Daily Show/Colbert Report – Week of October 13, 2008

Rolling Stone

Hey, kids! It’s time for a quick round-up of highlights from this week’s episodes of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Question: Could we bump the date of the election a little earlier just so we can get it over with? Actually, while we’re at it, let’s just get rid of that economic crisis. I think that would be nice for the country, if we had a break from worrying about something like that. It doesn’t seem like it would take much more than a little elbow grease and a few nice words. Right? Right? No? We’re all going to die? All right.

Up until Wednesday’s debate, most of The Daily Show‘s coverage has focused on the economic crisis, mainly in a series of segments called “Clusterfuck to the Poor House.” In a slightly unrelated note, if you still have no idea what’s going on, I suggest you head on over to This American Life and listen to their episode “Giant Pool of Money” and educate yourself and then maybe cry yourself to sleep.

Jason Jones and Samantha Bee also did their first mini-report together, which was rather interesting. Their back-and-forth during the conventions were a lot more fun, though. Also, in case you haven’t heard, the two of them have signed on to write and star in a CBS sitcom, so they may not be sticking around TDS headquarters for much longer. It’s going to be weird without them, for sure. Like some others, I have my fingers crossed that Bee’s departure won’t mean a full-time Kristen Schaal, even though I totally love her in Flight of the Conchords.

In related news, Resident Expert John Hodgman has a new book coming out on October 21st, called More Information Than You Require. It’s a follow-up to his first book, The Areas of My Expertise, which a must-read for anyone that likes his segments on TDS. It’s less than $5 on Amazon, kids, so you really have no excuse.

On to The Colbert Report! Like TDS, TCR focused a lot on the economic crisis. Ah, those guys love to make us laugh through our poor people tears. I quite enjoyed this segment on dismayed stockbroker photos. Someone should make this a series for coffeetable books.

Fact: I went to see Stephen Colbert’s portrait twice at the National Portrait Gallery, officially making me double-pathetic. Well, now it looks like I’ll have to head to DC again. Colbert’s portrait finally got accepted into the National Museum of American History, just a day before the show’s third anniversary. This isn’t some temporary exhibition stuff; the portrait is going to be in the museum permanently. Smart move by the museum to get some heavier traffic. Hey, I know I’ll be visiting for the first time this year.

He also unveiled a new portrait in his studio, complete with an extra Colbert, this time gripping a brand new Emmy. And because they didn’t show the clip from his first adventure where he dances to Prince, I guess I will have to:

Clacked by Annie Wu
on Oct 17, 2008 @ 14:00 EST5EDT