Small Talk: Live From The Ed Sullivan Theater

[formerlyfreedom]

The Small Talk topic is for:

 

• Introductions
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This is NOT a topic for actual show discussion. When you want to talk about the show:

 

1. Figure out the nature of the topic you want to talk about
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Happy trails beyond Small Talk!

[possibilities]

I think this is funny for more than one reason:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/popes-new-comedic-advisor-rabbi/

 

Pope's new comedic advisor is a rabbi.

 

Also, he dropped the T from the end of his last name, which used to be Alpert and is now Alper -- this made me think maybe he was a Colbert fan. But part of the prize he got for being chosen as the Pope's comedy advisor is a pair of tickets to Jimmy Fallon's show.

[roseha]

I'm not sure where to post this, but I've been trying for weeks to figure out what the purpose is of the shiny square thing on Stephen's Desk (under his right arm here):

 

 

It seems to move around and I don't think it's just a paperweight.  I'm wondering if he uses it to maybe see what's on the monitor?  He did seem to be sneaking a peek at it the other night.

[ABay]

Yes, it lets him see what we're seeing on screen.

 

I'm curious about the objects you can see over his left shoulder in some shots, but not in the one above.

[roseha]

Thanks ABay, now I will have to go looking for those objects you mention!

[kib]

16 hours ago, Milburn Stone said:

To my mind, the single best thing he does every night is the post-monologue behind-the-desk bit. (And then sometimes the prepared bit he'll do later in the show, if I've DVR'ed the show and can zap to it.) I felt the same way about Carson, to tell the truth. The indispensable, "appointment television" parts of Carson every night were the monologue and the following behind-the-desk bit (Carnac or what-have-you). The interviews? Not so much.

I think in talk show vernacular those are called the "Writer's Segment" and I agree wholeheartedly. That was usually the best part of Dave's show as well, particularly when it was clear Dave was the writer in question.

As long as we're getting all analytical about preferences, the one thing in my mind that stands out as far as where Colbert's performance stands with those who are doing or have done that line of work is likability/relatability.  Carson always came off as something of a neighbor. Kimmel is the prankster on your six-foot and under basketball team.  Conan seems like the geeky guy working three cubes over in the office, funny but a bit off.  Fallon acts like a big ol' puppy dog eager to please.  Dave was always the smartass who had the moxie to say out loud what you were only able to dream about verbalizing.  Colbert... I just don't know how likeable/relatable he is.  Maybe a little to smart? (Should I feel dumb or completely uncool that some of his material is too meta for me?) Maybe a little too slick and polished? (Would this guy ever be caught wearing a hoodie and sweatpants?) Maybe a little too theatrical? (Do you think Johnny/Dave or the Jimmy's could carry more than a bar of a Broadway show tune?) What kind of music does he like?  With Carson it was big band stuff, the Jimmy's seem to gravitate toward rock 'n roll, Dave tastes seemed pretty eclectic, but I haven't a clue what Colbert might have on his iPod.   Really, for the life of me I can't imagine what I'd have to talk about were I to meet him in real life. I can't shake the feeling I'm on the outside looking in.  Not the way I choose to spend an hour.

Just spit ballin' here... YMMV

Edited April 30, 2016 by kib

[Kromm]

16 hours ago, Milburn Stone said:

To my mind, the single best thing he does every night is the post-monologue behind-the-desk bit. (And then sometimes the prepared bit he'll do later in the show, if I've DVR'ed the show and can zap to it.) I felt the same way about Carson, to tell the truth. The indispensable, "appointment television" parts of Carson every night were the monologue and the following behind-the-desk bit (Carnac or what-have-you). The interviews? Not so much.

It's interesting, because so few Talk Show hosts have actually been good at the Interviews.

