or Santa Claus to get laughs. Its the only show where something remotely unscripted might happen. He also has the best characters of any show...Triumph, the Masturbating Bear, Preparation H guy, Coked-up Werewolf, and more. I also tend to like their musical performers more than the other shows.

Letterman - while I still consider myself a Letterman fan he's not nearly as funny or innovative as he was on NBC. He thought the 11:30 audience on CBS was going to be more mature than the 12:30 NBC audience and maybe that's true but Late Night with David Letterman was *SO* much funnier than The Late Show. I can remember Letterman leaning out an office window in 30 Rock shouting with a bullhorn at the live _Today Show_ taping! He'd be shouting stuff like "I'm not wearing pants!" and Bryant Gumbel would be glaring at him just fuming with hate! Letterman would also walk across the hall to the Live at Five show and interrupt it constantly. They eventually locked the door on him. He interviewed Zsa Zsa Gabor once and she got exasperated and told him to kiss her ass to which Letterman replied "...sounds like an all day job to me." He was the best during those days. He might have been drinking for all I know. When I watch him now I get the feeling he's just picking up a check. :shrug:

Jay Leno - Not a bad show but not something I record or stay up to watch. This show as well the others are at their funniest when they go outside the studio. I like Jaywalking, Howie Mandel, Kevin Smith, and Ross the Intern but can't stand the extra long monologue which begins the show. Jay is not the best interviewer either.

Craig Kilborn - If you can get past his narcissism this show is pretty good. He's probably the best interviewer of the bunch and gets more candid and interesting information out of his guests than anyone else. Usually a good musical lineup as well.


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## wilbur_the_goose (Aug 16, 2006)

I'm hooked on Jimmy Fallon. What a great show!


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Mark Lamutt said:


> Leno, only because he's in HD.
> 
> As soon as Letterman and Conan got HD this fall, they'll both be ahead of Leno in my book.


???

Took me a milli-second or two to realize the thread is over 8 years old! :scratch:


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## spaul (Jul 19, 2009)

Letterman is the best the whole show is always entertaining .Have it set DVR to record all new shows and also the same for Craig Ferguson which, makes the best 2hour block of viewing on a regular basis.Always liked Letterman he can be hip or silly and carry it off.Craig Ferguson show is a change of pace that fits perfect at his time slot and is anything goes mindset makes it a must watch.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

The ratings say Leno is a strong #1 and Conan is all the way at the end of the list. EVERYBODY gets higher ratings then him. /thread.


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

Another resurrected thread :shrug: But to answer John Corn's question it's "The Tonight Show" starring Johnny Carson.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

SledgeHammer said:


> The ratings say Leno is a strong #1 and Conan is all the way at the end of the list. EVERYBODY gets higher ratings then him. /thread.


It's a little unfair to compare a cable show to a network show when discussing ratings.


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

sigma1914 said:


> It's a little unfair to compare a cable show to a network show.


Why? The question was what's the best late night show, not channel.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

MysteryMan said:


> Why? The question was what's the best late night show, not channel.


I meant to add "when discussing ratings."


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## makaiguy (Sep 24, 2007)

Nick said:


> ???
> 
> Took me a milli-second or two to realize the thread is over 8 years old! :scratch:


Took me a lot longer than that -- not 'til you pointed it out.

Only one I watch is Craig Ferguson. I've always found him engaging, although when watched on a regular basis he does run things into the ground.


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## renbutler (Oct 17, 2008)

It's shocking how far Letterman has fallen. Time has not been good to him. He's become an angry, unfunny, and worst of all partisan jerk.

The other mainstream late-night hosts are fairly even-handed with their political jokes, but Letterman targets only one side. I'm not suggesting that he stop targeting that side, but you have to have some sort of balance or you just come off as bitter and angry.


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## oldschoolecw (Jan 25, 2007)

MysteryMan said:


> Another resurrected thread :shrug: But to answer John Corn's question it's "The Tonight Show" starring Johnny Carson.


+1 Pure GOLD


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## SamC (Jan 20, 2003)

renbutler said:


> It's shocking how far Letterman has fallen. Time has not been good to him. He's become an angry, unfunny, and worst of all partisan jerk.
> 
> The other mainstream late-night hosts are fairly even-handed with their political jokes, but Letterman targets only one side. I'm not suggesting that he stop targeting that side, but you have to have some sort of balance or you just come off as bitter and angry.


Dittos.

A lot has happened in the late night world since this thread, Leno's failure, Conan's failure, Leno's return, etc. But the most significant is the decline of Letterman.

I kind of knew he would not age as well as Carson, or even Leno. His humor is too broad and generation specific. But his decline into a bitter political pot-shot taker is truly sad.


