Was John Stewart as bad as they are saying on Imus and CNN?

[boston bean]

I didn't watch it, but it I don't really believe anything I hear on TV and my tin foil hat is telling me that they are trying to just bring him down a peg or two in his "liberal" popularity.

What's the truth?

[Debau2005]

1. He was amusing

but not laugh out loud funny like he is on his show. But then again, I am sure he had constraints on what he could say. All in all a fairly boring affair for me.

[boston bean]

3. I was thinking the same thing. Maybe they put constraint on what

he could say.

That would be par for the course, right?

[Bassic]

74. It's an award ceremony, so that goes

without saying really. I never understood the hype that surrounds them because, really, they're boring as hell.

[Clark2008]

123. Amen.

[hang a left]

93. He was no Billy Crystal, that's for sure.

Hopefully he gained some more attention and people will check out his show.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

2. Oh geez...

I didn't see it(No TV or interest...) but damn, we are talking about the world's most constipated curmudgeon and the world's worst cable news channel. Consider the sources.

[boston bean]

9. lol, very true! nt

[mac56]

137. Absolutely. Consider the source.

Jon did just fine. Rattled some cages that needed rattling.

[Lochloosa]

4. As much as I love John, it was not his best performance.

He was himself, it just did not seem to come off well. MHO

[Kahuna]

5. Yes. Sorry but he bombed big time. For some reason..

he just didn't fit in.

[mwb970]

43. Maybe the folks at home got the humor and were laughing.

I wouldn't go by the in-person reactions of a bunch of Hollywood celebrities all dressed up like they were Important People. Much of Jon's humor involves skewering exactly such people and their self-important hypocrisy.

[tenshi816]

51. I wondered how he would do.

Didn't see it myself (UK-US time difference, plus I inevitably get bored watching celebrities pat each other on the back), but I figured JS might not do so well because he doesn't suck up to Hollywood.

Did he seem disinterested or do you think he was told to be on his best behaviour, or what?

[Marie26]

59. He kind of gave off the

impression that he was "too cool" for this. He didn't buy into the whole Movie Magic motif that the hosts are supposed to exude. He made fun of the touching montages, the film noir montages, the whole notion of montages. That might've bugged the big biz that runs the Oscars. However, the campaign commercials were very funny! I wonder if JS was the best host. I love him, but he's made a name making fun of self-important narcissists & looked a little uncomfortable being in the midst of them.

[Marie26]

60. dupe nt

[sendero]

55. Yeah...

.... he got a decidedly cold reception. I think that most of his jokes would go over well in a Comedy Central crowd, but didn't with the "Hollywood Elite".

I'm wondering if he was involved/created the little bits, like the "smear the contestant" stuff, it was really good. But his stand-up was not too hot.

[mac56]

138. He just didn't fit in?!

That's the reason he did well!!

[sabbat hunter]

6. imus

doesnt care if you are liberal or conservative. if you sucked he will tell you so.

he loves tom oliphent a liberal.
also likes pat buchanan


he doesnt give a S**t about politics. if you are entertaining on his show he likes you. if he can say something about you that will make good radio he will.

hells he often mentions his "flop sweat" from a number of years ago at the TV & radio dinner where he roasted bill clinton (whom he liked at the time and had on his show during the 1992 presidential race a number of times)

he also has had on john kerry, john edwards numerous times.

[proud2BlibKansan]

20. He also considers Rick Santorum a "good friend and fine American"

Just sayin . . .

[trumad]

50. You're going to defend Imus?

Ha Ha Ha Ha....

[sabbat hunter]

66. do you listen to imus daily?

he likes santorum on a personal basis. doenst agree with all of his politics.
he loves john kerry and john edwards. they are frequent guests on his show. usually adding to the comedy there.

one thing people forget when the listen to Imus. it is a ENTERTAINMENT show. if it is entertaining and makes good radio, he will do it.
hells he is more often than not the butt of the jokes on the show.

Imus cares not for conservative or liberal. he cares if you are entertaining.

he is a big conservationist (in line with Teddy roosevelt). does a lot for sick kids. even has a line of "green" cleaning products now that are non-toxic and profits go to the Imus ranch and the CJ foundation for SIDS.

[WinkyDink]

84. How could any sane person "like" Santorum? He's quease-inducing.

YUCK.

[Tesha]

106. Well, Santorum likes dogs, so how could he be all bad? ;) (NT)

[lectrobyte]

64. Speaking of sucks, was there ever a time when Imus didn't?

Other than Kinky Friedman, the entire show just seems like a waste. I'd pay money never to have to see/hear Bow Deetle on TV anywhere.

