"The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" thread.

The Late Late Show is wretched, it seemed to have promise and it just imploded.

 

I think you're being kind.

Corden himself may have shown some early promise, but the show was horrid right off the bat and seems determined to stay that way.

 

I'll be tuning in out of curiosity and will probably enjoy it at least somewhat, but does Colbert have any other mode besides sarcastic? All of the promo shorts leading up to this have been 100% sarcasm and to me it gets to be one-note after a while.

 

USA Today article on tonight's premiere. Spoiler alert: article contains pictures of the newly designed set.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2015/09/07/colbert-says-new-gig-everything-want/71661820/

 

Well, we are just a few minutes away from the beginning of a new era in late night. Jay is gone, Conan is in exile on TBS, and the Jimmy's have no bad blood between them. Stephen Colbert has stated openly that he isn't interested in a new Late Night War -- even going so far as to call the thought "boring." The era of the 12:30 slot being wild and unpredictable seems to be over. Is Colbert ushering in a new "golden age" or is he the captain of a sinking ship?

The utter lack of drama surrounding Colbert's ascendancy is refreshing. It's the first 11:30 host change that isn't hampered by the Carson/Letterman/Leno/O'Brien controversies of the past two decades. In a better world, this is how I imagine Dave would have taken over from Johnny at the Tonight Show -- in a mutually agreeable celebration, a coronation even. With the tarnishing of the Tonight Show brand -- and its subsequent conversion into Late Night Romper Room -- the Late Show chair is as close as we'll ever get to a "sacred" gig in TV talk, and Colbert's selection just seems right.

It will be a lot of fun to watch Stephen host a brand new show, freed from his "Colbert Report" character and without any obligation to continue anything he used to do at Comedy Central. When Dave moved to CBS in 1993, there was a tussle over what bits NBC would let him take with him; the first year of Leno's Tonight Show caused some controversy in how decisively he wiped out the remnants of Johnny's show. When Dave and Conan made the leap from 12:30 to 11:30, there were questions about how much of their edgy material would fly with America's grown-ups watching. Colbert doesn't have any of this to worry about; he just has to create a brand new show from scratch -- nobody's expecting a bald eagle to swoop through his credits, or a Top Ten List to be a nightly feature.

Of course, creating a late night chat show from nothing is no easy task -- just ask O'Brien, who struggled at TBS after leaving 17 years of accumulated bits behind. I wish Colbert and his team good luck. He seems like a genuinely good guy who happens to be brilliant and funny -- pretty rare to find all three in one person. I think there's definitely room for him in the late night landscape -- I think he will combine Dave's sharp wit with Craig Ferguson's penchant for unscripted interviews and intelligent, non-Hollywood guests. Well, it's show time!

 

I like Colbert generally but have barely laughed so far. The amulet / hummus bit was funny but the rest I haven't laughed at. I'll give him a few months to get his own rhythm.

 

I'm halfway through Colbert....and...oh thank God...everything's gonna be alright....he's making it work....I'm not worried anymore.

 

Very good start to it, not a retread, also not going where no host has gone before either. And the thing that startled me (i know not why) was the amount of...polish, no, that's not quite right, just how comfortable he was straight from the jump. I know it's not his first gig, but still, that a big stage to walk out on.

 

Wish they would have given the show to the Scott. I thought it sucked something special.

 

This is honestly not bad for a debut. Debut episodes are usually underwhelming because everyone is getting used to the format.

 

Well, it's Stephen Colbert, so everybody is pretty much already familiar with his shtick. Such is the prestige, I suppose, that he could gather up heavy hitters like Clooney and Jeb for the debut and have each of them on for -what?- five minutes apiece?

I laughed a few times...I described the show to my co-worker like this: "It's like Letterman lite, heavy on the politics." Said politics I wouldn't be surprised in the least to see CBS make Colbert tone down before too long.

Heavy shoes to fill, though. Letterman was more than just a late night chat show, he was a g-ddamned institution.

 

I liked the debut. I enjoyed it much more than Fallon's debut show. I hope Colbert keeps his political bent, because that's one of his main differentiators from the rest of late night.

 

I liked it, it was very mature, had to laugh at that Hydrox joke. Jimmy Fallon hasn't really been good since he went to the Tonight Show.

 

Fixed that for you. Have you seen the show he does now? Truly sad. A waste of a brilliant talent.

 

A wretched show. The dumbing-down of late night television is now complete.

 

It still feels like he's playing some sort of character, the show won't really kick in until we get the point of anticipating how the real Colbert will react to something...

 

Once Colbert stops to take a breath the show should be fine. Can't fault him for first week jitters. The throwaway line about the ceiling and Ninja Turtles was funny.

And I know they prompt the audience when to applaud but jeez...dial it back a bit, OK?

 

I thought the first show was good. Opening with the National Anthem was definitely something only Stephen would think of. Having Jon say "Play Ball" was just brilliant. The tribute to Biff and Dave was nice. Hopefully there will come a time when Dave will participate in person. I even give credit to Fallon for agreeing to contribute. I could imagine NBC being less than thrilled about that. Spewey's "everything's going to be all right" about sums it up.

 

...wake me up when he screws with the format!

 

Obligatory Jon Stewart cameo...yep. Trump bash...yep. Lettermen suck-up...yep. Stephen chant..yep. In pitch but still awkward singing..yep. Okay, kinda the same old but still watchable.

Hard to take a breath after the energy expended by Colbert and his band. It's late night not early morning...I'm trying to go to bed not pound down some coffee and start doing jumping jacks. But of course that's understandable...new show new audience etc. He did try to distance himself from his conservative alter ego but that will take some time I think. The brilliance of that character will be hard to shed so let's be patient here. I liked the Moonves shtick, the allegiance to a demon, the oreo binge...very Colber(t) Repor(t). The interview with Clooney was kinda embarrassing even the filmed bits couldn't save it. The Jeb spot was ok with Colbert in his wheelhouse getting Jeb to be a little uncomfortable. The big finale was fitting "Everyday people" is the audience Colbert wants and "indoctrinate" with his brand of comedy, a mix of liberal and nerd but sincere and clever. On the big stage and network TV will it work? Do we want to see celebrities pour water over their head with Jimmy Fallon or watch some some smart guy. Oh man he's going to fail.......

 

I always call these situations "the honeymoon period." I think in several weeks or a couple months we'll see him settle in and do his thing as he will he will continue to do. He's pretty good right now. He just needs to relax and get comfortable with where he is.

 

Are we talking about Craig Ferguson? I didn't know he was doing a new show.

 

Ferguson fans might note the "awkward pause" in the middle of the Clooney interview.

 

It's a game show. It actually started before his late night show ended.