• Conan: stank at interviews for his first few years, but got much better. That said, his real strength is on-location remote bits. He arguably was (and still is) even better than Letterman at those. Desk bits for him can be really good, but really vary in quality.
• Letterman: actually, was always really good at interviews. With some guests he just wouldn't gel and it wouldn't even lead to anything good, but with the right guests his Interviews were genius. On location bits were great for him too, as is anything in studio with the live audience--be it from behind his desk or on his feet. But in his later years he did far less of both the on location bits and even the in studio ones riffing off the audience. And the formal monologue was always a bit of a weakness (and got worse as the years went by).
• Leno: IMO was always really bad at interviews. Barely got better as the years passed. Which is interesting because whatever you think of him as a host, he's a great guest on other people's talk shows. Suddenly, in that circumstance, he seems to have plenty of interesting things to say. His desk bits were kind of weak too IMO, but on the rare occasion when he did skits or remote bits, they were actually pretty good. His monologues weren't the worst of any talk show host, but were corny and least common denominator. Very different from the stuff I've seen from his actual stand up act, where he was very sharp and sarcastic.
• Ferguson: in some ways was the best interviewer of any of these guys. His monologue was pretty great too. He didn't often do remote bits--other than the times he'd do an entire episode as a remote bit (like when he took the show to Scotland). Like Fallon, he did musical bits, and they were great, and I include anything with the puppets under that same basket. His desk bits were mostly limited to the reading of viewer mail with the skeleton robot. Occasionally, unlike most of these others, he'd do formal skits, like Carson did in his time (for example, Prince Charles skits). Those were usually good.
• Fallon: A horrendous interviewer. I've stopped watching, but most people say he's no better now than when he started. If he didn't do great musical bits, there'd be nothing. He does the rare "skit", but it's usually tied into the musical stuff fairly directly.  I don't recall him doing many remote bits.
• Corden: He's not a great interviewer. What "saves" his show is the Graham Norton style multiple interview thing. It's more than just a novelty--it offers a conversation that goes in different directions than standard talk show one on ones. Corden carries less of the load than Norton does on his show though--usually Norton steers his guests vs. on Cordon's show, where boisterous (mostly Americans) cause their own weird interactions.  Does decent remote bits though (I count all of the Carpool Karaoke stuff as that).  I've seen a few skits, but it's not a major thing. His desk bits, from when I've watched, aren't all that good.
• Meyers: I watched a lot his first few weeks but not after, so I can't really comment. In those first few weeks I got an impression he COULD be a good interviewer, but wasn't quite reaching it. Other kinds of stuff he did was really mixed.
• Kimmel: Weird with interviews. It really varies, from pretty good to outright terrible. Maybe that's not so different from Letterman, except I don't think Kimmel's percentages are quite as good, and his highs with interviews are never quite as high as Dave's were (who when he DID hit perfectly with a guest interview, it was just totally mesmerizing). Pretty good audience interactions, okay remote bits when I've seen him do them. He's kind of a generalist: never as good as anyone else at their best, but at least decent at everything.

As for Colbert himself? I think his interviews fall ahead of Fallon, Leno, and in some cases Corden (as I said I can't comment on Meyers). He's maybe around Kimmel's level, except maybe even more firmly stuck in the middle. What he trumps most of them in is subject matter. He may not spark the best with his guests, but he gets a wider variety of them and thus at least attempts to talk about the widest range of subject matter. I agree that his Desk bits are the best, of anyone on this list actually. His monologues are... okay. On the rare occasions when he does away from the desk skits, or on location stuff outside of the studio, those tend to be pretty good. He's also strangely good being mock-candid on recorded bits. The stuff he recorded in his back office when they were prepping the show is the best thing of that type other than Conan--who also does a lot of that mocked up behind the scenes stuff too (Letterman would too, but did so less in his later years). 

Edited April 30, 2016 by Kromm

[kib]

On 11/6/2015 at 11:20 PM, roseha said:

I'm not sure where to post this, but I've been trying for weeks to figure out what the purpose is of the shiny square thing on Stephen's Desk (under his right arm here):

 

 

It seems to move around and I don't think it's just a paperweight.  I'm wondering if he uses it to maybe see what's on the monitor?  He did seem to be sneaking a peek at it the other night.

It's a sheet of glass with a monitor underneath.

[Jaded]

Donald Trump Animated Series From Stephen Colbert Headed to Showtime

[SoMuchTV]

___________________

  2 hours ago, @meowmommy said:

Does an OTA antenna actually have to go in the window?  I've thought about getting one, but I don't have a window I would either want to or be able to keep open.

