the colbert report

[jdl22]

I liked it better than the Daily show I would say. If he keeps interviewing other reporters and news people that would be good because they make entertaining guests.

The Lisa Loeb (sp) bit was amazing. I don't remember the last time I laughed that hard watching a tv show. Brilliant.

[uw_madtown]

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I caught a good chunk of the show yesterday and didn't think it was any good at all. As far as I could tell, it was a just a ripoff from the Daily Show with a lower quality 'anchor' and even lower content. Colbert was funny the first 500 or so times he pulled his schtick on the Daily Show, but it gets old fast and a whole show of him is just too much.

[/ QUOTE ]

Agreed. I've only seen one of the Colbert Report episodes, but Jon Stewart's a much better fit for a satirical news show. First off, he's much better at smoothly transitioning into serious questioning of his guests. When Colbert was questioning the guy from Newsweek International, it was very sudden and awkward when he switched from (bad) comedy questions like "The world: why should I care?" to serious questions about the Iraq constitution. Stewart manages to make jokes but still seem interested and informed about his guests.

Secondly, Colbert is entirely too serious about the satire. Stewart's delivery is perfect -- serious for the delivery, and then he smiles/laughs in that smart-ass way that shows his true opinion without totally breaking character. Colbert just stays in parody mode the whole time. Which is still funny, but it's just less interesting.

Combine Colbert's shortcomings compared to Stewart with the fact that he's being asked to carry an entire show himself (something I think would be difficult even for someone as talented as Stewart) and I can't imagine The Colbert Report living up to The Daily Show. It's still somewhat funny though, and will probably get good enough ratings from TDS's lead-in that it'll hang around for awhile.