"Your Moment of Zen"
edit“Your Moment of Zen” is the closing segment to Comedy Central’s Daily Show. Starting with Craig Kilborn’s show, moving to Jon Stewart, and now continued with host Trevor Noah, The Daily Show uses the Moment of Zen as a segue from the end of the show to the credits. It is primarily introduced by the line, “Here it is, your Moment of Zen.”
The segment originated with Kilborn hosting the show and the Moment featured a seemingly random humorous or ridiculous video in non sequitur fashion. After Jon Stewart became the host, the Moment of Zen shifted slightly to relate more back to news clips from earlier in that show, as a recap or as an extension of a previous clip. Still, the Moment of Zen retained a level of randomness and the often out of context nature with the same humorous intent. Stewart himself has described the Moment of Zen as, “a piece of disquieting footage, something eccentric or quirky.”[1]
Your Moment of Zen continued as Trevor Noah entered as the new host of the Daily Show, with Noah’s show keeping the Moment of Zen in the same spirit as Stewart’s.
Notable Moments of Zen or Exceptions
editThroughout the history of The Daily Show there have been numerous occasions when the Moment of Zen broke the usual form, often in the form of a tribute to a recently deceased individual close to the show in some way or otherwise respected in the entertainment industry. These are some notable examples:
Sep. 20, 2001
editIn The Daily Show’s first airing after the September 11th terrorist attacks in New York City, Stewart introduces the Moment of Zen by saying, “I do hope you got a smile out of tonight’s show, and if you didn’t…Here it is, your moment of Zen: a puppy,” as he pulls the puppy out from under his desk.[1]
Jan. 13, 2010
editThis episode did not feature Your Moment of Zen and instead showed an additional performance by the episode’s guest, Ringo Starr, whom had performed earlier.[2]
Jan. 28, 2010
editThis Moment of Zen was introduced by Stewart as “Your Moment of Zinn,” following the death of historian, Howard Zinn. The clip featured a portion of Stewart’s interview of Zinn from a 2005 show.[3]
Feb. 3, 2014
editThis Moment of Zen pays tribute to the late Philip Seymour Hoffman with a clip of Hoffman speaking following his 2006 Golden Globe win for Best Actor in the film Capote.[4]
Feb. 26, 2015
editThis Moment of Zen starts with a Today Show clip but is promptly interrupted by WWE star Seth Rollins. Rollins proceeds to intimidate Stewart in WWE fashion and invite him to appear on Monday Night Raw.[5]
Mar. 2, 2015
editThis Moment of Zen pays tribute to the late Leonard Nimoy with a clip of Nimoy’s appearance on The Simpsons.[6]
Aug. 6, 2015
editOn his final show special, Stewart introduced the Moment of Zen by saying, “Here it is, my moment of Zen,” followed by a performance from Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band of “Land of Hope and Dreams” and “Born to Run.”
References
edit- ^ a b "Moment of Zen - A Puppy". Comedy Central. Retrieved 2015-12-11.
- ^ "Ringo Starr - With a Little Help From My Friends". Comedy Central. Retrieved 2015-12-11.
- ^ "Moment of Zen - Howard Zinn Interview". Comedy Central. Retrieved 2015-12-11.
- ^ "Moment of Zen - Philip Seymour Hoffman Tribute". Comedy Central. Retrieved 2015-12-11.
- ^ "Moment of Zen - The Rollins Interruption". Comedy Central. Retrieved 2015-12-11.
- ^ "Moment of Zen - Leonard Nimoy Tribute". Comedy Central. Retrieved 2015-12-11.
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