[sabbat hunter]

89. bo deitel

is a nut, but funny at times. he is racist but brought up a good point today. there is an american company that is willing to run the ports (NCR), one that has a lot of experience with security issues.

not a bad idea instead of a country that laundered money for al qaeda.

[dddem]

7. I love John Stewart

and I thought he was pretty amusing, but he was on his best behavior. He was good, and he got a couple of digs in, but considering he was on network television, hosting the academy awards, I thought he was appropriately subdued. It wasn't a 3 hour "Daily Show", if that's what folks were expecting.

[SoCalDem]

8. The consensus on the wrap up on ABC was that he was perfect

Roger Ebert & crew..

The show moved along, and everyone in the audience seemed to be having a good time..

I think he did fine:)

[Ioo]

10. Agreed, Not to over the top, he did not try to steal the show.

He allowed the stars to shine, it was not HIS show. I thought he did great.

[QuettaKid]

12. He did an excellent job.

end of story. NEXT!

[murielm99]

15. I thought he did great, too.

He knew his role. I think he had enough sense not to make it like his own show.

He seemed very relaxed to me, which was good. I think the whole show was a subtle dig at the rightwingnuts. Some of them might be smart enough to see it, so they are saying Jon sucked instead of taking the criticisms to heart.

[KittyWampus]

109. CAught Jon On Oprah... He JUST had 2nd baby & told Academy he might

not be able to give the performance his all because either his wifre might be giving birth or, as happened, DID just give birth. The Academy was fine with that.

Hence the Colbert bits, I think. They helped fill in with material Jon didn't have time to put together.

Jon also mentioned that he was VERY cognizant of how important the show is to the nominees waiting to find out who won. So his goal was to be as
Supportive of the artists as possible... not to showcase HIMSELF.

[cally]

129. Did Oprah seem to think he did well?

I'm confused by the consensus on this. Ebert raved about him and now I'm picking up that he got bad reviews. I thought he did well.

[jbnow]

16. I thought he did fine too

Hard to judge because I haven't watched it for years and never the whole show. I watched it this time because of Jon.

He amused me. I didn't expect him to do his Comedy show routine. I expected him to be clever. He was.

[FrannyD]

108. That's the only reason I watched

I tivo'ed and just watched the Jon parts. I thought he was fine. Looking at Matt Dillon was an added incentive. I can't remember when I last watched, and the only movies I saw was Corpse Bride and Constant Gardener. Looking forward to Capote and Good Night and Good Luck.

[Protagoras]

100. watched it with 4 friends

3 love JS, 2 didn't really have a clue who he was.

The group consensus was that he wasn't as bad as Letterman but that he seemed to be kinda flat in this format. He's FANTASTIC on the daily show. And he had some decent moments, but Billy owns the Oscar's and JS Owns TDS.

I'd give him a B as a grade...and the Oscars are all about A work (or should be).

I still love Jon but I didn't feel like he was "Flawless" like that Ebert led panel seemed to think. Lots of room for improvement. The imported TDS humor clips were good though...loved the political ads.

[hyphenate]

11. I've read several Oscar reviews this morning

And they appreciated Jon's performance. He had a few misses, but he also had a lot of hits as well. The Cheney one was particularly well accepted, but at the very beginning he was a bit nervous and it showed. After a few intros and such, he was going very well and relaxed. At that point, he didn't even need to have written material--taking his clue from the events themselves, he did great.

[underpants]

22. MSNBC's revies seems to have been written by idiots

I thought Steart did fairly good. He definitely picked up steam as the night went on. He is better at observing and reacting rather than the formulatic standup bing bing bing type monologue.

Here is the MSNBC review.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11687022/

[indie_voter]

62. I thought this review made Stewart look good, it dissed Hollywood

for not having a sense of humor about themselves.

[LizW]

24. That's exactly how I felt about his performance.

He was nervous at the beginning, and who wouldn't have been?

But he got going and relaxed and it was fine. The "window" of expectations for him was extremely tiny. If he had been as outrageous as he is sometimes on his show, some of the reviewers would have been aghast and called him inapropriate. If he was too restrained, he would have been called boring and a sellout.

As for how it played on tv, remember that you can't always hear crowd reaction (Howard Dean?) The crowd could have been howling and we might not have heard it. Also, lots of Jon's "funny" is in facial expressions and gestures, which don't necessarily come off well to a huge live audience in a theater.

I really think overall he hit the mark. He was mostly funny without being insane, he teased the celebs without being too mean, he got in one or two good political digs, and he was gracious and didn't try to steal the spotlight. I'll bet the Oscar producers are pleased.

