LSSC: Season Six Episode Talk

[ebk57]

Did anyone watch last night?  They reran the last episode in the Ed before it all went bad.  It was weird.  And interesting how much things have changed in a year regarding what we know about Covid (although if we didn't know more, that would be bad).  Dr. Gupta was imparting "facts" that turned out not to be so "fact-y".  But honestly, it was fine because no one knew anything at that moment and we were all doing the best we could. 

I thought it was a good set-up for Monday.  I'm sooooooo looking forward to Monday. 

[Victor the Crab]

On 6/10/2021 at 5:22 PM, kib said:

Congrats to "The Late Show" folks for another big win:

Late-Night Ratings: ‘The Late Show’ Wins Season For Fifth Consecutive Year

In related news, "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon" fell to third place behind Cobert and Kimmel.  This should not come as a surprise. The best description I've read on Fallon's stewardship of the program is "Jimmy Fallon has turned "The Tonight Show" into little more than a televised children's birthday party". Ouch...

BWAH-HA-HAAAA!!! It's hilarious because it's oh so true!

[GHScorpiosRule]

2 hours ago, ebk57 said:

Dr. Gupta was imparting "facts" that turned out not to be so "fact-y".  But honestly, it was fine because no one knew anything at that moment and we were all doing the best we could. 

First, this isn't an attack. but whenever I see quotes around a word, to me, it means it's conveying the person was lying/not being truthful. Gupta, Fauci, and other scientists have acknowledged that what they told the public was what they knew at the time, based on the science. So Gupta was providing facts as he knew them to be at the time.  Because as you also stated, this fucking virus was an unknown pathogen. And science/data always changes.

So personally, I would say he gave facts, without the quotes qualifiers.

[JustHereForFood]

While I'm going to miss this format, I hope we will never need a revival.

[ebk57]

4 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

First, this isn't an attack. but whenever I see quotes around a word, to me, it means it's conveying the person was lying/not being truthful. Gupta, Fauci, and other scientists have acknowledged that what they told the public was what they knew at the time, based on the science. So Gupta was providing facts as he knew them to be at the time.  Because as you also stated, this fucking virus was an unknown pathogen. And science/data always changes.

So personally, I would say he gave facts, without the quotes qualifiers.

I'm sorry.  I thought I clarified that I know they were doing the best with what they knew.  I shouldn't have used the quotes.  Won't do that again.   

Everything was so uncertain.  How could anyone know at that stage the definitive facts.  We're still evolving with this virus.  And the docs are still doing the best they can to disseminate pertinent information as it becomes available.  I wish more people were listening. 

[DanaK]

On 6/12/2021 at 11:24 AM, ebk57 said:

Did anyone watch last night?  They reran the last episode in the Ed before it all went bad.  It was weird.  And interesting how much things have changed in a year regarding what we know about Covid (although if we didn't know more, that would be bad).  Dr. Gupta was imparting "facts" that turned out not to be so "fact-y".  But honestly, it was fine because no one knew anything at that moment and we were all doing the best we could. 

I thought it was a good set-up for Monday.  I'm sooooooo looking forward to Monday. 

As Stephen even said when introducing the episode, it had a very odd vibe

[possibilities]

I tried to watch, but it was really stressing me out. It felt like a kind of spooky, nightmare. I guess it's because I know what's next, and they don't. I may have a touch of PTSD I didn't realize was there.

[DanaK]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

I tried to watch, but it was really stressing me out. It felt like a kind of spooky, nightmare. I guess it's because I know what's next, and they don't. I may have a touch of PTSD I didn't realize was there.

I think it was probably because they had a small audience of just staff and it seemed like they had a sense that things could be going very, very bad soon, like a harbinger of doom. You could clearly tell Stephen was unsettled and unsure, some of it because of the lack of audience but also because no one was quite sure what was happening. I don't recall if I saw the episode at the time, but looking back, it just felt very spooky and odd

[DXD526]

I thought it was fascinating to watch. Stephen was pinging off the walls from the start, he clearly was extremely rattled by the uncertainty of the whole thing. An extended disturbed, but still funny, monologue, followed by Sanjay Gupta discussing things that were strange at the time, but have become very familiar. An episode for the time capsule, for sure.

I'd like to see the show from his bathtub again sometime, but as for tonight, I'm ready to return to the Ed! I expect Stephen will be pinging again, only this time from happiness!

[ebk57]

Suck it Lion King! 

 

It's the circle of life... 

