Jon Stewart Back in Form

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart made a belated return to its trademark irreverent humor on its second night back from the hiatus forced by the writer's strike. Jon Stewart returned to his normal form, even taking a moment to poke fun at how dismal a reception the previous night had received.

The Daily Show found time once again to discuss politics, although much of the discussion involved the show's inability to discuss the New Hampshire primary results (because the show is taped before those results are known) and a return to observations about the oddness of seeing Chuck Norris standing behind a presidential candidate. It seems Jon Stewart just can't get enough of that particular image.

Although Jon had clearly received the message that an entire show dedicated to the writer's strike was not what his audience wanted, the show still dedicated a good amount of air time to the topic. In a very funny sketch (which we were assured was entirely off the cuff), reporter John Oliver explained that it was illegal for him to strike because of his work visa -- while the image behind him showed Oliver fulfilling his duties as a Writer's Guild member by manning the picket lines.

While the show was perhaps not quite what it was before the strike, it was uncountable times better than last night's episode. The production values were up to par and Jon Stewart once more looked the part of the jester king we have missed for so many critical weeks.