LSSC: Season One All Episodes Talk

[Inquisitionist]

I haven't read Franzen but was curious to see his interview -- also, I am still kind of gobsmacked that SC is doing author interviews on a late-night network show; I'm not sure that's been done since Johnny Carson's days -- but I thought he came across as kind of a jerk.

 

Kind of?  I'd been dubious about ever reading any of Franzen's novels, but after that "performance," I'm virtually sure I never will. 

 

Was the storybook reading at the very end of the episode?  If so, I must have deleted the episode before getting there.

[trow125]

Kind of?  I'd been dubious about ever reading any of Franzen's novels, but after that "performance," I'm virtually sure I never will. 

 

Was the storybook reading at the very end of the episode?  If so, I must have deleted the episode before getting there.

I read both "Freedom" and "The Corrections" but yeah, I find Franzen himself to be kind of offputting so I haven't bothered picking up "Purity" yet. I think he would be better off staying out of the public eye altogether. Hey, it works for Thomas Pynchon!

 

As for the storybook... yeah, it was a blatantly anti-Amazon screed. I realize Stephen and JF both hate Amazon (Stephen railed against them on the "Report" during their beef with Hachette, Stephen's publisher) but as someone who works with a lot of authors, it's been literally a career-saver for many of them, particularly midlist genre authors. I hate it when people reduce Amazon to "the bad guy." And I say that as someone who makes a concerted effort to buy books almost exclusively through my local independents; there are still plenty of them here in the Bay Area, but not everyone is so blessed.

[Mumbles]

Anyone else so sick of Seth McFarlane, you just wanna blow up the Earth.

Raises hand. I came across him accidentally last night because of the football delay and ended up hate-watching. There is something so *punchable* about his smirky face. And aside from his string-of-pop-culture-references peppered with casual racism/sexism that passes as his show, I'm sick of his vanity singing projects. His evocation of Sinatra on his latest is sacrilege.

[Padma]

Sinatra? Glad I turned it off before the end. I was hoping he and NDT would announce a new season of Cosmos, but Stephen didn't even ask about it, so maybe the series is already over.

 

I was disappointed that Stephen's bit about the debate followed the conventional wisdom (per Republicans) that the moderators had done a terrible job. Maybe they weren't great, but the candidates attacking them was ridiculous. I would have thought that instead of going with Trump that Becky Quick was unprepared (an embarrassing moment when he pushed back on the "falseness" of her question), he would have pointed out that it was TRUMP who was speaking falsely.  I have to believe that on TCR they would have shown on Trump's own website that she was absolutely correct about him criticizing Zuckerberg over H1B visas. I felt bad for her, "How did I think that?" etc. Embarrassing to watch, and yet, what would most people be like without research at hand to back them up when someone tells you in no uncertain terms that he's not answering your question and you're factually wrong.

 

Maybe if they prepared all of their questions themselves--and included the sourcing in their notes (or better, were prepared to throw it up on the screen when challenged. That would have been an awesome moment for CNBC to have his website handy after he said that.)

 

And Ted Cruz's attack on the moderators for asking "trivial" questions--which SC gave time to as if he actually had a point--was just a diversion from a perfectly fine question about Cruz's thoughts on the budget and about raising the debt ceiling.

 

I never felt TCR was dumbing it down for the audience. Unfortunately, that really does seem to be the case here. (Enjoyed them talking about water on Mars, but then it went to joking about sexual innuendo and NDT and SC seeing who could talk the loudest and interrupt the most, and then McFarland came out and....well, I know it's not PBS, but couldn't it be a -little- more like PBS? About 25% more actual "smart content" wouldn't turn the usual CBS late night audience off, would it?  Or have they already gone too far as it is by not just having celebrity guests and silly conversations?

[Mumbles]

Funny you say that about PBS and dumbing down. In my dream of dreams, I would love Colbert to have a show like Cavett in the 1970s where a group of different people but all interesting on their own sit around and talk (led and moderated by Stephen). Stephen has the wit and intelligence to pull it off, but I fear that publicists would balk and put in all sorts of limitations and conditions on who their clients would appear with.

I'm glad that this show has the brains to have business people, authors etc on, because no other major network show does and I don't think Trevor Noah has the gravitas yet to do those kinds of interviews.

