I'll Miss the Daily Show

President Barack Obama tapes an interview for the Daily Show with Jon Stewart at the Harman Center for the Arts in Washington, D.C., October 27, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
As you have undoubtedly heard, The Daily Show With Jon Stewart ended after a 16 year run. Well, I guess they plan to go on with a new host for some reason, but as far as I'm concerned, the show came to an end with Jon Stewart's last episode. And while I will miss it, I think its end was probably overdue.

Stewart's shtick has been wearing thin for awhile, and I found myself less inclined to see more of the same over the last year. Has the show ended a year ago, I would have been bummed. Now, it seems like they probably should have wrapped a bit sooner. While Stewart's views on Islam became more difficult to stomach recently (e.g., the March 2015 interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali), I cannot deny that the show had moments of brilliance that I will miss.

I've read what several other bloggers have written about what they will miss about the show. While I'll certainly miss many of the things they reference (e.g., the insightful commentary about how awful our corporate owned news media have become), I haven't seen anyone else mention what I will miss most. The part I will miss most of all will be Stewart's interviews at the end of the show. I often found myself wishing that they'd cut all the crap at the beginning and devote the whole time to these interviews.

My favorite thing about the show, by far, was when Stewart would interview the authors of interesting sounding books that I never would have heard about otherwise. I read many of these books over the years and was rarely disappointed. I realize that this was never the point of the show, but it was what led me to keep watching long after I tired of Stewart's routine. I'm going to need to find a good replacement for discovering great books on a variety of subjects.

But if the show is going to continue with a new host, why don't I just keep watching? I don't have much interest in the new host. I haven't found him remotely funny or entertaining the times I have seen him appear on the show, and so it is difficult to imagine him carrying it now. Maybe he will surprise, but this seems like a good time to say goodbye and move on.

Subscribe to Atheist Revolution
Copyright © 2015 Atheist Revolution.