[malaise]

41. Many missed his biggest hit

when he asked the audience whether they thought the academy would be more democratic if they all got together and pulled down the massive Oscar statue. He was subtle and classy and did not try to steal the show. I thought he was good.

[knitter4democracy]

101. I loved that one.

:)

I thought he was funny. The opening bit was great, and while he was nervous at first, he really got going later. The Cheney joke was awesome. I laughed until it hurt, as I'd been waiting to see how he'd fit that in.

[helderheid]

58. That was how I saw it too - nervous at first but once he relaxed, he did

GREAT. I most thoroughly enjoyed it.

[MissMillie]

131. I thought he did well

I didn't see the very beginning, but what I did see, he was funny, warm, and entertaining.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

13. He did fine, IMHO.

[fasttense]

14. He was a well behaved Jon

Funny but not over the top. Ben Stiller's green-suit was a scream though. I turned it off after they gave out make up awards to Narnia.

[Montauk6]

17. Some of the bits were very good

The gay cowboy montage was one of the funniest bits I've seen in a long time; I was cracking up throughout.

Also, the campaign ad spoofs were dead-on and hilarious.

Jonny had some definite dropped-dish moments but I think it's par for the course when the entire show production is so micromanaged the way it is, esp. driven by the OBSESSION to keep the show brief. The Conti Orchestra was nothing short of obnoxious (OK, ACADEMY! WE GET YOUR POINT: KEEP THE SPEECHES SHORT!!!! OK ALREADY!)

Plus, while I love montages, the endless array last night were often pointless and obviously time-fillers; Jon was on it with the "we've run out of clips" remark.

I guess the point is that edgy, irreverant comics have no place in this atmosphere; it's an insane exercise in futility to hire them unless you REALLY let them take part in producing the show to make it theirs. Otherwise, it's bad window dressing that serves neither the host or the telecast.

[AzDar]

75. I think the gay-cowboy clip will go down (if you will) in Oscar history

as one of the FUNNIEST ever..John Wayne: "Why I'll have you spread-eagled on a wagon wheel"...
Laughed my arse off.

[KarenS]

18. I thought he did a good job,,,,,

like someone else has said "not over the top"

but funny with the little barbs :)

he was holding back.

[proud2BlibKansan]

19. He was great

Imus is an ass.

[Coexist]

21. it was very slow. Not quick and witty at all.

But not a bomb.

23. He was good - but putting him next to all that pomp

and million dollar dresses was a bit of a clash. I think the whole hollywood royalty thing needs to be changed, because it seems so outdated.

[npincus]

25. his improv was great, but he had a rough start

at the opening of the show he spoke so slowly and deliberately, like he was terrified, medicated or unsure of his material, that the jokes fell a little flat.

i love Jon Stewart, and he was good once the show got going, but he seemed intimidated by the venue at first.

[Justice]

26. He did pretty well, some high points

I liked the opening sequence, very funny - having billy crystal and chris rock come out of the pup tent was hilarous. I didn't think the letterman part was funny though.

I also liked how he engaged nominees in his monologue. I thought that was good.

He had alot of funny imprompu jokes. The only two things I thought were not funny were the let's look at the statute behind me - and see if we pull it down we might have democracy in this town - and then the bit on what others say about hollywood and stars - without a punch line.

I really liked the humor by many other people - and thought that was a reflection on stewart.

Finally - I loved that most awards were given out by one person, not two. Made things move faster.

[mucifer]

27. Ebert gave him a very good review

I thought he was nervous but entertaining. He got more relaxed by the end of the show.
I think Letterman had the same problem.

[adriennui]

28. no.

jon was fine, he has a subtle delivery....everyone who has ever hosted since billy crystal(who is insufferable) has been dumped on.

however,i was disappointed that there wasn't one chimp joke, so much material..

[Democrat 4 Ever]

37. Imus and that asswipe Charles was knocking Stewart's performance

last week before the damn show. For some reason Imus thinks he hates Jon Stewart because Charles told him to. Imus is a senile, old faux cowboy (a lot like Chucklenuts) and hasn't had an original thought in 20 years. Imus keeps talking about how "smart" Charles and that lame, hate spewing Bernard are and if they say something as far as Imus is concerned it is golden. Listening last week Charles and Bernard were really nasty to Stewart, saying he was not funny, etc. so I expected them to not find anything good about last night's performance. Imus fawns over Santorum, Russert and Tweety - 'nuff said.

