Entertainment

This Sketch Got Colbert His 'Daily Show' Job

by Rebecca Jane Stokes

Dana Carvey's eponymous Dana Carvey Show might not have been on the air for very long, but it introduced the world to a wealth of comedians. Take, for example, this sketch starring a young Stephen Colbert and Steve Carrell, which incidentally proves that they are not the same person. The foxy duo (I would gladly be in the center of that sandwich, just sayin') performed in a sketch about two waiters who are absolutely disgusted by food. It's a simple and silly premise, but Colbert and Carrell sell it so hard that it becomes an act of high comedy. I know that I, for one, will have a hard time ingesting anything in the near future.

This sketch is apparently what got Steven Colbert his job on The Daily Show, and you can absolutely see why. Never has a person discussed flounder with more wounded gravitas. It's crazy to me that he's so versatile. I mean, the dude made a career out of pretending to be a virulent right-wing pundit and now he's transitioning onto network late night television—that's kind of a big deal. I'm glad it was The Daily Show who recognized his skills and not, say, a short-lived buddy comedy about two waiters who hate food. Although let's be real: If HBO were to hire Colbert and Carrell to star in a show with that description, the world would watch and the world would love it. Aaron Sorkin and Ricky Gervais would flagellate themselves for not having come up with the concept. The only way this sketch would've been better is if Dana Carvey himself had been in it because, seriously, we don't have enough of him these days.