Thu, March 20, 2008
Tina Fey takes a swipe at The Daily Show An embarrassment of riches: completely accurate statement by Tina Fey; if anything, an understatement of the flaws of TDS and its audience (live and at home); characteristically boneheaded reportage by TV Squad.
THE LATEST FROM POOP READING:
Where Do the Lions Go From Here?
Clint Eastwood: What I've Learned
Resuscitation: A Q&A With the Creator of Scrubs
The Nine Most Under-Appreciated Films of My Lifetime
More, more, more at poopreading.com
© onebee · all rights reserved
Brandon — Thu, 3/20/08 10:39am
This is such a non-story. Thanks to some well-meaning but misguided relatives, we have a subscription to Reader's Digest, where the interview with Fey was published; thanks to a tiny mention of said interview on the cover, I actually opened the latest issue rather than hand it to my one-year-old son as a toy. It's a decent interview, with some interesting material, but The Daily Show comment didn't strike me as anything to get in a lather over. (Though I can admit that may be personal bias, since I happen to agree with the statement.)
Since the TV Squad reporter chose to sort of make it his own by pulling quotes, here is the question and answer in its entirety:
RD: What pleases you more, applause or laughter?
Fey: Laughter. You can prompt applause with a sign. My friend, SNL writer Seth Meyers, coined the term "clapter," which is when you do a political joke and people go "Woo-hoo." It means they sort of approve but didn't really like it that much. You hear a lot of that on [whispers] The Daily Show.
Bee Boy — Thu, 3/20/08 12:04pm
Ah, yes. I think Meyers is right that any non-laughter response to a joke is an indication that – whatever the audience thought of it – they didn't find it particularly funny. I don't think The Daily Show has this problem. Aside from its unending belief in the comedy potential of the "taint," it's almost always very funny.
What it seemed like Fey was referring to, when I read the hacked-apart fake-controversial TV Squad version, was something closer to Arksie's "overclap" concept: treating a joke like an opportunity to voice your politics. Rather than laughing because it's funny, giving it a big ovation because you think that your applause can enthrone Nader the way it brought Tinkerbell back to life.
Overclap is a huge problem with The Daily Show's studio audience – often halting his interview segments. But that's weirdly not what Meyers is talking about – his "clapter" concept only proves what we've already known for years: Joe is funnier and wiser than Seth Meyers.
Bee Boy — Sat, 4/5/08 11:49pm
To celebrate Thursday's 30 Rock return, I'm watching four episodes a night, from the pilot right up to the latest episode. (You're not? And yet you still call yourself a fan? Interesting...)
I just finished the episode "Hard Ball" from season one, in which Josh's contract is up for renewal and Jack is excited to show Liz how to negotiate with talent. Josh screws everything up, and to investigate his options he calls in sick and takes a meeting with a Daily Show producer. Liz yells at him for faking illness (and then taking a meeting at the 30 Rock commissary – but he counters that he gets an employee discount there), but before she storms off she turns to the Daily Show guy and says, "I'm a big fan of your show."
So, Reader's Digest, I guess we've got our answer! I'll accept your apology in next months' "Humor in Uniform" section, between the full-page ad for osteoporosis medicine and the full-page ad for a different osteoporosis medicine.
(Also, alert to superfans: I discovered a third Amazing Race shout-out I previously overlooked. When Liz has to stay overnight in "The C Word" doing her staff's work for them, she rewrites Lutz's sketch: "The Amazing Hobo." Mark your scorecards accordingly!)