Stephen Colbert in the Zeigiest – TBIF edition

After such a great week of ‘Colbert Report’ episodes, I’m now using ‘TBIF’ – Too Bad It’s Friday – ’cause I don’t want to wait until Monday for the next one! Here’s a glimpse at the zeitgeist for Friday, May 11, 2007.

Variety – you missed him.
But what’s with the suspicions?

• Rosy soiree for Time – Variety: “Other no-shows were just unfortunate: Stephen Colbert did not make it because his daughter broke her arm. At least that’s what he said.

  So for that, Colbert, consider yourself on warning.”

Hey, look! We/He/They/ is/are on TV!

• You GOTTA See This: Colbert Tries to Help Us – World Class New Orleans: “Proper request???? Bush is so predictable, and Colbert is so consistently good. The Pat O’s napkin is an incredible touch”
• Editorial: Bush’s cautious new pal in France – San Jose Mercury News: ” As Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert remarked, Sarkozy “has allowed himself to be photographed with George W. Bush, which makes him more American than many of our presidential candidates.” ”
• Area Arab American Not Stereotyped – KABOB Fest: “I was in awe when a mainstream TV show hosted an Arab-American guest not for the sole purpose of being Arab on Tuesday. Then I was brought back to earth when I remembered the show is actually satirical in nature, and there is still plenty of work to be done on that front.”
• Naperville profiled on Colbert Report – Rick Klau: “Sort of, anyway. In his “Hometown Hero Town” spot, Stephen glowingly reviewed Naperville for a recent news story that profiled a tow truck service to tow you and your car home if you’re drunk.”
• The Colbert Report Book Review Debate – MediaBistro.com: “Amazingly, the plight of newspaper book reviews got the attention of The Colbert Report, and last night Salman Rushdie joined Stephen Colbert in a rather entertaining exchange (which got Rushdie to call Cormac McCarthy’s THE ROAD “that book” in reference to its Oprah selection” and to admit that “no one bitches about literary criticism more than writers.”) As for Colbert: “If it’s a good book, I had that guy on my show.” ” [Editor's Note: If you're interested, here's more info about the disappearing book reviews.]
• Another Kansas Shout-out on the Colbert Report – 49ABCNews.com blog: “Today, Gena sent me a link to the Colbert Report, “the Proper Request.” During the NCAA Tournament, Stephen Colbert picked KU to go all the way. Now this week, his explanation on how to submit a request for federal disaster aid left me giggling so hard.”

It is called Show Business
What’s happening at Viacom?!?

• Movie Marketing, MTV Drag Down Viacom Earnings – E-commerce Times: “Earnings for media conglomerate Viacom dipped 36 percent for Q1. Part of the drop was credited to charges associated with a reshuffling at MTV that axed 250 jobs in an effort to cut costs and build up its online business. Two major movie releases near the end of the period also cost the corporation by running up large marketing tabs.”
• Comedy writers move to unionize – Los Angeles Times: “Writers from six Los Angeles-based shows on Comedy Central Network are seeking to join the Writers Guild of America, union officials said Thursday.

  The 35 writers from shows including “Mind of Mencia,” “The Sarah Silverman Program,” “The Showbiz Show with David Spade” and the upcoming “American Body Shop” signed cards requesting to be represented by the union. …

  Writers at Comedy Central hits “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and “The Colbert Report” recently organized with the guild.”

Gratuitous Name Dropping
Most of these fall under ‘very strained’ connections. Tortured, even.

• Washington Weakly – Cleveland Scene: “No parties are defined, and no hot-button issues are addressed, so the play is essentially a political comedy without the politics. That could fly, back when Capra-corn was king, but it’s a harder sell in the era of Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and Sean Hannity.”
• The Hard Part? Holding off on a “Heroes” recap! – Seattle PI: “Otherwise, most of the episode followed the super peeps to New York, including an enraged Jessica and DL, who are storming after Micah with the ferocious anger of mama and papa bears. (Take cover, Stephen Colbert!)”
• Junior’s dramatic exit comes at perfect time – Fort Wayne Journal Gazette: “They broke this one at 10:21 in the morning, somewhere between reruns of “ER” and the full onslaught of the soaps. Impeccable timing, all in all. Best melding of time slot and feature act you’ll ever see until the day Fox News buys “The Colbert Report” and slots it next to Bill O’Reilly.”
• Pacific Rimshot – Washington City Paper: “Notorious MSG imagines what would happen if three Asian immigrants fresh off the boat learned about American culture and the English language solely from gangsta rap, as if they took a Berlitz class taught by Master P. Like fellow deadpan pranksters Stephen Colbert and Sacha Baron Cohen, the hip-hop trio has an enviable talent for staying on message.”
• ACLU for everyone’s liberties – The Lantern: “In his article, Schwarzwalder lambastes the ACLU in typical right-wing conservative fashion, crying about their supposed lack of morality or “correct” values and “anti-American-ness,” (sounds like a Stephen Colbert word!).”
• ‘Ex’ doesn’t mark the comedy spot – The Baltimore Sun: “But it’s destined to land on Comedy Central and make Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and South Park fans wonder, “Who ever put good money into that?!” ”