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## Rob (Apr 23, 2002)

Bitter? You righties need to come up with some original thoughts. Partisan, I can agree with. Sounds like the true "bitterness" is the people who are bitter that Letterman is partisan. Get over it.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

renbutler said:


> It's shocking how far Letterman has fallen. Time has not been good to him. He's become an angry, unfunny, and worst of all partisan jerk.
> 
> The other mainstream late-night hosts are fairly even-handed with their political jokes, but Letterman targets only one side. I'm not suggesting that he stop targeting that side, but you have have some sort of balance or you just come off as bitter and angry.





SamC said:


> Dittos.
> 
> A lot has happened in the late night world since this thread, Leno's failure, Conan's failure, Leno's return, etc. But the most significant is the decline of Letterman.
> 
> I kind of knew he would not age as well as Carson, or even Leno. His humor is too broad and generation specific. But his decline into a bitter political pot-shot taker is truly sad.


Wow...and I thought I was the only one who noticed Letterman's not-so-subtle _lefty-loser_ biases. IMO, he is not funny at all, and his constant references to his band leader are just annoying. The only time I might watch Letterman, against my better judgement, is to catch a segment when Mila Kunis is on. 

Added: 







More of *Mila Kunis*​
Although I don't stay up as late as I used to, my votes go to the true late nite funny men, the two Jimmys, Fallon and Kimmel. AFAIC, the two L's are passé.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

Dave peaked about 20 years ago, now a sad reminder of what could have been. 

Jay is No.1, great writers, great original segments as well as tried n true "Jay Walking". Ferguson is good, but I tape only one night talk show, and it's tonight. 

I forgot Kilborn even had a show, and Conan is almost well forgotten in my household. Carson and Paar were pioneers with extraordinary talents for the medium in their times.


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## Lord Vader (Sep 20, 2004)

gcutler said:


> I can't imagine wanting to see Jay's Chin or Dave's Tooth Gap. or Conan' Anything in HD, now of course when Angelina Jolie or Charlize Theron show up, then the HD makes sense. But sadly those shows would benefit from LD most of the time
> 
> Reason for HD...
> 
> ...


If one looks very close, you can read "Inflate to 28 lbs psi" on the inside of those lips.


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## Lord Vader (Sep 20, 2004)

renbutler said:


> It's shocking how far Letterman has fallen. Time has not been good to him. He's become an angry, unfunny, and worst of all partisan jerk.
> 
> The other mainstream late-night hosts are fairly even-handed with their political jokes, but Letterman targets only one side. I'm not suggesting that he stop targeting that side, but you have to have some sort of balance or you just come off as bitter and angry.


I agree completely. I'm not a right-winger by any stretch of the means, but his ultra-leftist views permeate his jokes.



Rob said:


> Bitter? You righties need to come up with some original thoughts. Partisan, I can agree with. Sounds like the true "bitterness" is the people who are bitter that Letterman is partisan. Get over it.


One need not be a "righty" to notice what's obvious, Rob. Letterman is the single worst leftist of all the late night hosts.



Nick said:


> Wow...and I thought I was the only one who noticed Letterman's not-so-subtle _lefty-loser_ biases.


No, you're not alone, and neither am I. I noticed this a few years ago. It's amazing how rarely he even dares to criticize Obama or make jokes about the president.


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## SamC (Jan 20, 2003)

Before we get too far off topic in name-calling and politcs itself, IMHO the difference in political jokes of the late nighters:

Carson, who of course was the gold standard of all such, was an average guy. Born as an average joe, and he skewered all sides with actual humor, not going for the cheep sterotype based joke. And he got jokes he told.

Leno, IMHO is just a low IQer and a person who does not follow politics in his personal life much. Nothing wrong with either of those, in an of itself, but when one comments, even for humorous purposes, on complex subjects one better at least be a creditable person. As I said years ago, he just reads the cuecards, obviously does not ofter really get the jokes. Leno could work a convention of cardiac surgeons and read the cuecards with jokes about pacemakers and aoertas with the same inflection.

Conan, born rich, and Kimmel and Fallon, whose parents worked their way into comfortable upper middle class lives (both were IBM execs), and all from the least politically diverse part of the country (the northeast) have to be more careful in politics. It just rings hollow, particularly when you ply the sterotypical and contradictory "Republicans are rich" and "Republicans are rednecked hilljacks" lines. Ferguson, as a foreigner, has to be even more careful, and he is.

But all pales in contrast to Letterman. One of the good things about Letterman at his peak was he had an act that complemented Carson's by avoiding politics alltogether. In his old age he has either become bitter or has just started phoning it in with one-sided cheep jokes that Carson never would have told. Not only because Carson would have kept it more fair and ballanced, but because its the same joke and the same two mutually exclusive sterotypes every night. Carson would have said something funny.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

MysteryMan said:


> Another resurrected thread :shrug: But to answer John Corn's question it's "The Tonight Show" starring Johnny Carson.


