... in a bit — from the new show — that begins with Trump's never-eating-Oreos-again routine.
That was pretty funny... and I'd like it more if the clips were embeddable.
Also, Jeb Bush was on the show. Here's the full episode. Jeb comes in about 10 minutes from the end. I thought Colbert handled it very nicely, even as, at one point, he outright tells Bush that there's no way he'd ever vote for him. That's one way to handle bias. Lay it out there. [CORRECTION: Actually, Colbert said there's "a nonzero chance" he'd vote for Bush. I missed the "non" on first hearing.]
Colbert also pointed out his own brother in the audience and got the brother to shake his head "no" to the question whether he agreed with Colbert politically. Colbert's points were: 1. We can get along and be good with each other even though we don't agree about politics, and 2. Jeb must be different from his brother in some ways too, right? Accepting the invitation to knock his brother, Jeb said that George spent too much money and didn't stay true to the GOP brand: limited government.
Other comments about the show:
1. Lovely filmed opening that began with the national anthem in the setting of a baseball game, proceeding to other places around the country, and ending on the baseball field with the ump saying "Play ball!" [IN THE COMMENTS: Mark says the umpire, whose face we only see in the end when he tears off the mask, was Jon Stewart. That punchline missed me. Looked like a generic grumpy old man.]
2. The band is weak, a bunch of pretty boys. I miss Paul Shaffer. And why did they move the band over to the right? Paul was always on the left. Band on the right is the "Tonight Show" set-up.
3. I was watching the show in the morning, having DVR'd it, because I go to bed early, so I particularly liked the interaction, via TV screen, with Jimmy Fallon, and Colbert demonstrating that he was TIVOing Jimmy's show. The 2 men aren't really in competition in the modern world, and who beats whom is a non-issue in the world of anyone with any technology at all. The old Leno-vs.-Letterman drama is passé.
4. Note the consistent theme of friendship and niceness.
5. George Clooney was the first guest but I jumped over those parts. I can't be sitting around watching television in the morning. I did see that George was looking quite orange, which should have been embarrassing after a couple of jokes, earlier in the show, about Donald Trump's strange orange coloration.
6. Mavis Staples, a good idea for the first guest, but she's not the singer she once was. The song was "Everyday People." There were a bunch of other singers that we were supposed to recognize, but I couldn't.
7. I don't like to redo tags, as noted yesterday, so Colbert's show remains "The Colbert Report" in the Althouse tags.
September 9, 2015
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48 comments:
The umpire during that beginning sequence was Jon Stewart who said 'play ball' after removing the mask. A nice send off from his previous colleague.
What do you bet that Big Cookie donates to Bush III. Nabisco is now Mexican Biscuit Company.
And why did they move the band over to the right?
Isn't Cobert deaf in one ear? That may have driven the position decision.
glad you watch Colbert so I don't have to. it sounds like a really really really stupid show.
In other words typical TV.
John Henry
Throughout the program Colbert seemed to be "doing" Colbert rather than being Colbert. I'll enjoy him a lot more when he relaxes, stops playing a character and starts being himself.
Buddy Guy is the only one I recognized without a program.
John Henry,
Typical TV is not stupid- when you can watch The Maury Povich Show, Jerry Springer, Steve Wilkos, Bill Cunningham and Cheaters back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back, I'm sorry, but the only word that describes that lineup rhymes with merfection!
Jon Stewart could be funny.
Colbert desperately tries to be funny.
Oh, and WWE Monday Night Raw and SmackDown!
But you have to change the channel to get to those.
Throughout the program Colbert seemed to be "doing" Colbert rather than being Colbert. I'll enjoy him a lot more when he relaxes, stops playing a character and starts being himself.
Jack Benny "did" Jack Benny. Bob Hope "did" Bob Hope. Jon Stewart "did" Jon Stewart. There is no celebrity who does not play a character. The good ones make it look like they're not trying.
I wasted some time watching TV too.
Trump in person - huge ratings for Colbert.
Trump indirect via clips via Oreo cookie riff - not so huge ratings for Colbert
"And why did they move the band over to the right?"
I heard him talking about this on Sten's show a while back. It has something to do with being closer to the audience. And, Colbert said that Letterman had regretted not setting up this arrangement himself.
"The 2 men aren't really in competition in the modern world, and who beats whom is a non-issue in the world of anyone with any technology at all. The old Leno-vs.-Letterman drama is passé."
Althouse should stick to law. The two teams have been in a massive war for bookings during the Colbert roll out. Believe it or not, they do actually know their business better than Althouse does.
"The umpire during that beginning sequence was Jon Stewart who said 'play ball' after removing the mask. A nice send off from his previous colleague."
Wow, he was unrecognizable to me. Looked like a generic cranky geezer. Stewart is the "executive producer" of the show and was the picture we see hanging in Steve's locker in the locker room scene that ended the show.