  57 minutes ago, saoirse said:

Let’s please take the non-show discussion to the Small Talk topic and get back to the Late Show in here. Thank you.

Here's the link to antenna I use: https://www.gomohu.com/tv-for-free-front/

And here's the link to the Small Talk thread for continued discussion (if needed/wanted): https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/30800-small-talk-live-from-the-ed-sullivan-theater/

Meanwhile back at the show: I love it when the camera shows Jon Baptiste's reactions to the absurdities in the news that Stephen points out. More, please.

_____________________

Tried to copy the conversation above from the main show thread but I don't think I did it right.

Depending on where you live, no, an antenna doesn't have to be in the window.  I have antennas on all my tv's and they're mostly located next to the tv's.  Plus, if your tv is relatively new and your cable box connects via hdmi, you don't need to worry about swapping the cable out and rescanning when you want to watch OTA.

But that all depends on where you live, the terrain, the location of stations, etc.  There are websites where you can plug in your address and see what stations you're likely to get.  I think some even suggest what kind of antenna you'd need (a $15 one vs the big ol' one in the attic.  Maybe someone can point you to the best site.

[BookThief]

Continuing the conversation from the other thread... Dish didn't drop CBS. I have Dish and my episode recorded fine last night. DirecTV was the one that dropped them (and maybe apparently also AT&T--but definitely DirecTV. Our local CBS was airing pleas for customers to call DirecTV all the time).

[possibilities]

AT&T bought DirecTV, so they are now one and the same. Sadly. Customer service has been noticeably crappier since the merger.

But I have DirecTV and I still have CBS.

They have a contract dispute with NBC and The CW right now, though, so I lost those recently.

I wonder if this is variable by local markets?

[Jaded]

Just now, possibilities said:

AT&T bought DirecTV, so they are now one and the same. Sadly. Customer service has been noticeably crappier since the merger.

But I have DirecTV and I still have CBS.

They have a contract dispute with NBC and The CW right now, though, so I lost those recently.

I wonder if this is variable by local markets?

It depends on the company each local network affiliate is owned by. 

[ABay]

Directv/AT&T is in talks with Nexstar, which owns affiliates for different networks in different markets. Where I am, we lost ABC.

[roseha]

Re CBS and use of antennas:  I live in New York and have been using an indoor antenna inside my window, connected to my Tivo, for a long time.  If you live close enough to pick up over the air channels like CBS that way it's really worth the small cost of an indoor antenna.

Related to that:  I was watching CBS recently and a scrolling message came on that I will have to re-scan my TV on August 1 to keep receiving WCBS in New York. I don't know for sure, but I believe there is some kind of reassignment of channels going on this summer, so it may be worth doing a channel scan on August 1.

[shapeshifter]

7 minutes ago, roseha said:

Re CBS and use of antennas:  I live in New York and have been using an indoor antenna inside my window, connected to my Tivo, for a long time.  If you live close enough to pick up over the air channels like CBS that way it's really worth the small cost of an indoor antenna.

Related to that:  I was watching CBS recently and a scrolling message came on that I will have to re-scan my TV on August 1 to keep receiving WCBS in New York. I don't know for sure, but I believe there is some kind of reassignment of channels going on this summer, so it may be worth doing a channel scan on August 1.

Because I'm 30 miles from Chicago, I have to rescan pretty much every time it rains, LOL. But when they reassign channels, I do the complete rescan, meaning I unplug the antenna, rescan (which gets no channels), then I plug it in again and rescan.

[shapeshifter]

On Friday, January 8, 2021, Stephen asked 3 guests (Tom Hanks, George Clooney, and Meryl Streep) the newly devised "The Colbert Questionert" (https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/thecolbertquestionert and https://archive.org/details/KPIX_20210109_073500_The_Late_Show_With_Stephen_Colbert).

I thought the list might potentially generate a bunch of off-topic chatter, so here we are, with the list directly below and my comment below that.

The 15 questions on the questionnaire are:
 (maybe somebody wants to start a poll topic?)

