LSSC: Season Three Episode Talk

[meowmommy]

2 hours ago, DrSparkles said:

I’ve always loved Sean Penn. it was amazing to see him smoking, bc in my life no one does any more!

I was dismayed but not amazed.  I think every time I've seen him in an interview situation, he's been sucking on a butt.  Reminded me of the old talk shows where the chain smoker guests just chained the whole time, or like Johnny Carson sneaking his cigarettes when he thought the camera wasn't on him.  Guess it's that addictive.  I just didn't think it would have been legal now in the theater where they tape TLSSC. 

[bilgistic]

Smoking is banned in nearly all indoor spaces in New York City. How they "got away with it", I don't know. There's no clause for theatrical purposes that I see. The fine is "only" $1,000. I doubt the LSSC production cares about that relatively small amount.

Here's the full regulation text. Who knew that I'd be doing legal research today?

[StatMom]

21 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

• Did SC's parents die of lung cancer? (Wikipedia says him mom lived to 92 after having 11 kids, so...)

Colbert's father (and two of his brothers) died in a plane crash when Stephen was young, so no lung cancer involved there. His remark about wanting SP to be around was just a generic warning, I took it.

Edited March 28, 2018 by StatMom

[meowmommy]

12 hours ago, bilgistic said:

How they "got away with it", I don't know. There's no clause for theatrical purposes that I see. The fine is "only" $1,000. I doubt the LSSC production cares about that relatively small amount.

 

What irritated me (in addition to the fact that I hate smoking; my father died of lung cancer), was that Sean Penn didn't ask, didn't care, just whipped out his coffin nails and lit up.  And smokers wonder why they draw so much ire.

The Tuesday monologue was about as unfunny as anything I've ever seen from Stephen.  I have always appreciated the political humor, but maybe, as some posters upthread have suggested, Stephen should take a break, or at least rotate in some non-political topics.  Dog knows there are enough weird stories out there that could be mined for jokes.

But then, it could also be that my humor button needs a reset.  I was expecting big things from the Sam Bee interview and I got nothing.

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, meowmommy said:

What irritated me (in addition to the fact that I hate smoking; my father died of lung cancer), was that Sean Penn . . . didn't care,

That was what irritated me too. It seemed so tone deaf given that there probably isn't a family anywhere untouched by cancer. But then I started wondering if he knew someone dying of lung cancer who never smoked and so he was acting out. But apparently no, it's just his schtick. But then, on the 4th hand, maybe Penn did lose someone—like a grandparent when he was young—who never smoked and yet died of cancer, and has been defiantly puffing away ever since.

Anyway, it distracted me too much to notice anything else of significance during the interview.

[opus]

5 hours ago, meowmommy said:

The Tuesday monologue was about as unfunny as anything I've ever seen from Stephen.  I have always appreciated the political humor, but maybe, as some posters upthread have suggested, Stephen should take a break, or at least rotate in some non-political topics.  Dog knows there are enough weird stories out there that could be mined for jokes.

I agree (mostly). I love the nightly Trump bashing, but on some nights they just have to admit not much happened today and find something else.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 3/27/2018 at 3:32 PM, DrSparkles said:

I’ve always loved Sean Penn. it was amazing to see him smoking, bc in my life no one does any more! SC did say that he had seen SP a few nights earlier somewhere & thought he might want to smoke. I think Mrs Colbert died from old age, I will NEVER forget his tribute to her the night he came back from bereavement leave. I appreciate the hard work SP has done in Haiti, good on him!

Dave Chapelle smokes publicly, too.  I wonder if the smell of the lingering smoke bothered Sara Gilbert.

[Delwyn]

A) Sean Penn is just any other asshole violating legal workplace protections for crew, staff and members of the audience. He took probably one drag off it but forced everyone around him to suffer his narcissistic macho control issues for appearances. That’s also not what the tail end of Ambien looks like, but nice try. 

B) I am super impressed they did the deep cut puppy nursing joke with Dana Carvey. That must have been a hard sell to CBS. 