Thanks for pointing that out. That joke totally missed me.
Colbert's been off Jon's show for an awfully long time.
Who knows, maybe Colbert is terrific at this when he drops the "hey, I'm exaggerated Bill O'Reilly!" and departs a bit from the leftist coccoon to reach a wider audience. But they broadcast it late at night and these types of shows don't really lend themselves to viewing the next day on Hulu.
I think that the late night competition still matters, but not as much as it used to. Ratings till count, even in the age of TIVO. I watched about the first 20 minutes. It seemed quite uneven. Colbert jumping around entrance is not a good look for an older guy. Too much was happening, sort of like throwing everything out there in the hope that something will be funny. I could be wrong, but I still think this could be headed into Chevy Chase territory, only it will take longer for the show to die, since CBS has so much money invested in it. Those Mentalist reruns might start to make economic sense to Les.
True, but Jon was one of three executive producers of Colbert Report and had a big hand in that show over the years.
If you eat a single Oreo cookie a day more than you burn off, you will gain 5 pounds in a year.
That's all it takes.
I watched a few episodes of his Comedy Central show shortly after its debut and was thoroughly depressed by it. I doubt I'll ever watch this show. It'll be interesting to see how it does in the long term though. His appeal seems a little more narrow than other late night personalities, but maybe he can broaden it.
Ann I congratulate you for enduring the unendurable. Why you chose to do so is a mystery but that is your choice. On Letterman's top ten things to do rather than watching Colbert number one would be watching paint dry. But to each his own.
I would be much happier if BoJack Horseman had released a new episode, but that's just me.
" ... he outright tells Bush that there's no way he'd ever vote for him ... "
Translation: I consider you, the son and the brother of former presidents. and all other Republicans -- roughly one half of all Americans -- the ethical and moral equivalent of KKK members and neo-Nazis.
But I am confident that my bosses and all other members of the ruling media elite will not blink an eye over this expression of hatred.
I can count on them to treat me as a "fair-minded" person despite my proclaimed bigotry.
"Translation: I consider you, the son and the brother of former presidents. and all other Republicans -- roughly one half of all Americans -- the ethical and moral equivalent of KKK members and neo-Nazis."
Hmmm, I think something might have been lost in translation there... That sounds like it might be just a slight bit of hyperbole.
I thought Colbert handled it very nicely, even as, at one point, he outright tells Bush that there's no way he'd ever vote for him.
No, Colbert told Bush he might vote for him!
Borrrrrrrrrimg.
OOPs "borrrrrrrrrrrrring'.
Hmmm, I think something might have been lost in translation there... That sounds like it might be just a slight bit of hyperbole.
Isn't hyperbole Colbert's stock and trade? And it's unfair to use it against him somehow? OK. Got it. Hyperbole only OK when used against right-wing crypto Nazis AKA Republicans.
Tim,
Never said it was "unfair" to use against him, just that it's quite an exaggerated claim to make (which you implicitly concede by acknowledging that it's hyperbole)... Obviously, someone saying they would never vote for Jeb (which apparently, he didn't even say) does not "translate" to saying that "all Republicans are the moral and ethical equivalent of KKK members and neo-Nazis." I mean, there are some conservative commenters- on this very blog- who have said they would never vote for Jeb, and I'm pretty sure they're not calling all Republicans "KKK members and neo-Nazis," nor would we believe that's what they intended when they said they'll never vote for Jeb.
I mean, I've said "I could never see myself voting for Hillary!" numerous times in numerous venues, but if some super-hyper-partisan Democratic hack told me that equated to me calling "all Democrats the moral equivalent of National Socialists or Stalinists," I'd call that equally bullshit.
We're not all as hyper-partisan, Tim.
My point was "why call him on it?" Cripes, it's all hyperbole. Colbert is a "hyper-partisan" that's his stock and trade.
Imagine if a Democrat did something that could be mined for comedy, something really stupid, something absurd and in character at the same time....
Naah! That would never happen! Colbert is not "hyper-partisan"!
The focus group also showed that the email issue was drowning out nearly everything else that Mrs. Clinton was hoping to communicate to voters — something Mrs. Clinton and her husband have complained about to friends.
Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/423748/hillarys-apology-came-after-bad-focus-group-responses-jim-geraghty
Gee, a hack lib entertainer and an establishment hack pol getting along. Whoda thunkit?
Be careful, Achilles-- apparently when you criticize Jeb, you're actually saying that "all Republicans are morally and ethically the equivalent of KKK members and neo-Nazis."
Yeah Bobby, because Colbert has laid such a deep foundation of trust in the area of fair comment that any mistrust of his motives is unfathomable.
