The news that Jon Stewart is leaving Comedy Central’s The Daily Show has made us nostalgic for his incredibly long career at the show’s helm. He’s been hosting since 1999, when he replaced the show’s first host, Craig Kilborn.
Since Comedy Central has made an incredible archive of Stewart’s shows available on the Daily Show site, you can go all the way back to Stewart’s first show, which aired on Jan. 11, 1999. As the Huffington Post points out, the guest on the night was Michael J. Fox, who was still starring in Spin City.
It’s fascinating to see, because it is sort of a mix between Kilborn’s style and the beginnings of what would make Stewart so great. On one hand, he’s skewering the President Bill Clinton impeachment trial and the late Sen. Strom Thurmond. However, he's then he’s also sticking with Kilborn’s usual Headlines segment, which was practically a knock off of the funny headlines Jay Leno read on The Tonight Show.
Also, Stephen Colbert is in the episode! Colbert, who left Comedy Central last year, does a segment about weird Clinton trial merchandise. (And look at how thick the TV is! Oh, the late ‘90s. We miss you.)
Other jokes in the episode include jabs at the NBA lockout, Popeye marrying Olive Oyl, and a Moment of Zen features a guy with what looks like a throat tumor.
Here’s the interview with Fox, who gets to sit on a coach instead of a chair.
You can check out our Top 10 Jon Stewart Moments here.
image courtesy of Tina Kaawaloa/INFevents.com