[Mystery]

I just watched last night's show with Emily Blunt talking about her new horror movie, which her husband John Krasinski wrote, in which monsters have very acute hearing and they'll come get you if you're not silent. I couldn't believe that Stephen didn't say (it was MY first thought): "You guys wrote this so your kids would be quiet, didn't you?"

[ABay]

"Towels? How messy does it get, Jean?" I howled.

[bilgistic]

Jimmy Carter is so affable. I can't help but compare him (at 93, my grandmother's age) to the current president. The contrast is stark. He's intelligent, sharp and informed, and has a sense of humor.

I really enjoyed seeing him. It seemed like Stephen admires him.

[meowmommy]

I know that the Friday shows are done in advance and more or less cobbled together, but Stephen's monologue seemed even more disjointed than usual.  As if he did one giant monologue on Thursday and cut and pasted together clips for Friday.  And Stephen always makes an oblique reference to the fact that Friday shows are not taped on Friday, but I'm not sure pointing it out is such a great idea.  The least he can do is wear the same tie/suit for all the segments.

If I'm gonna wear Dunkin Donuts shoes, I expect to receive a fee for carrying their advertising. 

Midnight Confessions as unfunny as ever. 

As much as I love Bryan Cranston, JC deserves not to be second-billed anywhere, any time.  Yes, I cast my first votes in 1976, in both the primary and the general election, for JC. 

[bilgistic]

1 hour ago, meowmommy said:

As much as I love Bryan Cranston, JC deserves not to be second-billed anywhere, any time.  Yes, I cast my first votes in 1976, in both the primary and the general election, for JC. 

I completely agree. Not only is he our second-oldest living former president, he is one of only two modern-era presidents to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, but the only one ever to have received it after being in office. His philanthropy is simply unparalleled.

I feel like I've seen Cranston on LSSC recently, but maybe that was Seth Meyers, which I flip to very occasionally. He executive produces Sneaky Pete on Amazon Prime Video, where I also saw him in an episode of Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams. He's also in the insipid Why Him?, which has been on either HBO or Showtime every time I turn on the TV. I don't particularly like or dislike Bryan Cranston, but I've definitely reached saturation point.

[possibilities]

I have nothing agaisnt Cranston, but a former POTUS really ought to be top billing compared to any actor, and it's insulting that Carter wasn't.

[shapeshifter]

9 hours ago, possibilities said:

I have nothing agaisnt Cranston, but a former POTUS really ought to be top billing compared to any actor, and it's insulting that Carter wasn't.

I personally wouldn't think that way about all POTUSs, but maybe they had Jimmy Carter come on later so there would be less of limit on how long his segment ran since Cranston had already been on?
Probably not, but Jimmy Carter was so delight that I totally forgot BC was even on the show.
Or, IDK, maybe it's more like Cranston was the warm up act for Carter?

[Zahdii]

Madeleine Albright, Former United States Secretary of State, is on Colbert tonight talking about her new book "Fascism: A Warning".  Preach it, Madam!

[ari333]

I think they had Albright and Carter come out second so people would stay tuned in to see them. 

[shapeshifter]

20 hours ago, ari333 said:

I think they had Albright and Carter come out second so people would stay tuned in to see them. 

Now that you mention it, that seems so obvious, but many viewers have to get up early for work, so they might not see the last guests live.

[Bobbin]

James Spader is not exactly a riveting guest. Many actors are lost without a script. So are some hosts.

[StatMom]

2 hours ago, Bobbin said:

James Spader is not exactly a riveting guest. Many actors are lost without a script. So are some hosts.

I couldn't figure out if it was a bit, or what. I couldn't remember if I've seen him in previous interviews, but for me their conversation cycled between feeling awkward and being funny because of the awkwardness. 

[bilgistic]

James Spader creeps me out. I'm not sure why. I could take or leave him 30 years ago, but I didn't have the visceral reaction I have now.

[partofme]

13 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Now that you mention it, that seems so obvious, but many viewers have to get up early for work, so they might not see the last guests live.

That's why I dvr the show and watch the next day, I never watch it live, I'm actually watching last nights show as I type this.

