By Christina Murphy
Columnist
This August, America bid farewell to Jon Stewart, the political satirist who filled the homes of audience members with the savvy political commentary and snark of “The Daily Show” for 16 years.
With “The Daily Show,” Stewart fostered a new brand of political activism that one could participate in from their couch.
He was regarded by his fans as a trustworthy figure, more so than most politicians and journalists, but this particular bond wasn’t formed in one episode. It took 16 years of courage, honesty and a tumultuous political climate that sometimes left Stewart to be the voice of reason.
When it was announced that his successor would be Trevor Noah, it was no surprise that Stewart fans were quick to fight back with the same passionate protective attitude as a “belieber.”
Within hours of Comedy Central’s announcement, the Internet had recirculated tweets sent by Noah that were insensitive to both the Jewish and “fat chick” communities.
The terms “anti-Semitic” and “sexist” were the first words to come up after a quick Google search, which was not a good look for the man slated to replace America’s liberal sweetheart.
With the Twitter debacle lingering over production, “The Daily Show” took a simple approach when transitioning hosts during the Sept. 28 premiere. Other than sleeker opening graphics and slight modifications to the set, not much deviated from the show’s familiar form.
Noah’s opening monologue was reverent and paid many thanks to Stewart. He referenced his humble childhood on the “dusty streets of South Africa.”
He also addressed the Internet’s cries that a woman or an American should have taken over Stewart’s role.
He claimed that American women and men were approached, but that they all “had something better to do, once more leaving a job rejected by an American being done by an immigrant.”
During the meat of the show, where he tackled the news, his jokes were a bit inconsistent.
He cleverly covered the media circus surrounding the Pope’s visit to America. He suggested using popemojis “for when you want to inject just the right amount of confusing into your late night sexting,” which reminded the audience that he’s young and fresh.
He also discussed John Boehner’s resignation and water on Mars. During these segments a few jokes missed their mark causing the audience to groan in unison.
These groans were not just, “oh no he didn’t” groans, they were the audience’s audible disapproval of his choice to make jokes about Whitney Houston’s death and AIDS.
He finished up the episode interviewing Kevin Hart. To the seeming surprise of Hart, the interview proved to be rather insightful.
Noah did not quite win over the audience during his first episode, but that was to be expected. It will take time for him to build trust with “The Daily Show” audience and he will certainly need more than juvenile jokes to get him there.