I thought Stewart did a fine job (not his best work but beats the hell out of Letterman). Everyone needs to understand that the neocons already had people lined up to knock his performance no matter what happened on the show. Stewart is a threat to their own little scam with his "fake" news shows and therefore must be destroyed. The Daily Show can't be controlled like the MSM so he must be taken down - they are swiftboating, pure and simple.

[KittyWampus]

110. Imus is jealous. Stewart commands more respect and laughs then the old

jackass ever did or will.

[tlsmith1963]

29. He Was About Average

But some people who host the show seem intimidated by how big it is, so he is in good company. Not many people can host the Oscars & do it well.

Tammy

[Marie26]

63. That's about right

He did keep the show moving well, & got in some funny jokes throughout the proceeding. It wasn't a train-wreck by any means. And I enjoyed the show. He was one of the better Oscar hosts (remember Whoopi? Letterman?). I'd give him a B+. We probably just had high expectations because of his work on the Daily Show.

[YOY]

30. Would they rather have Billy Crystal's trite ass up there?

Kissing ass to those in the crowd and making the same jokes year after year?

Jon was just fine. A bit too political at times but that's his schtick.

[dysfunctional press]

39. billy crystal has always been a GREAT oscar host-

but he was looking a little paunchy in the face in the opening bit in the tent last night w/chris rock...

[EFerrari]

96. Crystal isn't TRITE. He games Hollywood with their own

system. You have to know how to look.

Trite, sheeeeeeeeesh.

[mainer]

31. Billy Crystal is still the standard

and he's hard to top.

[YOY]

34. are you joking?

n/t

[ProfessorGAC]

73. Eeeeeep!

I quit watching when he started hosting. I find him way over the top, smarmy, and boring. That's a tough combination.
The Professor

[mainer]

128. Yep, Crystal is the standard. And Hollywood agrees.

Look, I love Jon Stewart on the Daily Show. But within five minutes of the Oscar show's start, I had a sick and sinking feeling in my stomach. He started off a complete dud. thankfully he got a lot better as the show went on -- the high point was the Bjork joke -- but you can't get past the fact Stewart doesn't have Hollywood, or the movie business, in his blood, the way Crystal does. There's a reason Crystal got invited back again and again as host. But he pooped out and didn't want to do it anymore.

Stewart's a great political commentator. But he's an outsider in the movie business, and it shows.

You simply can't blame it on the audience. This is Hollywood, folks, and it was their biggest night of the year. They were WAITING to be entertained, and over the years, they've been entertained by the best. (with the exception of the Letterman bomb. Another guy, by the way, I adore -- but on his own show.) The Oscars need a movie person back as host.

[robcon]

32. He was pretty bad

Unfunny. Unusual for him. He's better at political humor, IMO.

He won't be asked back, I suspect.

[GeorgeGist]

33. Didn't watch, don't care but...

his name is Jon not John. Love the Daily Show.

[LA lady]

133. Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz

Actually, Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz, if you want to be exact! LOL

I don't get the Daily Show (no Comedy Central) and had to work last night so missed the Oscars but word of mouth today is pretty bad. I have seen a few clips and the Bjork joke must have been the highlight 'cause it's all they're showing. Some kinds of humor don't transfer well.

[LA lady]

134. Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz

Actually, Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz, if you want to be exact! LOL

I don't get the Daily Show (no Comedy Central) and had to work last night so missed the Oscars but word of mouth today is pretty bad. I have seen a few clips and the Bjork joke must have been the highlight 'cause it's all they're showing. Some kinds of humor don't transfer well.

[ellie]

35. I thought he was good

given the constraints. The cowboy bit WAS hilarious as well as the mock commercials. But I am a John Stewart fan. Here is what my mom had to say about the show after I called her when Rachel Weisz one for best supporting actress (we saw The Constant Gardner and really liked it): "It is funny. I don't remember it being this funny before."

So there. An unbiased opinion by someone who doesn't watch the Daily Show.

[mattclearing]

36. The truth was that his monologue was great and it was a tough crowd.

I don't think the audience was appropriately inebriated for the event. His material was great, but the people in the theatre sat their stone faced...we were laughing hard at home. I was like, "Damn...tough crowd."

After the monologue, when he was doing his between-segments material, the audience was a lot more receptive.

It didn't help that the opening reel they used to introduce him was kinda lame.

The political ads that they did for lobbying the Academy were great.

Jon did fine. The Hollywood people didn't seem to be in the mood, for whatever reason. Maybe it was the security.

