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GabrieltheThird Anvilicious Since: Apr, 2012
Anvilicious
#476: Apr 25th 2014 at 1:43:13 AM

Colbert was on the Letterman on the... 22th? Might be off by a day. Anyway, it's been years since I last saw a show of his and I really don't watch the other late night talk show stuff either (excepting the Comedy Central fare, ofc), just occasionally catching one of them. Still, decided to check out this one, as I'm sure did some others with the narratively interesting "meeting of the old and the new" setup.

Man that guy is not funny. I was bored out of my seat (literally, had to make a few kitchen runs for something to fortify myself with) for the whole opening bit. It got entertaining enough once Colbert showed up, but even then the whole conversation was carried by Colbert with Letterman occasionally grunting something in response.

Suddenly the crown Stephen is inheriting isn't as shiny in my mind as before. I'm sure he can make it work, but its such an old format that he'd be forced to change stuff to make it. Hopefully them hiring him was a sign that the network is willing to take the risk of alienating old fans big time. They could have gone with someone safer. Otherwise I can't help but feel that Colbert will lose a lot of his old fanbase in the transition.

/endrant

edited 25th Apr '14 1:44:55 AM by GabrieltheThird

BadWolf21 Since: May, 2010
#477: Apr 25th 2014 at 10:33:21 AM

You should check out the Tonight Show. Fallon is a better representation of what Colbert's show might be than Letterman.

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Lost in Space
#478: Apr 25th 2014 at 11:42:04 AM

Fallon took The Tonight Show over and turned it into his own thing. But Colbert's show is based on his mock-conservative persona, and if he isn't allowed to carry that over into The Late Show, he's not going to have an established shtick to build on.

His appearance on The Daily Show this week contributed to this, as he was "saying goodbye" to the Stephen Colbert character (in his typical melodramatic way, of course).

Now, it could still turn out that he's very successful in Letterman's footsteps, but we don't have any prior experience with him to base that assumption on other than The Colbert Report and his correspondent gig with The Daily Show.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
BadWolf21 Since: May, 2010
#479: Apr 25th 2014 at 5:49:49 PM

Well yeah, Fallon basically just took Late Night and moved it up 90 minutes. I wasn't suggesting that Colbert would be exactly like Fallon.

I was more referring to the fact that they both skew much younger than Letterman (and CBS in general, for that matter). Stephen has guests like Macklemore and St. Vincent, and actually engages with them and their work, for example, whereas the few times I've seen Letterman, he seems puzzled by newer musical acts.

The format switch from The Colbert Report to The Late Show is actually not that big. It's an opening monologue, a comedy bit at the desk, a couple guests, and a musical act.

Apart from ditching his character, the only differences are that the monologue is standing up (the humour of late night talk show monologues is usually politically based anyway), and the guests are usually entertainment-based, rather than political or academic.

Tiamatty X-Men X-Pert from Now on Twitter Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: Brony
#480: Apr 25th 2014 at 8:35:12 PM

The big thing is that Colbert will change from detailed explanations of why public figures are stupid, to just saying that they're stupid.

There will also presumably be less political stuff, and more pop culture stuff. Right now, Colbert couldn't care less about some actor saying something stupid. When he replaces Letterman, he'll probably have to make more jokes about actors than politicians.

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BadWolf21 Since: May, 2010
#481: Apr 25th 2014 at 9:35:23 PM

[up] Late night humour is actually very politics-heavy. Ellen Degeneres was heavily rumoured for a while, and that's one of the reasons she gave for why she didn't want it. She doesn't do political humour.

Yeah, there will be pop culture stuff, but it's not like he only ever talks about politics. How many times has he done the Sport Report this year already?

Mullon Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson
#482: Apr 26th 2014 at 6:56:37 AM

I'm worried doing late-night humor for years without getting to have more creative fun on it (since it is a popular late-night talk show he'll be under more close scrutiny) will wear Colbert down and make him a repetitive bore, like what happened to Conan.

Never trust anyone who uses "degenerate" as an insult.
TParadox Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: The captain of her heart
#483: Apr 26th 2014 at 11:53:39 AM

What if he decided to be a parody of late-night talk?

...that would probably get old in less than a month. There's not as much to spoof as there is in politics.

