Stewart Stumbles, Colbert Shines As Shows Return to Air

Jan 08, 05:12 PM

Jan. 8--It was a tale of two very different late-night shows that returned to Comedy Central Monday night after being in reruns since the Nov. 5 start of the Hollywood writers strike.

While The Daily Show With Jon Stewart seemed remarkably flat and even aimless, The Colbert Report was sharp, focused and filled with laughs despite the fact that producers for both were unable to book "A"-list guests because of the strike.

At no time was the difference more dramatic than at the end of Stewart's program when he and Stephen Colbert were linked set-to-set for a comedic transition from one show to the next.

Stewart had just finished an interview about the strike that was devoid of humor or much insight. Before the 8-minute conversation with a Cornell University professor mercifully ended, it had sucked any semblance of energy from the show.

And, then, Colbert popped up on-screen wearing a ridiculously long beard that played as an instant sight gag to deftly mock the beards that David Letterman and Conan O'Brien sported upon their return to the airwaves last week. Before Colbert even spoke a word, the energy level onscreen went from nearly dead to red hot -- and the laughs built as Colbert went about the business of shredding his script while chatting with Stewart.

Of course, the closer he got to the shredder, the more obvious it became where the skit was going to end -- with the beard pulling Colbert into the shredder. But it was the pitch-perfect combination of low and high, silly and ever-so-smart humor that distinguishes The Colbert Report at its best. Despite the lack of writers, for most of the night, it felt as if Colbert had never been away.

Stewart, on the other hand, seemed for much of his show as if he would rather be anywhere but onstage in front of the Comedy Central cameras. His vibe was similar to the one given off by O'Brien on the night of his return last week -- when all he talked about was the strike and how hard it was going to be to fill airtime without his writing staff.

If Stewart and O'Brien really wanted to support their writers, they probably should have stayed off the air. But once they did come back, they should have felt some obligation to entertain their viewers.

Stewart didn't go as far to show his unhappiness with being on the air as O'Brien did when the NBC host killed time by spinning his wedding ring on his desk. But Stewart, TV's most astute political satirist, did very little political humor last night despite the presidential primaries offering a wealth of material. It was almost as if he was sabotaging his own show by talking endlessly about the strike -- and mostly avoiding politics.

Colbert, meanwhile, tore into the feast of political red meat that last week's Iowa caucuses and today's New Hampshire primary served up. He romped across the political spectrum -- from one segment that reiterated his desire to serve as Republican candidate Mike Huckabee's running mate, to another that attacked Democratic frontrunner Barack Obama's unwillingness to come on The Colbert Report because the writers' guild is picketing the show.

Twisting a controversial statement by Obama that the United States should negotiate with dictators, Colbert concluded his loony attack by saying, "Barack Obama is saying Stephen Colbert is worse than a terrorist." The logic was absolutely crackpot, but one had to smile at the inspired and manic delivery.

Colbert did do some material about the writers strike -- and had on his own Ivy League professor to talk about union-management negotiations (his was from Harvard). But rather than a tedious 8 minutes, like Stewart's interview segment, Colbert's was less than 2 minutes, and it was a scream with Colbert doing his version of an abrasive Bill O'Reilly attack on the pro-labor historian.

In the end, perhaps it is easier for Colbert to come back during the strike because of the conservative views of his TV persona -- whereas Stewart is seen by his audience as the guy on-screen who takes on the powers that be. As clever and savvy as Stewart might be, there really is no way for him to disguise the fact that he is now dutifully serving those powers by being back on TV.

david.zurawik@baltsun.com

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