The Daily Show Celebrity Interviews

[arwalden]

Do these politicians and celebrities KNOW they are being spoofed? Do they KNOW that they are being interviewed for The Daily Show?

Or are they clueless? Or are they in on the joke and are they intentionally playing it 'straight' so that they look dumb?

-- Allen

[TXlib]

1. I think it's a little of both.

I've seen some interviews where it seemed the interviewee either already knew the show was a spoof, or caught on pretty quickly, and had a sense of humor about it.

I've seen other interviews where it seemed the interviewee was clueless.

[Aristus]

2. I'm a huge Wesley Clark fan, but I have to admit, his appearance

on TDS made it seem as if he was unaware that it is a satirical show. He was too stiff and not on the same wavelength as John Stewart. That's okay,I'm still a Clarkie, but couldn't an assistant have told him it is a parody show?

[LandOLincoln]

11. I didn't see it that way at all...

It was obvious from the get-go that he was in on the joke. His goofing on his four stars (out of a "possible 12") was pretty funny, IMO.



Edit for punctuation screwup.

[XNASA]

3. I'm voting "clueless".

As the years flow past, it's becoming increasingly obvious to me, that most mainstream celebrities and nearly all politicians are fairly clueless.

And I think I've figured out the reason. $$$$$$$$$$$$

[omshanti]

4. I donno - what was it with Ed Asner yesterday?

Did he know? Did he call Robb Corddry a 'jerk' cos he was in on the joke? Did the PABAAH guy know?

[wysimdnwyg]

5. Asner knew

I really played up the part calling Corddry names.

The PABAAH guy? He's a moran, so I don't think he knew.

[Brotherjohn]

7. "I really played up the part"? "I..."?

Mr. Asner, is that you?

[wysimdnwyg]

10. OOPS!

Make that "HE really played up the part."

[stanwyck]

16. I think he knew

but it was disconcerting. Asner was such a foul-mouthed jerk. However, I think Asner is a pretty smart guy and he was playing along. The celebrities probably know the whole Daily Show schtick before they're on. Their publicists probably check everything out in advance. It's the non-celebrities who probably don't.

[Brotherjohn]

6. I think Asner was clueless. I felt sorry for him. But he really wasn't..

... the target. I'm sure if he saw the bit, he'd get it.

I think sometimes TDS practices "guerilla comedy". As bad as it might make Asner feel momentarily, it makes the bit funnier, and more to the point, it makes the satire of it work better. The target was the PABAAH guy, and Corddry playing along with him to the point of asking McCarthy-style questions of Asner only made the PABAAH guy look more ridiculous. At one point, "Mr. PABAAH" said "Whenever people criticize Hollywood celebrities, everyone screams 'McCarthyism!'". But then he continued on and said something like "Maybe McCarthyism isn't all that bad". !!!!

I am surprised that actors and liberals don't often get this kind of humor and play along more. But hey, Asner's gotta be 80... I can't blame him. TDS's humor is aimed at 20-somethings (I'm a relative old fogie).

Of course, maybe he's just really a good actor, and this is how he thought they could make the PABAAH guy look really psychotic.

[smirkymonkey]

17. What is PABAAH??

I missed it

[Brotherjohn]

20. "Patriotic Americans Boycotting Anti-American Hollywood"

They chose to single out the "worst" offense in this interview...

ready...?

ELF! Because Ed Asner (known communist, of course!) was chosen to play the beloved Santa Claus!

[arwalden]

8. Two Other Interviews That Come To Mind ...

are the George Takei interview (and asking about why there aren't more Asian porn stars and if he's ever been offered a porn role) and the Bob Graham interview (that ended up with him singing a Bob Graham campaign song.)

-- Allen

[omshanti]

9. The funniest one was the "Secretaries Bus Tour"

where Rob Corddry was a groupie and followed Elaine Chao, Secretary of the Treasury (can't remember the others) on the bus tour.

Hilarious.

[Grassrooter]

19. The Sharpton 'interview' was pretty funny.

Questioning him about his bid for the presidency: "Are you going to stick it to 'the man'?", and Sharpton's "Who's 'the man'?, LOL.

[Tracer]

12. Re: Asner & PAABAH

C'mon guys Ñ the WHOLE THING was a spoof!

There's no PAABAH, the guy's an actor.
The interviewer is an actor.
Asner was prepped for the skit.

Trouble is, The Daily Show is extremely sly, and you've got to be quick on the uptake to get it.

[omshanti]

13. Um, there IS a PABAAH.

check it out for yourself (I refuse to link it)

oh and by the way, I DO realize the interviewer (Rob Corddry) is an actor and a comedian, not a serious reporter. And I DO realize the Daily Show is a spoof.
:)

(edited - cos I said a "spoor" instead of a "spoof". Damn fingers! can't type worth shit)

[Tracer]

14. Heh.

My apologies.

The Idea of an organization like PABAAH just seemed so pathetically absurd that I couldn't, and still can't, believe it's real.

Of course, so much of what's happening today is off-the-charts unreal.

[omshanti]

15. horrible, isn't it? It's hard to believe sometimes

:-)

But it's all too real, I'm afraid...
I don't know if the guy on the Daily Show was an actor or an actual representative of Pabaah, but my guess is the latter. If you go to the Pabaah website, you'll see a page welcoming the Daily Show viewers.

My guess is that the Moran didn't realize it was a parody/ satire show and thought he was really getting some good exposure for Pabaah.

[DS1]

18. The interviews are heavily edited

and the fake reporters probably spend a few minutes taping various reactions to answers they'll be getting.