To say this thread has been "resurrected" has, in view of more recent posts, become somewhat of an understatement. It is definitely "new" and "improved" over its humble origins of some eight years ogo, and I think it's safe to say that OP _John Korn_ would agree! :sure:


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

SledgeHammer said:


> The ratings say Leno is a strong #1 and Conan is all the way at the end of the list. EVERYBODY gets higher ratings then him. /thread.


Actually, late night ratings are a bit messy. According to TVbytheNumbers the demo looks like this for the year so far:








But if you look at the article you find that nothing about the numbers underlying the chart is even as clear as the chart.

So we have a headline from The Hollywood Reporter's LiveFeed column telling us


> Three weeks into the season, the "Late Show" claims a close ratings victory over the "Tonight Show."


But when you read the whole thing you get statement like "ABC News' late-night program Nightline is outdrawing Late Show and Tonight Show in total viewers."

The thing about late night talk shows is that many viewers seem to just like one host's ...looks, personality, political views, jokes, guests, whatever... over all the others - what you like is just a matter of your own taste.

Comparing anything now to the Carson era is like comparing apples and liverwurst. When Carson started, times were different and most of us only had access to three broadcast networks. And Carson was one of those people who influenced cultural changes in the country during his run. Consider this May 17, 1992 article in the LA Times and note that as the rating numbers get closer to the 1990's they drop partly because there were more channels to watch:


> The five highest-rated editions of "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson":
> 
> Tiny Tim marries Miss Vicki, 1969; 21.4 million homes watch.
> Glenn Campbell, Dom DeLuise and Susan Anton guest, 1976; 9.4 million homes.
> ...


Then there are people like my wife and I who in the 21st Century can now record everything and watch whichever show to see a specific guest or feature skipping the monologue altogether.


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## renbutler (Oct 17, 2008)

Rob said:


> Bitter? You righties need to come up with some original thoughts. Partisan, I can agree with. Sounds like the true "bitterness" is the people who are bitter that Letterman is partisan. Get over it.


Please address the topic without turning this into something personal against other posters. Thanks.


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## TBlazer07 (Feb 5, 2009)

Bleh, fugetabout 'em all. "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart just has to be the funniest night time entertainment on TV (the Emmy's seem to agree for 7 years straight). Other than his interviews (which are a waste of time) the first 15-20 minutes when he's lambasting everyone has me in tears. Yea, he's a lefty, but so what because it is just SO funny. His writers are remarkable.


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## armophob (Nov 13, 2006)

I had to quit smoking dope a couple decades ago for my job, so the only late night shows I record are Daily show and Colbert report. Funny enough that is how I get my nightly news as well. I have tried to watch the other ones a couple times and it does not keep my interest. Letterman was funny back in the previously mentioned days, but without medicinal assistance, not so much.


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## renbutler (Oct 17, 2008)

armophob said:


> Funny enough that is how I get my nightly news as well.


I'm not going to pick on you, because a lot of people in polls admit the same thing. But that's a.) a scathing indictment of all modern journalism and b.) a bit frightening because there is just as little effort on Comedy Central to be balanced as there is in all the other media outlets.

If you choose just one source for news, please realize that you might not actually be getting but one small side of every story.


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## TBlazer07 (Feb 5, 2009)

armophob said:


> I had to quit smoking dope a couple decades ago for my job, so the only late night shows I record are Daily show and Colbert report. Funny enough that is how I get my nightly news as well. I have tried to watch the other ones a couple times and it does not keep my interest. Letterman was funny back in the previously mentioned days, but without medicinal assistance, not so much.


!rolling!rolling



renbutler said:


> I'm not going to pick on you, because a lot of people in polls admit the same thing. But that's a.) a scathing indictment of all modern journalism and b.) a bit frightening *because there is just as little effort on Comedy Central to be balanced as there is in all the other media outlets.
> *
> If you choose just one source for news, please realize that you might not actually be getting but one small side of every story.


Seriously? You're comparing *COMEDY* Central with other media news outlets and expect *COMEDY* Central to present a "balanced" look at the news? Ohhhhhh Myyyyyyyyy! It's C-O-M-E-D-Y.


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## SPACEMAKER (Dec 11, 2007)

TBlazer07 said:


> Bleh, fugetabout 'em all. "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart just has to be the funniest night time entertainment on TV (the Emmy's seem to agree for 7 years straight). Other than his interviews (which are a waste of time) the first 15-20 minutes when he's lambasting everyone has me in tears. Yea, he's a lefty, but so what because it is just SO funny. His writers are remarkable.


Why is it that anyone who operates from a position of logic and reason while calling BS on that which is BS is considered a lefty?


