The triumphant hero has returned.

Jon Stewart has finally made his long awaited homecoming to his beloved audience at The Daily Show after a three month hiatus to film the movie Rosewater in the Middle East.  Since 1996, Stewart has been a rock-solid source for nightly news.  Tinged, or perhaps dripping with sarcasm, Stewart is the undisputed king of satirical reporting, surpassing his perhaps more famous rival Steven Colbert.

“I absolutely love the show.  He is head and shoulders above Colbert,” said senior Mark Abou-Ghayda,  “It’s [The Daily Show] how I get my current events.  My thinking is that if I’m going to be knowledgeable about global affairs, I might as well be entertained too.”

Was a three month vacation from a show that is synonymous with his name the best course of action?  According to The Hollywood Reporter, his replacement, British comedian John Oliver, did more than an adequate job replacing Stewart.  Ratings were as high as ever, maintaining the .97 rating that Stewart had before he left.

While Oliver’s stint on The Daily Show may have been critically acclaimed, students at WS have mixed opinions on his internship.

“It’s really cool that Jon Stewart is back, but I kind of like the other guy better.  His comedy was a lot easier to understand,” said senior Chris Yankson.

Comedy Central may be listening to people like Yankson’s opinion.  Since Stewart’s return, Oliver has made numerous appearances in skits and has occasionally helped him “report” the news.  Rumors are circulating on the internet that Oliver may in fact get his very own show.

“Oliver tried his best, but he just didn’t quite cut it.  He actually kind of annoyed me because he was British,” said senior Steven “Sten” Hume.

The big question is, was any damage done to the show’s reputation while Stewart was away? Apparently not, because according to TV by the Numbers, Stewart’s return was watched by over 2,000,000 viewers, a 24% increase from the show’s season-to-date viewership.  Even after three months being involved, according to Oliver, in activities ranging from “Escaping the national zoo”, to “Working as a nude model for Rutgers”, Stewart remains at the head of the satirical news front.

News is never going to stop, in varying degrees of tragedy and enjoyment, and there will always be reporters.  But every now and then, the public needs a laugh, and comedians such as Stewart deliver the current events in a way that everyone can understand and enjoy.

Stewart once said, “If you watch the news and don’t like it, then this is your counter program to the news,” and that could never have been more accurate.