Since January 2011 More 4 decided to stop airing the nightly editions of The Daily Show and just broadcast the “best-of” complilation show – known as The Daily Show Global Edition – at 11.05pm every Monday.

Louis Theroux has been speaking to Radio Times calling for the show to be reinstated into More 4′s nightly lineup – “there is no show in the history of television that has been as consistently funny and as incisive, in my opinion, as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”.

He went on to say “in a crazy world it is one of the few shows that keeps me sane, with its puncturing of ludicrous public figures, official doublespeak, hypocrisy; and its commentary on the uniquely weird cultural landscape of 21st century America… I have been an obsessed fan for many years and I sang hosannas of gratitude when More4 began broadcasting the show – which turned to wailing lamentations after it was dumped due to low ratings”.

He also points out it’s a critical year for it to be on the air due to the upcoming Presidential elections this November – “The Daily Show is brilliant always but in an election year, it is something more than brilliant, it is essential… please join me in demanding that More4 reinstates the full four days a week of The Daily Show”.

Radio Times have opened a poll on their website so you can vote as to whether you want The Daily Show to return to More 4 – click here to vote.

Also, please become a member of our petition on Facebook to get The Daily Show back on UK TV on a nightly basis (whether it be on More 4 or on another channel) – www.lateshowuk.com/dailyshowpetition

There have been many frustrations for UK fans of The Daily Show in recent times – first the official website for The Daily Show on Comedy Central US blocked all clips if you were outside of the States, then the show was axed from More 4 so there was nowhere left to watch it.

The new minisite from Comedy Central UK provides clips of The Daily Show for UK viewers, but not full episodes yet.

In a news piece on the Comedy Central UK website, they say:

We know there’s a huge Daily Show fan base here in the UK but most of you can’t access the US video clips. Argh! Here’s where Comedy Central UK comes in.

As we don’t air the show on the channel, we can’t bring you full episodes online at present BUT every week we’ll be bringing you specially selected clips from each of the shows from the past 30 days including interviews with Jon’s special guests, The Daily Show 60 Second round ups and of course the Moments of Zen.

Click here to visit the new minisite.

Will The Daily Show be coming to Comedy Central UK on TV eventually? I hope so.

Everyone remembers the terrible events of that day in sunny New York as the World Trade Center was targeted, and the Pentagon in Washington was attacked, but do you recall how the talk shows handled the events after they came back on air many days after September 11th 2001?

The Late Show With David Letterman returned to CBS with its first new show since 9/11 on the 17th September 2001. Guests on the show were news anchor Dan Rather and TV personality (and regular Late Show favourite) Regis Philbin.

The most memorable part of this show (and also one of the most memorable in the history of the Late Show) was Dave’s very moving opening monologue talking about 9/11 and the people of New York:

News anchor Dan Rather was interviewed and famously asked Letterman to go to a commercial break when he broke down in tears part-way through the interview:

Regis Philbin was the final guest on this show:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart returned to Comedy Central with its first new show on the 20th September 2001 and provided another touching opening monologue similar to Letterman’s:

The Tonight Show With Jay Leno returned to NBC with its first new show around a week after the attacks. There still aren’t any video clips online for this episode but Wikipedia says:

“The first post-9/11 episode began with a still image of an American flag and a subdued opening without the usual opening credits. Leno’s monologue paid tribute to those who lost their lives and to firefighters, police and rescue workers across the US. Leno had questioned whether a show that regularly poked fun at the government could continue after the attacks, but in his monologue he explained that he saw the show as a respite from the grim news of the world, akin to a cookie or glass of lemonade handed to a firefighter. Senator John McCain and the musical group Crosby, Stills, and Nash were featured guests. For an extended period after the attack, a short clip of a large American flag waving was shown in between the announcement of the musical guest and Leno’s introduction during the opening montage”.

Late Night With Conan O’Brien returned at around the same time as The Tonight Show:

The story has gone global and The Daily Show is never one to miss out on a headline like this.

Watch Jon Stewart’s reaction when British Daily Show correspondent John Oliver brought the story to his attention:

BBC News reports Letterman “was presented with the Johnny Carson award for comedic excellence at the event in New York”. The award is the highest honour at the ceremony. Letterman was greeted with a standing ovation when he came up to collect the award. He stood in front of the original curtain from Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show to be presented with the honour.

Other awards went to Kristen Wiig (Saturday Night Live) for Best Comedy Actress In Television, former Saturday Night Live regular Tina Fey won for Best Comedy Actress In Film (Date Night) and The Daily Show With Jon Stewart won for Best Late-Night Comedy Series.

BBC News – “David Letterman gets US comedy honour”
SFGate – “Comedy Awards hail Letterman, Fey and ‘South Park’”
Digital Spy – “Letterman honoured at ‘Comedy Awards’”
UPI – “Big names feted at Comedy Awards in NYC”

Screen Rant reports a source with the network has said “a single conversation has happened. It’s still extremely preliminary. He’ll be on every now and again, like Lewis Black. He’s not joining as a correspondent, but as a contributor”.

Larry King retired from his long-running CNN talk show recently, to be replaced by British interviewer Piers Morgan.

King has appeared on The Daily Show in the past and, although not necessarily known for his comedy work, he has appeared in several films such as Bee Movie in comedic roles.

Screen Rant – “Jon Stewart Adding Larry King to ‘The Daily Show’”

We’ve started a Facebook group in the form of a petition to get The Daily Show back on UK television in its entirety instead of just having the Global Edition highlights programme once a week.

Please go to www.lateshowuk.com/dailyshowpetition and request to join.

The Daily Show Global Edition features highlights from the week, with a specific introduction from Jon Stewart and an ‘International Moment of Zen’. Global Edition also aired on CNN International, but does not currently feature in the CNN International schedule in Europe.

According to Media Guardian, More4 will now air just The Daily Show Global Edition from next month. Several British guests have appeared on the programme this year, including Ricky Gervais, Tony Blair, Sting, Gordon Brown and Emma Thompson.

Click here to watch the episode in full (available for 1 week).

The show aired in the US last night and will air on More4 tonight for UK viewers.

Tune in to More4 at 8.30pm tonight to see the show in full, or watch it on 4oD at a later date.

BBC News – “Obama tells Daily Show more time needed for reforms”