[Annber03]

Stephen is so damn HAPPY, oh, my god :D. I love it. Seeing that audience when he came out on stage, man...that was quite a visual. Loved Stephen and Jon Batiste sharing a hug, too. Aw. 

LOL, Evie. "He's all yours now." Bet she never thought she'd have an audience chanting her name :p! 

[anna0852]

Jon S. has turned feral.

 

[ebk57]

Have I mentioned here that I love Jon Batiste?  My god, he's amazing.  That was amazing.  He'd better come through town on tour soon!

The beginning of the show was great.  The end of the show was great.  I'm still working through my thoughts on the middle of the show. 

Still, on the whole, it's so good to see everyone back together!

[DanaK]

Great first show back. Stephen was on fire and the audience was very exuberant, and bringing out Evie was nice. I’ll miss her and her giggling in the storage closet.  I’m not entirely sure Jon S. was sane. There was also a weird jump cut when Stephen asked him if he wanted to talk about something different or continue his riff about Covid

[meowmommy]

1 hour ago, Annber03 said:

Stephen is so damn HAPPY, oh, my god :D. I love it. Seeing that audience when he came out on stage, man...that was quite a visual. Loved Stephen and Jon Batiste sharing a hug, too. Aw. 

It doesn't air here for another half hour.  Even the "live" shows get held until 10:35 local time.

[shapeshifter]

OMG.
My eyes were not dry.
The hugs.
The dancing.  
Did anyone else see the ghost of Johnny Carson inhabiting Stephen?
Jon Stewart‘s bit was what we’ve all thought at one time or other—which is why it worked.  
Dana Carvey’s Joe Biden was perfect. 
And Jon Batiste? My love, my guru—his name is a mantra to me. Perfection. 
Thank you, Show.  
I do wish I was there. 

Edited June 15, 2021 by shapeshifter
Typo

[DanaK]

I think I’m going to miss Stephen’s intimate and long video interviews with his guests while in the broom closet and doing comedy bits with Evie and his crew giggling off camera. It’s clear that’s a very different energy than in-studio with an audience and Stephen prefers the latter, but I’ll still miss them

[WinnieWinkle]

8 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Did anyone else see the ghost of Johnny Carson inhabiting Stephen?

Definitely!  Do you think he was doing that on purpose?  I couldn't tell.  

I only saw the opening monologue but I loved it.  So great to see how happy and excited everyone was to have  a bit of normality back.

Edited June 15, 2021 by WinnieWinkle

[DXD526]

Loved to see how happy Stephen was! His exuberance at being back onstage was fun to watch, even if I will miss the intimacy of the broom closet. But, wow, did Jon Stewart morph into Dennis Miller right before my eyes? 

[VCRTracking]

38 minutes ago, DXD526 said:

Loved to see how happy Stephen was! His exuberance at being back onstage was fun to watch, even if I will miss the intimacy of the broom closet. But, wow, did Jon Stewart morph into Dennis Miller right before my eyes? 

He's always had a fear(justified IMO) of how far scientists are willing to go for discoveries. I remember how freaked he was years ago when he had the guy on to talk about the Hadron collider in Switzerland and the chance it might create a black hole! 

Sometimes I read something in the news like "Scientists grew a human ear out of the back of a mouse" and you think "WTF?!" So I don't blame him for thinking scientists have gone too far.

I don't believe in the Wuhan lab theory because I think a man made virus would have been way worse and also because I don't think anybody could've predicted how stupid people would actually be to take the simplest precautions!

Edited June 15, 2021 by VCRTracking

[shapeshifter]

10 minutes ago, WinnieWinkle said:

8 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Did anyone else see the ghost of Johnny Carson inhabiting Stephen?

Definitely!  Do you think he was doing that on purpose?  I couldn't tell.  

That didn’t occur to me (that Stephen might have been deliberately channeling Johnny Carson) but I suppose he could have watched a lot of old Tonight Show episodes in preparation for the return to a theater filled with people and then absorbed some of Johnny’s mannerisms —like the hand in the pocket and the somewhat rigid side pivot.

 

[Victor the Crab]

Stephen was such a happy little boy last night with the return of a full audience. A little too happy, as it seemed, with him parading around showing off his junk. Even though it was blurred, I still covered my eyes from it. I can't imagine he blurred them for his studio audience. Congratulations, you lucky people?😩

I was quite disappointed with Jon talking about the origins of the Covid virus. He came off as one of those nuts on Fox News. Is he trying to do the right's work for them? Even Stephen was wondering "WTF Jon?"

