Stewart was moving things in the direction of his voice before then. His 2000 election coverage was when the show seemed to find its voice, 9/11 just cemented it and raised its urgency.

They should have smelled it in the wind and offered him some other contract/incentive to stay in the meantime. I think most viewers could sense Jon was feeling the drag by that time. It was a bad hedging of bets.

Oh for him HBO was a complete blessing, but for the institution of TDS and CC it was a giant blunder. And btw, where's my fucking Bugle? (this is required on all posts related to Oliver's schedule).

The answer is pretty simple. Comedy Central screwed the pooch and
endangered one of their cornerstone products when they did not notice
that Stewart was getting restless (going off to direct a movie much?)
and lock down the built in heir apparent that they had in John Oliver.
They had a chance to secure a future host…

To be a little fair to the kids, they've shown themselves very progressive and open minded at times. They know their uncles well. If it had been Cam they would likely have said football and farming. Mitch does seem to be a bit more of the stereotypical gay guy. And the choice of Streisand may have been just the…

Agreed, I loved some aspects of Asylum but I felt they really tried to get too many tropes in. They lost me at the aliens. I've described that season as trying to take all of the stand alone episodes in a full X files season and make them all interrelated. I actually prefer season 1 and think 3 was not nearly as…

I thought Edith came off a pretty selfish in the whole Marigold thing up until the moment when Mrs. "I'm so clueless I can't figure out this is her ladyship's kid" Drewe went and actually snatched her up from the fair. That is disturbed behavior that she had to know would mean their tenancy. She straight up…

He's actually a stronger character actor than his marquee brother. But he's never been the brightest bulb on the tree.

It's not that bad, just a bit of dad bod to use a terrible internet term.

"Dad, when Pedro died…" My brain "Pedro? Who is? Wait, does he mean….?" "on the Real World". "Oh dear god, that is what he meant!" lol. Bless Pedro's heart. Bet he never dreamed he'd inspire a fictional kid to accept his murderous transgender father thirty years down the line.

Not a bad list at all (UnReal was such a fun time). The only thing I would add is that with the tumultuous year for late night, I'd could make a strong case for including either The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (a continued delight and smarter alternative to Fallon) or Last Week Tonight (the spiritual heir to TDS…

Don't make me think about that episode! Scrubs went pretty life and death dark on a number of occasions. Brendan Fraser's character dying was pretty dark as well.

Eden fucking Sher! Yes! Finally some recognition for one of the best young actresses on tv.

I'd vote for the line about losing it to Merchant being like taking your driver's test in a bus.

I actually enjoyed him and wouldn't mind seeing him get a job at the uni or something so we can see him from time to time.

Darn, I wasted my Friends comparison on another comment.

TBBT is Friends + Fez. Three men and three women, apts across the hall from one another, the phd guy who has the on again off again romance with the hot girl, the slightly abrasive chick marries the 'funny guy', the two weirdos are smart instead of dumb (Amy and Sheldon / Phoebe and Joey) and there is a weird song…

The Law and Order Special Letters Unit sketch made a pretty strong case for Belzer as a natural muppet. But McBrayer is definitely up there.

He just had his first kid last month and word is they'll be back in the new year.

I can't believe I never put together about Brick and The Brick! lol. One of my favorite all time middle moments was when Dave Foley's guidance counselor told Brick to "try watching the kids in the hall". They have been known to hit the in jokes on occasion, which always seems somewhat jarring on such an earnest…