Stephen Colbert has a new show!

It just bothers me that the comedians give canned answers in a stupid fake talkshow environment that's supposed to look spontaneous. I also don't like that nerdist dude's nerd reference dropping persona.

persona is basically Larry the IT Guy

tbf Hardwick has been in the nerd game for sometime now

I think there's a difference between "canned answers" and pulling jokes from your own repertoire and retrofitting them for the topic at hand. I'm not gonna go to the mat for @midnight—sometimes I don't care if I watch it or if I miss it either—but it's the best show CC has developed for that time of night since Colbert started.

yeah "canned answer" is a misnomer, but the design of the show, where prepared jokes are made to seem spontaneous, treats the viewer like he's an idiot.

I don't think the jokes are as prepared as you think they are. These men and women are pretty comically nimble by definition.

maybe you're right. maybe they do second takes of jokes and that makes them seem prepared to me. I also don't doubt that hardwick is authentically nerd joel mchale. but nerd joel mchale's only method for establishing that he is nerd joel mchale seems to be dropping references to bits of nerdy culture. and that's just an annoying way to behave.

Yeah, Hardwick runs an empire called Nerdist, hosts after-shows about Walking Dead, and maybe some other things, but he doesn't really code as "nerd" to me. He's basically the normal guy version of Ryan Seacrest.

Wilmore's Nightly Show ads are getting funnier all the time, though. Getting psyched for that show to start.

I used to find Hardwick incredibly annoying, but I guess a couple seasons of The Talking Dead have softened him up for me. That said I can still see why his persona would be irritating. Just remember we still live in a world where The Big Bang Theory is the most successful sitcom...

yeah...*hangs head down low*

Is there any other way to prove yourself a legit nerd in nerdy culture BESIDES dropping references?

yes, you make something new that nerds like.

I understand it's nagl to police who can be a nerd. I don't even identify as a nerd. But if you try to make money by appealing to a 'nerd audience' you should be making something new that speaks to that audience, rather than just making references to that audience's canon. You can drop some references while having a conversation with some nerds and that is fine because you aren't selling them anything.

Hardwick's personality is causes a wide range of reactions. I generally dig much of what he does, but his style is so distinctive it can be easily mocked.

I really enjoyed his interview with Andrea Romano, someone I believe never gets enough credit for what she was able to achieve:

http://www.nerdist.com/pepisode/nerdist-podcast-andrea-romano

Hardwick is probably pulled by two different sides of nerddom, one being comics/sci-fi and the other one being standup/comedy (the latter has a very devoted, judgmental and intense fanbase as well).

xp yeah, Romano is amazing. I should give that a listen.

Listening now. It's really really good.

Is there any other way to prove yourself a legit nerd in nerdy culture BESIDES dropping references?

Hardwick never seems to know anything about what he's referencing, just that he's learnt references from somewhere and has an idea of when to shout them

^^^ guy comes off like an idiot to me

Who doesn't though

You really don't think he's authentic? I never suspected it was an act.

I guess this kinda explains it all

I knew that I had two choices: I could continue living the way I was living and die pickled and unemployed, or make sweeping changes with the hope of salvaging my life. It occurred to me that I had arrogantly banished all the nerd qualities that defined me as a youth. I distinctly remembered that I once had the ability to focus intensely on many things. Programming computers, winning chess tournaments, playing videogames, collecting action figures, Dungeons & Dragon-ing, ruining the bell curve in Latin class. I needed to reconnect with that past and find a way to harness those nerd powers to turn my life around. They had to be useful for something other than frightening girls away by deconstructing the character of Tron as a Christ figure.

I think I sense this desperation in each reference and that is what puts me off.

Also, I dig @midnight just for the amazing guest roster of comics & improv-types

Every episode with Bret Gelman and/or Ron Funches is worth yr time

that's an interesting article by Hardwick, I didn't know any of that about him. can definitely relate too much to it *cries*

watched the debut of Nightly Show - p good! I approve of the panel/Bill Maher format w/out Bill Maher. Not interested in a nother late night show trotting out people peddling books and bad movies.

Yeah, Nightly Show will keep getting better, but it started really strong imo. Was surprised the Keep it 100 segment seems to be an every night thing rather than an occasional thing.

best-of clips up on the comedy central website

(they are also streaming the whole of the daily show for the next 42 days apparently)

last week i went looking for clips. there were a few, sorted by year. - http://www.cc.com/shows/the-colbert-report

today i went looking for clips and there were 9974 sorted by season. that'll do. - http://www.cc.com/shows/the-colbert-report/video-guide

Colbert suggested the other day that the 2 best prog bands are Yes and Steely Dan

I shouldn't get mad about this but I am