• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, November 2, 2004

Feeling depressed about this too serious holiday season? Take two relatively small viewing talk shows, Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" and Warner Bros. syndicated "Ellen," and call me in the morning. If you aren't in a better mood, at least you'll be hip and have a quick comeback line.

"The Daily Show" hosted by Jon Stewart is the cool media guy of the moment - that according to press articles. Credit goes to the network, as the cable show still only pulls at most 1.2 million viewers from a single telecast. This is less than half of say, Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor," which is a regular top 10 show at 2.9 million viewers.

Daytime talker "Ellen" with Ellen DeGeneres also has great buzz, now in the second year of its syndication run. With the exception of "Oprah," it is one of the few shows to see a rating increase this year - now averaging 2.3 million daily viewers.

"The Daily Show" and "Ellen" are exceptional for the fact that both are still small viewing - and successful -- talk shows. But the press doesn't go much deeper as to how financially this is carried out. Common traits of the two hosts are naturally tons of stand-up comic ability -- and more importantly -- the right crease among viewers and advertisers to thrive.

Stewart, as a comedic political critic, avoids the earnest and serious efforts of other networks' political tone. "The Daily Show" doesn't take itself too seriously, and its underlying message - especially for pundits on cable news channels -- is that it should take the same approach.

DeGeneres has a similar take on daytime talk - making it more of a goofy, lighthearted time for daytime afternoon viewers (just when their coffee buzz is wearing off). She can be found doing sit-ups with Britney Spears, jumping on a trampoline with Hilary Duff, or pretending to roller coaster with Jude Law.

"Ellen" isn't about determining whether one t-shirted man with a John Deere baseball hat is the true father of a child with a woman dressed as a dominatrix. No, DeGeneres' main concern is some frivolous dancing. She starts her talker with a little giddy disco number -- of which the studio audience partakes.

Jocularly lighthearted also characterizes Stewart. Press accounts rightfully hit the mark when -- in comparison to other political-minded comedians Bill Maher and Dennis Miller - they say Stewart's comedy has somewhat less bite to Maher's and Miller's more acidic (and sometimes bitter) comedy crunch.

The lesson: Keep your talk funny, your issues light, and your food chewed in small quantities. If that doesn't work, you can always hoof it.