[jbnow]

38. On Today Show

they showed part where he said if he came back he was wearing overalls. Matt said he hoped he'd be back, he'd be a great regular host of it. Katie said what many do, nervous at first. She said something about hoping he could come back but maybe he made too many jokes aimed at audience.

But Imus really likes him and thought he did fine but everyone with him thinks Jon was rotten. They also said Clooney is a fake and Imus really likes him too. (he hasn't met either one but really likes them and calls Jon his friend)
Imus said about one of the bad reviews that he didn't like them because the guy was an O'reilly butt kisser.

I don't watch Imus but switched to see what they were saying

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

45. What confuses me is that Couric seems to really like Jon, and yet she

is the kind of media whore that he holds in contempt.

[Neil Lisst]

40. I thought Jon did a nice job, with a strong start.

Imus is a lunatic, even when I like what he says, and this isn't one of those times.

Jon Stewart was not his usual wacky self, and that disappointed some.

I thought he struck the right balance. This is not the Jon Stewart Show, but the Academy Awards. He could have been funnier, but if he did so, he risked making HIM the event, and that is not his style.

I think he'll be back.

[lectrobyte]

65. I thought the whole show seemed restrained. What was Tom Hanks

saying when he was walking up to give the Oscar and the camera quickly cut away? He seemed angry and just quickly read the nominees with nothing extra.

[Neil Lisst]

70. yeah, the whole tenor was subdued, by design, I thought

It looked reverential, rather than confrontational.

All things considered, I thought the Academy caved in when it could have made a huge statement about freedoms in America and what the administration is doing to them. They didn't. They cowered.

[BlueEyedSon]

42. Best Oscars ever because of JS. I fell off the couch on 3 of his jokes.

[madame defarge]

52. I'm with you...

Jon Stewart's humor last night was brilliant & intelligent...something many viewers who watch just for the glitz factor missed.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

44. I think Jon had a bumpy start and especially since the audience was

only mildly amused.To be honest, they seemed uptight. Almost as if they were afraid to laugh at his jokes. I wasn't that impressed either. Then something happened. He loosened up later on with wonderful improvs and in the end, Jon prevailed. :)

[stray cat]

46. He made it more human and not a big extraveganza

I really enjoyed his style - he didn't pretend to be the main event and let the nominees own the show and kept it moving. He was Jon not Mr. Hollywood and that played very well as far as I was concerned.

[Zynx]

47. Many of his jokes were jabs at the audience so that pissed some of them

off. You could tell that they don't have a sense of humor because they couldn't laugh at jokes at their expense.

[bunkerbuster1]

48. He was fine. You can't please everyone

Some people here at DU might've expected more overtly political stuff, but I figured Jon was there mostly to bring in a slightly younger demographic.

And that, and not much else, will determine whether he's asked back. He handled his duties well, did a bit of ad-libbing, kept things moving along.

[SunDrop23]

49. Imus became irrelevant 20 years ago. nfm

[WCGreen]

53. He wasn't going to conduct a three hour Daily Show...

If that's what you think......

HE did his usual, off beat humor that sometimes hits....

And sometimes misses...

[area51]

54. Jon Stewart

I watched part of it & thought he was good. Can't compare it to his performances on The Daily Show b/c I don't have cable.

[peacetalksforall]

56. I thought the audience was drinking sleepy-time tea or something.

They were unbelievably lethargic.

But Stewart could have been more mobile and his suit could have been a little more party-like.

The zip in the air was missing, It wasn't what he said.

[librechik]

72. exactly--Jon was great; the audience was slow and looked depressed

Charlize Theron looked deathly--she's usually so radiant! A lot of Jon's jokes went over their heads.

But Jon was great--personable, and confident, and aware he was there to make others look good. ABC loved him; I bet they ask him back.

[knitter4democracy]

102. It took Ben Stiller to wake them up.

That green suit bit was really, really funny, and I think that was when everyone woke up.

[librechik]

113. that was a fantastic bit--very funny and inspired n/t

[semillama]

81. I agree

Stewart even mentioned it after Hustle & Flow won for best song, and he actually chided the audience for not being more excited, citing the exuberence of the guys who won that award.

I didn't watch the whole thing, but I though Stewart seemed like an outsider, and was projecting the perspective of the TV audience to the live audience - I think he was probably a bigger hit with the average american than with the bigwigs. But I will admit having Stewart host the Oscars with the most politically liberal lineup of nominated films was a nice touch that will have anti-hollywood freepers foaming for days.

[Libby2]

57. I thought he did a great job.

He got in many jabs.
Too bad it was over the heads of the audience and apparently the reviewers.
I think he was nervous in the beginning too, but then he hit his stride.

