In first new show, "The Daily Show" confronts strike

"The Daily Show" returned Monday with its first new show of the year in the wake of the ongoing Writer's Guild strike. And while "The Colbert Report kept to mostly light-hearted references, Jon Stewart discussed the strike at length with a professor who specialized in labor relations. The discussion clearly revealed that Stewart, while making some jokes about the situation, supports the writers. He discussed the writer's strategy of making side agreements, the latest being with United Artists and how this could affect the situation.
But like with "The Colbert Report, it's one down and many more shows to go in this ongoing dispute.

Colbert to return Jan. 7

The Comedy Channel announced Thursday that Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart will both be returning to the air Jan. 7 whether the writer's strike is settled or not, reported the Associated Press. Already, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Kimmel have all said that they will resume programming Jan. 2 with or without their writers.
The AP story quotes Colbert and Stewart from a joint statement: ""We would like to return to work with our writers. If we cannot, we would like to express our ambivalence, but without our writers we are unable to express something as nuanced as ambivalence."
Though we want the show to come back, we're disappointed they're doing it without the writers. The writers are asking for something they have the right to get -- the residuals from internet and DVD use of their material.
So, if you support the strike as we do, go Strike Swag, a website set up to sell t-shirts and other things in support of the writers.
And let's get them back on the air where they belong.

Colbert chosen AP Celebrity of the Year

Stephen Colbert topped J.K. Rowling, Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus ("Hannah Montana"), Kanye West and Kenny Chesney, among others, in being voted Associated Press Celebrity of the Year, it was announced today.
The story says Colbert had the biggest impact on pop culture in 2007. Doesn't that say it all?
The fact is that Colbert took the "fake news" idiom well beyond what his friend, Jon Stewart, had done with "The Daily Show," Colbert's launching pad for "The Colbert Repor(t)".
Even now, with a Writer's Guild strike in full bloom, we still can't stop talking about him.

Colbert -- the Word is "Rambo"

Longtime TV critic David Bianculli has written a great piece in the Boston Phoenix about Stephen Colbert. Titled "Comedy Rambo," it details -- as if readers here need to know that -- how hot Colbert is.

Misunderestimate Stephen Colbert at your peril. Just because he is an unassuming, bespectacled physical specimen whose business cards may read “TV comedian” is no reason to dismiss him as a lightweight funnyman. Since the very night he launched his own series on Comedy Central in 2005, Colbert has thrown some vicious elbows, and demonstrated a bravura that dares his enemies to, in paraphrasing his ironic hero George W. Bush, bring it on.

That, in a paragraph, demonstrates why Colbert is such a phenomenon right now. Bianculli even opines that Colbert is so hot people are talking about him during the writer's strike when there are no new shows. You certainly don't see that with Jon Stewart and Jay Leno.
Anyway, it's a great profile. And it's a carrot to keep the Colbert fans happy until the show returns.

Read David Bianculli's profile of Stephen Colbert, "Comedy Rambo"

Stephen' s electoral aspirations dashed -- again!

His presidential campaign is on the wane, but another chance at electoral office is gonna pass Stephen Colbert by again. According to the Associated Press, Colbert is in a three-way tie for a seat on the Colonial Soil and Water Conservation District Board in Virginia after being marked as a write-in candidate on ballots.
But Colbert doesn't have a chance of winning. When the Williamsburg Electoral Board draws a name from a hat to decide the winner, Colbert's name won't be among the three because he's not registered to vote there.
Awwwww. We can just see Stephen's sad face now.

"The Best of the Colbert Report" DVD -- not long enough!

I feel sorry for the people who had to choose what to leave out of "The Best of the Colbert Report" (Paramount). You want it to be so much longer!
Even at almost three hours long, the single disc compilation, released Nov. 5, barely covers the reasons why "The Colbert Report" is one of the sharpest and funniest shows on TV.
Colbert, by his own admission, owes much to Bill O'Reilly, "Papa Bear," as he called him (to his face) in a fantastic interview Colbert did on the Fox News Channel last year. O'Reilly's guest spot on "The Report" is on the DVD.
But Colbert, in addition to lampooning O'Reilly's overblown sense of self-importance,
has a keen sense of comedy. His "Know Your District" series, in which he profiles all of the members of the House of Representatives, aren't composed of your usual political interviews. In his interview with Massachusetts' Barney Frank, he steps around the usual subject of interviews with Frank and says, "You like .... dogs?"
And the guy is hip, too. The final segments on the disc feature a "Rock and Awe" competition where Stephen shows his (somewhat) musical chops. He has a lot of fun lampooning both politics and rock here. (He manages to get Henry Kissinger, of all people, to kick off the competition. Amazing!)
One of the best sections of the disc is the appearance of Barry Manilow on his show. You wouldn't think a guy like Manilow would even be in the same room as Colbert, but apparently the two have a genuine friendship. Even funnier is the fact that Manilow won (Colbert likes to say "stole") the Emmy that Colbert was nominated for. When Manilow came on the show, Colbert managed to get Manilow to sign a "peace treaty" (duly notarized) in which the two would share custody of the Emmy and even sings Manilow's trademark "I Write the Songs" with him.
And when Willie Nelson comes on the show, Colbert lampoons him for Nelson's Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor competing with his. When Willie sings, "On the Road Again" at the end, Stephen, of course, joins in. Is a music CD next?
"The Best of the Colbert Report" was put out to capitalize on the current white-hot popularity of the show.
And unlike most TV compilations these days, it's very moderately priced. Colbert obviously knows his audience. And they certainly know him.

Colbert traps Papa Bear

I'm no Bill O'Reilly fan at all. I love when O'Reilly steps in his own arrogance. So one of my favorite "highlights" from "The O'Reilly Factor" was Stephen's appearance on it. He stays in character the whole time and thoroughly embarrasses "Papa Bear," who tries to play the game but never seems to figure it out. It's a delight to see. You can see O'Reilly return the favor and guest on Stephen's show on The Best Of The Colbert Report DVD.

Truthiness, justice and the American way

"The Colbert Report" has evolved from a spinoff from "The Daily Show" to a hot show that stands firmly on its own, thanks to the talent of its host, Stephen Colbert.
But .... you don't care about that boring crap. Or do you? Here, we'll talk about the show, the host, the guests and anything else about "The Colbert Report" you care to discuss.