I'm loving Oliver as the new host. I think he realizes that he can just say whatever he wants, and it doesn't matter, because Jon will be back to take over in a month or so. This has made for some amazingly blunt moments.
I think Oliver is doing his best and has more than succeeded as a temporary replacement, but I've always thought his "American's concept of what an Englishman is like" schtick borders on blackface.
Stewart does a good job pretending to be a news anchor, but Oliver's character isn't a parody of anything news-related, it's a good parody of a bad parody of an Englishman, which works for skits but gets old fast.
He holds his own though. Maybe I just have PTSD from watching the "Best of John Oliver" clip show, which was really awful.
THIS SHOW ISN'T FUNNY. I KNOW YOU AGREE WITH THE POLITICS AND FEEL ITS YOUR DUTY AS A LIBERAL BUT SERIOUSLY. PLEASE STOP WATCHING IT. WE CAN DO BETTER.
I realize you feel really insecure about not wanting to think you're part of a hivemind and have the kneejerk reaction to immediately criticize what everyone else is enjoying, but even my conservative friends think this is funny. Other than the overly internet meme-ish photoshops for some of the gags, I think the delivery, insight, and good nature of the show is really quite entertaining. Have a drink and calm down. And listen to The Bugle. John Oliver's even better on that, although Andy Saltzman can be a bit forced.
I thought this was funny despite:
1) Thinking John Oliver is tedious and, generally speaking, not-at-all funny.
2) Not agreeing with The Daily Show's politics (namely, their awful treatment of OWS, which eventually lead to me no longer watching the show, which I had been consistently watching since 2000).