[TNOE]

61. I thought he was great

and I was reading between the lines - I think they all knew the Karl Rove machine was going to be in attack mode on Monday morning and the show gave them ZERO reason for attack. It looked like to me Hollywood had something to prove to the world - and they did. The best was when Jon said at the beginning - you know I've heard people don't like you... and went on with the Right wing nut mantra - and then George Clooney won first and said he was proud to NOT be "mainstream" because Hollywood had led the way.

Anyway, that's my take - they were playing it safe and personally I think it was very smart.

[babylonsister]

67. Jon was great imo; I laughed at a lot of his lines. nt

[m_welby]

68. I thought Jon was brilliant.

Not a sycophant type host. I don't watch this stuff very often anymore because it is just so lame most of the time.

Jon did a fine job; whe was intelligent, he got a few digs in at hollywood and made jokes right upfront about how liberal/democratic it is. He seemed to be attempting to diffuse the inevitable rightwing backlash about the event.

Didn't watch the whole thing, but what I saw was fine, entertaining, funny, and intelligent. if the rw media is bashing him for not being good enough or funny enough then he did everything right and there isn't enough 'left wing aganda' crap for them to rail against (and it infuriates them no end).

[Catchawave]

69. Some people just "don't get" Jon's brilliant serious wit....

...so I think his humor "whooshed" over a lot of heads in that audience. And possibly many of the 100 million estimated viewers ? TDS only has about 2 million viewers on a cable channel ? Even on liberal DU, he isn't 100% supported.

The toppling of the giant Oscar on stage was my favorite part! "Would that bring democracy to Hollywood?" Clearly a jab at the Bush administration and the fundies!

[gauguin57]

71. I liked Jon as host. Yeah, things could have been edgier, but I liked it

overall. The friends I watched the show with, however, didn't like it, and found it too cold.

I thought Jon struck the right balance, and was very, very funny. Billy Crystal is still my favorite host, but I think Jon was better than, say, Chris Rock or Steve Martin.

I agree with Ebert and Roeper, who said he seemed very comfortable up there ... and compared his performance with the way Johnny Carson used to host. I agree!

[SCDem]

76. I thought Jon was great

He kept me watching through the whole show.

I liked the host and the movies this year.

[negativenihil]

77. He was plesant

The Oscars are a celebration of film, and i felt John respected that and simply didn't use the airtime for political stuff.

Besides, imagine what the usual talking heads would be screaming about if he did....

[gauguin57]

78. QUESTION for those who watched the Oscars

Hey, did anyone have a problem with the music on the Oscars being so loud you couldn't hear anything else? Like, when the film montages were on, was the music so loud you couldn't hear a word of dialogue? Or when Kathleen "Bird" York was singing her song from crash (she's Toby's ex-wife Andi on the West Wing), the music was so loud you couldn't hear a word she was singing?

[SCDem]

83. I just remember during one award acceptance speech

I couldn't remember which one, but the music was still playing and playing kind of loud.

I loved Kathleen York's performance! Of course I love almost anything and everything that has ever touched the West Wing!

[Dawgs]

79. Don't forget about his jab at the media.

'Stewart saluted both “Good Night, and Good Luck” and “Capote” as important films about journalism’s ”relentless pursuit of the truth,” adding, “Needless to say, both are period pieces.”'

It may explain why he received some bad reviews (i.e. Washington Post).

[Neil Lisst]

80. Agreed. I thought that was a nice, subtle, but insightful comment.

I believe Jon Stewart can be the next Johnny Carson, but he has to get comfortable with an audience before he can reveal himself fully.

[WinkyDink]

82. He was dull. He didn't change his act for a different audience.

And I'm a big JS fan. And I DID and DO "get" his humor.

[lectrobyte]

85. I thought he was OK, the opening was funny, but to be fair, the

audience seemed very cool to him. His jokes about montages and film clips were definitely not appreciated, and I suspect folks not familiar with the Daily Show would have been puzzled by the fake lobbying clips.

Edit: I should probably add I'm not usually a big fan of the Oscars, and probably would not have watched if Jon hadn't been hosting it.

[noonwitch]

86. He was very funny-I loved the Bjork joke.

"Bjork was going to come, but she went for her dress fitting and Dick Cheney shot her".

[WinkyDink]

87. It was funny, but a Bjork reference at the OSCARS? Try Grammys.

Yeah, I know it was to razz Cheney; still.

[lectrobyte]

91. She wore that dress to the Oscars, nominated for Dancing in the Dark

I thought that was one of his better-received jokes of the evening.

