For thirteen years, Lewis Black has been ranting and raving as a correspondent for The Daily Show, venting about all things political and pop cultural. For much longer than that, he's been a an actor, a playwright, and stand-up comedian, playing clubs and theaters everywhere around the country.
He taped his latest special, Stark Raving Black, earlier this month in Detroit for a fall release in theaters October 8th before it heads to a new premium HB cable channel called Epix, where it will debut December 5. (Black also filmed a documentary about his transition from a writer to a comedian - he's unsure where that will end up). And Big Bang Theory fans will be happy to know he'll be doing a cameo on the show September 28. I spoke with him by phone last week.
Why release the new special theatrically?
In order to... I think... I've got no idea. Everyone around me seemed to think it was a smart idea. Why not? I'm interested in seeing how that works and if it does work. It's another way to reach people.
The Emmys are coming up in a few weeks, and if it's an event you've always wanted to go to but never thought you would, maybe this is your chance.
The Emmys Foundation is holding a big auction on eBay that features not only several tickets to the awards show (some of them VIP and red carpet!), but also several items from TV shows and memorabilia signed by various stars. You can get a House cane signed by Hugh Laurie, VIP tickets to The Daily Show, set visits to shows like Monk and Medium, signed posters, and DVDs. You can also win a visit to a Family Guy table reading!
You can also win dresses worn on the ABC Family show Greek. In fact, there are no bids on those particular items yet so click that link and maybe you can wear one on your next trip to the supermarket. The auction ends on September 3.
The Daily Show is not a news organization, though I think we can all agree that it does some of the things that news organizations should be doing, such as going back into the video archives and seeing if there are contradictions in what a politician or TV news person says. Last night Jon Stewart talked about healthcare and how it affected Glenn Beck last year.
You've probably seen video of Hillary Clinton's response to a question at a press conference in the Congo. Someone asked her what President Clinton thought about something. She, well, didn't like that question at all.
I don't quite understand the end though, when the audience "oooos" about the CNN anchors saying the person who asked the question might have been talking about President Obama and made a mistake.
You knew that when Sarah Palin gave her incomprehensible farewell speech the other day the late night shows would jump on it. The Daily Show did it last night, and so did The Colbert Report. But I didn't expect William Shatner to add his semi-musical take. This is from last night's Tonight Show.
There's a battle right now over President Obama's plans for healthcare, but the battle isn't going to be as funny as this one between Daily Show correspondents Samantha Bee, John Oliver, and Wyatt Cenac (well, it might be as funny, but in a sad, shake-your-head sort of way). I never want to see back-testicles ever again. (Video also here.)
You have to love a Daily Show segment that includes a random reference to an 80s one hit wonder band in the middle of a story about new gas emission standards. (Video also here.) Though I am curious as to how many people watching even got the reference to another band, Queen.
At least we know one thing about Jim Cramer: He may not have been able to predict the collapse of the Dow, but at least he has the cajones to face the comedian that's tearing him to pieces.
That's right, folks: Cramer will be appearing on The Daily Show on Thursday to defend himself in the war of funny he's gotten into with Jon Stewart and his writers. If you didn't see TDS last night, Stewart shot back at Cramer, who went on various NBC shows to defend himself against TDS' "turd mining," as Stewart called it. In this case, it was a compilation of clips that showed Cramer sticking with Bear Stearns shortly before its 2008 collapse. That, of course, was after Stewart and company ripped CNBC as a whole for missing the current crisis. Video of last night's segment, which was dubbed "Cramer vs. Not Cramer: Basic Cable Personality Clash Skirmish '09!"
When you make a living online and a big part of your job is to spend the entire day surfing around a hundred web sites, you begin to think that you've seen everything there is to see on the web. At least the good stuff. But sometimes you come across a site that makes you smile and say to yourself, "this is great!"
Leave it to Stephen Colbert and the Colbert Nation to turn a parody of Lance Armstrong's "LiveStrong" cancer awareness bracelet into a massive donation to a charitable cause. As the AP reports, since Colbert began selling his red "WristStrong" bracelets as part of his "wrist awareness" campaign, begun in response to Colbert breaking his own wrist, he has raised an incredible $171,525. And, on last night's broadcast, he presented the proceeds to The Yellow Ribbon Fund, a real organization that helps injured service members.
Stephen Colbert continues to find ways to turn his mock commentator into a true industry leader, all the while keeping tongue firmly in cheek. Is it any wonder that he's surpassed Jon Stewart as the buzz du jour of the teen and college set? Personally I really hope we get a Democrat in office in this next election, even if only to see how the decidedly right-winged Colbert persona is able to respond to everything he or she does.
