LSSC: Season Two Episode Talk

[nowandlater]

I didn't watch it. I don't have Showtime. But I couldn't imagine watching a comedy a show on Tuesday night. Heck, I turned off the TV very early on when it looked like Trump was winning.

[Delwyn]

I haven't seen the nov 8 show yet (things are still too raw) but how on earth did Jon Batiste manage to be so chill (mostly) while Stevie Wonder was sharing his piano bench? 

[Hanahope]

I started to watch Stephen last night to try and feel a little better.  But the start of the show was just awful.  Oooh look, we get to curse and show nudity.  Yeah, that's not funny.

I don't know if it got better, I was feeling sick and tried to sleep.

[ebk57]

It did get better.  I wasn't into it at the beginning either (just finished watching), but by the end, I decided I wouldn't delete it from the DVR because I think I want to watch the second half again.  Stephen is so thoughtful.  The closing monologue was from the heart.

[lookeyloo]

Do watch the closing monologue. It is posted here too

[GHScorpiosRule]

STING.

Me: ??????

Still a sexy beast! SIGH...?????

[TVcritic]

Liked the fact that CBS did agree on the term 'pussy' not being beeped.

I could see a bit of anger on Stephen's face. Who can blame him? And it's Jon's birthday. I wonder what it's like being a teetotaller, having a birthday and Trump being President-elect? How does he blow off steam? Maybe playing Free Jazz? ;-)

Edited November 11, 2016 by TVcritic

[zxy556575]

Thanks so much to Stephen for jumping in and finishing Thandie Newton's thoughts for her. He interrupted and talked right over her just to prove that HE ALSO FELT something. And apparently it was much more valuable coming from his mouth.

[The Luvly Junkie]

6 hours ago, TVcritic said:

And it's Jon's birthday. I wonder what it's like being a teetotaller, having a birthday and Trump being President-elect? How does he blow off steam? Maybe playing Free Jazz? ;-)

      I suppose free jazz and the ending of last night's monologue made his day. Must I emphasize what a great ending Stephan made to lift our spirits up? Gotta hand it to Stephen's emotion and anger to hit the final assurance we all needed.

[monakane]

1 hour ago, The Luvly Junkie said:

      I suppose free jazz and the ending of last night's monologue made his day. Must I emphasize what a great ending Stephan made to lift our spirits up? Gotta hand it to Stephen's emotion and anger to hit the final assurance we all needed.

I'm loving angry Stephen.  The end of his monologue is great.  I felt like I was seeing the real Stephen shining through.  OT, please tell me the Palin thing is a joke.

[ruby24]

5 hours ago, monakane said:

I'm loving angry Stephen.  The end of his monologue is great.  I felt like I was seeing the real Stephen shining through.  OT, please tell me the Palin thing is a joke.

Why would it be a joke? The President is Donald Trump. I'm still waiting for someone to tell me that's a joke.

[sassykattt]

I just got off Sam's board.  Lots of people saying Stephen, Seth and Sam are helping them through.  Not saving us, but helping us

[possibilities]

I resent the "oh well, win some/lose some, that's politics and we will all be OK" messaging. Tell it to the people who are about to be deported. Tell it to the people who are going to lose their health insurance. It's all well and good for Stephen to lighten up; he has little to nothing personally at stake. The KKK is celebrating. This is not just another election.

[ABay]

I'm finally feeling strong enough to watch the Weds show. I'm not sure I feeling strong enough to watch the Tues monologue.

[zxy556575]

Sure, Stephen. Invite Bernie Sanders on your show, ask him a serious question about politics, then remind him to "Keep it light! This is late night!"

Either he wants the show to be pungent and opinionated or he wants to be Fallon and pander for ratings. Can't have it both ways.

[ChelseaNH]

Maybe he thinks putting his audience in a suicidal depression would be bad for ratings.  I would consider this an "on a scale of 1 to 10" situation rather than a binary situation; in other words, there are more than "both" ways.

[ABay]

I thought it was an ironic call back to Matt Lauer.

