TV: Late Show - Letterman retiring May 20; Colbert debuting Sept 8 (post: 248)

[Jovavic]

If he can improve on his monologue and come up with some memorable segments that people can associate with his show, then he should be OK.

I know I'm looking forward to the next time a presidental candidate calls it quits, I love that segment.

As far the Trump interview goes, he was the first guest which is for the "entertainment" instead of the second guest which is "political". The "who said it?" bit at the end was great, the last part lol

 

[Pilky01]

I loved his catholic episode last night.

The talent is settling in and the show just gets better and better.

 

[Captain Bowie]

STEPHEN! STEPHEN! STEPHEN! STEPHEN! STEPHEN!

Love it so far. He's so much like his Report character, I'm actually surprised how much he is the same. Really just his actual views are different. I really like that he kept the familiar segment right after the intro with the mock screen on the side, and that he is keeping some of the political angle.

I usually only watch about half the interviews though. Most boring part (on any talk show).

 

[donghabs98]

STEPHEN! STEPHEN! STEPHEN! STEPHEN! STEPHEN!

Love it so far. He's so much like his Report character, I'm actually surprised how much he is the same. Really just his actual views are different. I really like that he kept the familiar segment right after the intro with the mock screen on the side, and that he is keeping some of the political angle.

I usually only watch about half the interviews though. Most boring part (on any talk show).

Yeah he's a lot like his Report character minus the ultra conservative view. I think that's what makes him so good though. During the first week of shows he seemed like he was trying to be a different person and came off as just giddy. Now he seems to have found the right balanced between what made the Report work and what will make his Late Show work.

 

[JA]

I'm enjoying Colbert's political interviews. He asks the candidates the questions that he wants to ask; he wants to place pressure on them to address the issues that they continually try to sidestep in their campaign speeches and on the various political news stations. From what I've seen thus far, he and his viewership have expressed political values that make them more likely to support the Democrats than the Republicans. I think objectivity is important regardless of the viewer base, and I think Colbert has the integrity to let viewers decide for themselves. I particularly liked when he told his audience not to boo during Ted Cruz's appearance on the show. I personally think Cruz's demeanor and words are enough to tell observers whether or not they should vote for him.

Not everyone watches CNN or FOX News (and not everyone wants to). For the next few months, Colbert's show will give mainstream audiences a decent amount of exposure to these candidates, and I feel it will give them slightly more insight into the values and policies each candidate represents.

The only other late night talk show the candidates have made appearances on is The Tonight Show, and all Fallon does is pander to the guests no matter who they are. Everybody is Fallon's friend. There is no political weight or valuable information for voters attached to those appearances.

 

[Shareefruck]

Absolutely.

 

[JA]

I've noticed that if you watch a lot of CNN, you won't know very much at all about Bernie Sanders. His presence on that station is virtually nonexistent. I don't know if it's because CNN has determined that their viewer base is mostly Republican or if it's just because there is so much more happening in the GOP race right now. They seem pretty equal in their criticism of most of the front runners, from Hillary Clinton to the Trump/Carson/Fiorina trio. One candidate who I think deserves some analysis, whether positive or negative, is Bernie Sanders. I think his platform is compelling.

I don't feel that Sanders is getting enough attention from CNN. If there was ever a "Feel The Bern" movement, you wouldn't know it from CNN's coverage. He was on New Day two mornings ago before the Pope's arrival in D.C. Hopefully the Democratic debate will change that. I think it's worth telling viewers why his numbers against Hillary have risen over the past several months.

Maybe this comment belongs in HF Politics, but I'll treat it as an extension of my previous post.

 

[member 51464]

Is Sanders going to be a guest with Colbert? That'd definitely be a compelling watch.

 

[Led Zappa]

Is Sanders going to be a guest with Colbert? That'd definitely be a compelling watch.

You missed it. Probably available somewhere.

 

[The Joker*]

Check YT, if not there you might have to get a bit creative (his name isn't listed in the file name).

 

[member 51464]

You missed it. Probably available somewhere.

Oh

 

[McPuritania]

Just a small thing, but I absolutely love that he's still sniffing markers on air. Late Show you say? *sniff* *sniff*

 

[ArcataShark]

Daddy's water burns!

 

[Teemu]

Check YT, if not there you might have to get a bit creative (his name isn't listed in the file name).

I wanna say it was last Thursday (9/17). AFIAK, all of the episodes are still up on CBS

 

[TomPlex]

I was cracking up during the cake toppers bit last night

 

[Epictetus]

The studio audience, or whoever is there laughing, are very annoying. Literally any joke, comment, facial expression, etc. I'm struggling to get past it.

 

[Shareefruck]

Feels like they laugh extra hard at any mention of anything superficially crass/jokey (even when it's not the punchline) and are completely baffled whenever he comes up with a brilliant/clever line.

Which is a little strange to me, because shouldn't they be a mix of the Colbert Report and Letterman audiences? Letterman's humor for my money, was actually more subtle than Colbert's is.

 

[Cloned]

Feels like they laugh extra hard at any mention of anything superficially crass/jokey (even when it's not the punchline) and are completely baffled whenever he comes up with a brilliant/clever line.

Which is a little strange to me, because shouldn't they be a mix of the Colbert Report and Letterman audiences? Letterman's humor for my money, was actually more subtle than Colbert's is.

Letterman's humour wasn't subtle, it was just eccentric. Some jokes would appeal to a wide audience, others would only elicit laughs from those who really shared his line of thinking, some would just be weird and way out there.

Colbert's humour, for the most part, isn't that eccentric. That's part of the reason for his success - the wide appeal of his jokes. Even though certain groups of people despised him during his run on the Report, they never failed to understand his jokes. They rarely miss the mark in terms of subject matter or relatability.

 

[Philly85*]

The studio audience, or whoever is there laughing, are very annoying. Literally any joke, comment, facial expression, etc. I'm struggling to get past it.

It's forced and I agree. Last Weekend Tonight with John Oliver is like that too. Way over the top crowd reaction to anything.

... that being said, Colbert is growing on me big time. I really like the selection of guests he's had on the show so far. Love the band too and the intro is super catchy.

 

[Nurmagomedov]

Wow, that Tom Hanks segment was the best thing i've seen on a late night talk show in a long time. Hanks killed it.

 

[Stanley Foobrick]

The studio audience, or whoever is there laughing, are very annoying. Literally any joke, comment, facial expression, etc. I'm struggling to get past it.

Hear ya. I've already given up, Kimmel is the only late night host worth watching. Really miss Dave and Craig.

 

[Shareefruck]

**** I love John Oliver-- that interview was great.

 

[ResilientBeast]

I love it, Colbert has really started to settle in

 

[TootooTrain]

Pewdiepie was on hah. That's pretty big for him. Dunno if that's the first time he's appeared on one of the major talk shows.

 

[Shareefruck]

Ugh, I detest Youtube sensations. They all act the same insufferable way for some reason.