1. What is the best sandwich?
2. What's one thing you really should throw out?
3. What's the scariest animal?
4. Apples or oranges?
5. Have you ever asked someone for their autograph?
6. What do you think happens when we die?
7. What's your favorite action movie?
8. What's your favorite smell?
9. What's your least favorite smell?
10. Exercise. Is it worth it?
11. Flat or sparkling?
12. What is the most used app on your phone?
13. You get to listen to one song for the rest of your life. What is it?
14. What number am I thinking of?
15. Describe the rest of your life in 5 words.

 

In the season thread, @Calvada mentioned Meryl's favorite smell being apple pie and they too thought of food smells. 
I'm kind of nerdy, so I thought of the watercolor hue Rose Madder Genuine, which I no long use because of its fugitive (fading) properties, but I still love the smell of it. It's the only pigment I know that smells so nice --or at all. And I'm a Super Special Snowflake about fragrances (hives, headaches, etc.) avoiding them in general. 

[possibilities]

Re #11, I might be the only person on the planet who really dislikes carbonation. 

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, possibilities said:

Re #11, I might be the only person on the planet who really dislikes carbonation. 

No, I too kept hoping one of the 3 fabulous interviewees would side with me and say “flat,” although I don’t hate it so much that I can’t drink it when socially required. 

[Annber03]

When my mom and I were watching the episode, we agreed that we would have such a hard time with the "You can only pick one song to listen to for the rest of your life, what is it?" question. Good lord, so many options...

As for the topic of smells, one of my favorites is coffee. Mainly because anytime I smell it, it makes me think of the first boyfriend I had when I was in high school. My mind always goes back to cold winter days and us walking down to a coffee shop and getting something nice and warm to drink :). 

I'll second Meryl's answer for what happens when we die, 'cause I've always had that same belief as well. And I also agree with her that black widow spiders are scary, though I'd extend that to spiders in general. Creepy little buggers. 

As for the autograph question, I've never asked anyone for one, 'cause I've never met anyone famous, but a friend I knew online had met one of our favorite singers in Australia a good number of years back, and she got him to autograph a picture for me and sent it as a gift. So that was cool :D.  Honestly, though, if I were to meet a celebrity I liked, I'd probably want a picture with them more than anything else. 

Edited January 10, 2021 by Annber03

[meowmommy]

3 hours ago, Annber03 said:

As for the topic of smells, one of my favorites is coffee. M

I can't stand coffee, yet I love the smell of coffee beans.  Not so much brewed coffee.  And I love coffee ice cream.  Go figure.

As I said in the main thread, George had it right.  Lavender.  Shocked, though, that a man would say lavender.

1. What is the best sandwich?  Grilled cheese with the gooeyest extra sharp cheddar you can get.
2. What's one thing you really should throw out?  About 90% of what I own.  I miss the days when everything I had fit into the back of my Mustang.
3. What's the scariest animal?  Coyotes.  Because they're everywhere around here and I have cats.
4. Apples or oranges?  Apples.  And I've never put peanut butter on them.  I have an orange and a grapefruit tree that are the bane of my existence.
5. Have you ever asked someone for their autograph?  Hell, no.
6. What do you think happens when we die?  We cease to exist.  All our memories and hopes and dreams are gone, too.  The only saving grace is that we won't know it happened.
7. What's your favorite action movie?  I hate action movies.  Hard to describe how incredibly boring they are.
8. What's your favorite smell?  Lavender.  And some lavender blends.
9. What's your least favorite smell?  Cigarette smoke.
10. Exercise. Is it worth it?  Yeah, probably.  Hate it, though.
11. Flat or sparkling?  Depends on what it is.
12. What is the most used app on your phone?  Quordy.  Enough that I refused to upgrade past iOS 10.
13. You get to listen to one song for the rest of your life. What is it?  The Long and Winding Road.  Or maybe Jose Feliciano's Light my Fire.
14. What number am I thinking of?  Seven.  It's always seven.
15. Describe the rest of your life in 5 words.  Boring, like every other day.

