Jon Stewart wasn't down on the farm after all.
In an unannounced cameo Thursday night, the former "Daily Show" host emerged from underneath Stephen Colbert's desk, claiming that he's been spending his nights sleeping there (when he isn't tending to the animals on his farm), and then proceeded to remind us why we're missing his voice so much during this unprecedented political season.
Sporting a plain t-shirt and a beard, the fidgety comic sat still long enough to slip into a sports coat and clip-on tie and then took over his former employee's desk to deliver a scathing monologue.
But his target wasn't anyone who had taken the stage at the Republican National Convention. Instead, he went after Fox News personality Sean Hannity or, as he called him, "Lumpy."
This is nothing new. Stewart routinely targeted cable news when he was the toast of late night. But his "Daily Show" replacement Trevor Noah said shortly before taking the stint that he would be easing up on the powerhouse. So far, Noah has held true to his word. In fact, no one in the crowded late-night field has the mainstream media in its sightlines these days.
Stewart, an executive producer for "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert," made up for it in a routine that was, at times, as sloppy as his beard, but in an era where the other network hosts seem more interested in being your buddy than the town crier, it was great to hear his voice.
We didn't even see his most hilarious moment. Right before he and Colbert celebrated the news that Fox mastermind Roger Ailes had resigned amidst allegations of sexual harrassment, they asked that the camera pan away so they could feast in (relative) privacy.
Wild dancing was most likely involved.
