You'd think the nature of "The Daily Show," one of Comedy Central's longest running programs, wouldn't lend itself well to a boxed set, particularly one which centers entirely around the presidential national conventions of 2004. You'd also be wrong. The conventions may be a year old, but that doesn't mean we can't repeatedly laugh at the debacle it was, especially in the hands of the writers of this show, which is still one of the funniest on TV. That in itself is pretty amazing, when you consider the program airs four nights a week. "Saturday Night Live" can only dream of having this kind of consistency.

Disc 1 is dedicated entirely to the Democratic National Convention, which was held in Boston, while Disc 2 focuses on the Republican Convention in New York. Combining both in-studio & on-location "reports", the show mercilessly pokes fun at both parties (only being slightly more abusive toward the Republicans), commenting on real convention footage (aided by some handy editing to make just about everyone involved look like idiots) and leaving plenty of room for cast members to do their shtick; sometimes those segments are dumb, but they're mostly pretty damn funny. While the show's host, Jon Stewart serves, both literally & figuratively as the anchor, is on top of his game, the show really takes off during Stephen Colbert's segments; the guy is so dead-pan perfect and mockingly serious that, if it weren't for some of the off-hand remarks he makes (always done with such a straight face that it takes a second to register what he just said), he looks & talks like someone from a legitimate news program. Also amusing are the films about John Kerry & George Bush, which rip into just about everything candidates have used as their prospective political platforms, from Kerry's alleged heroism in Vietnam to Bush's stance on the justification for declaring war on Iraq. Both discs also include segments by Lewis Black; in my opinion, he the funniest comedian alive (just check out his own DVD, "Black on Broadway"), but his segments here don't really feature him at his best. Then again, you have to remember that everyone involved in the show are being forced to mine humor from events that took place just a day before. Some of the show's guests include Ted Koppel (whom Stewart unsuccessfully tries to goad into saying the f-word), "Hardball" host Chris Matthews (a very funny segment), Senator John McCain (who's always demonstrated a great sense of humor) & Al Sharpton (ditto...surprisingly). One main reason this set works as well as it does may have nothing to do with the show itself. To many, election campaigns over the past few decades have become a joke unto themselves - ridiculous, pandering spectacles insulting to the average viewer's intelligence. If you seek further proof of this, just check out the footage of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's truly awful speech, who cites Richard Nixon as his inspiration to become a Republican. Or how about Al Sharpton's really goofy (and almost non-coherent) rant that sounds more like a Baptist rivival? All "The Daily Show" is doing is exploiting these debacles in the name of comedy. Nothing new perhaps, but the images of both political parties (which the show makes constant fun of) hasn't changed a whit in decades, making this coverage of the 2004 conventions as relevant now as they were a year ago, perhaps even more so now that we know the outcome.

Commenting on the picture & sound quality of a show like this is almost irrelevant. The episodes included are only a year old, so aging isn't a factor. Basically, the discs look and sound as good the when the episodes were first aired. I guess you can't ask more any more than that.

Aside from the mildly amusing intros on Discs 1 & 2 by Stewart & Colbert, all the extras can be found on Disc 3, which is loaded mostly with material related to the 2004 election year. The best of them is the coverage of election night itself, "Prelude to a Recount," which runs about 50 minutes. Many of the other features are grouped by which cast member is involved; Ed Herms, Samantha Bee & Rob Corddry all have their moments, but again, the best segments involve Colbert. Also included is a segment of the 2002 midterm elections, John Edwards declaring his candidacy on "The Daily Show" (and we know how THAT turned out), Steve Carell's segment on Howard Dean's campaign, and the first presidential debate (which is a real hoot).

What's great about this set is that "The Daily Show" is an equal opportunity ridiculer, mercilessly making fun of both parties, and doing it so well that it's likely viewers will laugh at both sides, regardless of their political leanings. More importantly, most of the stuff here is absolutely hilarious, and worth watching even after the 2004 election year is just an unhappy memory.