The Daily Show correspondents and analysts and very busy and important, so viewers will probably never get a chance to see the everyone show off their comedic chops at the same time. So, pore over this his GQ blog post, because it's probably going to be the closest thing we'll get to a display of their group genius.
In the article, the correspondents share their thoughts on various presidential candidates and some of their strangely hot wives. They also seem to have spent quite a bit of time thinking about the magic weight loss of both Mike Huckabee and Subway's Jared (Samantha Bee: "They've both got one pair of giant pants somewhere in their closet that they pull out every so often: Now three of me can fit in these pants!"). I don't think this is an excerpt from a larger, soon to be in-print piece, but I'm still holding out a little hope.
With the writers strike pulling a black cloud over our collective television set, have you been feeling super-sad? Do you feel lost, without a sense of direction, now that your favorite show has run out of new episodes? Do empty pints of Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia and fresh receipts from the video game store litter your home, serving as a constant reminder that you love TV, you breathe TV, and you need TV to fill your life? I certainly hope not, because that would be kind of pathetic.
What's weird is that before the invention of television, there was this thing called "books". People used their eyes, just as they use them for watching television, to "read" these books. Books are hard to come by these days, but if you visit the library, they might have one or two, hidden in the back room. Please note you may have to slip an Alexander Hamilton or wear a low-cut shirt to gain access to the book room. Anyway, books are a great way to escape reality (TV). If you manage to track a few down, why don't you pick up a book or two while the writers strike is in effect? If the idea of straying so far away from television terrifies you, here are some books that aren't too far off point, so you can join in nice and easy.
Earlier this year, Adam told you about the pilot that comedian Lewis Black was filming for Comedy Central titled The Root of All Evil. Back then the show was described as a roundtable discussion a la Politically Incorrect or Real Time with Bill Maher or maybe Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn. Well, the network has now picked up the show, and it seems the format has changed (I think).
The show will now feature two celebrities or two pop culture topics that go up against each other. Black will be the moderator and will give the final decision on who "wins" at the end of the show. Comedy Central said the show will put pop culture on trial.
I've been waiting for a "Best Of" DVD set for The Daily Show for a while now. Sure, they released that Indecision 2004 set a few years ago, and that was fine, but the best stuff on the show is seen on the everyday episodes and not just the special political coverage. I'm sure there's one coming down the road at some point.
In the meantime, we have a Best of The Colbert Report DVD coming in November. All the great bits will be on the disc, including several The Word segments (including the first one, "truthiness"), "Better Know A District," "Cooking with Feminists," "Meta-Free-Phor-All," and the "Green Screen Challenge." It will also include Bill O'Reilly's appearance on the show.
Colbert also has a new book coming in October, I Am America (And So Can You!).
For thirteen years, Lewis Black has been ranting and raving as a correspondent for The Daily Show, venting about all things political and pop cultural. For much longer than that, he's been a an actor, a playwright, and stand-up comedian, playing clubs and theaters everywhere around the country. 
The 
At least we know one thing about Jim Cramer: He may not have been able to predict the collapse of the Dow, but at least he has the cajones to face the comedian that's tearing him to pieces.
At 7, Election Coverage starts on all of the major networks and some minor ones. Actually, it starts on the cable news channels a lot earlier. 
When you make a living online and a big part of your job is to spend the entire day surfing around a hundred web sites, you begin to think that you've seen everything there is to see on the web. At least the good stuff. But sometimes you come across a site that makes you smile and say to yourself, "this is great!"
Leave it to Stephen Colbert and the Colbert Nation to turn a parody of Lance Armstrong's "LiveStrong" cancer awareness bracelet into a massive donation to a charitable cause. As the AP reports, since Colbert began selling his red "WristStrong" bracelets as part of his "wrist awareness" campaign, begun in response to Colbert breaking his own wrist, he has raised an incredible $171,525. And, on last night's broadcast, he presented the proceeds to The Yellow Ribbon Fund, a real organization that helps injured service members.
The Daily Show correspondents and analysts and very busy and important, so viewers will probably never get a chance to see the everyone show off their comedic chops at the same time. So, pore over this his 
With the writers strike pulling a black cloud over our collective television set, have you been feeling super-sad? Do you feel lost, without a sense of direction, now that your favorite show has run out of new episodes? Do empty pints of Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia and fresh receipts from the video game store litter your home, serving as a constant reminder that you love TV, you breathe TV, and you need TV to fill your life? I certainly hope not, because that would be kind of pathetic.
Earlier this year, Adam 
I've been waiting for a "Best Of" DVD set for The Daily Show for a while now. Sure, they released that Indecision 2004 set a few years ago, and that was fine, but the best stuff on the show is seen on the everyday episodes and not just the special political coverage. I'm sure there's one coming down the road at some point.
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