Stephen Colbert has a new show!

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One of the great things about the character-based anchor is that he's never going to pull a "but seriously..." which Stewart does better than most comedians, but it gets tired either way. Plus Stewart's decided to increase the funnyface and Weekend Update-isms to reaffirm his not-a-journalist status rather than tell stronger jokes. I'm more interested in how the Colbert character would react to changes in the political climate than how Stewart would. It could peter out but as Causistry notes, it could end up more formally novel than Daily Show ever was.

Does anybody know how its doing ratingswise? I'm wondering if it loses people due to the lack of liberal self-identifaction. People I know who claim to only get their news from the Daily Show (former employers even, yeesh) might not care for it.

x-post and yeah, that Wallace thing reaffirms the "but seriously..." shit is comedy death.

'Twan (miccio), Friday, 4 November 2005 19:26 (eighteen years ago) link

Does anybody know how its doing ratingswise?

It's been been renewed for a whole year, so I guess it must be doing okay.

KSTFUNS (Ex Leon), Friday, 4 November 2005 19:28 (eighteen years ago) link

Woo!

'Twan (miccio), Friday, 4 November 2005 19:28 (eighteen years ago) link

Stewart seems to be sinking deeper and deeper into lazy Lettermanisms.

walter kranz (walterkranz), Friday, 4 November 2005 19:31 (eighteen years ago) link

well, conan's got leno to look forward to, so what do you expect? they're not gonna give it to craig ferguson.

firstworldman (firstworldman), Friday, 4 November 2005 20:02 (eighteen years ago) link

Usually TDS works best when the actual clips speak for themselves. Stewart's act can be fairly lazy: The funny comes from the research and editing that happens before the show goes live.

Casuistry (Chris P), Friday, 4 November 2005 20:21 (eighteen years ago) link

Anybody catch the Al Sharpton interview tonight? That one got sorta ... awkward.

Lukas (lukas), Wednesday, 16 November 2005 04:52 (eighteen years ago) link

al doesn't have much of a sense of humor.

stockholm cindy is in your extended network (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 16 November 2005 04:54 (eighteen years ago) link

he was no match for a truthocution

tokyo nursery school: afternoon session (rosemary), Wednesday, 16 November 2005 04:58 (eighteen years ago) link

an upside down truthikaze

stockholm cindy is in your extended network (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 16 November 2005 04:59 (eighteen years ago) link

Yes, I believe that this show will survive. It's consistently funny, Stephen's character remains true to form, the set is fabulous, the graphics are engaging and, best of all, like The Daily Show, The Colbert Report attracts really good guests. He interacts with them in an intentionally different style than Jon Stewart interacts with his. For while Stweart generally treats his guests with humor and respect, Colbert is almost invariably confrontational, which gives his guests the splendid opportunity to express their views with an entuhsiastic rebuttal. As long as the guest understands the trick, he or she will invariably come out on top.

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Jeffrey Rabbit, Sunday, 20 November 2005 12:21 (eighteen years ago) link

Colbert is almost invariably confrontational, which gives his guests the splendid opportunity to express their views with an entuhsiastic rebuttal.

Yeah, I noticed that when Bob Kerrey was on this week. Colbert deliberately set up recent talking points one-by-one for Bob to knock 'em all down.

kingfish hobo juckie (kingfish 2.0), Sunday, 20 November 2005 19:49 (eighteen years ago) link

Jon Stewart doesn't play a character in his interviews. (SC to Tim Robbins: "What's it like working with Clint Eastwood, and why do you hate the troops?" Alas Colbert doesn't keep the mask on all the time.)

Incredibly enough, I'm convinced a significant chunk of Colbert's viewers don't get the joke, if the studio audience is any indication. His apex was the "Rosa Parks: Overrated" bit -- TRUE satire -- and they started to hoot distressingly. Idiots.

Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Monday, 21 November 2005 14:22 (eighteen years ago) link

i'm utterly infatuated with "better know a district."

j b everlovin' r (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 22 November 2005 04:55 (eighteen years ago) link

whoa. did thursday's show have a Descendents ref during The Word? Where it lists Stephen getting a "1430" on the Sexy Aptitude Test?

kingfish hobo juckie (kingfish 2.0), Wednesday, 23 November 2005 05:10 (eighteen years ago) link

man, my guy Mark Udall was embarassing on the District segment last week. disappointing.

this show is so much fun to watch!

lemin (lemin), Wednesday, 23 November 2005 05:33 (eighteen years ago) link

i like this show now. at first i was like, "eh"... but now i'm like... "yeah#111~!"

the interviews still play out really freakin weird. but the WORD is generally awesome. threatdown is freakin great. etc. it's little things like the grizzly bear hate speech and stuff...

m.

msp (mspa), Wednesday, 23 November 2005 05:46 (eighteen years ago) link

I think this might be growing on me.

