Jon Stewart's Gimmick

He seems to think that staring at the camera for an extended period of time after cracking wise and waiting for the audience to supplement with awkward laughter is a right hoot. It was funny twice.

I find comedic pauses funny.

Everyone has their own thing. I don't like watching his show, but basically the face is a signal that the joke is over and it's time to laugh. Even if you find something funny, you're not likely to just bust out laughing right? It keeps the audience involved and prevents the need for stuff like a "laugh now" sign.

That said, Stewart is kind of lame. Colbert is much funnier.

The people in the audience laugh because they're expected to laugh. Everyone around them is doing it, so they do it too.

I don't know anyone who actually genuinely finds his material funny.

THE INTERNET

Uhh I find Jon Stewart funny. I find his combination of political satire and dumb jokes to be entertaining and enjoy watching him do his shtick.

I'll raise my hand and say "I enjoy The Daily Show."

I'll raise my hand right along with you. I genuinely enjoy The Daily Show a lot.

I find Jon Stewarts pauses to be very Laurel & Hardy-like. And Laurel & Hardy were comedic geniuses, so there are certainly worse things he could be doing.

I used to like Jon Stewart - back when he was drier, more sarcastic and less "funny-faces" and "meme-jokes". I think Colbert has surpassed him in every way. He needs to go back to how he was during the '05-'06 period when he was at his height.

I find him pretty good most of the time but like any routine that goes on for extended periods of time the effect lessens exponentially as the show keeps on truckin. I find him funniest when he's simply making intelligent observations rather than making funny voices or faces. He's an intelligent guy and doesn't need to play up the crowd nearly as much.

Another hand raised here. I know lots of people that enjoy it, as well.

I haven't watched regularly since 2008 (because I prefer a Daily Show that is critical of government), but I don't remember him overdoing it then.

Don't forget old French Stewart.

I don't always laugh out loud at his material, but I always enjoy watching the daily show. I have more of a continuous laid back enjoyment throughout the show, rather than a moment to moment laughfest. I will say however, that I think Colbert is a lot more generally "funny".

@i_stay_puft: French Stewart's gimmick is never opening his eyes.

And another hand raised.

I love the idea that a drawn out comedic pause is somehow specifically Jon Stewart's gimmick, and not a thing that loads of comedians do and have done for donkeys years.

He has a lot of fodder nowadays, and he's not pulling punches.

Jon Stewart = Good guy

I know Stewart is clearly a liberal, but that really doesn't stop him from pulling punches every time the Obama regime does dumb shit. He's spent a lot of time eviscerating how they fucked up the whole Obamacare website launch to a point where the mainstream news channels were doing a lot of "this has been so bad that EVEN Jon Stewart has been criticising Obama". Which is a dumb comment from people who haven't paid much attention to his many critiques of a far from perfect government.

So yeah, I still like and enjoy The Daily Show. I also like the use of comedic pauses. So hey. There you go.

Jon Stewart is a fucking legend. I won't stand for this filth.

Love The Daily Show, DVR every episode and watch every episode. I do wish they would have given John Oliver a show on CC with Colbert and Stewart. Would have made a great Trilogy of Comedy Gold.

Me too, and now I find the original post in this quote tree to be funny.

I actually prefer Stewart to Colbert - for whatever reason Colbert's act comes off as more dismissive to opposing points of view - or maybe the points of view he attacks are more legitimate (in my mind) than the easier targets the Daily Show usually chooses.

My feelings are similar; I enjoy both shows though Colbert does seem to be more funny more often.

I'm Spartacus!

NONE OF YOU ACTUALLY FIND ANY OF HIS MATERIAL FUNNY. YOU'RE JUST CONFORMISTS. DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND!? OR ARE YOU THAT MUCH IN DENIAL!?

(Is the counterpoint I pulled out of my ass.)

Yeah, I feel the same way, although I like Colbert more now.

He's been far, far more critical of government as of late (at least to my eyes). Might be worth checking out again if you've been off the wagon for a while.

Isn't this generally why laugh tracks were invented, so everyone knows when to laugh at the jokes? A lot of American TV does this and it can drive me bananas at times.

I mean he's no Hal Jordan.

Yeah, I know that's John Stewart, not Jon Stewart.

Hand raised. But I agree that Colbert is funnier most of the time.

Yeah OP all good comedians talk through the punchlines of their jokes and don't let the audience respond or give emphasis to punchlines by pausing.

How's your stand up career going you must be great.

The only problem with The Daily Show is that Comedy Central's web player is a goddamn abomination.

Also most of the interviews aren't really worth it. -And a lot of the correspondents' skits.

But you're almost always getting at least ten minutes of quality info-tainment at the beginning there! And I appreciate that.

I stopped watching when Craig Kilborn left.

Another conformist that raises his hand in favor of the Daily Show. I have only started to watch it fairly recently so I can see how it might get old but at the moment I'm enjoying it a lot even if the quality fluctuates quite a bit.

I love The Daily Show, but I know of the moments you speak of and I can see why someone would find them annoying. They don't bother me, though.

That's because Colbert is playing a character who represents the worst of the "selfish ignorant republican blowhard" stereotype whereas Jon Stewart is just being himself, a liberal, but generally somewhat open to hear the other side out even if he thinks they're wrong.

But because Colbert's playing a character it gives him a bit more room to be funny on his own by saying and doing outrageous things, whereas Stewart and The Daily Show are funniest when the story they are covering is a funny story, like all the Anthony Wiener stuff or the Rob Ford stuff, and they get to riff on it.

I agree with you guys. John Stewart for President.

I prefer Stewart over Colbert as well, which is weird cause I was the exact opposite like 5 years ago.

@brodehouse: Stewart has been one of the most vocal critics of the rollout of Obamacare. The difference is that, unlike the complete morons on Fox, he's not gleefully obsessed with it's shortcomings. Just because he's liberal doesn't mean he puts up with stupidity from the left. He's always been fair when it comes to pointing out absurdities. The right just so happens to be the bigger absurdity producer since 2000.

And yeah, OP, I'm going to be honest. If you think this is a thing that Jon Stewart does, rather than a thing all comedians do, you may want to watch more good standup. Every comedian will tell you that the pause for laughter is an essential part of the comedic timing. They'll also probably personally sing praises about Jon Stewart because he really is one of the best.

Nah, you don't quite get what I'm saying. Of course I realize that Colbert is an act, but the act is in itself dismissive of the views he is parodying, which are not always as stupid as he makes them sound.

You guys are a bunch of goddamn sheep. Wait, who are we talking about? Jon Stewart? Oh yeah, that dudes funny I like him.

But what about laughing with republicans all the time that doesn't seem fair or does it ...

So the internet hates John Stewart now because he tries to make the occasional funny face? Ok.

I find Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert to be equally funny but I prefer the structure of the Daily Show with it's correspondents and stuff. I don't watch Colbert every day but I'm pretty sure he doesn't have correspondents. Both are pretty funny most of the time but even when the jokes don't hit, they are still interesting. Their delivery and presentational style makes whatever they cover, more interesting.

I've read this a few times and I still have no idea what it's supposed to mean.

Yay quote pyramid. Jon Stewart was unfortunately not Prince John in Men in Tights, even though they look and sound exactly the same.

@fredchuckdave: Even Jon Stewart is not New York Jew-y enough to be Richard Lewis.