A Boston Gal

No, I see what you're saying, Milburn. And yes, the political commentary is there; it's just that I get a nagging feeling the writers are purposely dulling down the edges a notch or two.

My head understands that in this new format and network, the opening jokes have to be less pointed, and just more silly in general. But, my heart really misses his sharp political take-downs of The Hypocritical and The Clueless. I know that Larry is out there doing his part, and Trevor Noah is showing promise, but still...no one shot off the pithy, perfectly-worded, logical truth-telling like Stephen did on TCR. I will, however, continue to watch because a sillier, softer Stephen is far better than no Stephen at all. And as others have noted, perhaps when he feels more secure in this new role, he'll start amping up the brain wattage of his monologues. I know this is not a new observation, but for some reason, I'm feeling the loss of the overtly political Stephen more these past couple of days. Perhaps it was the whole Kim-Davis-visits-the-Pope thing; I dunno. Just a note that I don't get to see the latest episode in total until the following night, because there's only so much I can cram in the early morning before I have to leave for work. I'm seriously considering installing a screen in the shower. ;)

bluepiano, I agree with almost everything you said. But IMHO, Steve and Jon's dancing is them trying to come up with some kind of signature opening, not a "look at us (but really me)" kind of moment. That being said, yeah, once or twice a week of Duet Dancing is enough. You have a smart writing staff, Stephen - please come up with some alternatives.

Since they're going the professional announcer route, I hope they rotate candidates for a while. As others have mentioned here, I think I female voice in that slot would be nice.

Right there with you, age-wise at least, lookeyloo!

This sums up my feelings about the end to this entire season exactly. Thank you!

Piff's coming to Boston in November, and I hope to convince Mr. Boston Gal to go with me. You're right; this should be more in Piff's wheelhouse.

Just in case no one's gotten the point of the previous posters... The finale was ABYSMAL! I cannot believe everyone dropped the ball so badly...did the producers schedule rehersals that kept everyone up for the previous 24 hours? Were the contestants not fed? Did a rival show infiltrate the staff and purposely give the performers bad advice? Granted, I wasn't too thrilled with the crop of finalists (no Ira & Miriam, no Alondra), and all season, I've felt a general lack of contestants who deserved my devotion, but this? Unfathomable. PIff is a professional, but his act depends on the "slow burn", or if you will, the "slow annoyance." Aside from the error we could see, his act was way too rushed, and his trademark pacing was off. The others I don't really care enough to relive, but I do wonder if America had known Uzeyer would be injured enough not to perform at his peak during the finals, would they still have voted him in? The Regurgitator for the win. And that's taking into account that I never saw the fifth tack appear, either. ;)

Did anyone else catch June and Alana on "The Doctors" this past Friday? I couldn't hear much of the audio, but evidently it was a follow-up appearance to see how Alana's doing on her new "diet". There were clips of her riding a bike that the Doctors had presented her with on her last appearance. Alana is still adamant that she won't eat green veggies, so the Docs showed her a new recipie with green beans and spices and maybe yogurt? Sorry, I couldn't follow the story much where I was. June looked like she had dropped a few pounds, but Alana looked as heavy as ever. And she was wearing WAAAY too much eye make up, not only for a child, but for just about anyone.

While Niecy and Pete turned out to be adequate choices, I would've gone with Kevin and Cedric myself. I thought they were the star performers this time around.

Brava to Lizzy Marmon, the singer in the Bowling Alley who accompanied Stephen in that segment's "Star Spangled Banner" duet (and joyously high-fived him when he finally bowled a strike). She's the daughter of an old college buddy of mine, so that's just three degrees of separation between me and Colbert. ;)

If America listened to me, my personal top five in no particular order would be Piff, Paul Zerdin, Alondra, and Gary Vider - with the 5th spot being available for bribes (I'm sorry, but I'm over multi-media dancing, even creative multi-media dancing with !!robots!!)

Putting aside the "same act" argument for a moment, with regards to the Regurgitator, have we figured out whether it's an illusion/sleight of hand dealy or is he truly swallowing these items? Or some combination thereof? I know it shouldn't make a difference, entertaiment-wise, but I admit I'd be more impressed if it was for "real". Then again, I impress easily.

F'ing brilliant. To those worried that Stephen will loose his edge now that he's a network star, this should calm those fears.

Cheryl - sooo disapointing a player, and yet always had been my fave DWTS pro. No overlap in skill sets, evidently.

Well, good for him! I hope he has a blast and does well! Considering the motor mouths among the other cast members, though, we might be hard-pressed to hear much from him besides the normal Q&A's all the contestants get. You go, Alek! :)

Proudly and weirdly, I stand alone in my Ira and Miriam love, although marketdoctor is 100% correct in saying the phone call should've come before the gunshot. Hope they get through; won't be surprised if they don't.

I cannot second this strongly enough. Colbert is an outstanding performer and writer, and while it might take the show a few months to gel, eventually, we'll all be wondering why we were so worried.

Oh my God, I couldn't sleep for a week after "The Sin Eaters" (title?) episode, with Richard "John Boy" Thomas agonizingly sobbing while forcing himself eating a feast off the corpse of his father.

Like, season five's Studio One Young Beast Society? :) And the only reason I remember The Roast Beef Society is that they were on the AGT Tour that year with Prince Poppycock. ;)

Happy Belly, sooo much weirdness was part of the Jerry Springer seasons that it's hard to comprehend just how far this show's come in terms of "respectability".

Freckled Sky were aware they had given a sub-par performance and were in trouble, even saying as much in a pre-recorded piece. No surprise about Myq not making it; you could tell from his face as he waited for the results that he feared it was over. As a fairly successful professional comedian (which I judge by the fact that even *I* had heard of him before), this must be really painful. He knew the judges and audiences liked his stuff, and this wasn't a matter of taste or talent - he just flat out failed to deliver.

Myq, Myq, Myq....what happened? You're a pro who tried to ad lib a call-back to some earlier acts in your first moments, and it totally bombed...it was embarassing for someone of your experience. You knew it, too, which is why the rest of your act never picked up its usual rhythm. I love Ira and Mom...and Heidi was right, the singing, while adorable, really is just a vehicle for funny/sweet Mom/Ira interactions. In fact, their preview clip was far funnier (and cuter) than the singing itself. Fingers crossed voters remember this when they cast their ballots. Commando Cody, you are absolutely correct: the young opera singer needs vocal coaching STAT, or she'll permanantly ruin her voice. Are her parents trying to prove something by keeping her away from professional training? Hopefully through this AGT experience, the family is being exposed to professional musicians with good advice. Ladder Guy...<sigh>. I really wanted him to do well, and he was impressive, but still, IMHO he's far more appealing as a silent movie throwback than as an acrobat. It won't be a surprise if he doesn't make it through. And for some odd reason, I'm rooting for the cute water "skiing" kid. He looked fab as a blonde teen James Bond. I have no idea how he'd fit into a Las Vegas review or traveling show though, so maybe I just subconsciously want to torture the AGT producers. :)

I didn't know, shapeshifter, and came to this topic specifically to see if the date had been announced yet. Sincere thanks for providing the answer. :)

I'm torn about Matt Franco - he seems like a nice guy and a competant magician, but...a two hour special? Really? I'm blanking about his season - did we really think he was the best of that year? His trick last night didn't seem to be as mind-blowing as it might have been, or at least I remember seeing it done elsewhere. Am I just jaded?