"The Daily Show" to Air Reports From Iraq

[MsMofoGone]

Here's something that might be of interest to all "The Daily Show" fans



`The Daily Show' to Air Reports From Iraq
By FRAZIER MOORE, AP Television Writer
3 hours ago


NEW YORK - "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," whose phony news coverage has long included phony "remotes" from war-torn Iraq, will be reporting from Iraq for real next week.

Giving its green screen a temporary rest, the Comedy Central series will air "Operation Silent Thunder: `The Daily Show' in Iraq," several onsite dispatches filed by Senior War Correspondent Rob Riggle.

Riggle will provide what the network calls "in-depth coverage and insights from the front lines." Scheduled to be back in New York this weekend, he begins his reports as soon as Monday. ("The Daily Show" airs Monday through Thursday at 11 p.m. EDT.)

While in Iraq, Riggle performed for U.S. troops with fellow comedians Horatio Sanz, Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer as part of an entertainment tour titled "Operation Feel the Heat."

Besides "The Daily Show," Riggle's credits include "Saturday Night Live," "The Office" and "Arrested Development." A major in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, he served in Liberia, Kosovo and Afghanistan.

 

[MsMofoGone]

Lila64 ... this news is especially for you !!

 

[Lancemc]

Meh. The Daily Show hasn't impressed me much at all in the past two seasons. Not sure what happened.

 

[Lila64]

Lila64 ... this news is especially for you !!

I think I saw him mention it on the show last night. Didn't know if it was real or not. We shall see!

 

[MsMofoGone]

Originally posted by Lila64


I think I saw him mention it on the show last night. Didn't know if it was real or not. We shall see!

You probably remember that I'm not really into watching this show (and I agree with Lancemc's post)

But actually, these reports are to start on Monday. So, you'll have to let us know next week if it actually happens.
If so, maybe it would be worth watching just to see some of the REAL LIVE footage over there.
Although, I hope they're NOT going to make a joke out of Iraq, as what's 'going on' over there is in 'No Way' funny at all.

 

[Carek1230]

It'll be interesting, I just wonder how much they will actually honestly truthfully be allowed to report on from Iraq.

 

[Lila64]

it does appear Riggle is really in Iraq

 

[BEAL]

Meh. The Daily Show hasn't impressed me much at all in the past two seasons. Not sure what happened.

I have the same feelings. They've lost a lot of talent; Colbert, Carrell, Mo Rocca, and a few others.

The people they have now just kind of rub the wrong way most of the time.

And Jon has gotten kind of smug. He still has his funny moments, and I do love that he brings out COMMON SENSE to the world events, but sometimes I think he would like to smell his own farts.

 

[XHendrix24]

I have the same feelings. They've lost a lot of talent; Colbert, Carrell, Mo Rocca, and a few others.

The people they have now just kind of rub the wrong way most of the time.

And Jon has gotten kind of smug. He still has his funny moments, and I do love that he brings out COMMON SENSE to the world events, but sometimes I think he would like to smell his own farts.

Hey, man. John Oliver is the SHIT.

And I think everyone likes to smell his/her own farts. I know I do.

 

[Lila64]

At first the new guys (John Oliver, Rob Riggle,...) didn't seem too good. But you have to give them time. They have all turned out to be great. I still really enjoy the show, even if Colbert & Carrell have moved on.

 

[LMP]

Anyone from the Upright Citizens Brigade is alright in my book.

 

[kellyahern]

Hey, man. John Oliver is the SHIT.

And Asif Mandvi. And Larry Wilmore.

 

[MsMofoGone]

Originally posted by Lila64
it does appear Riggle is really in Iraq

Really ?? That's interesting to know !!
Although, I don't really care for this show ... I may have to 'turn it on' to see this if this segment is any good.

 

[Lila64]

on Monday night, Asif Mandvi was stating he was in Iraq too. Turns out he was doing a green/blue screen in front of Riggle who was in Iraq. You could see Riggle's arms moving behind Mandvi

 

[MsMofoGone]

What did they actually show in Iraq ??
Was it more of an attempt to make humor out of it ... or is there some real LIVE footage that shows what's really happening.

