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Ear to the Ground

Fox Preps Conservative ‘Daily Show’

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Posted on Nov 21, 2006

Fox News Channel is teaming with Joel Surnow (the creator of “24”) to create a right-wing version of “The Daily Show.”

  • With the Dems in power, this might actually be a good thing; it could force the weakest links of the party to acknowledge and deal with their myriad failings.

  • Variety:

    Comedy Central has made a good living out of skewering the political right.

    Now Fox News Channel, a primary source of material for Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, is teaming with the exec producer of “24” to try its hand at a news satire show for conservatives to love.

    Joel Surnow, co-creator of “24,” is shooting two half-hour pilots of a skein he described as ” ‘The Daily Show’ for conservatives,” due to air in primetime on Saturdays in January.

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    By RS Janes, November 23, 2006 at 2:38 pm #
    (Unregistered commenter)

    The fact is, neocon righties just aren’t that funny. A few months back, I sat through a new Dennis Miller HBO special: In a one-hour show, there were maybe three laughs and the rest was a demented political rant presented with far too many stale allusions, murky metaphors and self-conscious attempts to be cute. I even noticed the hand-picked audience’s attention and applause wavering after the initial half-hour. It was pathetic, like watching a great musician who has toasted his brains on drugs performing his first shaky concert after a lengthy rehab; the man had lost his chops, and there remained only a wispy ghost of the clever and slyly hilarious Miller of days gone by.

    Few sane people think the bitter obsessions of right-wing ‘comics’ are side-splitting; Denny dropping the big one and vaporizing thousands of Arabs just isn’t a rib-tickler for most folks; Ann Coulter calling for a man’s death to intimidate liberals also doesn’t get them rolling in the aisles; and the sour bile of Rush Limbaugh skewering a teenage Chelsea Clinton who had done nothing more than happen to be the daughter of parents Rush dislikes was merely classless and pathetic.

    What’s wrong with Ailes’ apparent strategy is that he’s trying to appeal to an audience who find Miller, Coulter, Limbaugh and their twisted ilk funny. Hint to Rog: Those kinds of people already watch Fox News.

    And there’s another problem Fox has—how do you satirize the news on a channel that, albeit unintentionally, is already a distorted satire of the news?

    Plus, there’s yet a third woe for Ailes: Satire is a tool best, and funniest, when used against those in power and the Bush Administration will still be in power, unless there’s an impeachment (please), for two more years; Fox News is all about protecting GOP power—that means mean-spirited personal attacks against political opponents that doesn’t add up to comedy. The best satire is also funny because there is an element of truth to it that cuts to the core—since Fox News has a severe shortage of that commodity, it’s not hard to predict that endless stories sneering at Nancy Pelosi’s clothes or Hillary’s make-up will quickly wear thin.

    Of course, keen observers of popular culture know that Borat would have been the ready-made host for this pile of scat, but I don’t think even Sacha Baron Cohen would go that far for a joke.

    As has been mentioned here, the ironic twist will be Jon Stewart stocking up on the sure-to-be-lame clips from the Fox News show and unloading both sacastic barrels on these pretenders. Now that will be funny.

    Unfortunately, there are still a few folks in this country who listen to “Springtime for Hitler” and don’t get the joke. You can bet they’ll be watching this show, but I don’t know if they’ll be laughing.

    Report this

    By archeon, November 23, 2006 at 12:25 am #
    (Unregistered commenter)

    This show might be a hit because it may be unintetionally funny.  It may be soooooo silly that it is hight art.

    Report this

    By Louise, November 22, 2006 at 3:25 pm #
    (Unregistered commenter)

    Why do (did) rednecks and hucksters love dubbya?

    Because they love dumb, jiggly boobs, stupid women, racial and sexual profiling, big guns and really bad country western.

    Why do (did) obscenely wealthy corporate types love dubbya?

    Because they love money, un-earned power and looking down on rednecks and hucksters.

    This show can’t possibly do anything but fail

    Report this

    By Stacy, November 22, 2006 at 2:12 pm #
    (Unregistered commenter)

    Does anyone have a problem with a news station targeting a purely entertainment show?  I do.  We should expect our news channels to report news.

    The Daily Show may get a lot of viewers, but it’s purely entertainment value.  If any of the cast says something outlandish or extreme, you understand that it’s Comedy Central, and it’s satire. If you have a trusted news organization, who solely reports on current events around the globe, and they state something outlandish or of satire, then people may actually believe it.

    Fox News should be striving to be number one in news, not in entertainment.  This blurring of the line between the two should have more people worried about the direction our news is taking.

    Report this

    By anonymous, November 22, 2006 at 12:53 pm #
    (Unregistered commenter)

    Ever heard the saying, “It’s funny because it’s true”?  Fox doesn’t do truth so this show will be terrific….

    TO POOP ON!

    This has to be great news for Stewart & Colbert.  They’re both gonna have to expand to an hour to fit in all the stuff this new show will have to offer!

    LMAO!

    Report this

    By benjco, November 22, 2006 at 3:53 am #
    (Unregistered commenter)

    It’s precisely that republicans aren’t conscious enough to be funny that; the show will be trite, they won’t get it anyway, it will become fodder for the Daily and Colbert and U tube.

    Report this

    By James V, November 21, 2006 at 11:20 pm #
    (Unregistered commenter)

    Ahhh, leave it to FOX to miss the point entirely.

    The Daily Show rips on politicians who deserve it. The fact that this administration was monumentally terrible and an alarming number of corrupt Republican politicians were caught in scandals is confused as Right-bashing.  All FOX is going to do is create another hate and fear show that makes all of the (fill in the blank)-phobes squeal with glee.

    I predict it fails miserably as no one (even the phobes) likes a bad knock-off (especially one that misses the point…)

    Report this

    By archeon, November 21, 2006 at 9:36 pm #
    (Unregistered commenter)

    Can’t wait to see this….NOT…24 is almost unwatchable….so just imagine what this is going to be like.  Just think of the kind of humour the nazis whould have made…LOL!  Steven Colbert and Jon Steward are quakin in thier boots.  I am not laughing already.

    BTW - the daily show is not “left wing” it seems to skewer anyone in power…is is satire which is neither left or right.  The right “creating” a “right” wing satire?  Hey that’s funny the “right” kind of humour, the “right” topics, the “right” issues.  Looks like they are unintentionally skewering themselves.

    Conservative joke:  The democracts want to pass laws that will allow poor people to earn a living wage…...(wait for it)......now how are we supposed to keep our maids, gardeners, and nannies endentured.  (drum roll please).

    Or how about this one:

    The Dems want to get out of Iraq…...oh right that isn’t a joke. (drum roll)


    or:

    George Bush is doing a great job, cut taxes, and now we have the highest debt and deficit in history..(make like George Burns with the cigar, wiggle eyebrows) he has left the left behind…wasn’t that a book? right, he can’t read (drum roll), I’ve got a million of em…...

    Ok truth be told the Shrub, and his sicophantic bootlicking lackeys, and the “men behind the curtain” are a joke, too bad no one is laughing…...

    Report this

    By Jim M. Slater, November 21, 2006 at 7:45 pm #
    (Unregistered commenter)

    If you guys at Fox think that the ‘Dailey Show’ cuts a little too close to your bone now, just wait until you try this goofy idea of attempting to outdo Jon Stewart and the forces he has mastered at Comedy Central. . . I’ll give you three weeks—TOPS!  And that’s a CONSERVATIVE wager!!

    Report this

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