I can't remember how I stumbled upon these two American talk shows but now I am absolutely hooked .. The first is The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and the second, Real Time with Bill Maher.
I download and watch these shows religiously, Jon Stewart being four times a week and Bill Maher, every Friday. Though Comedy Central now does show Jon Stewart in India but the episodes are old so I continue downloading the latest ones. I also like Steven Colbert, but don't watch it as regularly and compulsively. Both Stewart and Maher are liberals and pull no shots.
These shows take a deep, incisive look at American diaspora and day to day political to-dos in a very funny and entertaining style with jokes, spoofs, interviews and one liners. Nothing is a scared cow or hands-off. The shows cut through all the drivel and hype and, in a way, expose the hypocrisy and duplicity of it all.
American politics is, of course, the main grist to the mill, but World geo-politics, celebrities, terrorism, Obama, the Republican Party, films, books, media, Wall Street - everything is scrutinised and lampooned. And lampooned in such a way that viewer understands the point of all the double-speak , guile, insincerity and sometimes the absurdity and the hilarity of the world we live in. The topics discussed are not trivial but the treatment is so farcical, so droll and so tongue-in-cheek that I just love watching these shows. The language can be unparliamentary, there is a lot of histrionics and over-the-top re-enactments but oh so enjoyable. These shows are not news or journalism but deal with news as satire.
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart is only about 20 minutes and the form is mainly a monologue, sometimes aided by his very competent and equally funny "correspondents" and this is followed by an interview. The interviewees are as diverse as authors, film stars, celebrities, visiting dignitaries, politicians, administrative officials, et al. His monologue is a mix of derisive humour, comical disbelief and righteous outrage as he crisscrosses from one topic to the other with high energy and speed, drawing breath only to make fun of his own Jewish heritage or his height and lack of it. He is acerbic and satirical and so good that his show has won 16 Emmys Awards.
Bill Maher show, on the other hand, is an hour of intelligent fun with a monologue, an interview and then a round table discussion (which he monopolises, good humouredly), ending with the the most hilarious New Rules. Bill's main bees in his bonnet are Repbulicans, organised religion, right wingers and basically all small-minded people who live in their little worlds. He is also the biggest friend and fan that Obama could ever have.
Bill is more irreverent, sometimes foul-mouthed, sometimes crass and a self confessed weed smoker. But he reminds me of an uncle we all have - bachelor-bad-boy with a wicked sense of humour who does serious things with a great appetite for life and no time for fools.
In a world that America is trying to police and be a guardian of, it is interesting to get a view of how ludicrous things can be inside it.
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart is only about 20 minutes and the form is mainly a monologue, sometimes aided by his very competent and equally funny "correspondents" and this is followed by an interview. The interviewees are as diverse as authors, film stars, celebrities, visiting dignitaries, politicians, administrative officials, et al. His monologue is a mix of derisive humour, comical disbelief and righteous outrage as he crisscrosses from one topic to the other with high energy and speed, drawing breath only to make fun of his own Jewish heritage or his height and lack of it. He is acerbic and satirical and so good that his show has won 16 Emmys Awards.
Bill Maher show, on the other hand, is an hour of intelligent fun with a monologue, an interview and then a round table discussion (which he monopolises, good humouredly), ending with the the most hilarious New Rules. Bill's main bees in his bonnet are Repbulicans, organised religion, right wingers and basically all small-minded people who live in their little worlds. He is also the biggest friend and fan that Obama could ever have.
Bill is more irreverent, sometimes foul-mouthed, sometimes crass and a self confessed weed smoker. But he reminds me of an uncle we all have - bachelor-bad-boy with a wicked sense of humour who does serious things with a great appetite for life and no time for fools.
In a world that America is trying to police and be a guardian of, it is interesting to get a view of how ludicrous things can be inside it.
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