[TVcritic]

Oh, great! 4 more years of Trump jokes! I don't think I can stand so much crap anymore. Isn't there anything else to comment on/making jokes about? 

[aradia22]

Quote

Agreed. That was painful. And Stephen obviously did not want to be interviewing him, probably because having to sit down and make nice with an abusive misogynist really undercuts his credibility as an outspoken feminist and Trump critic. Plus, even Gibson should realize that his projects are likely to be more successful when he does NOT make personal appearances to promote them. From his studio's POV, it probably would have been better PR to send that other actor on alone and ask him to make some positive statement about working with Gibson. So really, who won here? The whole thing was gross.

I'm curious how it was received by his audience. I mean the audience there as well as however many regular viewers this show gets. I know Gibson is awful. I was not that into him before all the scandals (most of his hit movies came out before I was born). The main thing I took away from the Big Questions with Bigger Stars segment is that he still has a damn good voice. I think that's my biggest connection to him as an actor. To me, he's the voice of John Smith in Pocahontas (yeah, I know, the implications aren't lost on me). 

I feel like Stephen was very professional. I didn't feel like he was sending out overt waves of hate towards Mel Gibson. I don't think he was as smiley and easy to laugh as he usually is but I think he was willing to engage with him. He made the joke about Australian Catholicism. And I think Stephen warmed up to him over the course of the interview.

I didn't think that Gibson was acting that crazy. Aside from the beard (and playing with the beard) he came across like he might have before all the scandals happened. He had that practiced charm that actors who have been doing all this press for a long time. What was awkward is that knowing all those things about him hung over everything he was saying. 

Luke Bracey... where are they finding all these beautiful Australian men?

Quote

Oh, great! 4 more years of Trump jokes! I don't think I can stand so much crap anymore. Isn't there anything else to comment on/making jokes about? 

I get why it's happening. Stephen is struggling in the ratings and political stuff is what drove his success on his other show. Right now I fast forward through the bits. Sometimes they were fun during the campaign though I was fast forwarding then too. I love Stephen but I can't with this stuff right now.

[Hanahope]

I'm surprised we have seen one last Hungry for Power Games bit. 

[Victor the Crab]

I would not be the least bit shocked if the tall foreheads at CBS decided to switch timeslots between Stephen and James Corden, that flabby poor man's version of Graham Norton.

[teddysmom]

I'm enjoying Stephen going after Trump. He seems to have found his edge again.   

The shows the last week or so have been better, the interviews were smoother.   Some of it is still corny but I'm watching more of the show if I'm interested in the guests.

James Marsden was a good guest and his impression of Matthew McConaughey is insane.  And the bit where Stephen was answering phones at Butterball Hotline was very funny.  He needs to do more stuff like that.   Reminiscent of early Letterman. 

Edited November 23, 2016 by teddysmom

[Milburn Stone]

On 11/20/2016 at 6:41 PM, Victor the Crab said:

I would not be the least bit shocked if the tall foreheads at CBS decided to switch timeslots between Stephen and James Corden, that flabby poor man's version of Graham Norton.

Oh God. Don't say that out loud.

[aradia22]

Dermot Mulroney playing the cello though... 

[Miss Dee]

I have to admit, that was pretty sexy. 

[aradia22]

Stephen trolling people at the Butterball call center was pretty amazing. I laughed a lot. I feel like he could have great bits like Corden does with his improv background but he hasn't found that thing yet. I like Corden but I find his episodes pile up on the DVR more because I don't love having all the celebs on the couch at the same time. I like that I can skip one of Colbert's guests if I'm not feeling it. 

[aradia22]

I didn't love Enchanted but I think they should take another crack at making James Marsden a Disney prince. He has that weird blend of boyish charm and unreasonably fit physique. And he has such a great speaking voice. Speaking of Chris Pine, I feel like Marsden would have been good in Into the Woods.

[aradia22]

Eddie Redmayne was so sheepishly sweet and adorable. When he has really interesting guests I sometimes wish Stephen had more of an Inside the Actors Studio thing so they could delve deeper and do the Fantastic Beasts promo and also talk about his art history background.