Fresh-eyed movie blog
Tiamatty X-Men X-Pert from Now on Twitter Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: Brony
#484: Apr 26th 2014 at 3:17:52 PM

[up][up][up] From what I remember from when I watched Conan, the political humour usually tended to be pretty soft. It just fit into the general pop culture stuff, really. "Alec Baldwin acted like an asshole, so here's a quick one-liner about him. Rand Paul said something assholish, too, so here's a quick one-liner about him." It wasn't as in-depth as Colbert is able to go right now.

X-Men X-Pert, my blog where I talk about X-Men comics.
BadWolf21 Since: May, 2010
#485: Apr 26th 2014 at 5:06:52 PM

Yes, but that doesn't mean he's incapable of that kind of humour.

Tiamatty X-Men X-Pert from Now on Twitter Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: Brony
#486: Apr 27th 2014 at 8:20:51 PM

I hope he does keep a strong focus on political humour. And, more important, on political humour with a point. Will he be able to do a bit, for example, exposing the flaws in the arguments against raising the minimum wage? Or a bit about the struggles of migrant workers? I'm not sure he'll be able to do that sort of thing on Late Night. I feel like he'll be restricted to quick one-liners, instead.

X-Men X-Pert, my blog where I talk about X-Men comics.
HersheleOstropoler You gotta get yourself some marble columns from BK.NY.US Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Less than three
You gotta get yourself some marble columns
#487: Apr 28th 2014 at 10:49:23 PM

474: Right before the 2013 redistricting he had my then-Congresswoman ... who I'm not wholly convinced got the joke. I like my current representative better anyway, but that really sealed it.

The child is father to the man —Oedipus
TParadox Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: The captain of her heart
#488: Apr 28th 2014 at 10:53:09 PM

There's a thread to discuss all the late night shakeups now. Discussion of Colbert being picked for the Late Show should probably go there from now on.

edited 28th Apr '14 10:53:21 PM by TParadox

Fresh-eyed movie blog
BadWolf21 Since: May, 2010
#489: Apr 28th 2014 at 10:55:48 PM

[up] That's an attitude that confuses me, and I often run into it around here. Just because there's a thread about that specific topic doesn't mean it isn't also relevant here.

TParadox Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: The captain of her heart
BadWolf21 Since: May, 2010
#491: Apr 29th 2014 at 12:19:56 PM

The fact that it's more relevant to that thread than this one doesn't invalidate the fact that it is relevant to this one.

wuggles (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#492: Apr 29th 2014 at 1:33:49 PM

I think stuff like that is to stop derailing from going any further, because this could easily become "discuss quality of late night shows" and not a thread about the Colbert Report.

GethKnight Since: Apr, 2010
#493: Apr 29th 2014 at 4:19:11 PM

What will replace the Colbert Report? Another Daily Show spinoff?

BadWolf21 Since: May, 2010
#494: Apr 29th 2014 at 4:31:55 PM

I actually have no idea, and that's the part of this whole thing that intrigues me. With @midnight gaining in popularity, Comedy Central has one of the most successful blocks of programming ever (the three shows are the first, second, and third-highest rated programs on the network).

They can't change @midnight's timeslot, since that defeats the purpose, so there are two options. Either move The Daily Show to Colbert's old timeslot, or try to fit something in between them.

EDIT: You know who I wouldn't mind seeing take Stephen's timeslot? Larry Wilmore.

edited 29th Apr '14 4:33:38 PM by BadWolf21

GethKnight Since: Apr, 2010
#495: Apr 29th 2014 at 6:23:22 PM

I don't think Willmore could carry a half hour.

BadWolf21 Since: May, 2010
#496: Apr 29th 2014 at 6:28:18 PM

Not just doing his Daily Show shtick, obviously, but he's a funny, likeable guy. He could carry a half hour once a room full of writers is working with him to fill that time.

lrrose Since: Jul, 2009
#497: Apr 29th 2014 at 6:34:42 PM

I've actually seen Wilmore give a humorous lecture in person. I'm sure that he would be a worthy successor to Stephen.

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BadWolf21 Since: May, 2010
#499: Apr 29th 2014 at 6:58:44 PM

...Because everybody wigged out about Arsenio Hall? ...Both times?

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#500: Apr 29th 2014 at 7:00:23 PM

Good point. But the TV industry loves its tokenism. "Once is enough" and all that.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"

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