[Muffyn]

I guess I read the debate coverage differently.  I felt like Stephen was on the side of the moderators and was exposing some of the general douchebaggery of the candidates.  As supposedly presidential material, I hate seeing the candidates try the yell louder and be the biggest jerk method of deflecting questions.  It would have been nice to see some TCR-like or TDS-like flashes to the candidate websites or prior interviews.  However I still didn't feel like Stephen was agreeing with the candidates bashing the moderators.  

 

As far as Seth McFarland goes, I wish he would just go away.  He got his own interview, then he was part of Neil's interview and finally he sang.  It's a trifecta of suckage.  I guess he has enough money that he could make his album happen.  There is certainly no good reason for it to exist.  Nice vanity project.  f I had known how McFarland focused this episode would be, I would have skipped it.  

[EyewatchTV211]

I haven't read Franzen but was curious to see his interview -- also, I am still kind of gobsmacked that SC is doing author interviews on a late-night network show; I'm not sure that's been done since Johnny Carson's days -- but I thought he came across as kind of a jerk.

Craig Ferguson interviewed authors on the Late Late Show when he was hosting. Since you refer to just late-night network shows, he fits, although I guess some might not think of him along with the other late show hosts since he did not have the regular late night timeslot.

[Victor the Crab]

Glad I recorded last night's show so that I could FF everything Seth McFarland. Sadly, that meant missing NdGT. But McFarland is too smarmy and obnoxious for me to take.

 

As for the Republican debate the other night, I thought there were good question the moderators asked the candidates. Unfortunately, they reacted as if they were being told their mothers were crack whores instead of giving honest answers as to what their plans are, with Ted Cruz being the most insufferable by far. The very idea of calling CNBC a part of the "liberal media establishment" would be gut busting laughable if a lot of people didn't believe it. And judging by the audience's reaction, they bought it. Hook, line, and sinker.

[ABay]

Crikey! Vampires are not my thing but if I was Mrs. Colbert, I would've sent the kids out for Oct. 30 razor blade candy, locked the door, and demanded to be fanged. 

[Victor the Crab]

Stephen looked real good as a vampire. Too bad he couldn't talk with those inserted fangs of his.

[Milburn Stone]

Glad I recorded last night's show so that I could FF everything Seth McFarland. Sadly, that meant missing NdGT. But McFarland is too smarmy and obnoxious for me to take.

 

I like MacFarlane. So far, I've seen only the first interview segment, but...was it just me, or did Stephen actually make MacFarlane feel bad about himself? When MacFarlane said, "I came out here to have a good time, and you've succeeded in making me doubt everything about myself," I felt there was more than a grain of truth in it.

[walnutqueen]

I like McFarlane, too - possibly because I have not been inundated with his persona in any particular way (I am barely familiar with his name).  As an "outsider", I find him talented, smart and funny.  Besides, anyone who's OK with NGdT is A-OK in my book!  Funny how he is berated for being smug and egotistical, and Colbert is not ...

[Inquisitionist]

I was not familiar with MacFarlane until he hosted SNL a few years ago, and I thought he was well above average as a host.  Did not care for his hosting of the Oscars in 2013, but the producers should have known what they were getting.

 

According to Wikipedia:

MacFarlane served as executive producer of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, an update of the 1980s Carl Sagan–hosted Cosmos series, hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson. MacFarlane was instrumental in providing funding for the series, as well as securing studio support for it from other entertainment executives.[4]

 

Enjoying Stephen's vampire costume.  His Obama joke about Syria just before the opening credits was a real burn.

[trow125]

Oh man, the Halo 5 segment with the trick or treaters was the first time since Stephen took over that I've really missed David Letterman. I used to love his annual Halloween costume bit. I was hoping Stephen would do something funny with the trick-or-treat concept, but... ugh.

[peeayebee]

Loved Stephen saying that with the fake fangs he sounded like a vampire from Barcelona. It was also funny when he realized he couldn't say "Stacy Schiff" very well.

 

I liked that the guests were dressed in costume. And The Zombies! I love their stuff, esp Time of the Season. 

 

Did you notice the pumpkin behind Stephen at the desk? I guess it had the face of Stephen projected on it, and the eyes moved and blinked.