[possibilities]

I hate it when Stephen fucks with the Butterball hotline callers. I always hope they're staged, not real calls. What is the joy in being a jerk to people?

[zxy556575]

14 hours ago, possibilities said:

I hate it when Stephen fucks with the Butterball hotline callers. I always hope they're staged, not real calls. What is the joy in being a jerk to people?

Some of the sight gags and decorations were cute -- drumstick headband! -- but I only saw them while fast forwarding. Making unwitting people the butt of the joke is not funny to me.

Edited November 27, 2016 by lordonia

[lookeyloo]

Wouldn't they have to know, or be staged, because wouldn't they have to sign a release to be on air?  Even if they weren't identified by name? 

[Victor the Crab]

On ‎26‎/‎11‎/‎2016 at 10:33 PM, possibilities said:

I hate it when Stephen fucks with the Butterball hotline callers. I always hope they're staged, not real calls. What is the joy in being a jerk to people?

 

On ‎27‎/‎11‎/‎2016 at 10:26 AM, lordonia said:

Making unwitting people the butt of the joke is not funny to me.

It wasn't a 911 hotline or a suicide prevention hotline. It was just a hotline for people asking how to cook a good Butterball turkey. I'd imagine they were redirected to someone to give them help once they realized they were in on the joke.

[Hanahope]

Was there a show monday and tuesday?  the website isn't showing those episodes.

[Cyranetta]

The Monday and Tuesday shows were shown as reruns

[possibilities]

That banana thing (about which end to peel from) was a TED talk a while ago. I guess Stephen didn't know that.

Edited December 4, 2016 by possibilities

[zxy556575]

Goodness. That guy Stephen called The Explainer was an incoherent mess.

[ChelseaNH]

His books are terrific, though.

[stonehaven]

I appreciate that Colbert is angry at the election and it will take time for him and others to heal but calling Rick Perry "dumb mother-f'er" or insinuating that last part was a bridge too far...at least for me..

Rage against the Trump machine....say Perry is a bit dumb  or his ideas are idiotic but that insult is not funny...nor does it engage the audience into a debate of ideas..it is lazy, pandering rage...

Letterman would have found a different way to phrase it....hell, even John Oliver wouldn't have said that about Perry....Trump...hell yes but Perry? Doubt it....and if I am wrong, I will apologize...but the absolute rage I am getting from Stephen is not what I seek in late night...so I am out....I think I may just catch up on my sleep...

It may soothe and help some cope but not me.....and as a Catholic Boy...Colbert may have forgotten that "Love Your Enemies" part of Scripture...He can and should do better....If he chooses to continue this madness, then that's what he does...I may be offended but I would never ask him or anyone else on his show to self-censor.....Free speech is something I support...sometimes, you can just use it better...

For now, I am off the Colbert late night train...

[zxy556575]

On 12/16/2016 at 0:03 AM, stonehaven said:

For now, I am off the Colbert late night train...

It's not him, it's me. I realize. But from now on, whenever Stephen starts his monologue with "Donald Trump ..." I will be deleting my recording.

Even making fun of the man legitimizes his lunacy. I don't need every ridiculous soundbite pointed out to me multiple times every shitting day!

[roseha]

I was taken with the couple of times that Stephen got into lengthy serious discussions with guests in the last week.   When Charlie Rose was on last Friday, Rose mentioned that he could be alone and not feel lonely at all, and Stephen seemed struck by that, and started speaking about loneliness and difficulty in connecting to other people.  It got into a really unexpected area.   Then this week he and Andrew Garfield got into a really long discussion about the nature of spirituality taking off from discussing the film Silence.    Both times it was really unexpected and makes me wonder if Stephen will be doing more of that when the occasion presents itself.  It was really interesting.

[possibilities]

I like those more serious conversations, too. Craig Ferguson used to do that once in a while when he had his late night show, and those were always my favorite of his episodes, too. I suspect it's not as popular as the lighter fare, but I find it more satisfying. I actually find it easier to go to sleep mulling something like that than if I've just watched a gossipy bit or simple banter.