[WinkyDink]

99. I sit corrected!

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

88. He was great. It was the audience that sucked.

I think Stewart was initially thrown off by the audience response. He lets Hollywood guests come on The Daily Show and flog their product all the time, and he's always gracious to them no matter what nitwits they are. You would think they would return the favor.

But the big money is soooo afraid of the liberal label cutting into their sales that they sat on their hands. There was a definite air of "Prove you're good enough to perform for us, monkey boy" that I found very off-putting. As the person onstage, Jon must have found it absolutely unnerving.

I hope he hosts again, but if he doesn't, no big deal. The whole Oscar ceremony is an outdated concept, like the Miss America pageant.

[qanda]

90. Absolutely not

He did fine. I'm not sure what they are looking for, but Jon was as good as anyone I've seen host the Oscars. Face it, award shows are by their very nature filled with overly praised, pissant actors and if they want someone to swoon all over them then they should have their parents host the show.

[bunkerbuster1]

119. I wouldn't have bothered watching, were it not for Stewart

I can't remember the last time I watched an Oscar ceremony. Must have been at least six, seven years.

I hope he'll be back for 2007.

[ripple]

92. Folks who aren't familiar with Jon

were probably expecting laugh-out-loud, slapstick funny, rather than his dry, cynical wit. They just don't get it.

[Catherine Vincent]

94. Imus?

Imus ain't nothing but schit!

[EFerrari]

97. Imus got the fax. This is how they keep Hollywood

irrelevant -- or, how they try.

[NVMojo]

95. I thought he was rather constrained but professional. Took it serious.

[opihimoimoi]

98. He was Jon Stewart...host of the Oscar Deal....He was great. of course

I watch the Daly Show and am a bit predujiced

Nevertheless, Jon was a laugh and a half.

And I agree, this whole thing is a bit out dated...

[NNN0LHI]

103. Don't know too busy watching Discovery HD Theater n/t

[SpecialK]

104. Best line of the night...

"For those of you keeping score at home: Martin Scorcese: 0 Oscars, Three Six Mafia: 1"

[Blue_Roses]

105. I thought he looked restrained at first

but seemed to loosen up more towards the end. I like Jon Stewart and thought this wasn't his best forum. He's a dry, cynical comic and this audience didn't get it.

[Hamlette]

107. It seems they only like hosts who are one of them, no matter how funny

They love Billy Crystal and Whoopie, both have been in movies, but hated Letterman (who I thought was so hysterical we named the dogs we got that week Oprah and Uma) Chris Rock and Jon.

If you are not a movie star, they won't like you hosting the oscars.

[gauguin57]

111. Chris Rock, Jon Stewart and David Letterman have all been in movies.

Chris Rock more than either of the other two including his voice work in animated stuff (like Madagascar). (In fact, he's set to be in four films between now and 2008). Jon's been in a few movies, though. Letterman in "Cabin Boy" and a couple of others.

Just to set the record straight.

But yes, I agree the audience was pretty tough on Jon, and that he's not really "one of them." Thank goodness.

[BattyDem]

116. Did they like Whoopie?

In my post below, I mentioned that the only host they seemed to like in recent years was Billy Crystal. I thought they hated Whoopie, too. :shrug:

[Spazito]

112. I thought Jon was fine, the audience, on the other hand, was VERY

tense, more so than usual, imo. I wondered if something was going on behind the scenes that was causing the very muted crowd behavior that had nothing to do with Jon's performance.

[BattyDem]

114. I enjoyed him ... he made me laugh

Of couse, I would have preferred a bit more political humor, but it was The Oscars, not The Daily Show. The MSM seems to criticize every host for one reason or another. Billy Crystal is the only one they ever like.

I think he did a good job. :-)

[Rainscents]

115. I thought Jon was great!

I talked with my mother this morning and asked her what she thought about Jon, since she didn't know who Jon was before last night. And she said... OMG, he was great! Funny, witty and very handsome! LOL

[fishwax]

117. apparently ebert and roper gave him rave reviews n/t

[renate]

118. he did a great job

I enjoyed the whole show a lot. It was a little more grown-up and glamorous than it's been occasionally in the past. People didn't wear stupid outfits, they showed respect for the honor it is to be at a ceremony that honors people at the pinnacle of their profession. (Well, okay, the Wallace and Grommit guys had those big ties, and the March of the Penguins guys had those big penguins. Other than that....)

