TVSquad

Hey, Viacom, don't screw this up. After being hated by YouTube-visiting Daily Show fans everywhere, Viacom is taking a big step in making up cool points. Starting today, Viacom will have every minute of the Daily Show, dating all the way back to the first episode in 1999, online at DailyShow.com. Sorry, Craig Kilborn lovers, it's just ol' Jonny Stew and his crew.

Of course, this move is probably less about pleasing the fans and more about the mad cash that Viacom will make in advertising. Hopefully the ads won't be too intrusive on the videos and folks will be able to watch their favorite "This Week In God" without being bombarded with Lars and the Real Girl imagery.

Things look really good. The video quality is much better than YouTube's and there are plenty of different features, including the very helpful timeline, and ways to narrow your search down to a specific correspondent or topic. At the moment, some of the pages seem to be moving slowly and the tags are wonky and not all of the videos are available (where is all the Nate Corddry goodness?!), but that's understandable because the site is still in beta and all sorts of fans are clamoring to get a piece of this action. Once things start calming down and running more smoothly, relive some of your old favorites! Feeling overwhelmed? Here are some good places to start:

"Pitch": My favorite TDS trio, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and Steve Carell, attempt to create a reality show pitch. The sketch ends with all three of them shirtless for no particular reason. Need I say more?

"Even Stevphen": Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell yell at each other over various topics and occasionally break down, sobbing in each other's arms. Tragic backstories! What's funnier than that?

"Trail and Tribulations": Steve Carell hunts down Howard Dean and annoys a bunch of people along the way. This is probably my favorite piece from all of the Indecision 2004 coverage. I think it is mainly because of his strange lip-synch to James Brown.

"Heat Wave": Mo Rocca! Miss him? Honestly, I only picked this video because of his awesome pants.

John Hodgman's interview: Before Hodgman became the show's Resident Expert, he was just another author trying to pitch his book. It's easy to see why he later joined the team. Very, very funny stuff. Uhh... Okay, I'm double-checking and the video doesn't seem to be up yet, but, y'know, when it is, go watch it.

Jon's face: Yup, just Jon's face in general. Just skip through the years and watch the man age. Hours of fun!