[Caseysgirl]

I was disappointed the Jon Stewart just kept going off about the Wuhan virus theory. It could be but there are a lot of other topics that he could have used his considerable wit & wisdom on. That said, John Baptiste is such an extraordinary talent and we are fortunate that Stephen has given him this platform. His enthusiasm and good will kept me going through Covid.

[anna0852]

9 minutes ago, Victor the Crab said:

 

I was quite disappointed with Jon talking about the origins of the Covid virus. He came off as one of those nuts on Fox News. Is he trying to do the right's work for them? Even Stephen was wondering "WTF Jon?"

I think some people have handled the pandemic and quarantine better then others. And I think Jon falls towards the 'really didn't handle it' end of the spectrum. 

[shapeshifter]

4 minutes ago, Victor the Crab said:

Stephen was such a happy little boy last night with the return of a full audience. A little too happy, as it seemed, with him parading around showing off his junk. Even though it was blurred, I still covered my eyes from it. I can't imagine he blurred them for his studio audience. Congratulations, you lucky people?😩

I assumed Stephen was wearing his undies because he said CBS wouldn’t allow that either. 

[theredhead77]

I don't think I post over here much but I am so happy Stephen is back in his element! A Late Show got me through the last year and I did not expect to actually get teary when I heard The Late Show live on tape from the Ed Sullivan Theater [end] and it didn't stop for the first part of the monologue. 

 

And he was 100% wearing undies. 

[VCRTracking]

I agree with what Alan Moore, writer of WATCHMEN and V FOR VENDETTA said about conspiracy theories:

“The main thing that I learned about conspiracy theory, is that conspiracy theorists believe in a conspiracy because that is more comforting. The truth of the world is that it is actually chaotic. ... The truth is far more frightening — Nobody is in control.”

 

[cambridgeguy]

At first I wasn't sure if Jon was doing a bit or if he really believed what he was saying.  I also wonder how much of it Stephen was expecting - did he just tell him he could talk about whatever and leave it a surprise?  Because he sure seemed uncomfortable. 

[Cozytea]

So thrilled  Stephen Colbert  is back in the studio. 

John Baptiste is amazing, the energy and the pure happiness is contagious. 

Jon Stewart,  wow! So beyond disappointed.  That was nuts. I know they are true friends but even Stephen looked baffled by Jon's conspiracy theory rant. 

6 minutes ago, cambridgeguy said:

At first I wasn't sure if Jon was doing a bit or if he really believed what he was saying.  I also wonder how much of it Stephen was expecting - did he just tell him he could talk about whatever and leave it a surprise?  Because he sure seemed uncomfortable. 

Yes, I kept waiting for Jon to break and do his giggle, to let us know it was a bit but nope. SC definitely looked uncomfortable. 

[ruby24]

Yeah, he's being celebrated by the right wing all over the internet today for that rant.

I was considering watching his new show in the fall, but not if he really has turned into Dennis Miller/Bill Maher now. This is the thing he felt the need to rant about on his first night back at Stephen's show? That's pretty ominous.

Trying to remember if I knew this before. 

Edited June 15, 2021 by ruby24

[Hooper]

I think Jon's Wuhan rant could have been a planned bit IF Stephen had offered more pushback.  But as it was, yeah, I think Stephen was taken a bit by surprise.  Stephen finally managed to point out that maybe the reason there is a Corona virus lab in Wuhan is because there is such a diversity of natural Corona virus types there, as opposed to Jon's rant that seemed to claim that there is only one Corona virus, and it exist because of the lab.  There was so much disinformation in that rant that it did seem sorta satirical, but with no strong counterpoint, I think Jon was serious.  I'm actually an agnostic about the lab release theory of the origin of the CoVid19 virus.  No doubt the lab has engineered multiple variations of Corona viruses for research purposes, and all it would have taken for an accidental release is for one researcher or technician to get a little careless with safety protocols and become infected.  If this hypothetical infected researcher was asymptomatic, coughed a few times while stopping at the market on his/her way home from work, we're off to the races. It's plausible, and it doesn't mean China for some weird reason deliberately set off a global pandemic that no doubt ravaged its own population and economy.  So, I don't mind the lab release theory being discussed at all.  But Jon's rant was from Crazytown.

On a happier note - Stephen's other BFF Jon was awesome.  I don't know why I would be surprised, but I had no idea Jon B was such an amazing dancer, along with all his other musical talents.

[Cozytea]

44 minutes ago, ruby24 said:

Yeah, he's being celebrated by right wing nut jobs all over the internet today for that rant.

