I followed Stewy from SAST to MTV to ABC. After a very funny show called You Wrote It, You Watch It, MTV gave him his own talk show, which eventually made the jump to the late-night major network slot. His show had some genius writing and comedy bits, along with some hip guests (his was the first show to have Dave Grohl drumming after Nirvana, in a band with barely-seen Eddie Vedder, Mike Watt, and Pat Smear in one of the greatest rock performances ever on late-night). Though, it failed to find an audience, competing against a young Conan O'Brien, it did give Stewy the chance to be seen outside of basic cable. It also showed how much he needed to improve his interviewing skills, as his neurotic, quick humor often left his slower-witted guests confused and smiling awkwardly. Stewy once had Cindy Crawford on and he was commenting on her soft skin, and she told him about this special skin cream she liked. She proceeded to open her purse and put some on the outside of his hand. She then asked " doesn't feel good?" and Stewart responded by saying " I don't know Cindy, when I have cream on my hands, its usually on the other side."
Stewy was almost too funny for the show and it was at its best when the audience wasn't laughing, as his humor was so subtle and out of tune with the mainstream that his spontaneous sarcasm and non-sequiturs would elicit muffled chuckles from one, maybe two of his crew off-stage. Jon's self-depreciating humor is his best asset and he actually dubbed the last week of his show "The Countdown to Cancellation," even appearing unshaven and seemingly half-drunk. But, this was the show that launched Stewy as a viable personality, and soon he was playing the very same role on Larry Sandersan up-and-comer touted as the future of talk. Perhaps, his inability to truly dumb it down is why Jimmy Kimmel has a slot in late-night and Stewy is relegated to basic cable, though he brought it respectability. Watching the Daily Show today, you can see the same quick wit, great writing, and even his continued awkwardness with some of the guests (his interview with Andre 3000). But, for those lucky enough to have caught some of The Jon Stewart Show when it was on (mainly on late-night, not MTV), they had the pleasure of seeing some of the funniest and hippest TV of the mid-nineties.