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## renbutler (Oct 17, 2008)

TBlazer07 said:


> Seriously? You're comparing *COMEDY* Central with other media news outlets and expect *COMEDY* Central to present a "balanced" look at the news? Ohhhhhh Myyyyyyyyy! It's C-O-M-E-D-Y.


Wow. Holy cow. You couldn't have misread my comment any worse than that.

I'm not the one who says I get my "news" from CC. I said that anybody who gets their news from CC cannot reasonably expect balance.

I never said that I expected CC to provide balance; if anything, I was saying the exact opposite.


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## renbutler (Oct 17, 2008)

SPACEMAKER said:


> Why is it that anyone who operates from a position of logic and reason while calling BS on that which is BS is considered a lefty?


Their targets are almost exclusively on the right. Now, if you believe the right is the only side worth targeting, this might seem "logical" and "reasonable." But, no, it's partisan. All sides have enough of a share of silliness to target. To choose one side to target places one squarely on the other side.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

renbutler said:


> SPACEMAKER said:
> 
> 
> > TBlazer07 said:
> ...


Actually, though his personal views are "left" of the currently really right center (compared to 20th Century politics), Stewart has been very critical of the Obama administration, lampoons the Democratic Congressional leadership, and still frequently makes fun of Democratic Senator and 2004 Presidential candidate John Kerry.

Yes, he can't pass up factually inaccurate or stupid sounding statements from the right and from the 24/7 news channels including not only Fox News but CNN and MSNBC. But that hardly makes him biased.

For instance, while he doesn't agree with Ron Paul on most positions, Stewart was the first to point out loudly that the press was ignoring Paul's continuing strong performance in Republican Presidential Race and Paul's historical consistency shown in his voting record and position statements. And he has had Paul on the show a number of times.

I get my news by reading as the TV is a really poor source of news. But I also watch "The Daily Show" every night to see what the 24/7 News Channels have been focused on. It allows me to find out what non-issues will be headlines in the next few weeks.

I don't forget that it was Stewart's relentless attacks on Congress that pushed the bill providing benefits to the 911 First Responders.

I have a problem with any politician who can't laugh at his/her own blunders and IMHO there are plenty to go around on all sides. Compared to anyone else, Stewart points that out.


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## renbutler (Oct 17, 2008)

Thanks, phrelin. I admit that most of my experience with Stewart has been before the current year. I know that much of the left has turned against Obama for various reasons recently, but it's still rare for me to see any attacks on him (other than maybe low poll numbers) in mainstream comedy and other outlets. 

I think a lot of people are wary about criticizing him for several reasons, including the fact that some of Obama's strongest supporters have specifically claimed that the bulk of the opposition to the president is racially motivated. Although that's an outrageous (and easily disprovable) allegation, simply saying it attaches an implied stigma to even legitimate criticism of the president.


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## cj9788 (May 14, 2003)

Nick said:


> ???
> 
> Took me a milli-second or two to realize the thread is over 8 years old! :scratch:


When I saw thread started by John Corn that took me back to the good ole days. Wow is this a dbs talk record for the oldest thread to come back from the dead?

Anyways I like Craig Ferguson when I remember to watch. Back in the day it was Johnny Carson and when Carson was over it was the CBS Late Late movie, which was 45 min episodes of M*A*S*H.


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## cj9788 (May 14, 2003)

BTW I dont blame person who brought this thread back up, I presume they tried to start a new thread and this thread popped up as already being discussed. 

IMO I think that is how most old threads creep back up.


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

To me, the Daily Show is the best of all the late night shows. However, I find the contributions by his cast members to be somewhat of a waste. The interviews at the end are too short to be of real value unless you go online to see the full extent of the interview. Five minutes of face time is simply not enough. I record his new shows on TiVo (conflict with late news) and watch them when I get a chance.
Colbert seems to overreach in my opinion, trying to pretend he's a conservative while in truth he's somewhat of a leftist. 
At times, I'll watch a bit of Letterman, largely because his show follows the late news broadcast that I watch most often. I haven't watched Leno in quite a while and don't have HBO so I don't see Conan (no loss).
I don't watch Kimmel or Fallon, and Ferguson comes on too late for me (although ic could record his show for later viewing).
Nightline has degenerated since the departure of Ted Koppel. I'm looking forward to seeing him along with Brian Williams, Meridith Viera and others on the new "Rock Center" program starting Oct. 31 on NBC (10 pm Eastern). It should prove to be interesting.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

Cholly said:


> ... and don't have HBO so I don't see Conan (no loss).
> ...


Conan is on TBS. Are you thinking of Bill Maher?


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

sigma1914 said:


> Conan is on TBS. Are you thinking of Bill Maher?


My bad.  When I did have HBO, watched Miller and Maher, as I recall. Two different political viewpoints.


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