I was considering watching his new show in the fall, but not if he really has turned into Dennis Miller/Bill Maher now. This is the thing he felt the need to rant about on his first night back at Stephen's show? That's pretty ominous.

Trying to remember if I knew this before.

I don't do Twitter but  I had a peek and yep, the Right is loving on Jon Stewart's appearance on LSSC.

I loved JS, The Daily show was a show I watched religiously.  However, Jon's worship of (thats how I saw it) John McCain always bugged me.

Edited June 15, 2021 by Cozytea

[Fable]

I much preferred the homey and warm environment without the audience, but not gonna lie, it got a bit dusty in here when Stephen went out to interact with them.  There was a certain sense of relief that we have gotten over one more hurdle. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

I was loving the opening scene--the song from Gypsy...the monologue. Even Dana Carvey.

Then Jon showed up and first I was so crazy happy to see him and Stephen hug.

Then...that happened. Like others, I thought it was a bit, that any minute now, the Jon Stewart I know and love, would emerge. But...he didn't. Now I'm sad.

Edited June 15, 2021 by GHScorpiosRule

[possibilities]

I was more surprised JS was wearing a tie.

[futurechemist]

Admittedly it's been a while, but what threw me was that it seemed like Jon's trademark righteous fury which he had previously directed at Congress for not approving 9/11 first responder healthcare or Fox News for being king of BS mountain. So I was wondering what worthy target he had chosen - January 6 rioters and enablers? People who actively refused masks? Voting rights? 

So imagine my disappointment when it turned into several minutes boiling down to "Wuhan has a coronavirus lab. Wuhan had a coronavirus outbreak. That can't possibly be a coincidence thanks to those crazy scientists."

And while Jon never said that the virus was deliberately released as a bioweapon, these sorts or loud, righteous rants don't tend to lend themselves to much nuanced discussion between deliberate release, accidental release, and natural origin.

[meowmommy]

That was the kind of BSC unhinged rant that Jon Stewart would have absolutely eviscerated on The Daily Show.  Wonder if Stephen had any inkling it was coming?

Lorne Michaels should bring Dana Carvey back to SNL to do that Joe Biden.  Thousand times more believable than Jim Carrey's abominable take.

[Annber03]

19 minutes ago, futurechemist said:

Admittedly it's been a while, but what threw me was that it seemed like Jon's trademark righteous fury which he had previously directed at Congress for not approving 9/11 first responder healthcare or Fox News for being king of BS mountain. So I was wondering what worthy target he had chosen - January 6 rioters and enablers? People who actively refused masks? Voting rights? 

So imagine my disappointment when it turned into several minutes boiling down to "Wuhan has a coronavirus lab. Wuhan had a coronavirus outbreak. That can't possibly be a coincidence thanks to those crazy scientists."

This. I was hoping for the kind of conversation you mentioned, too-the last time he nad Stephen chatted, which I believe was last summer, they'd had a really good, thoughtful conversation about the BLM protests and the issues they were addressing and all that sort of thing. So I figured we'd get another conversation of that sort here, or Jon doing another thing where he called out politicians, like he has before. 

I thought maybe this was a bit at first, too, or Jon just being kinda jokey before they settled into a proper discussion about the pandemic and all related to it. But yeah, the fact that Stephen seemed a little taken aback did seem to indicate that wasn't the case.

So I dunno what happened. I just know it was....a very weird conversation. 

(I did like Jon's point at the end, though, about how when the world ends, it probably won't be in the kind of big, dramatic way we all tend to imagine will happen :p.)

Edited June 15, 2021 by Annber03

[VCRTracking]

Unfortunately Trump and the GOP have made it like asking legitimate questions about how the virus originated have become politicized. Deliberately naming it the "China virus" and escalating anti-Asian feelings among his base to deflect his incompetent handling of the pandemic. 

[shapeshifter]

5 minutes ago, VCRTracking said:

…asking legitimate questions about how the virus originated have become politicized…

I thought this surely had to be the point of Jon Stewart’s bit. 
But in skimming reviews and takes on Stewart’s Late Show performance, I see no one willing to even suggest that his point was that the sociopolitical divisions are having a chilling effect on academic discourse. 

[smittykins]

18 hours ago, ebk57 said:

Suck it Lion King! 

 

It's the circle of life... 

Hakuna Ma-suck it!

[ahisma]

3 hours ago, Hooper said:

Stephen finally managed to point out that maybe the reason there is a Corona virus lab in Wuhan is because there is such a diversity of natural Corona virus types there, as opposed to Jon's rant that seemed to claim that there is only one Corona virus, and it exist because of the lab.

