After a summer spent in Jordan directing his first feature film, Rosewater, Jon Stewart made his triumphant return to The Daily Show. He was well-tanned, temporarily bearded, and grateful to be back.

"Boy, I'm Western, in all its glorious imperfections. I remembered thinking, 'Hello, dildo shop next to a school,'" he cracked when he reached his desk.

The evening began with John Oliver, the hit summer replacement host, summoning Stewart from his dressing room; bearded and dazed, Stewart spoke in a gibberish dialect — you know, foreign stuff — and it required an intervention. He went through a run of different personalities — Larry the Cable Guy, Miley Cyrus, Hitler — before Stephen Colbert brought him back to the cynical, good-natured Emmy winner of yore.

Oliver handed off the show formally with a quick rundown of the summer — Paula Deen, Anthony Weiner, the Royal Baby — then bam, things got serious with talk of Syria. Right on time, Jon.