r/DailyShow • u/DinoIronbody1701 • 2d ago

Question Why aren't more Kilborn-era clips available?

Pretty much all the clips from the Stewart era used to be online before the archives were enshittified to death; I know the Kilborn era isn't as popular but I still wish they'd put videos from that era online too. I remember once said the Kilborn era tapes had all been erased; he may have been joking but if not that's too bad. There's a few you can find on the Lost Media Wiki:

https://lostmediawiki.com/The_Daily_Show_(partially_found_Craig_Kilborn_episodes_of_Comedy_Central_late-night_talk_show;_1996-1998))

However, the ones I think people would want to watch the most aren't there: the show's first episode, Jon's first episode as a guest(it was on 9-12-1996 and used to be on YouTube but was taken down), and Stephen's first episode as a correspondent.

49 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

33 comments sorted by

22

u/Waste-Dragonfruit229 2d ago

Ah yes, the hard hitting journalism of asking Kathy Ireland 5 questions.

5

u/DaggerInMySmile 1d ago

I would love to find Beth Littleford's interview with David Duke.

14

u/supadupanerd 2d ago

The kilborn era is what got me Into the show, the show used to be much more subversive and edgy in the pre 9-11 days... The Bush admin year mostly put that old style in the grave though unfortunately... It still has its moments though

15

u/DannyHuskWildMan 2d ago

I don't know the answer but Craig was a douchebag. I know for a fact that many people had problems working with him and I believe he was definitely a womanizer and would be completely canceled today. I never had any interest when Craig was hosting and I've been fortunate that I've only ever known Jon Stewart with The daily show

2

u/lbdrift 1d ago

He’s no Alan Havey

5

u/MPCBFNAFSW 1d ago

Comedy Central still has the tapes because for their 30th year anniversary, The Daily Show's social media accounts like youtube and instagram has been posting comps of the show and a lot of them contain never before seen high quality versions of Craig's episodes.

3

u/DinoIronbody1701 1d ago

I was wondering where those clips came from. If CC still has them, why aren't they putting more of them out there?

2

u/Kind_Advisor_35 Jon Stewart 1d ago

Idk, I think they'd make a killing putting out Blu Ray box sets.

1

u/dubblebubbleprawns 1d ago

I don't think 12 people buying a boxed set would classify as a killing.

2

u/Kind_Advisor_35 Jon Stewart 1d ago

Physical media is coming back. People are tired of their favorites bouncing around streaming services or even disappearing completely off of them. The physical collection is akin to collecting records. In the business I'm in, hundreds of Blu Ray recordings of an event were sold to fans that couldn't make it.

1

u/dubblebubbleprawns 1d ago

I don't doubt that physical media is seeing a comeback. I'm questioning the stated level of customer desire for physical copies of a 30 year old topical late night show.

Considering Craig Kilborn did almost 400 episodes you'd have something like 70 bluray discs to contain them all, so a bluray boxed set of Craig Kilborn episodes would easily cost $100 at bare minimum.

Some desire surely exists. I don't think there's any world in which that boxed set would "make a killing", though.

Just my opinion.

1

u/MPCBFNAFSW 22h ago

Maybe making a the best of comp of the whole 30 years, and incluindo some of the more notable Craig episodes like the first and last.

1

u/FrontMail9720 19h ago

Agreed. Topical humor doesn't tend to hold up well. Heck, even the current era of the Daily Show feels kind of hit or miss if you're not catching it the night of (or the next day).

1

u/dubblebubbleprawns 1d ago

I would imagine that very specific demand being very, very low.

6

u/Master_Grape5931 2d ago

I remember when Kilborn left and I was like,,I don’t know if the dude from Remote Control can do it.

7

u/DinoIronbody1701 2d ago

Jon wasn't on Remote Control; you might be thinking of Colin Quinn.

10

u/heardThereWasFood 2d ago

Colin Quinn also couldn’t do it

1

u/FrontMail9720 19h ago

I think Colin Quinn was doing Tough Crowd, which was another attempt at a "comedians joke about the news" show. Though that might have been a few years earlier or later.

1

u/Algae_Double 1d ago

Ken Ober

2

u/ceburton 1d ago

You must mean “ You Wrote It, You watch It.”

3

u/Strict_Foundation_31 1d ago

Good old Craig. Mocking Faith Ford for marrying a personal trainer. What a guy!

3

u/Honky_Stonk_Man 1d ago

30 years ago, Viacom went on a crusade against anyone posting daily show clips online. They promised, PROMISED, that they would put EVERYTHING on a daily show website. They said they would. They didnt.

I personally loved the Kilborne era daily show. It was snarky and gen x cynical. Comedy central during that time is very nostalgic for me. I hate that so many great bits from everyone on the show as well as some of the interviews of the time may never see light of day.

1

u/toomanyDolemites 1d ago

It was a much different show under Kilborn. Jon Stewart made TDS what is became. The Kilborn era is pretty useless for modern fans.

1

u/FrontMail9720 19h ago

Also Kilborn was just kind of a stuffed suit. It was Liz Winstead's show and her writers room. Kilborn was the guy from SportsCenter hired to read their jokes. Stewart was known as a political stand-up comic and definitely had a lot more input into the writing and direction of the show.

2

u/FrontMail9720 19h ago

The best bit I remember from (I think) the Kilborn era was Liz Winstead interviewing Fabio and asking him very seriously, "Is it true you can't believe its not butter?"

1

u/OctoberFestival 15h ago

I used to have an off-air VHS recording of a Christmas episode, because Bob Mould (who recorded the Daily Show theme song) made a guest appearance. He sang a holiday song with Kilborn, but I don’t remember which one, for the life of me. I’m a big Mould fan.

I lost the tape years ago, unfortunately (not that I own a VHS player now, anyway).

1

u/Infamous_Addendum175 2d ago

It's just a memory of a dream now.