Edited January 10, 2021 by meowmommy

[DanaK]

1. What is the best sandwich?

Ham with mayo. Type of bread doesn't matter much

2. What's one thing you really should throw out?

The slippers I'm wearing now

3. What's the scariest animal?

Crocodile

4. Apples or oranges?

Apples

5. Have you ever asked someone for their autograph?

Ray Bradbury, at some sort of conference I was at a few years back. He was signing one of his books

6. What do you think happens when we die?

We go to heaven and live out our forever lives and watch over loved ones

7. What's your favorite action movie?

Don't know

8. What's your favorite smell?

9. What's your least favorite smell?

Can't smell, probably since I was a kid

10. Exercise. Is it worth it?

Sometimes

11. Flat or sparkling?

If we're talking carbonation, sparkling

12. What is the most used app on your phone?

I don't use my smart phone much, but I would have to say Google maps

13. You get to listen to one song for the rest of your life. What is it?

My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion

14. What number am I thinking of?

3

15. Describe the rest of your life in 5 words.

I hope I make 90

[ebk57]

If you didn't catch it tonight, I highly recommend the CNN series The Story of Late Night.  It's 6 episodes, with tonight's being the beginning of the late night talk show.  It was fascinating and I'm really looking forward to the rest of the series.  I'm old, but I truly thought that Letterman had "invented" lowering himself into vats of...stuff...but no - it was Steve Allen.  It seems Steve Allen invented everything.  Stephen will be featured, along with just about every talk show host in history.  Really enjoyed the show. 

[Annber03]

I saw that, too. I'm looking forward to the rest of that series, sounds like it's going to be a good dive. So fascinating to see how it all began-and that we had women hosting shows even way back when, if only for a very brief time. 

[SHD]

On 1/10/2021 at 3:04 AM, shapeshifter said:

No, I too kept hoping one of the 3 fabulous interviewees would side with me and say “flat,” although I don’t hate it so much that I can’t drink it when socially required. 

I think that since then a couple of stars have said "flat". I don't remember the first one but Stephen kind of gave him a "wrong choice" expression. Then I believe Springsteen also answered "flat" and Stephen was just like "OK". Can't tell The Boss he's wrong about ANYTHING! LOL

[ahisma]

3 hours ago, SHD said:

I think that since then a couple of stars have said "flat". I don't remember the first one but Stephen kind of gave him a "wrong choice" expression. Then I believe Springsteen also answered "flat" and Stephen was just like "OK".

Yes! They stood out to me, too, since my answer is, “Water, flat; wine, sparkling.” 😄

[JustHereForFood]

Do you guys have some holiday in the US this week? Google didn't tell me anything. Or is it just a coincidence that Stephen, Trevor Noah and John Oliver are all off at the same time? I noticed that before, that sometimes all are off at the same time... Do you know if it's for the whole week, or maybe longer?

[MaryMitch]

1 hour ago, JustHereForFood said:

Do you guys have some holiday in the US this week? Google didn't tell me anything. Or is it just a coincidence that Stephen, Trevor Noah and John Oliver are all off at the same time? I noticed that before, that sometimes all are off at the same time... Do you know if it's for the whole week, or maybe longer?

At least on CBS (Colbert) it's due to "March Madness", the annual college basketball tournament. 

I think Trevor is going to be off for several weeks.

[ahisma]

Seth is off, too (NBC). I hate it when they’re all gone at the same time!

[JustHereForFood]

4 hours ago, MaryMitch said:

At least on CBS (Colbert) it's due to "March Madness", the annual college basketball tournament. 

I think Trevor is going to be off for several weeks.

Thanks.

[shapeshifter]

Sorry to reply so late; just saw this:

On 11/17/2021 at 1:30 PM, SHD said:

I think that since then a couple of stars have said "flat". I don't remember the first one but Stephen kind of gave him a "wrong choice" expression. Then I believe Springsteen also answered "flat" and Stephen was just like "OK". Can't tell The Boss he's wrong about ANYTHING! LOL

Cool 😎 
And I now see that Springsteen was born an hour away from where I was born and 4 years earlier. So maybe both our moms told us we wouldn't like fizzy stuff because they thought soda pop wasn't healthy.

[Hanahope]

I have some guests coming from out of town this summer and we are planning a NYC trip.  i'd like to try and get Colbert tickets.  anyone know the best way to get more than 2 tickets?