John Oliver Helming The Daily Show: Week 1 In Review

The way Jon Stewart carried on last week about taking a summer sabbatical to direct his first film -- spending literally the last 2/3 of his final pre-break episode on it, replaying the old report that inspired the source material he'd be shooting, then...talking about it some more -- did a good job making my point for me as to how much more seriously he takes himself than is either justified or seemly. What they ended up doing in the Moment of Zen would have been perfect, had that been all they did; instead, we were subjected to this protracted justification of his departure, which anyone who watches the show or reads the entertainment press in even a cursory way already knew. Dude, you're a TV host, not a public utility. Just go.

I...guess that intro kind of reveals that I was more ready than most for Stewart to spend some time away from my TV, so if you're a Stewart superfan, my endorsement of his replacement, John Oliver, will not mean much to you. For everyone else: he's good, right? Much as SNL hosts who have something to prove to potential new fans (Emma Stone) are better than ones who've already "arrived," whatever that might mean to them (Robert De Niro), Oliver has been more engaging than Stewart this week because he knows he has to win over viewers who regard Stewart as our generation's Edward R. Murrow or whatever the hell: the writing is sharp, his delivery is crisp, he's not trying to copy Stewart's cadences or mannerisms. His interviews have not been super-great, but those aren't particularly an area of strength for Stewart, either, and I submit that anyone other than maybe David Letterman would have been extremely awkward with Mavis Staples. On the whole, I give him an A-: solid, but with a little room for growth.

Here were a few of my favourite Oliver moments this week.

1. It Still Counts If You Get An Assist From A Funny Graphic

2. From Hookers To Kittens

3. Take That, Joe Scarborough!

4. Take That, France!

5. Take That, Old Man Stewart!