[ZoqFotPik]

It amazes me that despite the fact that she probably personally knows ex-NFLers suffering from CTE,  Erin Andrews still wants to have a son that plays football.

[ABay]

Dear lord, that felt good. I love that "Stephen" wears the wrist strong bracelet and snapped it into the crowd. Last week (?), I noticed he did the run around the stage he used to do on TCR and thought it was foolhardy. But a welcome reminder of the wonderfulness of TCR and how badly I missed it at times during the past year.

[Raradra]

22 hours ago, ABay said:

Dear lord, that felt good. I love that "Stephen" wears the wrist strong bracelet and snapped it into the crowd. Last week (?), I noticed he did the run around the stage he used to do on TCR and thought it was foolhardy. But a welcome reminder of the wonderfulness of TCR and how badly I missed it at times during the past year.

I agree completely. It was so great to see Colbert Report's Colbert again. I wonder if he's going to get another letter from Comedy Central lawyers.

I also liked the Friday's show, which thankfully, they actually taped on Friday.

[ZoqFotPik]

21 hours ago, Raradra said:

I agree completely. It was so great to see Colbert Report's Colbert again. I wonder if he's going to get another letter from Comedy Central lawyers.

Also agree. I doubt they'll get a letter. I'm guessing, while completely ridiculous, the whole 'Identical Twin Cousin' and 'Werd' are enough of a change that CC has no IP claim.

[Isle Of Why]

It comes off as a little hypocritial to me that Stephen said he was bored with his previous show and wanted to do something new ... that is, until he realized he was flailing a bit and ratings weren't that good. Then the old persona is fine.

[ChelseaNH]

The old persona is fine every now and then (so far, a couple of times a year).

[possibilities]

Is it really true that a song the CW aired at 9pm is too sexy for CBS at 11:30pm, or is Colbert just getting off on trolling his censors?

Either way, I was glad to see Crazy Ex-Girlfriend get some promotion. It's a great show, which I never would have watched if I hadn't seen reviews, because the title turned me off. This week's episode (with the song they showed a clip from ) is my least favorite of the entire series, but hopefully people will see the interview and get interested in watching. It's available to stream from the beginning, but you can probably follow it even if you start with the current episodes. It's got both arcs and moments.

I also enjoyed the "Colbert Report" character returning. I don't care if he brought it back for ratings, or just because he felt like it. In fact, if ratings go UP when he acts the way I find more interesting and funny, I consider that to be doubly good news. I doubt he'll do it all the time, but the more the better, in my opinion.

[SomeTameGazelle]

11 hours ago, Isle Of Why said:

It comes off as a little hypocritial to me that Stephen said he was bored with his previous show and wanted to do something new ... that is, until he realized he was flailing a bit and ratings weren't that good. Then the old persona is fine.

I don't think he said he was bored, exactly. He said that having to twist everything through the character's perspective was a lot of effort and also limited the things he could do. Even if he did find being limited boring, having the room to do a lot of other types of jokes as well as the occasional "Stephen Colbert" bit doesn't seem hypocritical to me at all -- more variety = less boredom.

[Raradra]

On 22.01.2017. at 2:25 PM, Isle Of Why said:

It comes off as a little hypocritial to me that Stephen said he was bored with his previous show and wanted to do something new ... that is, until he realized he was flailing a bit and ratings weren't that good. Then the old persona is fine.

There is a huge difference between playing the character for an occasional segment (so far the character appear in two episodes) and playing the same character the entire time.

13 hours ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

I don't think he said he was bored, exactly. He said that having to twist everything through the character's perspective was a lot of effort and also limited the things he could do. Even if he did find being limited boring, having the room to do a lot of other types of jokes as well as the occasional "Stephen Colbert" bit doesn't seem hypocritical to me at all -- more variety = less boredom.

I also remember him talking about how hard it sometimes was to interview people while playing the character. Basically, he would often be very interested in whatever the guest (usually scientist) was talking about, but since his character was supposed to be kind of an idiot, he couldn't really have the in-depth interviews he wanted.