Consider the following closely, and the diabolical nature of this plot should reveal itself:

FACT: After launching The Daily Show for Comedy Central, Craig Kilborn departs, leaving it to star of a defunct MTV talk show Jon Stewart. The revised Daily Show becomes a critical darling, a ratings-boosting multimedia franchise (books, CDs, DVDs, spinoffs), and a launchingpad for Stewart into political satire superstardom.

FACT: After assuming the vacancy left in 1998 by the late Tom Snyder on The Late Late Show, Kilborn helms the post-Letterman slot for 5 years before departing in 2004. Several replacements are considered, with show producer Worldwide Pants ultimately choosing Scottish comedic actor Craig Ferguson, best known to U.S. audiences as British boss Nigel Wick on The Drew Carey Show. Ferguson becomes a cult sensation, a naturalized American citizen, a father, a pilot, and the bestselling author of American On Purpose.

Continued…