 

[Lila64]

here's a link to Monday's Riggle appearance. Tuesday's might be there as well.

http://www.comedycentral.com/mother.../index.jhtml&ml_playlist=&lnk=&is_large=false

If that doesn't work, just go to www.comedycentral.com

ETA: Tuesday's report - Operation Fluffy Bunny
http://www.comedycentral.com/mother.../index.jhtml&ml_playlist=&lnk=&is_large=false



Oh, and Barack Obama is the guest tonight

 

[Muldfeld]

I was very disappointed with the Daily Show following the lazy conventional wisdom that if things aren't getting better in Iraq, it must be because the Iraqi government is lazy. Picking on its members for taking a vacation is so cheap, completely excusing the fact that the US Bush administration, especially Bush, takes frequent vacations and that Congress goes on vacation.

I especially disliked Rob Riggles' montage of US troops complaining that the Iraqi government wasn't doing its part, when they were sacrificing themselves so they could supposedly be corrupt. How about complaining about an administration that led them into war and many of them being implicit in such brutality by voting Republican and wanting war so readily without understanding people and not holding their own officials responsible. This is just cheap US nationalism that sees fault in the foreigner and is unwilling to question their own arrogance and unconscious racism. How many troops have used brutal occupation tactics to hurt and kill innocent Iraqis? There may be some good troops but they are not all saints by any means.

Very disappointing indeed!

 

[Muldfeld]

Meh. The Daily Show hasn't impressed me much at all in the past two seasons. Not sure what happened.

I agree. I think what may have happened is that Colbert took his talents and those of some writers when he went to create his own show.

I haven't seen anything as consistently funny on the Daily Show since Katrina in 2005. Since then, Jon's news coverage (which was the best part of the show) been watering down jokes, though I do think the pieces by other "reporters" have improved. I was never a huge fan of the exaggerated humor of the bald guy.

 

[Muldfeld]

Hey, man. John Oliver is the SHIT.

And I think everyone likes to smell his/her own farts. I know I do.

Ha, ha!

At first the new guys (John Oliver, Rob Riggle,...) didn't seem too good. But you have to give them time. They have all turned out to be great. I still really enjoy the show, even if Colbert & Carrell have moved on.

I do like the newer, fatter bald guy. He's pretty good and so is the thin American guy with dark, curly hair.

I'm not a huge fan of Asif Mandvi. He overdoes the annoying self-important tone; I know it's supposed to be funny, but he really overdoes it. I saw him at the start of Spiderman 2 as the pizza delivery boss who fires Peter. These comedians get around.

 

[sulawesigirl4]

I'm not a huge fan of Asif Mandvi. He overdoes the annoying self-important tone; I know it's supposed to be funny, but he really overdoes it. I saw him at the start of Spiderman 2 as the pizza delivery boss who fires Peter. These comedians get around.

He's actually one of my favorite "new" characters on the show.

Another odd role...the other day I was watching an old episode of Sex and the City and he is the geeky computer repair guy that tries to fix her Mac.

 

[Diemen]

I was very disappointed with the Daily Show following the lazy conventional wisdom that if things aren't getting better in Iraq, it must be because the Iraqi government is lazy. Picking on its members for taking a vacation is so cheap, completely excusing the fact that the US Bush administration, especially Bush, takes frequent vacations and that Congress goes on vacation.

I don't think that was the message at all. Yeah, the US government takes vacations pretty often, but the US is not in the middle of a civil war with huge amounts of sectarian violence and chaos, and an occupying force in its land. Questioning the wisdom of a month long vacation given the state of the country is a perfectly legitimate thing to do in my opinion.

As for the bit with the troops complaining - do you honestly think the military would allow their troops' criticisms of the administration to be aired? It's not like Rob Riggle went in there and just taped what he wanted and they came back without anyone from the military going over the footage.

 

[Muldfeld]

I don't think that was the message at all. Yeah, the US government takes vacations pretty often, but the US is not in the middle of a civil war with huge amounts of sectarian violence and chaos, and an occupying force in its land. Questioning the wisdom of a month long vacation given the state of the country is a perfectly legitimate thing to do in my opinion.

