Ryan – The Jon Stewart Show
Look, I know this will mean I’ve spent both of my pieces in this article talking about things that aren’t the actual Daily Show, but I think mention should be made of Stewart’s pre-Daily Show gig, The Jon Stewart Show.
I was a little too young to fully appreciate or watch The Jon Stewart Show when it was on, but the clips that are up of this thing on YouTube are amazing. He seemed to go out of his way to find guests and musicians who did not normally appear on late night talk shows, and the show’s comedy seemed to have more leeway on being experimental than its competitors, all thanks to the creative freedom it had from MTV and in syndication.
Stewart–or at least whoever did his booking–had impeccable taste for early 90s indie rock, too. Just from a cursory YouTube search, you can find the show playing host to performances by college radio favorites like Sunny Day Real Estate, Morphine, Quicksand, Guided by Voices, and Rocket from the Crypt (during an episode live at MTV Spring Break of all things!).
Unfortunately, the show didn’t last too long after it was moved from MTV to network syndication. The last episode of the show features a dejected-looking Stewart–who’d only been told his show had been canceled at the last minute–trying to make the best of things and offering his studio audience free margaritas. He cheers up once he starting talking to his final guest: David Letterman, who rarely made TV appearances outside of his own show. In the final minutes we get a rare television appearance from cult indie rockers Buffalo Tom and a goofy sketch with Stewart as an elderly industry flameout. Who would have known where he’d be a few years later?
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