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Anticipation for Colbert's Late Show

A Boston Gal

By A Boston Gal
in The Colbert Report [V]

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Milburn Stone

Milburn Stone

Another thought regarding the idea that we should throw up our hands in despair because the end of The Colbert Report means the end of penetrating, in-depth political satire on TV: It doesn't. Last night I caught the most recent Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, the one in which he spent a good deal of time building a case against the opponents of net neutrality. The segment--which occupied a significant chunk of real estate in the half-hour--was, there is no other term for it, a thing of beauty. It built and built and built and was just short of being a one-act play, one which would have deserved a Pulitzer Prize. I always liked John Oliver on TDS, but I never knew he'd be capable of something like what he's doing with this show. Without comparing him to Colbert (who is clearly a genius in his own right) suffice it to say that when The Colbert Report leaves the air, we won't be left with a vacuum.

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Gilmel

Gilmel

See, I've always considered the majority of what The Daily Show and now John Oliver do as mockery, not satire. The Colbert Report is out and out satire on all levels, and unless the Minority Report becomes that, too, for me, there'll be nothing to fill the satire gap.

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Fremde Frau

Fremde Frau

I agree, Gilmel. The Colbert Report is a totally different experience from The Daily Show and Last Week Tonight, being satire as performance art. I wasn't there when it started, but, from the early clips I saw online, my impression is that it basically started as a Daily Show field piece becoming the premise for an entire show. The field pieces seem to be the purest satire on The Daily Show, and The Colbert Report seems to have been born out of that.

 

Maybe it's because I'm new to all three shows, but I don't see a huge difference between Last Week Tonight and The Daily Show. LWT is structurally like TDS minus the obligatory interview, with the main qualitative differences being that it's also "weeklier" and on HBO, which all gives it more leeway to plan, write, and produce. Outside of the wrinkled old man penis and last week's call to arms, though, I haven't seen anything on LWT that I thought, "Wow, that couldn't or wouldn't have happened on The Daily Show." The closest thing to "Stephen" that John does is dabbling in a more direct engagement with the Internet, but that still seems more like an accessory, if you will, and less like a fundamental structural feature like Colbert's "Nation." He could definitely develop that, play up the British outsider aspect and turn that into an all-out performance with a regular "call to arms" of his Internet "monsters." It'll be interesting to see where he goes with that. LWT definitely has the chance to become a show with an active Internet presence, like TCR; compared to "Stephen" and John, Jon Stewart is much more old school in that regard. Outside of a joke like #mcconnelling, has he ever asked the Daily Show audience to do anything? He has the largest audience (so far) but seems reticent to go there, for whatever reason. Even (and I watched this long after the fact, so what do I know?) with the 9/11 first responders episode in 2010, he seemed confident that it would make a difference, but he never did the "Fly, my pretties! Call your senators!" thing.

 

To get this back on topic: we don't know enough about The Minority Report yet to know what type of tone it will have, but it seems like it will be more of a parody of panel shows like The Five or The View. I'm looking forward to it. Larry Wilmore is just fantastic. And this isn't to take anything away from John's great new success with LWT and Jon Stewart's amazingly long, influential, and epic run on TDS, but I see The Colbert Report as a unique, magical sort of show that cannot be replaced, only succeeded.

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Rhetorica

Rhetorica

Hopefully, Colbert will continue to be able to educate the American public on important news topics better than the news casters.

I hope so too. But I fear his new show will be less political. If so, who then, will call out the assholes? 

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Kromm

Kromm

And let's hope The Daily Show will keep on keeping on, as well.

 

We haven't really lost a voice as much as we've gained two and given one voice a bigger platform.

Bingo.

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Kromm

Kromm

While not exactly a surprise, it's now officially confirmed that Colbert's new show will film in New York at the Ed Sullivan Theater.

I was half expecting another theater to be renovated in NY, but I suppose CBS has an existing ownership/deal in that building and didn't want to negotiate for another space.

 

It means any renovation will be superficial, I guess.

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alynch

alynch

(edited)
It means any renovation will be superficial, I guess.

 

Either that, or there will be an extended gap (like skipping the summer) between Dave's finale and Colbert's premiere to allow for an overhaul.

Edited by alynch
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Victor the Crab

Victor the Crab

Either that, or there will be an extended gap (like skipping the summer) between Dave's finale and Colbert's premiere to allow for an overhaul.

On a side note, it would also allow enough time for Stephen to shake off his "Stephen" persona from TCR so that he can be re-introduced as the real Stephen Colbert once he starts hosting The Late Show.

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Fremde Frau

Fremde Frau

Same here, ABay. I am not ready for the show to end. I'm caught between being excited about Larry Wilmore and crushed about "Stephen." Discovering this show just last winter and then hearing that it will end this year has been like spring in Japan. Everything is just so gorgeous, then you remember that the cherry blossoms only last one week. And once that week is over, the rains will come.

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formerlyfreedom

formerlyfreedom

Stephen's new show will debut in September, it has been announced

 

As far as thinking his staff won't be employed until September, I suspect that there is actually quite a bit of planning for some of them - and the others have probably had some idea of the time frame, so they could fill in.

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solotrek

solotrek

As far as thinking his staff won't be employed until September, I suspect that there is actually quite a bit of planning for some of them - and the others have probably had some idea of the time frame, so they could fill in.

 

Surely a lot of them (ie cameramen, lighting, rigging, etc...) will get work with The Nightly Show.

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solotrek

solotrek

(edited)

Eventually, yes.  But what are people like camera operators and grips supposed to do from January through September?  Get other jobs.  Which means they might not be available when the new show starts.

The Nightly Show is Larry Wilmore's show, which is starting in January. I meant that many of them would probably be able to work there. If Colbert is going to use Letterman's studio, surely Larry will be using Colbert's.

Edited by maculae
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Hanahope

Hanahope

I wonder what bits, if any, Stephen will take to his new show.  I hope some of them at least, like The Word.  That is my absolute favorite.  They should release a DVD with all his Word bits, I bet that would sell like hotcakes.

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brgjoe

brgjoe

I've always been a fan of "Threat Down!' myself.  But yeah, "The Word" is a classic bit, and hope he can continue it in one form or another when he goes to CBS.

 

I will wear my "Keep Fear Alive!" T-shirt tomorrow to work, in honor of Stephen's last show.

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ruby24

ruby24

I hope so too. But I fear his new show will be less political. If so, who then, will call out the assholes? 

Yeah, this is what I will miss the most. I wouldn't count on John Oliver to do it in exactly, because he's much more focused on international issues and he doesn't seem (to me at least) to be as interested in calling out the ridiculous nature of conservative ideology. That's what I will miss most about Stephen, because as goofy and silly as he could be, when he was mocking Republicans and their entire ideology through his blowhard persona- for me it was a catharsis like nothing else, The Daily Show included. He was the best.

 

Sadly I don't see that coming from anywhere else, so for me it does feel like a real loss.

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trow125

trow125

Stephen should invite Doris Kearns Goodwin and Neil DeGrasse Tyson to be early guests on his new show. I'll bet he'd love to interview them as Stephen, not "Stephen," and it would be reassuring to the Report fans that there'd still be a little continuity there.

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