 

A bit of advice to Stephen: Unless you're a close friend, approach all women guests with a handshake. It often looks like he's going in for a kiss, and a few times it looked very awkward.

[walnutqueen]

Did you notice the pumpkin behind Stephen at the desk? I guess it had the face of Stephen projected on it, and the eyes moved and blinked.

 

As far as I can tell, everything on set bears Colbert's likeness, somehow.  It's actually quite obnoxious.

[Padma]

The good: Stephen as a suave vampire. Charlie Rose as Frankenstein also looked good. His 3 step advice to Stephen would solve a lot of problems in the interviews--"Be present, listen and follow up". I think Stephen's good at the first, varies on the second and often fails with the third.

 

Another fail? The ever-so-relentless pimping of Halo 5. Is that something normal on late night talk shows, mixing product placement in as if it's a real skit? I didn't "get" it, but it went on much too long, wasn't funny and really put me off. Was it just crass commercialism per the usual The Late Show (I rarely watched any of Letterman)? Was it supposed to be funny?  Stephen's complete commitment to it was the worst part, esp. for someone like me who no longer finds even his pimping of high-end technology in exchange for freebies funny. When you're a millionaire you can afford to buy your own, you don't have to cheapen yourself (and sucker in viewers) like that. Have some integrity!

 

For Halo 5, I'm assuming CBS required it. But is that a common practice? And ITA that I'm confused how much of the apparent "my image everywhere" and "I'm kind of a braggart now" is a new "Stephen" character or, perhaps, the real Stephen Colbert. He told Rose that he's now "playing myself" and, if so, maybe "egotist who doesn't listen well and likes to brag about himself" might remind him of someone else--someone he usually likes to mock. Not (yet) too late to rethink it!

Edited October 31, 2015 by Padma

[kib]

Oh man, the Halo 5 segment with the trick or treaters was the first time since Stephen took over that I've really missed David Letterman. I used to love his annual Halloween costume bit. I was hoping Stephen would do something funny with the trick-or-treat concept, but... ugh.

Amen.  For a brief moment when they panned over to the trick or treat set my heart fluttered... Will they???  Alas, instead we were clobbered with a lunkhead football player and child actors hawking a video game.  At least on the old show they used staffer's kids, didn't require them to sell anything, fed them pizza and gave them a little seed money for their college education. Most disappointing Mr. Colbert.

Edited October 31, 2015 by kib

[Grommet]

I'm finding the interviews hit or miss but lines like Ted Cruz's new campaign slogan being "Get in the car" remind me of why I watch.

[trow125]

Another fail? The ever-so-relentless pimping of Halo 5. Is that something normal on late night talk shows, mixing product placement in as if it's a real skit? I didn't "get" it, but it went on much too long, wasn't funny and really put me off. Was it just crass commercialism per the usual The Late Show (I rarely watched any of Letterman)? 

David Letterman was notoriously unfriendly to product placement. Fairly early in his run, I recall that he actually had a life size cardboard standee of himself and some staffer would do a purposely-terrible voiceover when he had to plug a product; finally I guess the network just quit trying. He did mention name brands, but it was usually in a humorous and often unflattering context. I think Colbert's willingness to cozy up to advertisers on the "Report" was one of the reasons CBS gave him the job. They knew he wasn't going to kick up a fuss like Dave.

 

Incidentally, there was a gigantic "Halo 5" product placement on @Midnight last week, so Colbert wasn't even the first to give it a huge plug.

[kib]

David Letterman was notoriously unfriendly to product placement. Fairly early in his run, I recall that he actually had a life size cardboard standee of himself and some staffer would do a purposely-terrible voiceover when he had to plug a product; finally I guess the network just quit trying. He did mention name brands, but it was usually in a humorous and often unflattering context. I think Colbert's willingness to cozy up to advertisers on the "Report" was one of the reasons CBS gave him the job. They knew he wasn't going to kick up a fuss like Dave.

 

Incidentally, there was a gigantic "Halo 5" product placement on @Midnight last week, so Colbert wasn't even the first to give it a huge plug.

