Just came back from enjoying The Colbert Report from a studio audience perspective. I, along with the three I was with, could not stop laughing. Just about every joke seemed to hit perfectly (with maybe 2 or 3 minor exceptions).
I won’t go into any more detail because I don’t want to defeat the purpose of this thread, which is to assess the degree to which seeing it live affected my enjoyment. There’s undoubtedly a heightened sense of investment in the show when you’re there. But from all of your perspectives, was this a particularly great show, or just typical?
Incidentally, I’m a fan (though I don’t get cable so I don’t see it often except for the clips on the website) but I feel it struggling a bit and I fear that it might not last if he gets too caught up in the schtick of that one-note character. But I thought tonight was brilliant. So please tell me what you think.
Ya’know. I’ve sent the Report a few e-mails requesting tickets, and I still haven’t heard from them. Did you ask for tickets in a particulary nice way?
Also, would you be interested in going again and taking me?
I’ll chime in when I finally catch the episode re-run.
As of this episode, I’ve given up on this show. It’s just not worth staying up the extra half hour, to me.
Colbert’s a funny guy, and I loved him on TDS. But when he added the narcissism of O’Reilly and Hannity to his clueless, bombastic reporter shtick, something went out the window. I think it’s partly because the real thing is so absurd that Colbert, in faking it, comes up short. That and the fact that trying to run with the same joke every night for an entire show wears thin pretty fast.
IMO, they’ve got to get Colbert away from his desk more, and the should add some other talent. Obviously, this would move it closer to TDS, and I don’t think we need, or they want, a clone of a show that’s almost perfect. So they need to find a new angle. But the way it stands now, the show is just fatiguing.
Of all the shows to make you give up on it, I can’t understand why this would be it. I thought it was one of the better episodes. The Tim Robbins interview was very funny. Tim knew it was a put-on; but still played along well enough as if it were real. The absurdity of Colbert’s questions and Robbins’ efforts to treat them semi-seriously was great.
I think this is where the show is most hit-&-miss. Some people don’t quite get the interview style so it ends up in a strangely disjointed conversation. Others completely understand the spirit of it and play along.
I hope he continues to find ways to keep BEARS #1 in the ThreatDown list, and I like that The Word allows for some structural continuity while still giving him a wide berth in topics. It probably helps that I don’t see it every night (1-2 times/week is enough) so I don’t suffer from viewer fatigue. However, it might be nice to have some toady sycophant as an occasional sounding board (unless he still talks to his “producer” off-camera, and I’m just missing those eps).
Nope, just sent them a regular ole email. They got back to me within a few days.
and,
Sure, I would certainly be interested in going again and if I get tickets you’re first on the list
As for the other comments, thanks for chiming in. Here’s my take after having seen the broadcast last night: Watching it on tv, it still seemed like one of the stronger episodes, but just a little better then average, though I would agree with others that the interview segment went particularly well. I think the interview is typically the weakest segment of the show; It’s where the O’Reilly-parody schtick really gets old fast. One of Jon Stewart’s great strengths is his ability to listen and react genuinely to guests. It just so happened that last night with Robbins, even though Colbert was still playing the character he was able to improvise great responses and keep the flow. (“We’re saving the 'T’s and donating them to the Katrina effort” bwahahahahaha!!!)
It’s really interesting the effect that being there live, and also being warmed up, has on your experience. (for those that don’t know, a warm-up comic comes out for about 15 minutes before the show to warm the crowd up. I must say I thought the guy was hilarious and a brilliant improvisor).
