# The Late Show with Stephen Colbert **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 9, 2015, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/730399 "2015-09-09T00:00:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/730399/41 "2015-09-09T19:52:03Z")
What on Earth was that keyboard/horn thing Colbert’s bandleader was playing? I’ve never seen an instrument like it before. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/730399/42 "2015-09-09T19:57:25Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > What on Earth was that keyboard/horn thing Colbert’s bandleader was playing? I’ve never seen an instrument like it before. I believe it was a [melodica](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melodica). ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/730399/43 "2015-09-09T21:44:23Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > It was clear that Colbert was uneasy and distracted; I am hoping, and almost praying, that it was just opening night jitters. The whole show felt really…showy and fakey. I think once Colbert calms down, finds his groove, and gets to normal work, it will be fine. I have no words how average I thought the whole things was. And I thought the Colbert Report was an amazing show. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/730399/44 "2015-09-09T22:59:15Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > Ah I see, CBS [does](http://www.cbs.com/all-access/?intcid=CIA03d2c9d) have a streaming service of its own. > > Don’t think it’d be worth paying for just the one show though… > > (I note that it’s free for one week, but anyway, I’m sure it’ll be all over youtube tomorrow if in snipped and clipped form). From the main show website, it says the episode is free. I don’t know whether subsequent ones will be. But I hope they will be. The Late Late Show was free, I believe, at least, when Ferguson was on it. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/730399/45 "2015-09-09T23:27:46Z")
I thought the demon thing was great and classic absurd Colbert, yet with an underlying point. I skipped out once the interviews started, but I do that on all these shows. ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/730399/46 "2015-09-09T23:38:30Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > I thought the demon thing was great and classic absurd Colbert, yet with an underlying point. Same. I mean, he killed Grimmy and became immortal on the last Colbert Report. Surely this is really not that different? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/730399/47 "2015-09-09T23:45:44Z")
The demon stuff itslef bombed, I’ll agree, but it was the down part of a pretty good show. The monologue and the Trump stuff was fine. Not laugh out loud funny, but fine. And the Clooney stuff was boring until the clips. I was reluctant to watch the Bush interview, but was nice and well done. Stephen kept me laughing the whole time. The stuff about loving his brother was a great setup. The music at the end was cool, but I didn’t recognize everyone. In fact, I thought one guy was his brother from earlier. ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/730399/48 "2015-09-10T00:04:41Z")
I loved it. It was the best I could hope for for a first episode. Not everything worked perfectly but he seemed comfortable and in control up there and the show felt like Colbert being Colbert. Now he’s just gotta find his groove, which he will without a doubt, because I just think he is indeed that good. Just wait 3 months from now. And man it feel good to be seeing him again on the screen doing stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/730399/49 "2015-09-10T00:12:07Z")
I TiVoed it just for fun. I really like Colbert the performer but other than his start on _The Daily Show_ (when Kilborne hosted and it was funny\*!\*) I haven’t watched much of his show. I loved his voice over work for Adult Swim. I even liked his dramatic turn as a counterfeiting killer on _Law & Order: Criminal Intent_. He seemed ok hosting this, but his comedy all seemed forced, and this could be a serious problem. On _The Colbert Report_ (and everything else) he was always playing a caricature of himself. He was always doing shtick. You were never seeing the real him. He absolutely cannot do this in this job, and it seemed too much like he still was. Mostly though, it just makes me feel old that Letterman is gone. 😃 Actually, one of the reasons I tuned in was to see… **WARNING - Once you know this you cannot un-know it!** …if CBS ponied up to get him a better prosthetic right ear. He lost it to cancer when he was young, and ever since I found this out I couldn’t help but always notice how asymmetrical and at times even ‘elf-like’ it looked. Looks like they did, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/730399/50 "2015-09-10T00:24:48Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > **WARNING - Once you know this you cannot un-know it!** > > …if CBS ponied up to get him a better prosthetic right ear. He lost it to cancer when he was young, and ever since I found this out I couldn’t help but always notice how asymmetrical and at times even ‘elf-like’ it looked. Looks like they did, I guess. He has a prosthetic ear? I thought it ear was just odd looking. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/730399/51 "2015-09-10T00:25:37Z")