3 hours ago, bilgistic said:

James Spader creeps me out. I'm not sure why. I could take or leave him 30 years ago, but I didn't have the visceral reaction I have now.

He ruined the tv show The Practice for me so I've never been a fan.

[shapeshifter]

Was it just me, or did SC land more LOL punch lines last night?

[meowmommy]

"Clark Kent meets Rachel Maddow."  Priceless.  Because what do Clark Kent, Rachel Maddow, and Stephen Colbert all have in common?   They've all become superheroes.

[LADreamr]

Aubrey Plaza's acting school sounds like a hotspot Stefon would describe. 

[DrSparkles]

On 4/11/2018 at 2:30 PM, StatMom said:

I couldn't figure out if it was a bit, or what. I couldn't remember if I've seen him in previous interviews, but for me their conversation cycled between feeling awkward and being funny because of the awkwardness. 

So weird. Spader didn’t seem fazed but Colbert was!

[possibilities]

Diane Sawyer was so hard to listen to. It's like she was heavily sedated and couldn't project her voice or finish a thought. Awful. I would have thought she'd be better at this, since she's got ample experience with interviews. I guess she's used to following a script.

[DrSparkles]

I don’t know Joshua Jackson, but loved his interview!

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, DrSparkles said:

I don’t know Joshua Jackson

Dawson's Creek and Fringe.

[Annber03]

I liked the interview with Joshua Jackson, too. I never watched "Dawson's Creek" back in the day, but I certainly remember him being a big name back in my teen years, for sure :D.

He seems like a really nice guy. I loved the way he praised the actress he was working with in that play.

[possibilities]

His signing was truly terrible, though. You'd think that a production of that play would put more effort into making it look more authentic.

[Miss Dee]

I'm surprised there isn't a compliment in here yet about Colbert's take on "My Way". I usually think of his singing as competently enjoyable at best, but he nailed that ending. I was impressed.

[Victor the Crab]

I'm not sure that I've ever laughed as hard about anything Stephen has done than with his response last night to Sean "Lumpy" Hannity being revealed as Michael Cohen's third client. I think we all wanted to do that to ourselves. Would have been better if Jon had managed to pop in and share in all this schadenfreude glory.

[Annber03]

I loved his shoutout to Stewart :D. You're right that it would've been fun if he'd shown up. That whole segment was indeed glorious in general, though, yes. You just can't make this stuff up. 

Should be an interesting discussion with Comey tonight, I imagine. 

[Bobbin]

On Sunday, April 15, 2018 at 3:30 PM, shapeshifter said:

Dawson's Creek and Fringe.

And Cruel Intentions.

[bilgistic]

3 hours ago, Bobbin said:

And Cruel Intentions.

I didn't watch Dawson's Creek. I watched Fringe and liked him on it. He's currently on Showtime's The Affair (in between seasons right now), in which he has a scruffy beard and looks super hot. I don't like how young he looks clean-shaven, but with scruff? Yes, please! But then, I think that about just about any man.

[brgjoe]

Good interview with Comey I thought.  Like him or not, agree with him or not, I found him fascinating.

In fact, I am going to do what I very rarely do.  I am going to buy a book from someone plugging it on a talk show.  Looking forward to reading Comey's book now.

[Annber03]

I liked it, too. "I'm the break up he can't get over" got a REALLY big laugh from me and my mom :D. 

I did not realize how freaking tall he was, either, until he was walking out for the interview. Good lord. 

[Bobbin]

53 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

I liked it, too. "I'm the break up he can't get over" got a REALLY big laugh from me and my mom :D. 

I did not realize how freaking tall he was, either, until he was walking out for the interview. Good lord. 

The tallest candidate usually wins the presidency. Comey for Prez? Or at least his own talk show. Colbert interviewing an intelligent guest reminds me of Dick Cavett's interviews. It helps greatly when the host doesn't have to carry the interview, but just ask informed questions.

[shapeshifter]

I thought this was Stephen's best interview, in the sense that he didn't just let the guest take the lead; he actually asked some pointed questions. Maybe I'm just being sour grapes, but Comey just seems to be on an Apology Tour; I'm not sure I even want to read the Cliffs Notes version of his book. The Colbert excerpts will suffice.
For me, the Wu-Tang Clan was kind of a palate cleanser after Comey.