But is it possible-- just possible-- that there's a gap, a delta, if you will, between Colbert's noticeable criticism of and disdain for Republicans and conservatives on the one hand and equating "all Republicans as KKK members and neo-Nazis" on the other? Because I can find lots of evidence of the former, but I can't find the latter- so why not just say that? Why go so far as to claim that he's saying all Republicans are racist murderers (i.e., KKK members and neo-Nazis)? Isn't that, you know, the very definition of hyperbole?
"...that's his stock and trade."
Stock in trade.
"Jon Stewart could be funny.
"Colbert desperately tries to be funny."
Colbert was always funnier than the too-shticky-for-his-own-good Stewart.
"Stock in trade"
Makes more sense, I will give you that.
But is it possible-- just possible-- that there's a gap, a delta, if you will, between Colbert's noticeable criticism of and disdain for Republicans and conservatives on the one hand and equating "all Republicans as KKK members and neo-Nazis" on the other?
Here is his "Non Racist KKK bit" It took me two seconds to google it up.
I am certain that this was not aimed at the Republicans he "disdains" though. He has certainly earned the benefit of the doubt on that one due to his reputation for thoughtful and fair comment.
I think Colbert;s show is going to fall flat.
Yeah, so I watched the sketch- it doubled the amount of Colbert I had ever seen (previously limited to that Daft Punk "music video" he did with Hugh Laurie, Jeff Bridges, et. al., which was really funny to me for the Kissinger scene alone). I don't personally see that sketch as equating "all Republicans as KKK members and neo-Nazis" but I will concede that if James Graham had translated that sketch as equating "all Republicans to KKK members and neo-Nazis," I'd have chalked it up to a difference in perspective.
Unfortunately, James Graham had translated the (apparently erroneous) "... he outright tells Bush that there's no way he'd ever vote for him ..." as " I consider you, the son and the brother of former presidents. and all other Republicans -- roughly one half of all Americans -- the ethical and moral equivalent of KKK members and neo-Nazis." and it was to that that I referenced in my post as hyperbole (which you actually acknowledged). I'm guessing that what happened is that James Graham (and you) had much richer context and background than do I on Colbert, and was actually referencing this particular skit not the quoted text that was provided, which I missed because the only Comedy Central I watch is South Park (which I watch in spades).
I will maintain that, in isolation, the statement "... he outright tells Bush that there's no way he'd ever vote for him ..." translated as " I consider you, the son and the brother of former presidents. and all other Republicans -- roughly one half of all Americans -- the ethical and moral equivalent of KKK members and neo-Nazis" would constitute hyperbole, but that one could certainly present that perspective for the sketch to which you linked (although, again, I wouldn't agree with it, perhaps because my perspective is as neither white nor a Republican). And because it is that perspective which James Graham and you intended, then you are right and I am wrong-- wrong because I was ignorant (which is not always the same thing as stupid, although in my case it frequently is). Although, based on how James Graham cited the text, you can hopefully understood how I could have been so clueless.
Oh yeah, and after spending 10 minutes I will never get back wading through Colbert's dishonest commentary, I see the lawsuit against Obama that he mocked got past a judge and is moving forward.
What Colbert's technique is to leave out the stuff that is hard to think about, like why it is important that laws be executed as written by Congress, and then laugh at the naked absurdity of half of the truth!
Colbert's wink and a smirk blaming of Sarah Palin for the shooting of Gabriel Giffords was a first rate bit of fair and honest commentary as well.
I think Colbert;s show is going to fall flat.
Agreed.
For appearances sake they will hold him over until after New Years, but he will then discover that he has family issues that he must, reluctantly, take care of.
Colbert puts up Trump and pictures of KKK on the same screen.
Of course Colbert is a moderate voice of the middle of America who is fair and thoughtful in all his commentary.
I personally don't support Trump, but I am pretty sure this was whipped up as polls came out that showed that Trump is getting a significant tranche of black votes, enough to win the election if it holds up.
Tim,
Who is supposed to have said Colbert is a "moderate voice of the middle of America who is fair and thoughtful in all his commentary"?
equating "all Republicans as KKK members and neo-Nazis" on the other?
Maybe you figure that calling people you disagree with unreconstructed racists and klansman should be standard late night fare for a program that presumably is aimed at the large middle America audience, IDK.
As for "neo Nazi," I said "crypto Nazi" and Colbert seems to accuse people he disagrees with of "coded language" which is a way to say that they believe things so out of the maintstream that they won't say them in public without disguising them. Since Colbert seems to see "coded language" everywhere, I am going to assume that he probably uses it himself and when he accuses somebody of using coded language, he is saying they are "crypto something" and "crypto Nazi" is a term used commonly by the left to describe Republicans.
And nice goal post move, BTW.
The original quote, the one posted by James Graham that I was responding to, was "KKK members and neo-Nazis"-- if you changed it to to "crypto Nazi" for your purposes and because you wanted to pursue a different line in the discussion, that's fine, but how would that not also be considered moving the goal posts?
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