NBC still has the GOP Tonight Show. Letterman was the alternative for the rest of us… So, what does Peerless Earless turn The Late Show into? [DroolingLikeMrBurns]Here’s our guest Jeb Bush… but you all know _wink_ _wink_ we all REALLY like … Donald Trump. [/DroolingLikeMrBurns] …Scumbag Back-Stabbing Mother-Fucker… If there was a Clown Cannon Big Enough, I’d risk War with Canada by launching your one-party-ass right on back there. Just spin the wheel so we can see which Province [del]gets stuck with your fertilizer[/del] you get to land in… ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/730399/52 "2015-09-10T00:41:25Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > …Scumbag Back-Stabbing Mother-Fucker… So we should put you down on the “wasn’t as good as I’d hoped” side? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/730399/53 "2015-09-10T01:01:14Z")
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**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/730399/54 "2015-09-10T01:42:05Z")
I thought the show was pretty good, better than Fallon, but probably not good enough for me to bother watching regularly. > [@Smapti](#): > > What on Earth was that keyboard/horn thing Colbert’s bandleader was playing? I’ve never seen an instrument like it before. Strangely we have one in the house. Melodica was correct of course. > [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > NBC still has the GOP Tonight Show. Letterman was the alternative for the rest of us… So, what does Peerless Earless turn The Late Show into? > > [DroolingLikeMrBurns]Here’s our guest Jeb Bush… but you all know _wink_ _wink_ we all REALLY like … Donald Trump. [/DroolingLikeMrBurns] > > …Scumbag Back-Stabbing Mother-Fucker… > > If there was a Clown Cannon Big Enough, I’d risk War with Canada by launching your one-party-ass right on back there. Just spin the wheel so we can see which Province [del]gets stuck with your fertilizer[/del] you get to land in… I think I lost you. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/730399/55 "2015-09-10T01:53:31Z")
Who was Canadian? This is just not right. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/730399/56 "2015-09-10T02:15:27Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > NI’d risk War with Canada by launching your one-party-ass right on back there. “Back” to Canada? When was Colbert in Canada? He was born in Washington DC and grew up in South Carolina. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/730399/57 "2015-09-10T04:10:16Z")
Is it just me, or is this show hitting a new level of commercial infestation like never before seen? There couldn’t be more than 30 minutes of actual show in the 60-minute slot, maybe 35 max. I don’t watch a lot of TV so maybe I’m not used to it, but there’s no way I can continue watching this stuff in real time. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/730399/58 "2015-09-10T04:16:09Z")
\*Stephen Colbert: Corporate Shill \*? ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/730399/59 "2015-09-10T08:02:43Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Is it just me, or is this show hitting a new level of commercial infestation like never before seen? There couldn’t be more than 30 minutes of actual show in the 60-minute slot, maybe 35 max. I don’t watch a lot of TV so maybe I’m not used to it, but there’s no way I can continue watching this stuff in real time. Actual show time was 46 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/730399/60 "2015-09-10T09:58:12Z")
Missed the first night, caught most of the second. It is a bit jarring to see Colbert in the persona of, and working under the constraints of, a rather conventional variety show format, but some of his trademark goofiness was on display and, like some others here, I think he’ll grow into the part with time. Enjoyed a couple of the bits, particularly the decrees from under the Genghis Khan hat, although I suppose it’s really just a recycled version of “The Word” from his old show. The ‘Big Questions’ skit went over pretty well, as well (“Would you rather have feet for hands or hands for feet?”) He did pretty well with Scarlett Johansson (“I don’t think of myself as that glamourous.” “Scarlett, you just jetted in from Paris to be on a TV show”), much less so with Elon Musk. Have any of the guests so far been plugging anything? It seems like they’ve just showed up randomly. The band, and its (so far) silent leader is interesting. The set does looks great. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/730399.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/730399.md?page=4)