Jon Stewart is back with a new topical show and the weight of expectation alone nearly sinks it. He does seem a bit stiff during the topical intro segments but I admire the analytical format generally - even if the central panel discussions do tend to feel superfluous at best and downright awkward at worst. Where he really shines is interviewing the heavy hitters - his stunning wrong-footing of the Shell CEO in the first season was one of the highlights of the year for me. Ultimately "Problem" is lacking substance and for me sits in the shadow of the far superior (and sadly cancelled) "Problem Areas With Wyatt Cenac". More to that, at the end (or mid point) of the slightly leaner second season, he ditched the long-form analysis model and briefly re-entered contemporary critique again and the vibe was palpable. What I'm skirting around is that... perhaps the Daily Show man is best on some sort of... news show format. Is that mad?
Review of The Problem with Jon Stewart