As for the bit with the troops complaining - do you honestly think the military would allow their troops' criticisms of the administration to be aired? It's not like Rob Riggle went in there and just taped what he wanted and they came back without anyone from the military going over the footage.

Yeah, but the US is involved in that very civil war. One could ask if Bush should be taking a vacation when he's responsible for some much chaos. Given that his work days are not in the middle of a civil war only means it's less justified for him to take a breather away from the office; no one's planning on bombing the US Congress or the White House. The Iraqi politicians, however, are in a very mentally-taxing, stressful area and a break might help them think things through.

If Rob Riggle couldn't helpfully add to the debate, instead of flaring up cheap American nationalism that finds anyone but themselves to blame for the problems in Iraq, he shouldn't have done it.

I think it's such a copout to blame the Iraqi government, when this administration hasn't even deigned to speak with Iran and Syria, or been willing to promise the oil to the future of Iraq instead of trying to make a profit.

This is not to deny the responsibility of the Iraqi government, but I seriously doubt many in the mainstream US media, let alone the US troops, know exactly what to blame it for-- other than, "well, this war keeps going on, so it must be the Iraqis fault; it's certainly not ours; this problem is solvable and we're doing everything we can, so it must be the Iraqis being petty and childish because when they act in vengence, it's childish and irresponsible, but when we do it, it's about justice and honor and stability." I just don't see a strong case being made for why it's the Iraqis fault, when the US screwed up so much to begin with.

How many social problems does America have at home that are going to take generations to solve. Maybe it's the same in Iraq. I recall people like McCain saying, before America even began the war, that it would take over a decade to stabilize Iraq -- that it was a long-term committment.

I just think this kind of piece is irresponsible because it plays into the worst tendencies in America to bail out on the people they got into trouble; they just blame whoever was last president and accept no responsibility for voting for people who did these things or responding in polls overwhelmingly in support of a war against a people they didn't have the decency to understand. Bailing out is all about American lives, not Iraqis, for whom they claimed to fight. The wanted glory and revenge, and they haven't gotten it, so they want to go home. That said, I think the US should leave because its presence is just making things worse, despite the good intentions of many US soldiers. No one cares about the Iraqi collaboraters the Bush administration promised help to, and who aren't getting it. Or about the Vietnamese left in ruin, death, and generational birth defects when America supposedly accepted the humiliation of defeat, but not the responsibility for the Vietnamese people and its own veterans.

 

[LMP]

Love me some Lewis Black.

 

[BVS]

I was very disappointed with the Daily Show following the lazy conventional wisdom that if things aren't getting better in Iraq, it must be because the Iraqi government is lazy.

I think u missed the point totally!!!

 

[Muldfeld]

I think u missed the point totally!!!

How so? The message of the piece was that the Iraqi government is lazy and the US troops are heroic and shouldering the burden blamelessly, and there was no room for explanation or subtlety.

I guess I sound kinda pissed, but you have to understand that these kinds of terrible mistakes weren't just accidents in the wake of Vietnam and the attrocities there. They were carried out willingly and in arrogance in the face of historical truths and what was likely to happen to the Iraqi people and the strengthening of Al Qaeda-type groups' causes.

And now, if the army pulls out, I fear American will only think about their domestic concerns and chuck any responsibility they should have toward Iraq to bootstraps logic of "it's their mess; they should clean it up." War is not a game, and Americans should have seriously realized this! And it would be nice if the president actually knew SOMETHING about Vietnam instead of completely miscommunicating the reasons for US failure and tragedy for US soldiers and especially the peoples of Indochina there.

 

[Diemen]

It might do you some good to stop taking tv shows so seriously. This was just one small bit in a comedy news show, and as such they aren't under that burden to fully explain their position. They can ask a few questions, but if you're expecting the Daily Show to do in depth analysis, you're in the wrong place. It's a comedy show, and they ran a skit - hell, the title of the skit was Operation Thunderous Cameltoe!

And really, I think it's pretty clear if you've been watching the Daily Show that they don't really think that this huge mess is the Iraqi government's fault.

 

[Lila64]

well said Diemen

Operation Thunderous Cameltoe