Thermo Thinwall (Thermo Thinwall), Wednesday, 23 November 2005 05:59 (eighteen years ago) link

"i have put every part of canada on notice except nunavut."

j b everlovin' r (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 23 November 2005 06:36 (eighteen years ago) link

I noticed last week that the Toronto Raptors were on notice, which had me roffling.

Thermo Thinwall (Thermo Thinwall), Wednesday, 23 November 2005 06:48 (eighteen years ago) link

Tim Robbins seemed quite entertained by it all

kingfish hobo juckie (kingfish 2.0), Wednesday, 23 November 2005 06:51 (eighteen years ago) link

omg katrina vanden roffle is going to be the guest on my birthday!

j b everlovin' r (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 23 November 2005 07:36 (eighteen years ago) link

Jon Stewart doesn't play a character in his interviews. (SC to Tim Robbins: "What's it like working with Clint Eastwood, and why do you hate the troops?" Alas Colbert doesn't keep the mask on all the time.)
Incredibly enough, I'm convinced a significant chunk of Colbert's viewers don't get the joke, if the studio audience is any indication. His apex was the "Rosa Parks: Overrated" bit -- TRUE satire -- and they started to hoot distressingly. Idiots.

-- Dr Morbius (wjwe...) (webmail), November 21st, 2005. (Dr Morbius)

OTM. I have a pretty moderate but right wing Republican friend who I watched the Colbert Report with. For whatever reason, I pointed out to him that it was an O'Reilly satire, and he'd never thought of that before. A couple days later he told me, "You know what, you were right! That's why there's the American flags everywhere and the eagles and stuff. It also explains why I like it."

Haha.

Mickey (modestmickey), Wednesday, 23 November 2005 08:25 (eighteen years ago) link

Tim Robbins is apparently a rather humorless prick if you try to do a straight interview with him. *lack of surprise*

Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 23 November 2005 14:19 (eighteen years ago) link

I really like the Colbert Report, and it's made the lack of polish/QA on the Daily Show stand out a lot more. I don't want to stay up for it but I do, invariably, every time. It is impossible to stay up for Jon Stewart and then NOT stay up for Colberyt at this point, which is something I didn't expect at ALL based on the first couple of broadcasts and the descriptions.

[I wonder if Al Sharpton was maybe a bit pissed since Stephen pretended to be him on the Daily Show when The Rev couldn't be bothered to show up.]

I can't help but be a little depressed, though, or maybe just angry, that it would appear that the only news you can get anymore that's actually honest, as opposed to "balanced," has to be couched in all this ridiculousness and irony to A) avoid being constantly attacked and protested B) get people to watch.

I mean I go see "Good Night, and Good Luck" only to come home and realize that the only people who are currently capable of taking our sitting administration to task for half the shit they pull are two comedians who air after 11pm. Every other tv journo has to censor themselves or pay lip service to shit like "intelligent design" while pulling a straight face. I suppose the question is: Is this perfectly appropriate for the sort of MSM culture we've made for ourselves, or is this really, really pathetic and a sign of America's downfall?

TOMBOT, Wednesday, 23 November 2005 15:25 (eighteen years ago) link

Actually, as much as I liked the episode they aired last night - Colbert really got his facts wrong when he was going on about the softwood lumber dispute. I realize that this is "fake news" and giving a fuck about "facts" is quite silly - but this was when Colbert was explaining the facts behind the issue before he delivered his punchline. Silly but kinda irked me.

Thermo Thinwall (Thermo Thinwall), Wednesday, 23 November 2005 15:37 (eighteen years ago) link

Getting the facts wrong (or skewing the facts) is part of the schtick, though, isn't it?

David R. (popshots75`), Wednesday, 23 November 2005 15:55 (eighteen years ago) link

Sure, when it's facts most people already know.

Thermo Thinwall (Thermo Thinwall), Wednesday, 23 November 2005 16:09 (eighteen years ago) link

Uh, it's part of the schtick for "real" broadcast journalism, too

TOMBOT, Wednesday, 23 November 2005 16:13 (eighteen years ago) link

Ha haa!