[GoldenGirl90]

12 hours ago, Annber03 said:

I liked it, too. "I'm the break up he can't get over" got a REALLY big laugh from me and my mom :D. 

Also, that he's living his best life! That comment made me giggle because it's mostly used by younger generations. 

[Cyranetta]

Even though Stephen covered all the questions that other interviewers covered, my favorite was when he asked Comey if there were anything Stephen could tell Comey about the Moscow hotel room. Stephen really added something that no other interviewer could.

[alias1]

Colbert asked Comey if he voted in 2016 and he said no, I was the FBI director.  Maybe he was kidding but he didn't look like he was.  Seemed strange to me.  Maybe he just didn't want to answer that. 

I think Comey is an honorable man but he was pretty defensive about the HC email thing.  Stephen was right.  Don't do the thing you know is bad vs the thing that might be bad in the future.  Comey had no way of knowing something might be catastrophic later.  It wasn't his job to placate Senators.

[MissLucas]

I collect pencils and I felt thoroughly tempted by those dream twigs - alas, sold out (as is the rest of the collection).

Edited April 19, 2018 by MissLucas

[Moose135]

15 hours ago, SierraMist said:

Colbert asked Comey if he voted in 2016 and he said no, I was the FBI director.  Maybe he was kidding but he didn't look like he was.  Seemed strange to me.  Maybe he just didn't want to answer that. 

No, that didn't surprise me.  I've often heard people in positions like his who don't vote, as they feel the need to maintain a certain level of impartiality, and voting for one candidate over another could effect that.

[shapeshifter]

19 hours ago, Moose135 said:

No, that didn't surprise me.  I've often heard people in positions like his who don't vote, as they feel the need to maintain a certain level of impartiality, and voting for one candidate over another could effect that.

Thanks for the explanation, @Moose135—although it does nothing to improve my opinion of Comey.

ETA: I guess this the exception to the rule that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Edited April 20, 2018 by shapeshifter

[TV Diva Queen]

19 hours ago, SierraMist said:

Colbert asked Comey if he voted in 2016 and he said no, I was the FBI director.  Maybe he was kidding but he didn't look like he was.  Seemed strange to me.  Maybe he just didn't want to answer that. 

I think Comey is an honorable man but he was pretty defensive about the HC email thing.  Stephen was right.  Don't do the thing you know is bad vs the thing that might be bad in the future.  Comey had no way of knowing something might be catastrophic later.  It wasn't his job to placate Senators.

Pretty standard for that type of position.  Also the FBI director's term is a 10 year appointment to purposely overlap administrations.  Pretty smart....

[bilgistic]

I've been living under a rock, because I had no idea who Grace VanderWaal is. I thought she looked like she was in her early 20s (the highlighter makeup trend needs to die). She's 14! I've now listened to a few of her songs. She's adorable and incredibly talented.

[Mystery]

2 hours ago, bilgistic said:

I've been living under a rock, because I had no idea who Grace VanderWaal is. I thought she looked like she was in her early 20s (the highlighter makeup trend needs to die). She's 14! I've now listened to a few of her songs. She's adorable and incredibly talented.

I'm right there with you under the rock. Thanks so much for posting that. Usually I just skip the musicians at the end of the show, because I've never heard of them, but I watched her tonight and she was great. She deserved her standing ovation. 

I like Hank Azaria, but that interview just highlighted Stephen's not-so-great interviewing skills. He just forces things too much, sometimes. 

[shapeshifter]

48 minutes ago, Mystery said:

like Hank Azaria, but that interview just highlighted Stephen's not-so-great interviewing skills. He just forces things too much, sometimes. 

—whereas I got the impression that the card SC was reading for his interview questions was pretty much a script written by Hank Azaria, which omitted the unasked elephant of a question in the room of: "Well, then, Hank, tell us will you leave The Simpsons?" (if the issue of the character of Apu being used to torment the South Asian community isn't addressed).

Edited April 25, 2018 by shapeshifter