And Jon didn't try too hard, which would have been awkward (and he didn't mug or do his Woody Allen thing--phew! I adore him, but I wish he'd move on from the funny faces. So not necessary). He was professional and grown-up, too. It would have been great for US to see the Daily Show Jon, but that's not what he was hired to do. I think he fit the gestalt of the program absolutely perfectly. I was really happy for him.

[dflprincess]

120. I think the expectations for Stewart were so high

no mere mortal could meet them. I thought he did okay, but it's a whole different venue and we don't know what he was told he couldn't say.

[annofark]

121. I really dug it

I thought that he did a great job. I feel like every year the host gets slammed and every year I think the host did a great job.

[951-Riverside]

122. Yes he was pretty bad

I felt his jokes were water down and heavily edited he was out of his element.

[kma3346]

124. I thought he was GREAT!

Sure, he was a little nervous at first. What normal human being wouldn't be? After a while, he loosened up and some of his jokes were hilarious. I think that some of the stuffy, self-important actors and actresses in the audience didn't like being made fun of. Well, BOO HOO! Most of them live in a privileged world totally different from the one that the rest of us occupies. I could see a lot of the more down-to-earth, intelligent, and politically-aware stars laughing their asses off. (As was the entire room of people I was watching the Oscars with!)

Yeah, not every single joke totally hit the mark, but my God, who is PERFECT? I really hope that they invite him again next year (and that he does it). That's probably the only way I'll ever watch this puffed-up production again!!

Ok, I'm off my soapbox!

If you want to let the people in charge of the Oscars know how you feel about Stewart's performance, email them at

http://www.oscars.org/contact/general.html

I just did and I feel MUCH better!!

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[kma3346]

125. I like the comparisons to Johnny Carson

Oops! Somehow my post got duplicated. I think I'll take this opportunity to add another two cents to this discussion (and then go and read up on how to delete posts--I'm still kind of a newbie here!)

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060305/OSCARS/60306001

I think Roger Ebert is right on in his comparison of Jon Stewart to Johnny Carson. I've always thought that Jon Stewart should be next in line for the Tonight Show or Late Night Show.

[ChiciB1]

126. SCREW Imus.... He's Got His Ass So Far Up McCain's Butt

he's lost all perspective! I never have been able to "get' Imus! He's a loud mouth narcissistic IDIOT! I didn't hear his comments, but of ALL people to condemn anyone he should be last!!

I mean, to me he seems to do nothing but blast other people's actions! A walking hypocritical contradiction himself!

[ChiciB1]

127. RETRACTION! After Reading Many Posts Here, I Guess It Wasn't

Imus himself. At any rate, to those of you who felt Jon was "off his mark" I think he balanced it quite well and I'm very proud of him!

Bo on Imus is pretty much a loud mouth most of the time. Or at least on the rare occasions I tune into Imus. I'm usually watching Washington Journal and only switch to them every once in a while. I'm not a big Imus fan though!

I will credit him for his dedication to underprivileged kids though!

[Radio_Guy]

130. He was no Billy Crystal

But he did better than Imus could ever do.

[Misskittycat]

132. I thought he was very good; very appropriate; and lent some

dignity to the occasion. He also participated more as the host than other hosts did: he was actually on stage and introducing most or all of the presenters.

Most years when I watch the Oscars, I think there are too many "in" jokes aimed just at Hollywood insiders. Sure, it's their night, but it's watched by a hundred gazillion people around the world, and I think it should be directed towards the TV audience as well. There were fewer "in" jokes this year, and I liked it more.

I thought his slower style was actually a benefit: again he added some slightly edgy dignity and he was actually hosting, instead of just showing up to tell some jokes that a lot of people find off-color or offensive anyway.

He was appropriate to the occasion; I wasn't expecting a Daily Show episode.

Why the theatre audience was so subdued is really their problem. I didn't really notice it that much until some of the critics this morning pointed this out, but then again, I think critics generally suck anyway, so who cares.

[begin_within]

135. His filmed "commercials" and pre-recorded bits were good, but his live

remarks and opening monolgue tanked - he also seemed very nervous and stiff for the first hour or two, then loosened up considerably towards the end.

[graywarrior]

136. IMUS?! He can't even lift his head or voice to talk.

Stewart did fine considering he was standing in front of a roomful of egos. He wasn't doing The Daily Show, he was hosting the Oscars. Big difference.

I'll tell you who's doing bad...Cheney shooting a guy in the face and covering up a drunken affair, and George Bush in Iraq.

[Katherine Brengle]

139. It was pretty bad--he seemed nervous, the gags didn't get the laughs he

was clearly expecting, and the crowd was pretty tough on him.

I think it would have been better if he had just been himself, and I don't think that he really was.