Stewart also initially took over for Arsenio Hall: who I guess wasn't as "fresh and hip" anymore once Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, ComicView and Def Comedy Jam hit the scene, and an actual majority of households started getting cable. That was actually the very first time I saw him.
Stewart's been the "next big thing" as a talk show host for quite some time. He parodied this status in forcing out the fictional Larry Sanders. His MTV show (which, though largely apolitical, was still quite good) was at one point syndicated, but never took off. He was also passed over for Jimmy Kimmel's current spot. On topic, it would really have been helpful if Stewart had used footage of the Nuremberg rallies as B-roll to make his point, as Beck routinely does. Or maybe thrown in Great Dictator footage instead. Spoiler <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2VruioFzIwg&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2VruioFzIwg&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
It was political satire intended to make Beck look like an idiot, rather than a big attempt at laughs, in my opinion. In that context, it was brilliant.
It wasn't funny to me either. To me it was like hitting the broad side of a barn... I can't applaud it that much. Plus I'm tired of people talking about GB and legitimizing him. He's the basso of the media world. Ignore him.
Regardless of Beck's irrelevance, IMO it was in the vein of Tina Fey on Palin - just a perfect piece of satire.
Tangentally related FOX News sketch on Saturday Night Live. About 1:40 in there is a decent Glenn Beck: <object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://widgets.nbc.com/o/4727a250e66f9723/4af72518b4812f30/4af6a1128a9a75be/5fc31627/-cpid/e5a355029aeaacb4" id="W4727a250e66f97234af72518b4812f30" width="384" height="283"><param name="movie" value="http://widgets.nbc.com/o/4727a250e66f9723/4af72518b4812f30/4af6a1128a9a75be/5fc31627/-cpid/e5a355029aeaacb4" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="allowNetworking" value="all" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /></object>
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I don't know if anybody saw it on Thursday, but jesus, he really outdoes himself with another Beck piece here: intro: <table style='font:11px arial; color:#333; background-color:#f5f5f5' cellpadding='0' cellspacing='0' width='360' height='353'><tbody><tr style='background-color:#e5e5e5' valign='middle'><td style='padding:2px 1px 0px 5px;'><a target='_blank' style='color:#333; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;' href='http://www.thedailyshow.com'>The Daily Show With Jon Stewart</a></td><td style='padding:2px 5px 0px 5px; text-align:right; font-weight:bold;'>Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c</td></tr><tr style='height:14px;' valign='middle'><td style='padding:2px 1px 0px 5px;' colspan='2'<a target='_blank' style='color:#333; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;' href='http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-march-18-2010/intro---progressivism-is-cancer'>Intro - Progressivism Is Cancer<a></td></tr><tr style='height:14px; background-color:#353535' valign='middle'><td colspan='2' style='padding:2px 5px 0px 5px; width:360px; overflow:hidden; text-align:right'><a target='_blank' style='color:#96deff; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;' href='http://www.thedailyshow.com/'>www.thedailyshow.com</a></td></tr><tr valign='middle'><td style='padding:0px;' colspan='2'><embed style='display:block' src='http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:267815' width='360' height='301' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' wmode='window' allowFullscreen='true' flashvars='autoPlay=false' allowscriptaccess='always' allownetworking='all' bgcolor='#000000'></embed></td></tr><tr style='height:18px;' valign='middle'><td style='padding:0px;' colspan='2'><table style='margin:0px; text-align:center' cellpadding='0' cellspacing='0' width='100%' height='100%'><tr valign='middle'><td style='padding:3px; width:33%;'><a target='_blank' style='font:10px arial; color:#333; text-decoration:none;' href='http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes'>Daily Show<br/> Full Episodes</a></td><td style='padding:3px; width:33%;'><a target='_blank' style='font:10px arial; color:#333; text-decoration:none;' href='http://www.indecisionforever.com'>Political Humor</a></td><td style='padding:3px; width:33%;'><a target='_blank' style='font:10px arial; color:#333; text-decoration:none;' href='http://www.thedailyshow.com/videos/tag/health'>Health Care Reform</a></td></tr></table></td></tr></tbody></table> the main event: <table style='font:11px arial; color:#333; background-color:#f5f5f5' cellpadding='0' cellspacing='0' width='360' height='353'><tbody><tr style='background-color:#e5e5e5' valign='middle'><td style='padding:2px 1px 0px 5px;'><a target='_blank' style='color:#333; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;' href='http://www.thedailyshow.com'>The Daily Show With Jon Stewart</a></td><td style='padding:2px 5px 0px 5px; text-align:right; font-weight:bold;'>Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c</td></tr><tr style='height:14px;' valign='middle'><td style='padding:2px 1px 0px 5px;' colspan='2'<a target='_blank' style='color:#333; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;' href='http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-march-18-2010/conservative-libertarian'>Conservative Libertarian<a></td></tr><tr style='height:14px; background-color:#353535' valign='middle'><td colspan='2' style='padding:2px 5px 0px 5px; width:360px; overflow:hidden; text-align:right'><a target='_blank' style='color:#96deff; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;' href='http://www.thedailyshow.com/'>www.thedailyshow.com</a></td></tr><tr valign='middle'><td style='padding:0px;' colspan='2'><embed style='display:block' src='http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:267816' width='360' height='301' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' wmode='window' allowFullscreen='true' flashvars='autoPlay=false' allowscriptaccess='always' allownetworking='all' bgcolor='#000000'></embed></td></tr><tr style='height:18px;' valign='middle'><td style='padding:0px;' colspan='2'><table style='margin:0px; text-align:center' cellpadding='0' cellspacing='0' width='100%' height='100%'><tr valign='middle'><td style='padding:3px; width:33%;'><a target='_blank' style='font:10px arial; color:#333; text-decoration:none;' href='http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes'>Daily Show<br/> Full Episodes</a></td><td style='padding:3px; width:33%;'><a target='_blank' style='font:10px arial; color:#333; text-decoration:none;' href='http://www.indecisionforever.com'>Political Humor</a></td><td style='padding:3px; width:33%;'><a target='_blank' style='font:10px arial; color:#333; text-decoration:none;' href='http://www.thedailyshow.com/videos/tag/health'>Health Care Reform</a></td></tr></table></td></tr></tbody></table> I think Stewart may be wanting to drive him from the air like he did to Tucker Carlson.
He was soo good as Glen Beck, I feared he went full r****d. There's no coming back from full r****d. Stewart is just ridiculously good at what he does.
