Laughing out loud for fake news

After weeks of religiously checking The Daily Show’s website, I was able to score tickets for one of the days I was in New York.

The email from the show recommended arriving between 3:30 and 4:00. I got there around 3:45, and there was already quite a long line. A little after 4:30, they came down the line and checked names off of a list. The last 20 or so people in line were told that they had been standing next to a smelly dumpster in vain, as alas there were no more tickets left (they overbook to ensure that all the seats will be full). The rest of us slowly made our way in through security and were seated by around 5:30 or so.

The studio looked smaller in person than I expected, and there were only about 150 audience seats (which meant everyone had a good view). A third-rate comedian came out to warm up the crowd and make us do a lot of loud clapping and cheering. It was our duty as the studio audience to laugh often and loud during the taping, he told us. And then, before we knew it, Jon Stewart was there in the flesh, looking as devastatingly handsome as ever. He took a couple audience questions, made a few jokes, and then got down to business.

The taping went by quickly, and Jon didn’t miss a beat. No retakes, no extra material, nothing. It probably helped that the guest, Tim Russert from Meet the Press, was also a seasoned TV professional.

Overall it was a fun experience, except for the waiting part. You’d think there’d be a better way to get a studio audience that didn’t involve making people stand in line for two hours. What do they do when it’s raining?