Final episodes of @Midnight air
Every day there’s something new in the Trump-o-sphere. Apparently he wrote his son’s first, and grossly misleading, statement about why he. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort met with Russian agents at Trump Tower in June 2016. The White House spokesperson said the president “weighed in” on crafting the statement.
Before that the president gave a very political speech to the Boy Scouts, which the organization then apologized for afterwards. A day later he appeared to have sanctioned police brutality — and then claimed it was all in jest!
Then he was caught lying about having phone conversations with the leader of the Boy Scoutso. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the official White House press secretary said calling it a lie was using too strong of a word to describe the president’s lies.
His new chief of staff John Kelly fired Anthony Scaramucci, one of Trump’s top aids got into an argument with a reporter about the Statue of Liberty — after the president rolled out a plan to limit legal immigration to a “merit-based” system and ending family-based immigration — the president blew up at the generals in the Pentagon because they haven’t won the war in Afghanistan yet — apparently they didn’t get the memo about Trump’s campaign promise that he had a secret plan to win the darn thing in a couple of weeks — we just get tired of it all. Can’t the Trump Administration take a break from the drama for one day?
Rhetorical question. By the time anyone reads this the president will have tweeted something incredibly stupid (like claiming he didn’t say the White House is a dump) and the day will start all over again with the latest in the Trump-o-sphere.
You know who isn’t leaking or tweeting or causing drama? The independent prosecutor Robert Mueller and his team. They’re just going about their business investigating the Russia hack and possible collusion by the Trump campaign. Mueller just hired another attorney, Greg Andres, who has a background in foreign bribery. The Los Angeles Times is reporting Mueller has convened a grand jury to continue the investigation, and it will be focused on the meeting last June between the Russians and Don, Jr. Kushner and Manafort.
So, with all this Trump madness, along with the Congress beginning to turn against him, i.e. the almost unanimous bill sent to the president that codifies the sanctions against Russia President Obama put in place that takes away Trump’s ability to end the sanctions, what is there to do?
Thank the gods for Comedy Central at 11 p.m. The Daily Show With Trevor Noah is a great respite (sort of) from the Trump madness, although much of their humor is a result of the Trump White House. How could it not be? And it’s usually always funny. But after the Daily Show we get @Midnight, a panel game show hosted by Chris Hardwick that pits three contestants, usually comedians, against one another to see who rules the internet for the day (or night).
It used to come on at midnight when The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore followed the Daily Show, but then Wilmore was cancelled last year and @Midnight moved up a half hour. It’s too bad about Wilmore. He had a funny show. Not as well received as the Colbert Report — what show could equal Stephen Colbert?
Now, about a year after @Midnight took over the 11:30 p.m. time frame (except on Thursdays when The President’s Show airs) Hardwick and his show will call it a run and have their final episode. When it was first launched in October 2013 most of us had no idea what it was. A comedian hosting three other comedians looking to win the internet. It was an immediate hit. The humor was so off the wall, so irreverent — so wrong (in all the right ways) it didn’t matter who won the internet that night, all that mattered was that viewers had put off David Letterman and Jay Leno for another half hour.
Viewers that use Twitter, Instagram and Facebook will recognize much of the show’s look. It’s built on social media with games and topics getting pulled from it all, including YouTube and Snapchat.
When @Midnight first aired Comedy Central had 90 minutes of genius and fun, from the Daily Show, to the Colbert Report and through @Midnight. That was prime time for many young and old people who liked their humor edgy and without social restraint.
Guests on @Midnight would include big names, comedic actors, sit-com stars, and a who’s who of laughs: Weird Al Yankovich, Emo Phillips, Tom Lennon, Natasha Leggero, Kristen Schaal, John Hodgmen, Nikki Glaser, Brian Posehn, Paul F. Tompkins, Paget Brewster — the list could go on.
Games included Audio Quiz, Cringe-Worthy, Sweet Emoji, and the ever popular #hashtagwars. Then there was the Live Challenge and the show-ending #FTW For The Win!
Basically, the contestants and the host could improvise humor to answer questions, or in Hardwick’s case, introduce topics. Anything to produce laughs and the more laughs the more points, usually. The shows were usually funny from start to finish and the winner would get adulation and that was about it. the show also had championships in which daily winners would compete to win for the year. It was a lot of fun.
Chris Hardwick, the host, is a nerd who made good. He’s a favorite at Comic-Con — he’s a big fan of zombie movies and TV shows, especially The Walking Dead. That would often find its way into throw, as would Hardwick’s mother, who was always racier than her son — to his embarrassment at times.
With tonight being the final episode might we see his mother once again? Who knows? The contestants will be Jen Kirkman, Paul F. Tompkins and Flula Borg, with special guests like Mary Lynn Rajskub, James Davis, April Richardson, Will Wheaton, Jermaine Fowler and many more. Hard to imagine it will only be a 30-minute show.
If you haven’t seen this show, you just might not get it, but watch it anyway. It will be the funniest thing on TV tonight.
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CORRECTION: The 600th and final episode will by Friday night so fans will get one more episode before @Midnight goes off the air. Thursday’s show was hilarious.
Top photo is a YouTube screenshot of @Midnight
Tim Forkes started as a writer on a small alternative newspaper in Milwaukee called the Crazy Shepherd. Writing about entertainment, he had the opportunity to speak with many people in show business, from the very famous to the people struggling to find an audience. In 1992 Tim moved to San Diego, CA and pursued other interests, but remained a freelance writer. Upon arrival in Southern California he was struck by how the elected government officials and business were so intertwined, far more so than he had witnessed in Wisconsin. His interest in entertainment began to wane and the business of politics took its place. He had always been interested in politics, his mother had been a Democratic Party official in Milwaukee, WI, so he sat down to dinner with many of Wisconsin’s greatest political names of the 20th Century: William Proxmire and Clem Zablocki chief among them. As a Marine Corps veteran, Tim has a great interest in veteran affairs, primarily as they relate to the men and women serving and their families. As far as Tim is concerned, the military-industrial complex has enough support. How the men and women who serve are treated is reprehensible, while in the military and especially once they become veterans. Tim would like to help change that.