Thermo Thinwall (Thermo Thinwall), Wednesday, 23 November 2005 16:13 (eighteen years ago) link

[short & sweet x-post]

Tell that to the stand-in Rush LimbaughBot I heard spew a few days ago: he defended the helping friendly folks @ Wal-Mart against those nasty liberals because of this salient fact (and I sorta quote): "they sell quality goods at competitive prices." Nothing about the actual issues bandied about by anyone re: Wal-Mart shadiness; dude thinks that buying mondo-sized pickle jars for pennies a gherkin trumps any & all issues, and (of course) thinks you should believe the same thing. Unless you hate America.

But you're Canadian, aren't you, Thermo? YOU'RE ON NOTICE, FRENCHIE!

David R. (popshots75`), Wednesday, 23 November 2005 16:16 (eighteen years ago) link

Zuit alros!

Thermo Thinwall (Thermo Thinwall), Wednesday, 23 November 2005 16:24 (eighteen years ago) link

the conservatives are mad at wal-mart right cuz they don't force their employees to say 'merry christmas', lots of 'hillary used to be on the board of directors yknow' bandied about.

j blount (papa la bas), Wednesday, 23 November 2005 16:27 (eighteen years ago) link

wal-mart is totally taking over. fortresses of domination! AH!
m.

msp (mspa), Wednesday, 23 November 2005 16:32 (eighteen years ago) link

yeah, i'd noticed that Oreilly started his stupid "They're attacking Christmas" thing early this year. It reminded me of how much fun that the pastor of my parents' church made a mention of "even the institution of christmas is under attack" during the Christmas Eve services.

kingfish hobo juckie (kingfish 2.0), Thursday, 24 November 2005 02:12 (eighteen years ago) link

Never thought I'd see a day when the g-factor of the electron would be discussed on a comedy show.

MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Wednesday, 30 November 2005 00:00 (eighteen years ago) link

Brian Greene did a good job!


...I still wince when Colbert stutters, stumbles, etc. Jon Stewart can shrug, laugh, and acknowledge his mistakes. Colbert has to stay in character, which makes lapses that much more jarring.

Still, getting funnier.

giboyeux (skowly), Wednesday, 30 November 2005 00:05 (eighteen years ago) link

...I still wince when Colbert stutters, stumbles, etc. Jon Stewart can shrug, laugh, and acknowledge his mistakes. Colbert has to stay in character, which makes lapses that much more jarring.

that'll go away -- right now i'm sure it's a mixture of nerves, relative newness to the format, not being used to reading a teleprompter for such a long stretch.

he may flub a line occasionally, but he's no colin quinn.

surf punks from arizona (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 30 November 2005 00:08 (eighteen years ago) link

remember, stewart was a little nervous when he started on TDS.

surf punks from arizona (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 30 November 2005 00:09 (eighteen years ago) link

I HATE COLIN QUINN.

giboyeux (skowly), Wednesday, 30 November 2005 00:09 (eighteen years ago) link

All right-thinking and intelligent people hate Colin Quinn.

Dan (Proven By SCIENCE) Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 30 November 2005 00:12 (eighteen years ago) link

Score!

giboyeux (skowly), Wednesday, 30 November 2005 00:12 (eighteen years ago) link

Colbert wasn't hard enough on that physicist.

walter kranz (walterkranz), Wednesday, 30 November 2005 00:13 (eighteen years ago) link

!!!!!

like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 30 November 2005 04:54 (eighteen years ago) link

that was a pretty funny interview. is that guy a hack pseudo-scientist?

Super Cub (Debito), Wednesday, 30 November 2005 04:58 (eighteen years ago) link

a very wealthy one.

like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 30 November 2005 04:59 (eighteen years ago) link

That John Stewart interview with Peggy Noonan was pretty pathetic. J.S. can be a real wussy sometimes.

Super Cub (Debito), Wednesday, 30 November 2005 05:10 (eighteen years ago) link

Wasn't there a smallpox scare on "ER" a couple of years ago?

"Doctors wouldn't even know what they were looking at" is exactly what a guy with a Ph.D. in English would say when commenting about infectious disease. Fortunately, Colbert pwned him with that "I think they'd crack open a book" comment.

MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Wednesday, 30 November 2005 06:05 (eighteen years ago) link

Ha ha, that was great! "If I had a black tube sock hanging out of my anus, I think they'd crack a book."

walter kranz (walterkranz), Wednesday, 30 November 2005 07:03 (eighteen years ago) link

"i've never been to detroit, but i have seen the movie mahogany."

like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 1 December 2005 06:46 (eighteen years ago) link


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