If I'm not mistaken, even when Dave, near the end of his run, was pimping and begging (if you want to call it that) for free Ford cars, vehicles that may have come his way were always offered up as items at charity auctions and such.  May we expect some lucky philanthropic organization to see a UPS truck chock full o' shiny Halo 5 CD's arriving at any moment? 

Edited November 1, 2015 by kib

[Grace284]

Another fail? The ever-so-relentless pimping of Halo 5. Is that something normal on late night talk shows, mixing product placement in as if it's a real skit? I didn't "get" it, but it went on much too long, wasn't funny and really put me off. Was it just crass commercialism per the usual The Late Show (I rarely watched any of Letterman)? Was it supposed to be funny?  Stephen's complete commitment to it was the worst part, esp. for someone like me who no longer finds even his pimping of high-end technology in exchange for freebies funny. When you're a millionaire you can afford to buy your own, you don't have to cheapen yourself (and sucker in viewers) like that. Have some integrity!

 

I know Fallon does it, but he doesn't always make a skit out of it. I prefer Stephen's approach, although nothing has reached the heights of the glorious Wheat Thins promo from The Report. They've probably learned not to send him ridiculous memos.

Edited November 1, 2015 by Grace284

[ABay]

Stephen is not "Stephen", neither is he Dave. This show is not TCR or Letterman and I think it's unrealistic to expect it to replicate either. I hope that some of my favorite TCR bits and people who haven't yet appeared will eventually show up--Hans, Trevor Potter, the Girl from Ipa Nima, once again my apologies to Doris Kearns Goodwin, and inventive ways of raising scads of $ for the Yellow Ribbon Campaign, DonorsChoose, disaster relief etc.. But I'm not going to relentlessly compare this show to TCR or Letterman and nitpick how it's different because how does that make me feel better? It doesn't. The Late Show is what is and if it stops entertaining me, I'll stop watching and posting (without a flounce announce).

Edited November 1, 2015 by ABay

[peeayebee]

Product placement used to irritate me, but I accept it now. With DVRs and FF'ing thru commercials, TV shows need to get their sponsors some visibility. I thought this Halo promotion was kind of funny because it was so OTT. I don't play video games, so the product doesn't interest me at all, and I'm not into football, so seeing a pro player didn't excite me, but I didn't mind the promo.

[zxy556575]

I thought this Halo promotion was kind of funny because it was so OTT.

 

Aside from over- or under-shooting a bit after fast-forwarding, I haven't voluntarily watched a TV commercial in years. But I sat through the Halo ad and found it kind of amusing. I'm not their target market, either, but I did watch!

 

And for a product I have zero interest in, I actually was aware of the release because Joel McHale talked on Seth Meyer's show about how much of a fan he is and how excited he was for the release on October 27. If that segment was a set-up as well, it fooled me.

Edited November 1, 2015 by lordonia

[bluepiano]

I like McFarlane, too - possibly because I have not been inundated with his persona in any particular way (I am barely familiar with his name).  As an "outsider", I find him talented, smart and funny.  Besides, anyone who's OK with NGdT is A-OK in my book!  Funny how he is berated for being smug and egotistical, and Colbert is not ...

 

Maybe because people still think he's playing "Stephen" from TCR. But what I've now concluded is that if you strip out the Republican politics, the smug, egotistical, self-absorbed personality is the real Stephen Colbert.

 

When he said that he brought on Paul Simon only so he could do the whistling part on "You Can Call Me Al" it sounded like a funny line, but after a few more weeks of watching The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, I now actually believe that's the truth.

Edited November 3, 2015 by bluepiano

[peeayebee]

Boy, I didn't like the opening monologue about the time change. Not particularly funny nor insightful. Oh well. They can't all be gems.

 

I enjoyed the nunchuck failure videos. 

[Hanahope]

I too missed the days of TCR when SC didn't seem to follow up on Trump's lying to the CNBC debate questionner about what he said to Zuckerberg.

 

Glad I DVR the show so I too could FF through most of Seth.

[walnutqueen]

Maybe because people still think he's playing "Stephen" from TCR. But what I've now concluded is that if you strip out the Republican politics, the smug, egotistical, self-absorbed personality is the real Stephen Colbert.

 

When he said that he brought on Paul Simon only so he could do the whistling part on "You Can Call Me Al" it sounded like a funny line, but after a few more weeks of watching The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, I now actually believe that's the truth.

