2008 Woodie Awards
Issues: Should Comedy Central stars break the writer's strike?
Colbert and Stewart have writers' best interests at heart
Madeleine Fentress
Issue date: 1/29/08 Section: Issues
"If we cannot [return to television with our writers], we would like to express our ambivalence, but without our writers we are unable to express something as nuanced as ambivalence," quipped Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart in a statement regarding their decision to cross the picket line and air new episodes of "The Colbert Report" and "The Daily Show." Colbert and Stewart have been heavily criticized for seemingly betraying their writers, but the Comedy Central duo should not be denounced for a decision that speaks more of loyalty to their audience than betrayal of their writers.
Coverage of the recent caucuses and primaries without the satirical spin of the "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" would have left cynical college students and couch pundits stranded without news in their dorms and living rooms. Colbert and Stewart have, for better or for worse, become essential "news" anchors who simultaneously exhale news and humor, commentary and satire. Without them, it just wouldn't seem like primary season. Both shows are, for better or worse, a major source of information and commentary for the wide spectrum of politically-minded Americans and have become an essential part of how many Americans digest politics. Returning in time to cover the months leading up to the presidential election is a decision for the greater good.
In their first episodes back, both men treated the subject of the writers' strike with characteristic sharp wit. The anxiously awaited return episodes found Stewart struggling for humor while Colbert's jokes were more buoyant. In an amusing symbolic act of "hirsute solidarity," Stewart sported a fake unibrow during the opening moments of his first writerless episode. A distasteful but pointed commercial spoof that compared the Writers' Guild's dramatic campaign to a former "Silence = Death" AIDS-awareness campaign seemed to further kill the mood created by Stewart's jokes.
Clearly, they suffer without their writers. However, their return to television will hopefully further the writers' cause, as both Colbert and Stewart, themselves members of the WGA, will not let the issue of the strike fade from the American consciousness (not that such a strike with plenty of avid TV-watchers impatiently on the edge of their seats could easily disappear from the center stage). Furthermore, though Colbert and Stewart's return to the air does not fare well with the writers, it does return jobs back to the crew and cast who also work for the show. We should not forget that the writers' strike has put their jobs on the line as well.
Let's give these two giants of comedic political commentary a little credit for tactfully dealing with a sticky situation. Though crossing the picket line isn't exactly a straightforward display of solidarity with their much-needed and beloved writers, both Colbert and Stewart made the right decision by looking at the bigger picture. The two faux news anchors are using their respective platforms to address important current events, which unfortunately will represent one of the few exposures to contemporary issues that plenty of Americans face. And of course, since both men can't last forever without their writers, their decision to return to the air will serve as a visible reminder to the American public (as well as their producers, sponsors and Viacom) that a settlement needs to happen soon.
Coverage of the recent caucuses and primaries without the satirical spin of the "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" would have left cynical college students and couch pundits stranded without news in their dorms and living rooms. Colbert and Stewart have, for better or for worse, become essential "news" anchors who simultaneously exhale news and humor, commentary and satire. Without them, it just wouldn't seem like primary season. Both shows are, for better or worse, a major source of information and commentary for the wide spectrum of politically-minded Americans and have become an essential part of how many Americans digest politics. Returning in time to cover the months leading up to the presidential election is a decision for the greater good.
In their first episodes back, both men treated the subject of the writers' strike with characteristic sharp wit. The anxiously awaited return episodes found Stewart struggling for humor while Colbert's jokes were more buoyant. In an amusing symbolic act of "hirsute solidarity," Stewart sported a fake unibrow during the opening moments of his first writerless episode. A distasteful but pointed commercial spoof that compared the Writers' Guild's dramatic campaign to a former "Silence = Death" AIDS-awareness campaign seemed to further kill the mood created by Stewart's jokes.
Clearly, they suffer without their writers. However, their return to television will hopefully further the writers' cause, as both Colbert and Stewart, themselves members of the WGA, will not let the issue of the strike fade from the American consciousness (not that such a strike with plenty of avid TV-watchers impatiently on the edge of their seats could easily disappear from the center stage). Furthermore, though Colbert and Stewart's return to the air does not fare well with the writers, it does return jobs back to the crew and cast who also work for the show. We should not forget that the writers' strike has put their jobs on the line as well.
Let's give these two giants of comedic political commentary a little credit for tactfully dealing with a sticky situation. Though crossing the picket line isn't exactly a straightforward display of solidarity with their much-needed and beloved writers, both Colbert and Stewart made the right decision by looking at the bigger picture. The two faux news anchors are using their respective platforms to address important current events, which unfortunately will represent one of the few exposures to contemporary issues that plenty of Americans face. And of course, since both men can't last forever without their writers, their decision to return to the air will serve as a visible reminder to the American public (as well as their producers, sponsors and Viacom) that a settlement needs to happen soon.
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