Yeah, Stephen’s analogy to an STD study in Daytona Beach at spring break was an apt and excellent pushback, but Jon’s rant dominated the segment. It was a sad time for me in what should have been a joyful show. 😕

[BookThief]

I'm happy Stephen's happy, but I didn't love the return to an audience as much as I had hoped to! I'm assuming it'll calm down though over time (and/or I'll just get used to it again). The audience for the first few weeks will probably be overly excited themselves as it's maybe the first time they've done something so public like this in 15 months. But you don't realize how long you have to wait for clapping and cheering until it goes away and then comes back again.

I'm glad others thought Jon Stewart's rant was...awkward. I was watching it and thinking how weird it was and I thought, OK, they'll get it together in the next segment and then...that was it. Oof. That was a supremely disappointing visit by Jon. I guess that's one way to make sure people stop asking to hear what your thoughts are on subjects.

[ParadoxLost]

Watching Jon Stewart's appearance on Colbert and the reaction to it, I have to say

I don't think Jon Stewart has changed.  Everyone else has. 

Also I think Colbert was fully aware of what Jon was going to do.  I don't think Jon would put Colbert in a situation like that without his agreement.  Colbert's reaction was making a point as well. 

 

[ebk57]

6 hours ago, possibilities said:

I was more surprised JS was wearing a tie.

That's exactly what Mr. ebk said - "look, he's wearing a tie!". 

[possibilities]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who found the crowd noise annoying and the atmosphere overblown. It didn't used to bother me, but I guess over the past year I've realized I really have no actual use for crowds.

I also think that men who pretend to flash their junk are almost as bad as ones who actually do it. If this is Stephen's idea of freedom, I hope someone keeps him locked down. I really don't want to be part of his flashing fantasy. 

[ebk57]

4 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I thought this surely had to be the point of Jon Stewart’s bit. 
But in skimming reviews and takes on Stewart’s Late Show performance, I see no one willing to even suggest that his point was that the sociopolitical divisions are having a chilling effect on academic discourse. 

Okay.  I'll admit that if that was his point (and it's a good point), it went totally over my dumb head.  Maybe people need to have the good points stated out loud because (in my case anyway) deep, critical thinking isn't a strong skill.  

I was disappointed in the rant.   I guess I just need things spelled out for me. 

[shapeshifter]

25 minutes ago, ebk57 said:

Okay.  I'll admit that if that was his point (and it's a good point), it went totally over my dumb head.  Maybe people need to have the good points stated out loud because (in my case anyway) deep, critical thinking isn't a strong skill.  

I was disappointed in the rant.   I guess I just need things spelled out for me. 

Or maybe JS overestimated how well his audience knows his real beliefs? 
And/or, JS assumed that everyone watching Colbert now is familiar with and enjoyed the over-the-top, fake right-wing persona of the old Colbert Report, and would recognize something similar in a guest bit?  
Or, he just wanted to confuse those who think they’ve got it all figured out.

[ParadoxLost]

 

5 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I thought this surely had to be the point of Jon Stewart’s bit. 
But in skimming reviews and takes on Stewart’s Late Show performance, I see no one willing to even suggest that his point was that the sociopolitical divisions are having a chilling effect on academic discourse. 

If that was his point, then I think it was secondary or even tertiary.

He was basically ranting over the idea of putting the fox in charge of guarding the hen house.

I think he takes issue with governments and corporations having the ability to assume risks for the world at large and then being put in charge of the investigation when something goes wrong and then have the ability to suppress discussion of it and no one calling them out on it. 

I think Colbert's reaction was largely performative to underline the last couple points.  Its sad that the overwhelming reaction seems to be that Jon Stewart might have gone over to the other side.  I could see how there could be some insight to the divisions in culture as the reason for Colbert's discomfort.  But I ultimately ended up thinking that it was clear that Colbert is operating under some pretty heavy pressure and this allowed him to say something about it without saying something about it.

I don't really see how any of this is all that different than some of Jon's rants on the Daily Show other than in how it was received and why it was received that way.

Edited June 16, 2021 by ParadoxLost

[Dewey Decimate]

Dana Carvey has an amazing talent for zeroing in on a figure's idiosyncrasies and embodying them. His Biden is awesome.

Jon's appearance was... bizarre. I reflexively cringed every time he drew out "Wuhan...?!?" Yikes. Even if it's a bit, or parody, with all the anti-Asian American violence it was darn uncomfortable. The faint stain on the right side of his shirt just helped cement the appearance of crazy shaggy man ranting on a street corner.