 

Sadly, I'm beginning to think the same, bluepiano.  I adored TCR Stephen Colbert.  This version?  Not so much.

[Blergh]

Not a bad show last night,IMO [though by no means the caliber of Vice- President Biden's appearance].  And just when I thought Margaret Cho  might pleasantly surprise me with  a fairly good singing voice in a country /folk    vein,  she showed her  tacky  via that head lice#. Oh well.    

[Grace284]

I would quite happily watch an entire series of Allison Janney acting out 70s rock songs.

Edited November 3, 2015 by Grace284

[roseha]

May we expect some lucky philanthropic organization to see a UPS truck chock full o' shiny Halo 5 CD's arriving at any moment? 

 

I would not rule that out at all.   And I've never actually read that Stephen does in fact get his car or whatever items from product placement.  I believe he mentioned his Tesla back in the first week when he had the head of its company on? 

 

The Halloween theme Friday was a lot of fun. Having the guests as well as Stephen in costume was entertaining.  Stephen trying to get through the opening segment with vampire teeth and no glasses was rather spontaneously hilarious.  I enjoyed that the Zombies were on, though I would have liked to have seen them get a complete number.  Maybe some other time, clearly Stephen and the theater audience were wowed by them.

 

I've noticed more of the musical guests working with Jon and the band, happy to see that.

[Delwyn]

I am seeing John Irving live at Writer's Fest next month and now the whole time he is talking I will only be able to picture Stephen's alarmed bedtime story face while he covers teddy's ears during the J Walter Weatherman Lesson about Circus Bears and looking before you cross the road. Perfect.

[ABay]

OMG! I have one of those rare upside down bills! I'm rich! Rich, I tells ya!

[zxy556575]

The interview with the Netflix guy may have achieved a new record for one syllable responses. If nothing else, the ratio of Stephen's words to Hastings' words was at least 50 to 1. The entire segment was 5 minutes. Why bother.

Edited November 4, 2015 by lordonia

[peeayebee]

I thought Stephen would at least ask him why Netflix won't divulge viewership numbers for its shows. I know he's been asked before, but I expected to hear the question again.

 

Love Antonio Banderas. What a charming guest. Unfortunately, only his first reading sounded sexy. More sexy please! *gimme hand*

 

The John Irving interview was too short. I really appreciated that Stephen let him speak uninterrupted for so long. It's been a while since I've read one of his books, which I always enjoyed. I didn't realize A Prayer for Owen Meany -- one of my favorites -- was his best-selling one. I assumed Garp was.

 

But the highlight of the show was the bedtime story. That was fantastic and spell-binding. Is this a real book that Franzen and Irving read from, or are did they each write their individual stories, or what?

Edited November 4, 2015 by peeayebee

[bmoore4026]

Well, that bit about Russia probably attacking underwater Internet Cables was disheartening as all get-out.  How will I get to my nice sites?  What is Russia's major malfunction exactly?  Do they really want to destroy the world that badly?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-zgdGQB4S4

[peeayebee]

Oh, I forgot to mention the Emotional Jackson bill. I loved that!

[pandora spocks]

Love Antonio Banderas. What a charming guest. Unfortunately, only his first reading sounded sexy. More sexy please! *gimme hand*

 

I never saw him with a beard before.  Hubba-hubba! 

 

The interview with the Netflix guy may have achieved a new record for one syllable responses. If nothing else, the ratio of Stephen's words to Hastings' words was at least 50 to 1. The entire segment was 5 minutes. Why bother.

 

It was a mystery why Hastings was on the show.  He didn't promote anything.  I was surprised that nearly one in five Americans subscribed to Netflix. 

[roseha]

But the highlight of the show was the bedtime story. That was fantastic and spell-binding. Is this a real book that Franzen and Irving read from, or are did they each write their individual stories, or what?

 

The story last night was so creepy and Irving seemed so involved reading it that my guess is he wrote it.  Stephen's horrified look was something else (was the pointed bedtime hat new this time?). 

 

The internet segments had a lot of funny moments (the baby Facebook photo, the Youtube cat, the hilarious and totally warranted put down of Time Warner Cable), but in a more serious way it underlined how internet dependent so many people have become.  Not that the internet doesn't have a lot of legitimate uses, but realizing how used so many of us have gotten to always having it (including people like me who are old enough to remember not having it at all) does give you pause.

[Hanahope]

Not that the internet doesn't have a lot of legitimate uses, but realizing how used so many of us have gotten to always having it (including people like me who are old enough to remember not having it at all) does give you pause.

 

The look on my kids faces when I explain how I used to go to a library to check out books and do research for school reports.

[BusyOctober]

I hope cooking with math professor has made her first and last appearance on ANY show I watch. That was painful. I get what she was attempting -math is more than memorizing numbers and formulas, math can be fun, blah blah- but her persona was beyond irksome. I wouldn't last one minute in her lectures.

[Brandi Maxxxx]

I hope cooking with math professor has made her first and last appearance on ANY show I watch. That was painful. I get what she was attempting -math is more than memorizing numbers and formulas, math can be fun, blah blah- but her persona was beyond irksome. I wouldn't last one minute in her lectures.

I would stay for the food if that was a part of the lecture, but I agree about the segment being a waste of time.

 

Jeb!'s new slogan ("Jeb can fix it!") made me think of two things: Bob the Builder and Jimmy Savile. That's not great for two reasons:

1. Savile was a child molester.

2. Obama already ripped off Bob with "Yes we can."

And that's without getting into the jokes people are making about fixing the 2000 election and the Bush family being above the law.

[ChelseaNH]

I muted the Pi segment -- not only was she overly perky but I wasn't getting "math" from her initial setup.

 

Stephen's car rental guy was delicious comedy.  "We all have things to do."

Edited November 5, 2015 by ChelseaNH

[Blergh]

I'll dissent and say (as a one-time straight C math student) I LIKED the Math Cooking Prof and found her far more entertaining than Margaret Cho. Maybe the resulting pastries  were more palatable than head lice. Dunno. Perhaps, I needed a  perky skit with good food to pick me up after the rough off 'Net day I'd had. Anyway, I actually learned more in that skit than in decades of droning math teachers' courses so I won't be unhappy if she returns.

 

 Also, I had fun with Daniel Craig's  James Bond Car Rental Skit with Mr. Colbert in the cheesy stache and Mr. Craig cracking up with pulling Mr. Colbert over the counter! 

[SophiaPehawkins]

That Daniel Craig/rental car skit was way funnier than I thought it was going to be. I particularly enjoyed DC breaking character and laughing after he grabbed him by the vest. My other favorite part was him telling him to let go since they have to pay for them themselves.

I enjoyed the actual interview, too. Funniest bit was when he asked him if does his own stunts in the bedroom. The math lady was a little much, but I think Stephen handled her well. He actually got 54x3 wrong and then tweeted about it later.

[ABay]

Jeb!'s new slogan ("Jeb can fix it!") made me think of two things: Bob the Builder and Jimmy Savile.

Yes, Brandi Maxxx! Jim'll Fix It is the first thing I thought of when I heard Jeb!'s new slogan. Really unfortunate association.

[Padma]

Not a Bond fan, but I enjoyed Craig and his skit with Stephen. It was long and a bit pointless, but I enjoyed it anyway. Also, the mustache brought back fond memories of Esteban.  I was impressed how SC stayed in character even when Craig couldn't stop laughing. He's got a nice cold blue-eyed stare, too. If he ever gives up Bond, he'd make a good Putin.

 

I felt a little sorry for the math prof. I love her idea of popularizing and demystifying math and I'm sure she's an extremely popular professor because of the high energy, real life interests and great enthusiasm for her subject. Unfortunately, someone should have warned her that TV's more of a "cool" medium unless you're already well known. She's smart, though, so I'll bet the next demo she does on tv she'll dial it down by half and be great.  (Exponents isn't a very hard concept, but I have to admit that the pastry thing--which seemed kind of dumb at the time--really did make the point and the whole example from start to finish really does stay with you. Teaching-wise, that's excellent!)

[zxy556575]

I didn't make it through the Pi segment. Like Lou Grant, I hate spunk.

[possibilities]

I didn't watch last night, so I have no opinion about the math guest, but I watched the clip of the rental care skit and I 100% thought Craig was going to kiss Colbert during that laughter breakdown.